Anthony Page has been living in Japan for nearly 30 years and currently resides in Tokyo, where he holds teaching positions at a number of universities. When he is not busy with his work, Anthony enjoys spending time with his family, walking and reading.

Mark Stoneburgh is currently a professor at Institute of Science Tokyo. When not busy with teaching and teacher training, Mark volunteers his time to animal rescue. 

Introduction

Conversation is one of the most important ESL skills a student can have. It employs and enhances a host of other skills, such as listening, vocabulary, grammar, developing responses, and critical thinking. Students crave this practical English skill as it allows them to engage and communicate, which is the very reason most students are learning the language in the first place. Unfortunately, in Japan, students on the whole are sorely lacking in this very important department. There are numerous reasons for this, but perhaps the main one is lack of practice. The following is a simple conversation worksheet that aims to get the students to utilize much of what they already know, while at the same time introducing new vocabulary, expressions, grammar, etc., with context and practical usage.

Class outline

1 Warm up: (brainstorming) activity

2 Pair work with general questions about food and dining out

3 Extension exercise: interactive food survey

4 Class review (quiz)

Class note

At the beginning of class, the teacher should put the students into pairs, preferably with students who have not been partners before.

1 Brainstorming activity

With their partners, have the students (together) brainstorm and write down at least 7 words that spring to mind when they think of the word ‘food.’ If they have trouble coming up with the English word, tell them they can use their dictionaries.

A good thing to do to confirm understanding and get things going is to first write the word ‘food’ on the board and explain that there are no wrong answers. It could be any type of word: noun, verb, adjective, etc. Start things off by writing any food related word (such as ‘tasty’) on the board and point to a student to elicit a response. The student might say, “cake.” Point to another student and that student might say, “cook.” Tell the students they have 5 minutes to complete the exercise. Throughout the activity, walk around the room and engage the students on a more personal, one-on-one level.

This activity is a wonderful way to kick off the lesson because it immediately has the students working together while focusing on the topic of the lesson, it’s fun, and it’s easy. The students will either be busily discussing particular words, or be discovering new words together with their dictionaries. After the time is up, tell the pairs to choose one answer and go around to each pair and have them announce it to the class. Encourage them to try not to repeat words already taken and write their responses on the board. This is also a surefire way to ‘organically’ introduce new vocabulary to the class.

2 Food questions

Have students discuss the conversation questions on their worksheet.

Class note: It is important for students to know how to ask follow-up questions, know how to expand on their answers, and be ready to illustrate them with details and examples. I find that to ensure the students understand what you are expecting, it is best to model a question. Prompt a random student in the class to ask you the first question, “What is your favorite food?” I would say, “Sushi, especially salmon.” I would then ask the class if anybody could think of a follow-up question to my answer. A student may raise their hand and perhaps ask, “What kind of salmon?” I would then say, “Toro-salmon. But I only eat that on special occasions because it’s expensive.” By doing this simple ‘pre exercise’ exercise,  you are setting the bar higher with more defined expectations and encouraging the students to not only answer the questions, but to make that important leap towards truer and more effective communication (the lesson’s objective.)

For the lower level students, it may be a good idea to go over each question to confirm understanding and give model answers for each.

1. What is your favorite food?
2. What food do you dislike?
3. What’s the strangest food you have ever eaten?
4. What is your favorite restaurant?
5. Do you prefer to eat Japanese food or Western food?
6. Do you think your diet is healthy?

Give the students 10 or 15 minutes to complete the task. Dictionaries are allowed because there’s lots of new vocabulary to be found, but downplay the need for ‘perfect’ grammar and instead emphasize the importance of fluency and communication.  During this task the teacher should walk around and monitor. These types of exercises in particular are an excellent opportunity for the teacher to engage with the students one-on-one, which is not only vital to check for understanding, but it allows the teacher to more thoroughly gauge individual student’s strong and weak points and at the same time to bond with them on a personal level.

At the end of the activity, go through each question as a class. For example, for question 2, you might have all the students stand up at once and then instruct each one of them to take turns answering the question and then sit down. You could also encourage the other students to ask one or two follow-up questions before they are allowed to sit down. If class size is too large, (say over 20,) you could simply throw in random parameters such as, “All students born in winter stand up,” or, “All students who have an android smart phone stand up,” or, “All students wearing glasses stand up,” etc. The exercise is fun and utilizes the lesson’s objectives of engaging the students in more meaningful and evolved conversations.

3 Extension exercise: Food Survey

Have the students stand up and find a new partner. Give the students about 4 or 5 minutes and then have them change partners again. Then repeat the exercise. Explain to the students that the focus is not on completing all the questions, but rather to concentrate on engaging in meaningful conversation. Emphasize the use of follow-up questions through illustrated answers.

How often do you….

1. eat French fries?
2. eat chocolate?
3. eat fruit?
4. eat vegetables?
5. eat fish?
6. eat at a fast food restaurant?
7. miss breakfast?
8. eat with your family?

Once the activity is finished, have the students sit down and share information about the other students with the rest of the class. For example, “Mariko’s favorite chocolate bar is snickers,” or, “Shuto doesn’t like fish.”

4 Review (quiz)

A fun and very constructive activity I employ in my conversation classes is a general review at the end of the lesson. This review comes in the form of a quiz and could include anything that comes up in that particular class. For example, for the topic of ‘food,’ vocabulary such as ‘scrumptious,’ ‘smorgasbord,’ or ‘pricey’ might arise, as well as new phrases such as ‘I’m starving,’ or ‘I’m stuffed.’ Also, new information, such as ‘31 Ice Cream’s’ Western name being ‘Baskin Robbin’s,’ or ‘shu cream’s’ being ‘cream puff,’ may be mentioned. In addition, information the class has learned about individual students may arise. For example, “What is Mariko’s favorite type of chocolate bar?” “Snickers.”

I ask a question to the class and the first student to tap their table is given the chance to answer. If the student answers correctly, their name is put on the board and they get a point. The student with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. Such an activity not only acts as fantastic general review of the class, but it is fun and engaging. Perhaps most constructive of all though is that it motivates students to stay more focused, actively listen, and take better notes during class because they are aware that any lesson point or information covered in the class is a possible question for the review quiz.

Student’s  worksheet

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