[English-coach]

Hi everyone,

I have a couple students who would like to focus primarily on conversation and phrasal verbs. I don't like to only do conversations in one class but I think it would be a good idea to fill part of the class with conversation. The classes are an hour long.

How to you promote interesting and useful conversations in class?

Also, do you have any tricks to incorporate phrasal verbs into those conversations as well?

Thanks everyone!
Diana

[HUE]

Hi Diana,

Not sure about the phrasal verbs in every lesson. It seems a bit too forced, like a round peg in a square hole. As for conversations, I usually:

1. Start with themed warm-up questions. This gets the students to indirectly consider the topic.

2. Present the target language (specific vocab to be used, grammar, etc.). I make sure to cover both the structure and the meaning.

3. Drill the target language to improve automaticity. I want to keep the students interested, but I also want them to produce the language. Here I'm focusing more on their productive rather than their receptive level.

4. Present a dialogue to see the target language in context. If pressed for time, this is optional.

5. Free(r) activity that allows students to speak, tying the new material with target language previously studied.

I hope this helps.

[English-coach]

Thanks for the advice Chris. Phrasal verbs always seem a bit forced in lessons. It just seems like you can't teach them well outside the context of a conversation. I tend to teach them as they come up (hee hee) in conversation, but this is not structured enough for students to see a difference.

Thanks for the conversation advice.

Diana