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Conversations in the Classroom
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Conversations in the Classroom
by Chris Cotter
Copyright 2010 Chris Cotter
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Chris Cotter
Card design: Chris Cotter
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Introduction .... 4
What is Accuracy? . 5
What is Fluency? ... 6
Balancing Fluency and Accuracy .... 8
Productive and Receptive Levels 9
Activities 10
List of Chatter Questions . 25
List of Question Cards 28
Card Instructions ..... 32
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Hello and thank you for downloading Conversations in the Classroom. This
resource guide accompanies two sets of question cards, Chatter Cards for
lower-level students and Question Cards for upper-level students.
I've written this ebook with the busy teacher in mind. In other words, you'll find this
resource:
1: Concise.
2: Easy to use.
3: Able to lend itself to quick, on-the-fly adaptations.
Each point is necessary in different classrooms with different students. Each activity
has been written or adapted for use with the cards. No other preparation is required.
This means that you can scan the activities before or between classes, select the
best one, and use it for nearly any part of the lesson that focuses on speaking.
Because the activities herein, as well as the very nature of the accompanying cards,
focus on speaking, the following ideas primarily work to improve students' fluency
and accuracy. Much more will be said on accuracy and fluency, but here's a short
explanation. Accuracy refers to producing the language with few to no errors. Fluency
refers to the flow of the language, a skill many students find difficult. In many cases,students will excel at one and struggle with the other. One student may carefully
consider each sentence before speaking, focusing on grammar and vocabulary and
getting both perfect. Another student may speak and speak and speak, pay little
attention to mistakes, and perhaps be unintelligible because of the mistakes. Both
accuracy and fluency are needed for successful conversation then.
Practice with these activities and accompanying cards does more. In addition to
improved abilities to carry on conversations, students will also learn and/or improve totake turns in the conversation, interrupt, add information, ask for clarification, and
more.
Have great classes!
Chris Cotter
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Accuracy refers to the mechanics of the language. Students address and improve on
the following ideas:
1: Clear and articulate speaking or writing.
2: Language free from grammar mistakes.
3: Words spelled and/or pronounced correctly.
4: Language appropriate to the situation and/or context.
When a teacher, classroom, or student fails to consider accuracy in the class, then
students may sound less fluent and capable with the language. This can quickly
cause problems when students need to use the language for more than casual
conversation.
For example, let's say a businessperson uses English for email, as well as regularly
attends teleconferences with the head office. Because English ability is so visible, it
oftentimes easily gets confused with overall job ability or competence. The
businessperson thus sounds less capable in the world of business, especially with
peers and colleagues he doesn't regularly and directly work. It really isn't much
different than a colleague who dresses in shorts and stained t-shirts. In most businessindustries, peers simply don't take him seriously or believe him to be fully competent.
There are unsympathetic listeners to consider too. Most native English speakers in
the real world outside of the classroom don't have the background or the patience to
work through the mistakes of a non-native English speaker. Whether the mistakes
come from the native tongue of the students, are pronunciation problems, grammar
problems, or even cultural differences, breakdowns in communication occur. What
had been intelligible in the classroom for the teacher and other students is suddenlyno longer intelligible outside the classroom.
It must be noted here: Too much attention to accuracy results in students unable to
use the language. They breakdown the sentences, translate them, and look at the
sentences from different angles to minimize mistakes. This results in very slow
response times. The language becomes less able to carry out its purpose, namely to
effectively communicate ideas and information.
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Fluency focuses on the flow of language. Sentences must be spoken smoothly and
with few pauses. In addition, students respond to questions and information quickly.
Lastly, it's important that students participate in a conversation, not simply react to it.
There are a number of factors which affect fluency. To start, unfamiliar material results
in less smooth, less quick language production. This is especially evident when the
teacher first presents the target language (grammar or vocabulary). Students of all
levels, when faced with new material, must process and practice it. A certain level of
automaticity must be achieved before also gaining a level of fluency.
And what is automaticity? The term refers to the recall time on the target language.
Students work towards producing the new structures naturally and with less thought.
When students practice a word, phrase, or sentence structure, then the new material
becomes automatic. Students require less time to think about how to produce the
language. Improved automaticity directly affects fluency.
It's important to note that too much information presented and practiced at once
hinders fluency. For example, if students must become familiar with new material,
longer and richer sentences get in the way. In short, there's simply too much to juggleall at once.
Of course the whole of the lesson shouldn't be restricted to short sentences that
narrowly focus on the target grammar and/or vocabulary. However, restrictive practice
at the start improves productive fluency later in the lesson. As the lesson progresses
and students become comfortable and familiar with the target language, additional
information for longer, richer sentences can be worked into the lesson plan.
Response time also measures fluency. If someone asks a question, and the student
takes several seconds before giving any answer, this can be considered poor fluency.
Slow responses most often occur with lower-level students. However, even
higher-level students may struggle with response times. In both cases, students may
know the grammar or vocabulary, but must nevertheless process it when encountered.
In short, it takes time to retrieve the needed information. This is especially true with
higher-level students, who may have studied the language for years and years.
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Lower-level students also tend to translate questions and answers from their native
language to the target language, then back again. This further hinders fluency.
Lastly, students need to be able to participate in a conversation. When students
simply ask and answer questions, without adding detail, supporting information,
tangents, or additional questions, then this is merely reacting to the conversation.
Fluency should also be considered in terms of enriched grammar and vocabulary, all
of which add to meaning, nuance, and so on.
Let's look at the following exchange which serves as an example of reacting to a
conversation:
Student A: What are you going to do this Saturday?
Student B: I'm going to see a movie.
Student A: What are you going to do on Sunday?
Student B: I'm going to study for the English test.
Student A: What are you...
Such conversations are common at the lower levels, but some detail can still be
added if the teacher explicitly and repeatedly gives attention to this point. The teacher
needs to set clear goals that the class works steadily towards, such as creating longer,richer conversations. Opportunities for discussion, as with question cards for example,
help improve this point.
