Lessons | ESL Conversation Lessons

What helps you feel brighter during the darkest, coldest months of the year?

Picture a fireplace roaring, the smell of baked goods in the kitchen, music in the background, a hot beverage, or a little cocktail–you can’t help feeling the warm fuzzies, can you? These are classic soul-lifting ingredients.

Did you know that this is also the basic theme of the Winter Solstice and even the root of many Christmas traditions? After years as an ESL teacher, I find this time of year is sometimes a little tricky to talk about in class. Christmas is exploding everywhere, but not for everyone. That’s why I prefer to introduce the holiday season through its precursor: the Winter Solstice.

Warmth and Light for Everyone

The Winter Solstice is one of the most universal celebrations in the world — and one of the easiest for ESL students to connect to, no matter their cultural or religious background. What makes it so rich for class discussion is that it’s a non-denominational event based on nature, not religion. The days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, and it can get a little depressing when the sun goes down at 4:00 p.m. We need a collective “pick-me-up” do you think?

How to we do this? We respond to this darkness in similar ways across the world: we decorate with lights, share food, exchange gifts, listen to music, and gather with people we love. These traditions help us feel hope and joy during a cold and difficult time of year.

The Comfort of Traditions

Many modern celebrations, including Christmas, use symbols that come from ancient solstice traditions. For example, decorating trees with lights, sharing meals, and giving gifts are always to bring light into the darkness — both literally and emotionally.

If you want to discuss traditions with your students, I found this interesting article in Reader’s Digest on festive traditions around the world. Then I suggest you open the discussion with some traditions your students might like to share under the umbrella of “Making Spirits Bright.”

Warm up

Mind map some of these words (which are also in the article): darkness, light, hope, feast, tradition, comfort, gather, celebrate, return, gift-giving
Why does giving and receiving gifts make people feel good?
Do you celebrate something in winter?
What helps you feel connected to others?

The article: 15 Fascinating Winter Solstice Traditions Around the World

Discussion Questions

What is the Winter Solstice — why is it significant for many cultures?
Name two different solstice traditions from around the world described in the article. What do people do in those traditions?
Why do many solstice celebrations involve food, family gatherings, or rituals at night or with lights? What might these actions “represent”?
According to the article, how is the solstice connected to some modern holidays (or winter celebrations)?
Which of the solstice traditions you read about would you like to try?
Why is community especially important during the darker, colder months? Is there a downside to getting together?
In your own culture (or family), are there traditions or habits that feel similar to solstice celebrations.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Turn off the lights and get the flashlights out.–it’s time for some ghost stories! When I was a teenager, we used to break out the Ouija board and pretend that spirits were floating around us, trapped in a silent world desperate to make contact. The room would be hushed, someone would stiffle a nervous laugh and furtive glances would dart to see who truly believed and who was just pretending. We’d ask the “Ouija Master” all kinds of crazy questions, haf-convinced that as the glass slid along the board, we were brushing against the world beyond.

To be honest, I’m not sure what I believe when it comes to ghosts, but I do love a good ghost story. So many evenings spent swapping tales of flickering candles, Grandma’s favourite serving dish mysteriously appearing on the table, ghost dogs coming to deliver warnings, and shadows creeping along the walls before vanishing into the corners. Just writing about it is giving me goose bumps.

Here is my suggestion: invite your students to share ghost stories of their own– it can be inspired a real experience or totally invented. Alternatively, have them read this article and summarize one of the 10 real-life ghost stories. Then gather everyone in a circle, turn off the lights, and set the mood by playing a virtual fire on your smartboard or even on a tablet or Chromebook placed in the center. Now let the storytelling begin!

Warm up

Do you believe in ghosts? Why and why not.
Why do you think horror movies and ghost stories are popular?

Article: 10 Scary Ghost Stories to Make You Sleep With the Lights On-(source: USA Today)

Discussion Questions

The article mentions places being “haunted” because of their history or atmosphere. What factors make a place feel haunted? Can you think of a place you know that would fit those factors?
Which type of explanation seemed most convincing to you, and why?
If you were to write your own ghost story (based on the article’s style), what setting would you choose (house, hotel, old forest, etc.) and what would the ghost be trying to say or do?
What lesson(s) do you think a ghost story can teach us (even if we don’t believe in ghosts)?

Happy Halloween everyone!

What is your comfort food?

What is your comfort food? I dare you to NOT think of the answer. Too late? I bet your favourite dish is already in your mind. Maybe you are even seeing a memory or a person attached to this dish. Is it something your mother made when you were sick? Something you eat at Christmas? Is it sweet or salty?

