[Pix]

Thank you for those useful comments.

I must say that for me the idea of a compelling conversation has to be something that the STUDENT finds compelling, and no two people are the same.

So a big tip for me is to ask the student to bring in topics that he or she finds interesting. He or she may be a passionate speaker builder, in which case you may have to learn to find that subject compelling - hardly an easy thing to do but then these lessons are not about the teacher, they are about the student.

Hope that helps!

Shelley

PS For teaching children privately see this video:
How to teach a child to speak English

And for online teaching, either in a virtual classroom, or as a private tutor, for kids and adults, see this book: ESL Online Games

[HUE]

All good comments here. I think the key is focusing the lesson, which is applicable to any level of student. The teacher must determine a final, specific objective for the class session.

Let's look at an example. To learn about the past tense is far too vague, and the lesson could easily meander from point to point. It could easily become a series of fun activities that get thrown at the class, but none of which build on one another. However, if the teacher wanted to work on the past tense in the context of past vacations, then the lesson has a clear direction. The teacher will need to specifically cover:

1: Vocabulary
2: Conjugation of the verbs into the past tense
3: Positive statements
4: Negative statements
5: Yes/No questions
6: Wh-questions

Each step builds on previous steps, which allows students to effectively absorb the new material. Students improve accuracy, fluency, and automaticity.

So for a higher-level lesson focus on conversation, they could specifically learn/practice speaking strategies, debate, how to clearly present ideas, etc. Each step of the lesson would allow practice and reinforcement, all leading to the objective of the class session.