At higher levels, the same reaction to a conversation may occur with difficult subject
matter. Students may lack knowledge on the topic in their native language too, which
results in a far less rich discussion in the target language. The teacher can assign
preparatory homework, perhaps with the students receiving several question cards
for essays or presentations.
Fluency is thus a very important aspect of the language classroom. Students should
be able to accomplish the following for fluent conversations:
1: Acquire and use the needed grammar and vocabulary.
2: Respond with few pauses, or quick access and activation of information.
3: Participate in a conversation.
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With a clearer definition of accuracy and fluency, let's now look at how to effectively
balance the two. Although some ideas and information has been briefly mentioned
above, it proves important to now discuss the balance as a separate entity.
When the teacher develops a lesson, the early portions of the lesson generally get
devoted to acquisition of the target language. Students need to learn the new material
and produce it accurately. As a result, activities tend to be narrowly defined. This
allows students to explicitly focus on one aspect of the target language. And as
students become comfortable with the one aspect, then additional points and/or
information can be added. Students don't need to juggle too much information.
Of course, as the students practice, the teacher shouldn't expect zero mistakes. No
matter how much practice occurs, mistakes continue to occur. In addition, the teacher
shouldn't restrict the lesson to controlled and repetitive activities. For example, if
students drilled and drilled and drilled the language for the majority of the class, then
everyone would quickly become bored. There would be little challenge, little
engagement, little interest. Both the students and the teacher wouldn't offer
qualitative thought to the lesson contents.
It should be noted that drills and controlled activities improve fluency too. Improved
familiarity with the target language means an improved level of automaticity. This then
translates to quicker and smoother response times.
However, as was mentioned earlier, fluency consists of more than quick responses to
questions. Students must also be able to access and activate the knowledge.
Students must be able to add detail for richer responses. Students must be able to
participate in a conversation. Hence the latter portion of the lesson gets devoted tothese other aspects for better fluency.
With increasingly open-ended activities, such as provided in this resource guide,
students must provide longer and more detailed answers. Students further mix
grammar and vocabulary from past lessons. They also mix pre-existing knowledge
gained from personal studies, interest, and exposure to English with the new material.
All of this allows students to create more realistic and richer conversations, which
they may also immediately apply outside the classroom.
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Let's conclude with a brief word on productive and receptive levels, as both connect
to accuracy and fluency. Productive and receptive levels can be defined as the
following:
Productive Level: This refers to language use, specifically speaking and writing.
Receptive Level: This refers to listening and reading, or input and comprehension.
For effective communication to occur, students must be able to produce and receive
information. A poor productive level may mean that students have the information but
can't speak quickly or correctly. On the other hand, students may try to dominate a
conversation because of a poor receptive level. They speak and speak without
actually participating in the conversation.
Attention to productive and receptive levels ties directly to accuracy, fluency, and the
activities in this resource book. A teacher may correctly assume that students
understand the target language, and thus ignore additional opportunities to improve
language production. In other words, the teacher ignores activities for better accuracy
and fluency simply because students understand the new material. An apt analogywould be assuming someone a good driver after only a few sessions behind the
wheel! Drills are needed to improve accuracy and response time.
Conversely, the teacher may spend too much time on drills and short activities that
don't allow opportunities for rich and detailed use of the language. This results in a
poorer receptive level because students don't have the chance to meaningfully
interact with one another.
To conclude, the teacher must not only consider accuracy, fluency, and the balance of
the two, but he must also consider both sides to language use. This resource guide
has a mix of activities that focus on productive and receptive levels in connection with
improved accuracy and fluency.
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This activity encourages students to do more than just ask a
question, answer it, and then move on to the next question or
activity. Lower-level students are often guilty of this, but higher-level
students may fall into a similar pattern in the classroom.Answer,
Add, and Ask ensures students develop one question into a short
conversation.
Students get into pairs and receive from three to five cards.
Student A turns over a card and asks the question to his/her partner.
Student B answers the question, adds information, and asks a related question. For
example:
Student A: Have you ever eaten something really strange?
Student B: Yes, I have. I ate a pickled pig's foot in J apan once. I didn't know what I
ordered because I didn't speak the language. I tried it and it tasted terrible! How
about you? Have you ever eaten something really strange?
Student A: Yes. Once I ate...
Students may repeat the process as they continue the conversation.
As students add information to the initial answer, the conversations among each
pair will become significantly richer and more interesting.
The teacher gives students the same number of cards. However, atime limit of ten minutes is set for the activity. Students should try to speak as long
as possible from one question, yet remain on topic. Once the conversation lags or
wanders far from the initial question, a new card is drawn. The pairs who have
drawn the least number of cards win.
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If accuracy is the focus of the lesson, then the teacher should
include this activity in the lesson plan. Although overly long pauses
aren't okay as students still need to maintain the conversation, a
slower speaking speed to get grammar, vocabulary, and any other
language points correct isn't a problem.
Students get into groups of three. They decide who will be student A,
B, and C for the activity. Students A and B will speak together, and student C will
monitor for mistakes.
The teacher distributes three cards (or six cards, or nine cards) face
down. Consider three cards as one round. As the teacher doesn't want to end the
activity in the middle of a round, he should be aware of how long each round will
take and how much time he wants to devote to the activity.
Students read the first card. Students A and B begin the conversation,
and student C listens for mistakes. Student C should not interrupt the conversation,but should instead take notes of mistakes to ensure accurate reporting. The
conversation continues for a set time, as determined by the teacher. Three minutes
works very well.
The conversation ends, and student C reports any mistakes. Equally
important, and if possible, he/she should correct the mistakes and provide an
explanation. The information may be given in English or the native language of the
students (assuming all class or group members speak the same mother tongue). Soif student B made several mistakes with the future tense, student C would point this
out and explain/review: be going to + main verb.
Students rotate roles and repeat.