Healthy…probably not

Chances are your comfort food is not too healthy. Right? Generally speaking, comfort foods are hardy, starchy and fatty. All great words that describe food. And that is exactly what you will find in this Insider Food video featuring 20 different people from 20 different cultures describing their comfort food.

But it makes me happy

Food makes people happy, conjures memories, and heals us when we are sick or sad and is often the heart of most celebrations. It is also a super fun thing to talk about. It ties in food, feelings, events and people, thus a nice integrated vocabulary exercise. The perfect Whole Language exercise.

While you listen

This video is chalk-a-block full of vocabulary, so I made a Google docs handout available through Teachers Pay Teachers to help collect the essential ideas. Or you can try this cool interactive worksheet. Of course, if you are working with more advanced students, you might want to ditch the handout and just let the students note what they can. Rember you can turn the CC on and slow down the video.

Pre Discussion

Just to get the food words flowing, do a Mind Map
What is your comfort food?
Why?

The Video: 20 Comfort Foods From around the world

Discussion

Which story did you find the most interesting?
Which dish have you tried?
Which dish would you like to try?
What do most of the dishes have in common?
What were some of the reasons the dishes were considered comforting?

7 types of icebreakers that will get your students laughing, thinking and connecting

The art of asking the perfect question is my own personal Mona Lisa. It is the element in my practice that I am always improving and perfecting. In fact, I even made a little video about some of the cognitive elements involved in questions.

Let go of perfection

Crafting a perfect question takes audience intuition, subject knowledge and most of all genuine curiosity about the result. But getting it right can be a mix of experience, trial and error and just plain luck. Jump in with something you find interesting and see where it takes you.

Have my questions bombed? Oh yes. Have I had the uncomfortably long blank stare? Yep. I have even been asked why on earth I would ask such a boring question. Ouch.

Most of all, when you are ‘on’ and right in the middle of a lesson, you need a certain amount of preparation, as well as have enough spontaneity to roll with the group if they want to go another way.

listen for patterns

It is the simplest yet the most powerful tool to see how articulate and fluid your students are. If you can, try to set an intention for what you listen for. Perhaps you can focus on speaking patterns like verbs, or use of modals, or vocabulary from previous lessons. If you notice mistakes, try to pick the most prevalent pattern and then give it some attention. Or perhaps you notice that the students are incorporating a bunch of previously learned vocabulary–make sure you point it out and praise them.

Question Tag-You’re it!

During the COVID confinement, I taught an online conversation course with about 10 students at a time. To allow everyone to speak, we played a game I called “question-tag”.

Students choose a question from the list and ask another classmate. Then that classmate is “it” and chooses the next question and classmate. Simple concept, but it puts the control in the students’ hands and adds just a touch of suspense to keep people engaged.

Want to play…You can use these 7 types of icebreakers to get going. The questions are meant as a corporate team-building exercise. Thus they are authentic and funny. Let me know how it turns out.

How exactly does gender work?

Books have been written about it, alcohol-based dinners never go without it, and more recently, we are digging into what defines it. Put simply, what are the differences between men and women? This TED talk by biologist Karissa Sanbonmatsu really got my attention. First of all because she presents some of the new discoveries from epigenetics and research in DNA that explain the differences between men and women from a biological perspective. Gotta love science. This lesson is filled with tons of scientific vocabulary to describe how DNA works to create gender differences.

However, here is the twist, Sanbonmatsu, a transgender scientist, also talks about the challenges she faced through her struggle with her own identity. This content is layered and complex. On one hand the objective is to help science-based students become more verbal with DNA related vocabulary–an important corner stone topic for biologists. But beyond that, the speaker pulls in the social challenges of the “old boys club” that exists in the scientific community as well as the very misunderstood transgenderism.

Pre discussion

What are some of the theories you have heard about the differences between men and women?
Do you think there are differences?
What does it mean to be transgender?

The Video: The Biology of Gender

There are really two aspects in this video mashed up together. 1) Sanbonmatsu shares the science of gender. 2) Sanbonmatsu talks about the reactions of her scientific community towards transgenderism.

I would first untangle each aspect.

What does the latest research tell us about gender?
What is the behaviour of our DNA?
How is Sanbonmatsu contributing to a society of tolerance inclusion?
Why does Sanbonmatsu expose the scientific community as being especially hard on her choices?
Do you think there are other social circles where transgenderism is more difficult?
What about less difficult?

I leave you with that for the weekend…have a good one.

Mel

Do you believe in luck?

Level: A1, A2, B1, B2
Handout: Free on TPT

Media: Video
Language focus: emotions, actions, comparisons

Do you believe in luck?

