Talk, Talk, Talk- An English Conversaton Book

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Talk, Talk, Talk

(a Conversation Book)

What makes a good English conversation book?

Good question. There are tons of English books on the market. Many of

these books are not specifically geared JUST for conversation- but all

the skills- talking, writing, reading, and listening.

So.... they come with tapes or CD's that students

can listen to to work on their listening skills.

So ... they have short and not so short written passages

that students can read to work on their reading skills.

So ... they have lots of writing activities and

exercises that students can use to work

on their writing skills.

Granted all of those skills are important and needed- but are they

really ideal for a conversation class?

I think NOT!

A good conversation book

should be about TALKING!!!

So.. a good conversation book should have:

◊ lots of topics that can be use as a basis for conversation

◊ lots of verbal activities for pairs and small groups

◊ lots of role play situations in which students can practice

the language in the classroom before encountering similar

situations in the real world

◊ games and fun activities in which students have

to talk to participate in

◊ commonly used expressions that students can begin

to use immediately to enhance their speaking ability

◊ lots of questions that students can ask each other-

so a conversation can be started and maintained

◊ expressions and structures (that are easily learned

and remembered) that students can easily transfer

to differing topics or situation.

(As any teacher knows, this is particularly important

for beginning and intermediate level students)

But what are expressions and structures?

Structures are basic sentence patterns that are used when forming

sentences. Many sentences, about any number of topics, can be

formed by using basic structures.

Look at these two structures

Question: What kind of ________ do you like?

Answer: I like ___________________.

Once a student learns this structure they can talk about any number

of topics simply by filling in the blanks with the topic of their choice.

They can ask and talk about music, movies, politics, weather, food, etc.

Expressions are just commonly used sentences or phrases that are

used when communicating with others.

People, even native speakers, do make form brand new sentences

when they speak, they just use the multitude of expressions already

available.

Expressions, like structures, can be modified very simply by changing

a couple of words in the sentences to ask or talk about a large number

of topics. In addition, there are any number of expressions that can be

used to ask or talk about the same thing.

Here are just two examples

Question: What do you think of ____________?

What is your opinion of ___________?

How do you like_________________?

Answer: I think___________________?

My opinion is _____________?

I like (don't like) ___________?

Why are expressions and structures important?

Because they allow students to learn usable English that can be applied immediately

when interacting with others.

Initially, students can simply memorize the basic expressions and structures. By

memorizing the basic expressions and structures students can easily and quickly

expand their repertoire of usable language. Once memorized, they are readily

available for use in their daily interactions with others.

As their vocabulary and knowledge of how to change and modify the structures and

expressions improve, they will find that they can communicate with just about anyone

on any topic.

Lots of questions?

You may be asking yourself- why should a good

conversation book have lots of questions in it?

The reason is that most verbal interactions begin with questions.

Think about it, most people don't just start rattling on without a reason.

They are responding to questions.

Talk, Talk, Talk has hundreds of questions that

the students can ask each other to practice using the language. The discussion

topic section of each lesson contains questions relevant to the topic or situation

being reviewed.

In addition, there are questions in the verb tense section that students can

ask each other that forces the use of the correct verb tense when asking or

responding.

In the three lessons on asking questions, the questions are designed to

allow the student to change the words in each question to form another

question that interests them. They simply have to change the words in

parenthesis to form a new question

Here are a couple of examples:

What do you usually (eat for breakfast)?
How often do you (go to the movies)?

This substitution allows for an unlimited opportunity for students to

experiment, to try new and different things, and to learn by making mistakes.

Fortunately for teachers and students alike

Talk, Talk, Talk

has all these things.

So what structures and expressions are included?

Well, take a look- they are listed below.

for greetings

for introductions

for well being

for farewells

for preferences

for invitations

for opinions

for agreeing/disagreeing

for schedules

for indicating surprise

for indicating forgetfulness

for indicating obligations

for help and advice

for lending and borrowing

for comparisons

for describing people

for describing personalities

for compliments

for indicating anger

for descriptions of things

for forgiveness

for instructions

for repeats

for interrupting

for directions

for on the telephone

for restaurants

for shopping

for grocery shopping

for a doctor’s

for a pharmacy

for a bank

for a hotel

for a travel agency

for needs and requirements

for suggestions

for Wh Questions

for can and do questions

for to be Questions

Why is this a good buy?

Sure, there are a lot of sites on the Internet that have activities for English classes and countless books in bookstores. But Talk, Talk, Talk specifically focuses on paired group work that maximizes student interaction. Each lesson consists of:

expressions and structures for the items listed above
a model dialogue that students can follow for having similar conversations
a discussion topic related to the structure or expression under review
role play situations that provide additional practice
some lessons have a game or other activity for additional practice

You may be thinking...

"I already have a pretty good conversation book.

Why do I need something else?"

Well, maybe you don't.

BUT...

Can a teacher really have too much material?

Does a teacher ever have enough supplemental material readily at hand?

Do you have trouble wracking your brains to develop activities and

games that are appropriate for your students?

If there are just a couple of ideas in this book that may

help fill the gap in your lessons, won't it be worth it?

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Talk, Talk, Talk

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