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Back to Back Discussions works as a great tool to improve
listening. Without the benefit of nonverbal cues, students focus much
more intently on listening to the conversation. In addition, when
students miss a word here or there, they make intuitive leaps based
on the context of the sentence/conversation, not on gestures, facial
expressions, etc.
Students get into pairs and arrange their chairs to sit back to back.
The teacher distributes two question cards to each student. More
questions may also be distributed, but the activity then requires more time. Students
take several minutes to read through the questions for comprehension. The teacher
monitors and offers help and clarification where needed.
Students ask and answer the questions back to back. All but the
weakest class of students should ask at least one follow-up question. Higher-level
classes must ask follow-up questions and add information to the conversation.
Continue through the questions, alternating roles from question to question.
Optional. Students switch partners and repeat the activity. This
improves fluency because students have the chance to engage in a new
conversation yet reuse much of the material in the previous steps.
Listening is integral for successful communication. In the
classroom, students should be given opportunities to improve
listening skills. Conversations and interactive activities are butone means. Monologues, dialogues, and other similar activities are other
examples. Always consider listening as an active skill, even if students are
sitting quietly. They are busy breaking down the language.
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Students work on creativity, which can help with unanticipated
answers. Sometimes students understand the grammar and
vocabulary, but doubt their comprehension because the answer was
unexpected. This activity builds some confidence in this regard.
More importantly, it's just fun!
The teacher pairs up students or places them in small groups.
Anything smaller than four people together works well. Larger groups usually mean
two students or more take a passive role and don't participate in the conversation.
Up to ten cards are distributed per group, face down. More cards
mean the activity takes longer, but it also then offers additional opportunities to
meet the objective.
The top card is turned over, and all students read the question.
Everyone has one minute to think of the most fantastic and interesting answer
possible.
Each student gives his answer, as well as provides any additional
information too. The tales continue around the table.
So as to encourage all students to listen, understand, and think about
each answer, students vote on the most fantastic answer. The student whose
answer was deemed the most exciting receives a point. If two students receive an
equal number of votes, then both receive a point.
Pairs/groups continue to the next card, and repeat the process. At the
end of the activity, tally the points to determine the winner with the most fantastic
tales.
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Guess the Question requires students to listen to an answer
provided by their partner, assess the information, and guess the
appropriate question. This activity helps students with question
formation, as well as promotes active listening.
Students each receive two question cards. More cards may be
distributed by the teacher, but additional time is then required to complete the
activity. Students should read the questions and think of appropriate answers. In
addition, with lower-level students, the teacher should ensure that students fully
understand and are able to answer the question cards.
Students find a partner. Student A provides his answer. Lower-level
students generally have little exposition, which is okay here. Higher-level students
generally give more detailed answers, and so must consider how the information is
presented. The answer should directly address the question, with subsequent
information offering detail and support. Student B guesses the question.
Students rotate roles and repeat. Student B now provides his answer.
Student A guesses the question.
After the students have gone through the cards, students can select
one question from each partner for discussion. The teacher should allot roughly five
minutes for this step, thus ensuring both students have the chance to talk.
Preparation is often an important step for
students, especially in lower-level classes. If
students have the chance to read questions,
think of possible answers, and work out any language
problems before a conversation, the flow of the
language improves.
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In this activity, students want to speak and speak and speak. Neither
the students nor the teacher should place much concern on
accuracy with the language, unless the sentences come out
completely unintelligible. Students will focus on fluency. They just get
the words out and keep the conversation flowing. This activity works
well as a warm up activity.
The teacher pairs up students based on ability. Each pair should be of
roughly equal speaking skill, else the stronger student will dominate the
conversation. The weaker student won't get the much needed opportunity to
practice.
The teacher next places students in pairs or groups up to four.
Student A reads the question aloud from his/her card, and then provides the two
statements.
One student from the pair turns over a card, and asks the question.
The other student answers the question. However both students will need toprovide additional information, ask follow up questions, and sustain the
conversation's flow for as long as possible. Any pause of ten seconds or greater
signals the end of the conversation. Note: With lower level students, the students
may pause for up to twenty seconds.
After the conversation ends, the initial answerer draws a new card
and asks the question. Again, the paired up students maintain the conversation for
as long as possible. Repeat the process.
After ten minutes, the teacher stops the activity. Pairs count how
many cards remain. More cards are better than fewer cards, as this demonstrates
the ability to maintain the flow of the conversation.
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Students must answer questions quickly and creatively in this
activity. They also need to mislead one another. The combination of
the two makes One Lie and One Truth difficult, as slow responses
could signal which of the two initial statements isn't true. Questions
which focus on personal information work best.
The teacher distributes one card to each student. He will answer the
question twice. One answer is the truth and one answer is the lie. For example, the
following question would generate two statements:
Question: You have one supernatural ability. What is it?
Answer (t ruth): I would want to fly.
Answer (l ie): I would want to be invisible.
The teacher allows students five minutes to prepare their answers. Equally
important, the five minutes should be used to anticipate follow-up questions and
imagine appropriate answers. Notes may be taken during this time.
Students now get into pairs or groups up to four. Student A reads the
question aloud from his/her card, and then provides the two statements.
Other students have three to five minutes to ask follow-up questions
in order to determine which statement was the lie. Here the previous preparation
and note taking proves important, especially with the lower levels.
After the allotted time, student A announces which of the two
sentences was true and which was false. Based on interest in the real answer, the
students in the group may spend a few minutes asking additional questions.
Pairs/groups repeat the previous steps for student B, then student C,
and so on.
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Students work on listening skills in this activity, as they must assess
what was heard. They next must accurately relay the information to a
third student. A communicative element has further been added,
because students answer the questions relayed. Pickle in the
Middle works well with lower-level students, or as a Warm Up for
some intermediate classes.
The teacher selects three questions from the packet of cards for each
group. These are asked and answered in the activity by the groups.