I once introduced one of my girlfriend’s to a boy that seemed to be a good match for her. When I asked if things had worked out, she said no. She said he was nice, but he did not seem to have luck. She said it as if ‘luck’ was something you could be born with.

Is luck something you are born with?

That was such a strange way of looking at luck. It made me realize that this idea can be seen in so many different ways depending on your culture, your beliefs and perhaps your superstitions.

On the one hand, it can open up discussions on gratefulness, positivity and recognizing all the things in our lives that make us feel lucky…our children, our health, various aspects of our lives that make us happy.

Luck and Culture

But luck can also be explored culturally. For instance, in Japanese mythology, the Seven Gods of Luck are believed to have the power to grant luck. Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism, also have gods or figures that are believed to bestow luck. I suppose this means that you can believe in luck like you would believe in god. Or that if you are unlucky, it may be because you don’t deserve luck.

In this wordless animated short by Mike Bidinger & Michelle Kwon called Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou, yet another facet of luck is explored. Jinxy is a walking disaster. Every step he takes is laced with misfortune. He is nervous and unhappy all the time. Conversely, Lou is so lucky she seems bored and unchallenged. I will let you watch to see what happens when the two meet.

Lesson Notes

Warm up

When I taught this lesson, I used this template to collect the answers. Feel free to use it too. It is a free handout on Teacher Pay Teachers. I included the results of our discussion in case you need some ideas to prime your discussion.

Do you think you are lucky?
What makes you feel lucky?
Does your culture have any beliefs or superstitions about luck?

The Video: Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou by Mike Bidinger & Michelle Kwon

Discussion Questions

What actions or events in the movie make the girl (Lou) lucky?
What actions or events make the boy (Jinxy) unlucky?
Why do you think Jinxy is so unlucky? Is there anything in his attitude?
Why do you think Lou is so lucky?
What happens when they meet?
Why does Lou seem unhappy about being lucky?
Do you have any examples in your life where luck was important?
Would you be happy if you were as lucky as Lou?

What’s the weather today?

I love talking about the weather. It is the easiest way to initiate a conversation with a stranger or acquaintance if you need to break the silence. Great for elevator rides, spontaneous waiting time and warm repartee.

It is also a ubiquitous element that can have multiple impacts on our lives. Indeed a rainy day, bright sun, or a snowstorm will change how we dress, the meals we eat, the activities we plan and perhaps how we get to work. Personally, I check the weather every morning because I take my bike to work–even in winter.

Moreover, I find weather phenomena fascinating. Tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, nature has a way of reminding us who is really in control. Beautiful, powerful, terrifying the planet is a person. She breathes, she aches and she speaks. Are we listening?

This particular discussion lesson goes from general to scientific to silly. The objective is to elicit the vocabulary around a familiar topic and add a level of complexity with either the science behind weather or weather-related expressions. I just couldn’t choose, so I put everything.

Pre discussion

What are the different types of weather or climates you can name?
What affects the weather?
How does the weather make you feel? When it rains, when it is sunny when the snow falls…
How do you use the weather forecast?
What activities do you do in spring, summer, fall and winter?
What are the seasons like in your country?

Option 1: The Video: The Science of Weather

Divide the video into 2 or 3 segments and do a Tell Back of the main themes and words
How do meteorologists sort through information, identify trends, and make predictions?
Why do they often get it wrong?
Why is it important to predict the weather?

Option 2: Weather idioms

For this, I made a handout and some flashcards. They are on Teachers Pay Teachers TPT. Click to see the handout.

What makes you feel grateful?

Let’s talk about gratefulness: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Level: A2, B1, B2, C1
Text comprehension
Handout 0.99$ on TPT

Language focus: prepositions, vocabulary building
Media: Article and video

Is it me, or does gratefulness seem to be the miracle serum of the millennium? Everywhere I look, someone is singing its praises. Instagram posts, articles, scientific and not-so-scientific, books, shorts, reels, TED talks, you name it, and there’s a gratitude champion behind it. Want to rewire your brain for happiness? Gratefulness. Hoping to live longer, control inflammation, push away degenerative brain afflictions? Gratefulness. It seems to be the miracle balm of our century.

Authenticity vs. Gratefulness

Don’t get me wrong.–I am authentically grateful for many, many things in my life. I have genuine awe for little things, like the poetry of the billowy plumes that float over buildings on cold winter days, the comforting hum of my family bustling around while I’m cooking dinner, my dog’s deep soul-soothing snores, and gossiping with my mother. And of course, the sun–how can you not be grateful for the sun?

