TEFL Lesson Plans For Dummies

Chapter 11

Back to Basics: Developing Discussions

In This Chapter

Reviewing the skills students need to make conversation

Incorporating discussion activities in all your classes

Using a questionnaire to teach follow-up questions

Hearing your students chatting away in English and incorporating what they’ve learnt in their discussions is very satisfying. Speaking fluently is perhaps the most important skill to develop in a foreign language and one which involves many sub-skills. However, the question is: how do you get students talking?

This chapter shows you that student conversations seldom happen by chance, but with your support students can develop excellent fluency and speaking skills. I show you how to help students build and sustain conversations. I also present a lesson plan that combines discussion activities and active listening.

Using Discussions in Lessons

The vast majority of learners want to speak English, not just read, write or listen to it. After all, our most important human relationships are conducted face to face by means of spoken language. However, although students may well have conversing in their second language as a main objective in learning English, relatively ...