Students are arranged into teams of three. Each person receives on
question card. Student A quietly asks the first question to Student B, who is the
pickle in the middle. Student B may not take notes and must remember the
question. Student B then relays the question to Student C.
Note: For classes with lower-level students, the teacher should pre-teach, "What
did you say?"
Student C answers the question. As in the previous step, he quietly
relays the answer to Student B. Student B then relays the information to Student A.
Students rotate roles. Student B asks his question to student C, who
is now pickle in the middle. Student C then relays the question to Student A.
Student A answers the question.
Students once more rotate roles and repeat.
Consider cool-down activities at the end of the
lesson as an opportunity to review target
language in the lesson. If students can
effectively and quickly use the new material in short
activities, it provides an effective marker of what has been
accomplished in the lesson.
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Students work toward improving response time, a skill especially
useful for students who focus on accuracy and tend to slow down the
conversation. In this activity, the teacher encourages students to go
through the deck of questions as quickly as possible, paying less
attention to lengthy answers and mistakes. Of course, students must
still provide intelligible responses!
The teacher places students in pairs and explain the activity. The
purpose of the activity is also explained, namely to improve speaking speed.
Distribute at least thirty cards per pair of students. Because each pair
attempts to get through the deck in ten minutes, more cards are better. Ideally, no
one should finish the activity in the allotted time. If more or less cards need to be
distributed, the teacher should also consider student ability and the difficulty of the
questions as a whole.
Student A reads a question and student B answers it. If student A
can't clearly understand an answer, then student B will need to clarify, explain, orrestate it. As students don't rotate rolls just yet, student A will continue to draw cards
and ask questions. Move through the deck as quickly as possible. At the end of ten
minutes, pairs count the question cards which were answered. The more cards the
better.
Each pair gathers both the cards they unanswered and the ones
remaining. Shuffle and pass the cards to another pair of students. This ensures a
new set of questions for student B to answer.
Students now rotate roles and repeat the activity, with student B
asking questions and student A answering them.
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The teacher needs to allot at least thirty minutes to complete this
activity, as students create and write a story based on the cards. The
class may hand in the stories as an assignment, or they may read
the stories aloud to classmates. If the latter is chosen, then
additional time is needed for everyone to present their story.
The teacher writes on the board the following:
setting:
characters:
problem:
He should next explain that every story usually addresses these three points. The
class brainstorms together some settings, characters, and problems from
well-known books and movies to highlight the idea.
The class forms groups of three to five students. Several cards aredistributed to each group. Students receive a minute or two to read through and
understand the questions on each card.
Students write a story and include one of the questions from the
cards. Because this can prove difficult, especially with students not especially
creative, encourage students to first imagine the setting, characters, and problem.
Once they have a general idea, it proves much easier to begin the story.
Students must incorporate as many of the questions (or answers
based on the questions) from the cards. Note that this is quite difficult, and should
only be done with higher-level students.
Students must begin the story with one character asking the
question, and another character asking it.
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This activity works well with current events topics because of the rich
discussion which ensues. However, Talk and Trade works well
whenever students need to focus on a combination of accuracy and
fluency. The activity also improves structural clarity.
One card is distributed to each person in the class. Each student also
receives a few minutes to read the question and think of answers for discussion.
Students pair up. Student A reads his question, then provides an
answer. A discussion should ensue for up to three minutes. Although students may
be able to speak longer, the teacher wants them to have several conversations.
Student B reads his question and answers it. Again, the two students
should have a discussion for several minutes.
The teacher says stop. Students trade cards and find another partner.
With the new partner, each student reads the question then answers
it. Of course the conversations will differ, but some information from the previous
conversations will get reused. This improves sentence patterns, key grammar, and
vocabulary. With questions which focus on current events, students will better and
more succinctly be able to support key ideas as they recycle and add to ideas.
When the teacher reuses the same activitiesor offers only a slight variation, student talk
time increases. Fluency and accuracy also
improves because students use the same information
again and again. Lastly, the teacher doesn't need to
spend valuable class time explaining several different
activities, which then reduces teacher talk time.
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Talk and Walk requires student to hold a conversation while
performing an unrelated but simple task. Students must talk and
walk. The movement proves slightly distracting, particularly so for
beginners, which means they must more intently concentrate on
language production. In addition, lengthy answers must be given,
which further adds to the difficulty of this activity.
Students get into pairs. The teacher distributes two question cards to
each pair. One question starts the conversation. The other question serves as the
emergency back-up question should students get stuck and their conversation lags.
The teacher establishes a start and end point for the walk. Students
should be able to walk for at least two minutes, guaranteeing ample time for a real,
albeit short, conversation. A hallway proves ideal, but any large, open space will
work almost as well. The classroom can also be used, but desks may need to be
moved to provide the needed space.
One student asks his partner the first question from the board. Thepartner answers it, as well as provides additional information, follow-up questions,
and so on. This is done as the two students are walking side by side. Conversations
should continue until the pair of students reach the end point indicated by the
teacher.
The teacher wants to ensure enough space between pairs. Once the
first pair of students gets ten or fifteen steps ahead, then the second pair of
students begins to talk and walk. This continues until all students have talked andwalked.
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The title of the activity says it all: Students speak for two minutes per
card, thus having a ten-minute conversation when five cards are
used. The activity works especially well as a warm up or a cool down
in any language classroom.
Students find a partner. Small groups of three may also be used.
However, groups of four or larger aren't recommended, as the short nature of the
activity limits individual talk time for each student. With four or more students per
group, each person doesn't receive enough opportunities to speak.
The teacher distributes an equal number of cards to each pair/group.
The cards should be face down.
Students turn the top card over, read the question, and talk for two
minutes. There shouldn't be long periods of silence, and students should definitely
not finish the conversation in less than two minutes. This means everyone will needto add information, ask additional questions, and so on.
