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Hi, let’s have an EEC. That’s an everyday English conversation. Conversation is an art form, and learning to communicate well in any language is not the easiest thing in the world to do, even if it’s your first language. As a second language, it can even be harder because you not only have to learn a new set of grammar, pronunciation, and conversation rules and habits, but you may also have to change some existing habits. It all depends on how different English is from your native language.
For example, it would probably be easier for student from France to learn to speak English, than for a student from China. Why? French and English use the same letters and sounds for the most part, and the sentence structure is very similar. Chinese on the other hand, uses different letters, has many different sounds, and the sentence structure is different.
I know that all sounds a bit scary, but with dedicated practice and a bit of patience, you can learn to speak English effectively. Once you have learned and practiced some of the basic rules, you will be surprised at how quickly you can progress.
The key to learning to converse in English is in practicing reading, writing, and speaking it. Practicing all three of these will help you to recognize what you are hearing, to understand what you are hearing, and to know how to effectively respond to it. And, the most important thing is to not be afraid to try. You are going to make mistakes at first, and probably receive a few giggles, but don’t worry about that. They are just words, and you can’t hurt or break them. Most people are very tolerant and helpful when they see you are trying to speak their language. You will be amazed at how much fun you can have learning to communicate with a foreign friend.
The goal of this website is to provide teachers, students, and independent studiers with a source of conversations that are suited to their particular skill level to practice English with. Please feel free to copy and use any of the conversations or lesson plan ideas on here.
I love this video! So many videos that you see show two students engaged in a perfect little conversation. I wish it always happened like that, but it doesn’t. As we all know, there is usually a lot of prompting, giggling, and shyness to deal with in getting through just about every lesson.
Here is a basic lesson plan for one of my classes:
Going to the game
Max: Do you want to go to the baseball game?5
Jim: Yeah, that sounds fun.9
Max: I love baseball.1
Jim: So do I.4
Max: I love to eat the peanuts.12
Jim: I love to eat the hot dogs.11
Max: I hope we’ll see a home run.6
Jim: I hope we’ll catch a foul ball.2
Max: Bring a jacket.7
Jim: Yes. It gets a little cool at night.8
Max: I’ll bring my baseball glove to catch a foul ball.3
Jim: I’ll just use my cap to catch one.10
Find the subject, object, verbs, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the conversation:
Create and answer 6 questions about the conversation:
1. Who ______________________________________________?
2. What _____________________________________________?
3. When _____________________________________________?
4. Where ____________________________________________?
5. Why ______________________________________________?
6 How _______________________________________________?
What are 5 of the forms for the verb: _____________?
Make a sentence using each of the forms:
1. ____________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________
This lesson takes about an hour to do. First, I write the sentences of the conversation on the board out of order. That is why they have numbers at the end of each sentence. They tell you what order to write them in. Then I briefly explain to the kids what the conversation is about, and ask them to tell me which sentence they would start the conversation with. This is a bit of a hunt and peck at first, but after they get a few, they catch on, and move much quicker. Once they have chosen the first sentence correctly, I write it on the other side of the board and have the class recite it. Then, they try and find the next sentence. Once it is on the board too, the say the first and second lines. Repeat this through the entire conversation. You will notice how much smoother they become after the 4th or 5th repetition.
After that, I have the kids identify the subjects, objects, nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adjectives in a few of the sentences, depending on time.
Next, we create question and answer sentences about the conversation that start with “WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW”. Make sure they use the conversation as sentence topics. Having that focal point helps them be a little more creative, and not so easily overwhelmed. An example for “WHO” would might be “Who loves hot dogs?” The answer is “Jim loves hot dogs.”
After that, I give them a verb and ask them to create sentences for 5 of it’s forms. If the verb was “go”, they might makes sentences for “go, went, goes, going, and will go.” In some of my classes, I use a list of the 1000 most commonly used words in English conversation. I will give them 10 new words, quickly discuss the definition and translation, then show them a sentence with it.
That’s about it. Occasionally, if they haven’t gotten up to too much deviltry, I will take a break and play a game with them, or try and think up fun activities for them to do. You can check the games page for a list of some of them.
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