But there are days when stress takes the wheel. Days where you watch loved ones slip away into Alzheimer’s, when people say goodbye to their pets, their friends, or–unthinkably–their children. On those days, life can be downright cruel.

And you know what, I think it’s ok to let it suck. To sit with the pain and be human–without the looming guilt of neglecting your gratefulness practice. Life can be heavy and you don’t always have to look for the silver lining.

When the Clouds Move Over

That said–and I think it needed to be said first–when the clouds part and life finds its way to a steady plateau, practicing gratefulness (or as I tend to think of it–hunting silver linings) can truly brighten a day that much more. I also believe in the “practice” of gratefulness much like one practices meditation or yoga. I think we have to make a conscious effort to see the little things that make us feel safe, happy and comforted. Otherwise is it all too easy to see the glass-half-empty version of our lives.

But mostly it is a fairly easy topic to generate thoughts–and discussion.

The lesson that follows features a simple yet insightful article by Positive Psychology. com. I chose it not because I want to turn this blog into a therapeutic resource (except for me), but because I hope you will find the language relatively accessible.

Warm Up

The article features the Iceberg of Gratitude. I would use this as a pre-reading exercise and perhaps do a quick word association.

Read the article: What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important? by Tiffany Sauber Millacci, Ph.D.

You can download the Teachers Pay Teachers handout for comprehension questions, or simply use these discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

Why do you think some people feel disappointed instead of grateful?
How can gratitude make life better for you?
What is one thing you have that you consider a blessing?
Why is practicing gratitude difficult for some people?
Why do you think some people feel disappointed instead of grateful?
What are different ways you can express gratitude?

Feeling sick? What do you have?

It’s fall and the viruses are running amok. As I type these lines, I am sitting in bed, with my weekend pj’s, a box of tissues and a cup of tea at arm’s length…humph! What are my symptoms you ask? I am sneezing, I have a runny nose, I have a dry cough, I feel tired and I am congested. All expressions we only use once in a while but are crucial for a second language speaker to have.

When my daughter was three, she woke up looking pale and feeling awful. As the day went by, she started running a small fever. Normally I would have given her some acetaminophen and kept her quiet. But when my little teary girl put her hands around her collar and told me that her neck hurt, I immediately thought of meningitis. I went into full mommy panic mode and no sooner had I put her little coat on than we were in the emergency room. Once we saw the doctor, he deduced that “neck” meant throat in her language. She did not have meningitis, but just a bad cold. My point is, words matter, especially when talking about your health.

Lessons introducing health vocabulary can be interesting because you can pack a lot into them. Given it is a familiar subject in our first language, the task really boils down to having English equivalent to words your students already know–which can feel really satisfying. But if you add some role-playing, you can review yes/no questions, give treatment advice with verbs in the simple present and even learn a thing or two about which symptoms can considered serious or not.

If you are looking for a first-language site to use as a reference or even a role-play launch pad, check out some of my favourite go-tos…

Pharma giant Pfizer has a nice little reference sheet that can be used for a role-play Q&A.
WebMD has symptom checker that can be interesting to play around with
And for advice and recommendations, WebMD has a nice article all headed with verbs.
WebMD also has a simple article on home remedies “that work”

Why do we lie?

Level: B2, C1
Activity: Agree/Disagree on TPT ($0.99)

Language focus: justify/explain a point of view
Media: video

Why do we lie? Notice that I didn’t ask if is lying wrong, or whether you consider honesty important–because in both cases, I’m pretty sure you would agree that the answer is “yes, but…” or “yes, except…”. We all lie, a bit, or a lot. The more interesting question is why.

Consider the extremes. Do you remember the comedy Liar Liar with Jim Carry? In it Carry plays the role of Fletcher Reede, a pathelogical liar who ends up being cursed to tell the truth–all the time. Ugly hairdo, need to lose a couple pounds, bad breath, it all comes flying out of Reede’s mouth and needless to say it gets him into a lot of trouble. But it is also very restorative. It urges Reede to express more vulnerable feelings and gain more trust and loyalty.

So let’s try to unpack the issue. Keeping famous movies as a template, let’s say lying can fall into different categories: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In the Good category, birthday surprises, and hurtful opinions, in the Bad category, making up excuses to miss work or homework, and the Ugly category could contain breaking the law, dark secrets etc.

The point is, how and when we lie can generate an interesting reflection.

Warm up

Do a Mind Map of the Good, Bad, and Ugly lies

The Video: It’s OK to be Smart: Why do we lie?

Discussion

Use the statements in this handout to discuss some of the key elements of the video.