At the two-minute mark, the teacher says, "Change!" Students draw a
new card and begin a new conversation for two minutes. Continue through the deck
distributed to each pair/group.
In warm up activities, the teacher shouldn't worry about
mistakes by the students. They may not have spoken English
for several days, a week, or even longer. As a result, even
stronger students may make slips with well-known grammar and
vocabulary. Give the class the chance to get the English wheels turning.
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Students guess their partner's answer to a question in What Wil l
Your Partner Say? This activity not only provides opportunities for
improved accuracy and fluency, but it also serves as an activity that
builds camaraderie. As such, it proves especially beneficial early in
the course when students don't know one another.
Students get into pairs and introduce themselves. The teacher should
allot about five minutes for students to talk about their hobbies, interests, jobs, etc.
With lower-level students, some direct questions may provide the guidance needed
to successfully talk for several minutes.
Note: If students already know one another, then this step may be ignored.
The teacher distributes two question cards to each student. Students
read the questions, understand the questions, and think of an answer that their
partner will likely give. The teacher may allot two minutes here.
Student A reads one question aloud. He also provides the answer he
believes his partner will give.
Student B now provides his answer to the question. The pairs can
compare what was right and what was wrong with the initial guess. Intermediate
and advanced students can also engage in a short discussion, thereby adding more
information and detail to the conversation.
Students switch roles and repeat through the cards.
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This activity works well with topics that provide opportunities for rich,
extended discussions. For example, because little conversation can
ensue, a poor question would be: What's your name? A good
question with a lot of follow-up opportunities would be: What do you
want to do in the future? It's recommended that the teacher go
through the deck of cards to select the best questions.
The teacher places students in pairs or groups of three to four. The
larger the group, the more time the activity requires because everyone must
participate in the conversation.
The teacher next distributes three cards to each pair/group. The
cards should be face up, as the students will work at their own pace and focus only
on the questions they find interesting. As a variation, the teacher may select three
questions beforehand and write these on the board, in which case the whole class
talks about the same topics. Ten minutes are allotted for the conversations.
Students select which question to discuss first. They talk only as longas the conversation interests them and then move on to the next question. If a
pair/group talks for ten minutes on one of the questions, that's great. If another
pair/group has three different conversations based on the three cards, that's great
too. The sole requirement of this activity should focus on how much speaking takes
place. All pairs/groups must talk for the full ten minutes, with no pair/group finishing
early.
A class of weaker students may spend twenty or
thirty seconds putting together a follow-up question.
To limit these long pauses, first select a question and
write it on the board. Elicit possible follow-up questions from
students, either individually or in pairs. Write these on the
board so students now have a few ideas when they get stuck.
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The following is the complete list of questions from the Chatter Cards. The questions
the follow work best with lower-level students.
11:: Who is your best friend? Why?
22:: How tall are you?
33:: Is there anything special you like to do in the winter?
44:: Do you make friends easily? Why/not?
55:: Is there anything special you like to do in the summer?
66:: What time do you usually leave your house in the morning?
77:: What school subject do/did you like the least?
88:: Can you say the alphabet backwards?
99:: How many nieces, nephews, or cousins do you have?
1100:: Which holiday do you like the most?
1111:: Did you have any pets when you were younger? If yes, what were their names?
1122:: Do you have any pets now? If yes, what kind of pets do you have?
1133:: What kind of days do you like? What do you usually do on those days?
1144:: What kind of days do you dislike? What do you usually do on those days?
1155:: How often do you exercise? Is this too much or too little?
1166:: Who do you look like more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so?1177:: Who do you take after more, your mom or your dad? Why do you think so?
1188:: Which weighs more, a kilogram of cotton or a kilogram of gold?
1199:: What color are your socks?
2200:: Are you a shy person? Please explain.
2211:: Have you ever stayed up all night? If yes, when? Why?
2222:: Have you ever lived overseas? If yes, when? Where?
2233:: How many days are there in a year?
2244:: What's today's date?2255:: Are you a boring person? Please explain.
2266:: Do you like English? Why/not?
2277:: Which do you like better, the morning, the afternoon, or the night? Why?
2288:: What day is it today?
2299:: What are the days of the week?
3300:: What are the months of the year?
3311:: What year is it?
3322:: Have you ever stolen something? If yes, what did you steal?
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3333:: What's your favorite ice-cream flavor?
3344:: What's your favorite video game? Why?
3355:: What dessert do you dislike? Why?
3366:: What's your favorite food?
3377:: How are you?
3388:: Where are you from?
3399:: Who is older, your mom or your dad? How old are they?
4400:: Have you ever eaten something really strange? If yes, what did you eat?
4411:: Is there an animal that you don't like very much? If yes, what is it?
4422:: What color is your dad's car?
4433:: What do you want to do in the future?
4444:: Do you often wear make up? Why/not?
4455:: Which do you like the least, the morning, the afternoon, or the night? Why?
4466:: What do you usually do on your days off?
4477:: What do you usually do on cold, rainy days?
4488:: What time do you usually go to bed?
4499:: What did you do the day before yesterday?
5500:: What time is it now?
5511:: Are you a heavy or a light sleeper?
5522:: Do you usually remember your dreams?
5533:: What is your favorite color?5544:: What is your favorite animal? Why do you like it?
5555:: Which do you like more, beef, chicken, or fish?
5566:: Which do you like more, pasta or hamburgers? Why?
5577:: Which do you prefer, trains or buses? Why?
5588:: How many brothers and sisters do you have? Tell a little about them.
5599:: What month is it next month? Do you have any special plans?
6600:: How many people are there in your family? Tell a little about each person.
6611:: When was the last time you went to the doctor's office?6622:: When is your birthday?
6633:: Which do you like more, Math, Science, or English? Why?
6644:: Which do you like more, frogs, snakes, or lizards?
6655:: What are your hobbies? Why do you like to do these things?
6666:: What's your favorite sport? Why do you like it so much?
6677:: What do you want to do after you retire?
