Excerpts from the Conversation Handbook,
by the Fall 2003 Class

Things to Remember

• Come prepared with activities and topics to stimulate conversation.
• It is better not to let one student dominate the conversation. If the more advanced students start talking too much, the less advanced ones get bored and lose interest. Try to keep everyone equally involved.
• Encourage each student to take an active role in asking and answering questions. Thank them for their questions as a way to encourage group involvement.
• Do not hypercorrect students: it may discourage them from participating. Remember, you are not there to perfect their grammar! Correct by restating.
• Always speak slowly and clearly by using examples, synonyms, or other methods, but don’t speak too slowly. The students are not children, so don’t treat them as such.
• Draw pictures to emphasize your point.
• Avoid using slang and idioms.
• Ask students to write down what they are saying if you have trouble understanding them, and vice versa.
• Don’t act as if you understand the student when you don’t; ask or use nonverbal cues (gestures, facial expressions) so that the students can pick up on such cues and help.
• Don’t make assumptions about students’ ability to converse.
• Be patient! Give the students plenty of time to think and formulate their questions or ideas.

Conversation Starters

• Talk about what they know the most about: themselves, food, and weather.
• Have them tell a story.
• Current event topics in American and other cultures such as current holidays tend to spark conversation.
• Say something interesting to make them laugh and liven things up. Don’t be too serious; tell jokes.
• Bring a blank world map. Ask the students where they are from: not only the country but also the city. Then, write their names in the map. This way you can easily remember their names as well as where they are from. Also, you can expand your conversation depending on which part of the country they are from (urban vs. country, mountain vs. seaside, etc.).

Keeping It Going

• Create a conversation atmosphere that encourages students to ask questions of all group members.
• Show interest in your conversation partner by using expressive body language and intonation.
• Talk about things that are personal, relevant, or otherwise important to the students. Some of the students are refugees and asylum seekers and have faced a lot of difficulties in their lives. They may not want to talk about all the details of their lives to a stranger.
• Allow for students to ask questions about the grammar they are studying. However, attempting to get them to do structured exercises will probably not get a positive response.
• Have some “emergency” topics, exercises, or questions in mind for when the conversation lags. For example, bring in pictures or ask the students to bring pictures.
• Be prepared to change the subject at any moment in case the discussion becomes too uncomfortable.

When Things Fall Apart

There are the times when the time does need filling, when the structure one thought one had appears useless, and the students gaze silently at their notes, exchanging nervous smiles with the conversation partner.

Relax, you’re only having a conversation, like any of the hundreds of conversations you’ve had during the past year. There is nothing inherently different about this one. So you might think: what do I usually talk about with acquaintances? If I were at work or school and bumped into someone I knew slightly, what might I ask them about their life? You might simply think of what has happened to you in the last week, and start with that. These are also times when having props can be of great assistance. Pictures, books, items collected on travels can all serve as seeds from which a conversation can grow.

When you feel that you do not agree with the students, do not overreact or argue with them. Students may sound very blunt or rude: usually that is because they have limited vocabulary or are still in the process of learning expressions.

Try to avoid the use of languages other than English. Begin the discussion group with a disclaimer that only English should be spoken.

Do not panic when you find yourself in the middle of drama. Both tutors and tutees are all human beings and it is possible to have a strong emotional breakdown during the session. Remember that it is absolutely human. If you feel that things are out of hand, seek help from the ESOL instructor.