6688:: How old was your father when you were born? How about your mother?
6699:: Have you ever swum in the ocean?
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7700:: What school subject do/did you like the most?
7711:: What time do you usually get home at night?
7722:: Which do you prefer, spring or fall? Why?
7733:: How much do you weigh?
7744:: What was the last thing that you bought? Why did you buy it?
7755:: Which do you prefer, summer or winter?
7766:: Are you a messy person? Please explain.
7777:: Please describe your hometown.
7788:: Please describe the country you're from.
7799:: Does your country have a special dish? If yes, what is it?
8800:: What is the day after tomorrow? Do you have any plans?
8811:: Have you ever climbed a mountain?
8822:: Where do you want to go in the future?
8833:: Which weighs more, ten pounds of salt or ten pounds of sugar?
8844:: What time do you usually wake up?
8855:: Do you like green peppers?
8866:: How old are you?
8877:: When was the last time you went to the dentist's office?
8888:: When was the last time you went shopping for new clothes? What did you buy?
8899:: When was the last time you made a big mistake? What happened?
9900:: Do you like spicy food? Why/not?9911:: When was the last time you went to see a movie? What did you see?
9922:: When was the last time you flew in a plane? Where did you go?
9933:: Do you have a special dish that you can cook well? If yes, what is it?
9944:: When was the last time you talked to your parents?
9955:: Which do you prefer, dogs or cats? Why?
9966:: Do you like raw fish? Why/not?
9977:: What food do you hate the most? Why do you hate it?
9988:: Which do you enjoy more, watching sports or playing sports? Is there a reason?9999:: Where do you want to live in the future? Why?
110000:: Do you have a boy/girlfriend or husband/wife? If yes, how did you meet?
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The following is the complete list of questions from the Question Cards. The
questions are best used for upper-level students.
11:: If you could play one musical instrument professionally, what instrument would
you want to play? Why?
22:: If you could call anyone in the world, who would you call? What would you talk
about?
33:: What adjective would you use to describe your first kiss?
44:: What adjective would you use to describe a recurring dream?
55:: What advice would you give to someone just starting to learn English?
66:: You can "unknow" something that you now know. What is it?
77:: You have one supernatural ability. What is it?
88:: If you could rid your family of one thing, what would it be? Why?
99:: You have the chance to make a new law. What is the law about? How does it
affect people?
1100:: Would you ever consider starting your own company one day? Why/not?
1111:: Would you ever consider volunteering in a needy or impoverished country?
Why/not?
1122:: Would you ever donate $10,000 to a charity? Why/not?1133:: If you could change your birthday to a different month, when would you like to
celebrate it? Why?
1144:: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why would you
want to go there?
1155:: You plan to repaint the outside of your house. What color do you decide to paint
it, besides white? Why this color?
1166:: Someone gives you a brick of gold. What do you do with it?
1177:: What is the most beautiful place you have ever visited? Why was it so beautiful?1188:: If you had to be homeless for a year, in what country would you prefer to be
homeless? Why?
1199:: If you could have any animal for a pet, what animal would you choose? What
would you name it?
2200:: If you were suddenly to lose one of your five senses, which would make your life
the most difficult? Why do you think so?
2211:: If you could add a thirteenth month to the calendar, where would you put it?
What would you call it?
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2222:: In your life, what emotion would you like to get rid of? Why?
2233:: Who's the smartest person you have ever met? Why was he/she so intelligent?
2244:: Who's the most ignorant person you have ever met? Why was he/she so stupid?
2255:: If you could have one wish, what would you wish for? Why?
2266:: Who's the kindest person you have ever met? What made him/her so kind?
2277:: What makes you the angriest? Please explain.
2288:: What makes you the saddest? Please explain.
2299:: If you could give your parents one gift, what would you give them? Why?
3300:: You decide to get a tattoo. What design do you choose? Why?
3311:: You have the chance to become a citizen of another country. What country do
you choose? Why?
3322:: Which season would you eliminate permanently? Why?
3333:: Have you ever come close to dying? If yes, what happened?
3344:: What is the best song ever written? Why do you think so?
3355:: If you could arrest anyone and put them in jail for any reason, who would it be?
Why?
3366:: What advice would you give to a high school student about to graduate?
3377:: What would the most difficult job in the world be for you? Why do you think so?
3388:: If you could marry someone famous, whom would you choose?
3399:: Could you marry for money rather than love? Why/not?
4400:: You have the time and money to travel anywhere in the world. Where do yougo?
4411:: What is the worst job in the world? Why do you think so?
4422:: For two minutes, brainstorm as many words as possible about politicians.
4433:: If you could spend the next fifty years relaxing at home, would you want to?
Why/not?
4444:: If you had the opportunity to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
4455:: You just won the lottery! What is the first thing that you do?
4466:: Would you want a spouse who was both smarter and more attractive than you?Why/not?
4477:: If you sold your soul for something, what would it be for? Why?
4488:: Is there such a thing as "a good death?" Why/not?
4499:: If you could live forever, would you want to? Why/not?
5500:: Tell about a time when a stranger helped you.
5511:: If you could have any number of siblings, how many would you want to have? Of
what gender?
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5522:: If you had to eat one kind of food every day for the rest of your life, what food
would be impossible to stomach?
5533:: Would you want to be omniscient? Why/not?
5544:: You have enough money to buy any building in the world. What building will you
buy?
5555:: How concerned are you about the environment? Why?
5566:: How concerned are you about war? Why?
5577:: For two minutes, brainstorm as many words as possible about friends.
5588:: What is the best job in the world? Why do you think so?
5599:: For two minutes, brainstorm as many words about education as possible.
6600:: Which is more important, how you were raised (nurture) or who raised you
(nature)? Why?
6611:: Which is more important, intelligence or experience? Why?
6622:: If you read one book per day for a year, would it be the equivalent of four years
at a university? Why/not?
6633:: Would you want to become an English teacher? Why/not?
6644:: Some people amass millions of dollars in their lives. Would you consider them
successful? Why/not?
6655:: Who is the most disgusting person you have ever met? What made him/her so
disgusting?
6666:: Some people vagabond around the world for twenty years or more. Would youwant to do this? Why/not?
6677:: If you could live in a different era, when would you want to live? Why?
6688:: If you could travel in time, would you prefer to visit the past or the future? Why?
6699:: Could you fall in love with someone you found physically repulsive? Why/not?
7700:: Which is more important in a boy/girlfriend, physical appearance or personality?
Why?
7711:: Do you believe that opposites attract? Why/not?
7722:: If you could change your first name, what would it be? Why did you choose thisname?
7733:: If you could change your last name, what would it be? Why did you choose this
name?
7744:: How does a person's name influence his/her character or personality?
7755:: What other language would you like to speak fluently? Why?
7766:: If you could commit a crime and not get caught, what crime would you commit?
Why?
7777:: What color best describes your personality? Why do you think so?
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These conversation cards have been designed with a front (the picture) and a back
(the question). When preparing the materials, its recommended that each card be
folded and taped. For long-term use, laminate the cards.
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Heads Up English
Who is yourbest friend? Why?
How tall are you?
Is there anythingspecial you like
to do in the winter?
Do you make friendseasily? Why/not?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Is there anythingspecial you like to
do in the summer?
What time do you
usually leave yourhouse in themorning?
What schoolsubject do/did
you like the least?
Can you say thealphabet backwards?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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How many nieces,nephews, or cousins
do you have?
Which holidaydo you like the most?
Do you have anypets now? If yes,
what kind of pets doyou have?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Did you have any petswhen you were
younger? If yes, whatwere their names?
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What kind of daysdo you like? What do
you usually do on
those days?
What kind of days
do you dislike? Whatdo you usually doon those days?
How often do youexercise? Is this toomuch or too little?
Who do you look likemore, your mom or
your dad? Why do youthink so?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Who do you take aftermore, your mom or
your dad? Why do you
think so?
Which weighs more, a
kilogram of cotton or akilogram of gold?
What color areyour socks?
Are you a shy person?Please explain.
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Have you ever stayedup all night? If yes,
when? Why?
Have you ever
lived overseas?If yes, when? Where?
How many daysare there in a year?
What's today's date?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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What are the daysof the week?
What are the monthsof the year?
What year is it?
Have you ever stolensomething? If yes,what did you steal?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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What's your favoriteice-cream flavor?
What's your favoritevideo game? Why?
What dessert doyou dislike? Why?
What's yourfavorite food?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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How are you?
Where are you from?
Who is older, yourmom or your dad?How old are they?
Have you ever eatensomething really
strange? If yes, whatdid you eat?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Is there an animalthat you don't likevery much? If yes,
what is it?
What color is yourdad's car?
What do you want todo in the future?
Do you often wearmake up? Why/not?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Which do you like theleast, the morning, the
afternoon, or the
night? Why?
What do you usuallydo on your days off?
What do you usuallydo on cold, rainy
days?
What time do youusually go to bed?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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What month is it nextmonth? Do you haveany special plans?
How many people arethere in your family?
Tell a little about eachperson.
How many brothers
and sisters do youhave? Tell a little aboutthem.
Which do you prefer,trains or buses? Why?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Which do you likemore, Math, Science,
or English? Why?
Which do you likemore, frogs, snakes, or
lizards?
When is your birthday?
When was the lasttime you went to the
doctors office?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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What do you want todo after you retire?
How old was yourfather when you wereborn? How about your
mother?
Whats your favorite
sport? Why do you likeit so much?
What are yourhobbies? Why do you
like to do these things?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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What time do youusually get home at
night?
Which do you prefer,spring or fall? Why?
What school subject
do/did you like themost? Why?
Have you ever swumin the ocean?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Which do youprefer, summer or
winter?
Are you a messyperson? Please
explain.
What was the last
thing that you bought?Why did you buy it?
How much do youweigh?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Does your countryhave a special dish? If
yes, what is it?
What is the day aftertomorrow? Do youhave any plans?
Please describe thecountry youre from.
Please describe yourhometown.
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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Which weighs more,ten pounds of salt orten pounds of sugar?
What time do youusually wake up?
Where do you want togo in the future?
Have you ever climbeda mountain?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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When was the lasttime you went to the
dentists office?
When was the lasttime you went
shopping for newclothes? What did you
buy?
How old are you?
Do you like greenpeppers?
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
Heads Up English
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When was the lasttime you went to see amovie? What did you
see?
When was the lasttime you flew in a
plane? Where did yougo?
Do you like spicyfood? Why/not?
When was the lasttime you made a big
mistake? What
happened?
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Which do you prefer,dogs or cats? Why?
Do you like raw fish?Why/not?
When was the last
time you talked withyour parents?
Do you have a specialdish that you can cook
well? If yes, what is it?
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Which do you enjoy
more, watching sportsor playing sports? Isthere a reason?
What food do you hatethe most? Why do you
hate it?
Where do you want tolive in the future?
Why?
Do you have aboy/girlfriend or
husband/wife? If yes,how did you meet?
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If you could call anyone
in the world, who wouldyou call? What wouldyou talk about?
What adjective wouldyou use to describe your
first kiss?
What adjective wouldyou use to describe a
recurring dream?
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If you could play onemusical instrumentprofessionally, what
instrument would youwant to play? Why?Heads Up English
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What advice would yougive to someone just
starting to learn English?
You can "unknow"
something you now know.What is it?
You have onesupernatural ability.
What is it?
If you could rid yourfamily of one thing, what
would it be? Why?
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You have the chance tomake a new law. What is
the law about? How
does it affect people?
Would you ever consider
starting your owncompany one day?Why/not?
Would you ever considervolunteering in a needy
or impoverishedcountry? Why/not?
Would you ever donate$10,000 to a charity?
Why/not?
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If you could change yourbirthday to a different
month, when would you
like to celebrate it? Why?
If you could visitanywhere in the world,
where would you go?Why would you want to
go there?
You plan to repaint the
outside of your house.What color do youdecide to paint it,
besides white? Why thiscolor?
Someone gives you abrick of gold. What do
you do with it?
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What is the mostbeautiful place you haveever visited? Why was it
so beautiful?
If you had to behomeless for a year, in
what country would youprefer to be homeless?
Why?
If you could have anyanimal for a pet, whatanimal would you
choose? What would youname it?
If you were suddenly tolose one of your fivesenses, which would
make your life the mostdifficult? Why do you
think so?Heads Up English
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If you could add athirteenth month to thecalendar, where would
you put it? What wouldyou call it?
In your life, what emotion
would you like to get ridof? Why?
Who's the smartestperson you have ever
met? Why was he/she sointelligent?
Who's the most ignorantperson you have ever
met? Why was he/she sostupid?
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If you could have onewish, what would you
wish for? Why?
Who's the kindest
person you have evermet? What madehim/her so kind?
What makes you theangriest? Please explain.
What makes you thesaddest? Please explain.
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If you could give yourparents one gift, whatwould you give them?
Why?
You decide to get a
tattoo. What design doyou choose? Why?
You have the chance tobecome a citizen ofanother country. What
country do you choose?Why?
Which season would youeliminate permanently?
Why?
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Have you ever comeclose to dying? If yes,
what happened?
What is the best song
ever written? Why doyou think so?
If you could arrestanyone and put them injail for any reason, who
would it be? Why?
What advice would yougive to a high school
student about tograduate?
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What would the mostdifficult job in the worldbe for you? Why do you
think so?
If you could marry
someone famous, whomwould you choose?Why?
Could you ever marry formoney rather than love?
Why/not?
You have the time andmoney to travel
anywhere in the world.Where do you go?
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What is the worst job inthe world? Why do you
think so?
For two minutes,
brainstorm as manywords as possible aboutpoliticians.
If you could spend thenext fifty years relaxing
at home, would you wantto? Why/not?
If you had theopportunity to renameyour hometown, what
would you call it?
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You just won the lottery!What is the first thing
you do?
Would you want aspouse who was both
smarter and moreattractive than you?
Why/not?
If you sold your soul forsomething, what would it
be for? Why?
Is there such a thing as a"good death?"
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If you could live forever,would you want to?
Why/not?
Tell about a time astranger helped you.
If you could have anynumber of siblings, howmany would you want tohave? Of what gender?
If you had to eat onekind of food every dayfor the rest of your life,
what food would be
impossible to stomach?Heads Up English
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Would you want to beomniscient? Why/not?
You have enough money
to buy any building in theworld. What building willyou buy?
How concerned are youabout the environment?
Why?
How concerned are youabout war? Why?
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For two minutes,brainstorm as many
words as possible about
friends.
What is the best job in
the world? Why do youthink so?
For two minutes,brainstorm as many
words about educationas possible.
Which is more important,how you were raised
(nurture) or who raisedyou (nature)? Why do
you think so?Heads Up English
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Which is more important,intelligence or
experience? Why?
If you read one book perday for a year, would it
be the equivalent of fouryears at a university?
Why/not?
Would you want tobecome an Englishteacher? Why/not?
Some people amassmillions of dollars in their
lives. Would youconsider them
successful? Why/not?Heads Up English
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Who is the mostdisgusting person youhave ever met? What
made him/her sodisgusting?
Some people vagabondaround the world for
twenty years or more.Would you want to do
this? Why/not?
If you could live in adifferent era, when would
you want to live?
If you could travel in time,would you prefer to visitthe past or the future?
Why?
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Could you fall in lovewith someone you found
physically repulsive?
Why/not?
Which is more important
in a boy/girlfriend,physical appearance orpersonality? Why?
Do you believe thatopposites attract?
Why/not?
If you could change yourfirst name, what would itbe? Why did you choose
this name?
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If you could change yourlast name, what would itbe? Why did you choose
this name?
How does a person's
name influence his/hercharacter or personality?Please explain.
What other languagewould you like to speak
fluently?
If you could commit acrime and not get caught,
what crime would youcommit? Why?
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What color bestdescribes your
personality? Why do you
think so?
Would you consider
yourself a worrier? If yes,what do you generallyworry about?
Would you consideryourself an optimist or a
pessimist? Why?
What is a mentor? Haveyou ever had a mentor?Could you ever mentor
someone?
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What kind of socialproblems does the world
face today? What can
you do to help?
What goals do you havein life?
Is it better to have triedsomething difficult and
failed than to never havetried it? Why/not?
Would you eat a wormfor $1000? Why/not?
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What is the mostoutrageous thing youwould do for $1000?
How about $10,000?How about $1,000,000?
What would you do if
God were proven toexist? Please explain.
Would you consideryourself a well-mannered
person? Why/not?
What drives you up thewall?
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If you could date acelebrity, who would you
want to date? Please
explain.
If you could marry a
celebrity, who would youwant to marry? Pleaseexplain.
Who is the coolestperson you have ever
met? Why was he/she socool?
If you found $1,000,000in a suitcase in a park,
what would you do?Please explain.
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What would you do with$1,000,000? If you hadto spend all the money
within twenty-four hours,
how would you answerchange?
Do you have any regretsin life so far? If yes, what
are they? If no, is there aparticular reason you are
free of regrets?
What would you do ifyour boss asked you to
take a 25% pay cut?Please explain.
If you caught your bossstealing important
documents from theoffice, what would you
do? Please explain.Heads Up English
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Could you ever considerblackmailing a person?
Would you consider
yourself a leader or afollower? Why?
If you could have been
responsible for oneinvention in the history ofhumankind, what would
you have wanted toinvent? Why?
Do you believe in
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