Building connection through conversation
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…
I recently read the book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. In the book, the main character visits a library in a parallel dimension where each book represents one of her possible lives…should she have made different choices. The journey takes us into multiple different versions of this character, Nora…
Let’s talk about gratefulness: the good, the bad and the ugly. 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…
I know, I know…it’s a cliché to talk about New Year’s resolutions in January, but I think it still makes for a good introspective discussion. And if you angle it right, you are creating a great natural context to use the past and future tense. Did you know that January…
Level: B2, C1 Questions embeded in the activity Language focus: adjectives, descriptors, personal traits Media: interactive quiz (reading) How would you describe yourself? Tell us about you? Why hire you rather than someone else? Could you tell the class a few things about yourself? From job interviews to cocktail parties,…
In my experience as a second language teacher, I can’t tell you how many times I have come across people who tell me “I learnt Spanish with Pedro Almodovar movies”, or “I learnt English watching Friends“. Some people have this uncanny superpower of learning a complex interactive communication system such…
I know, I know, pretty cheesy. But if there is one thing I learnt from teaching overseas, the television series Friends is everywhere. So if you need a relaxing frivolous lesson, here it is. Pre discussion Which Friends character do you relate to most? Which is your least favourite and why? What…
Level: B2-C1 Discussion questions included in the post Media: Video Language focus: jobs, hypotheticals, modals Do you have a job or a mission? Celeste Headlee, a trained opera singer turned radio show host, has some rather interesting insight to share about the difference between a job and a mission. She…
Would you rather text or email than talk? It’s just so easy. I don’t have to interrupt anyone, I can write while I’m in the moment, I don’t have to hold anything in my memory, I don’t even have to wait my turn to talk. When the thought appears, I…
Need a good question to break the ice? I got you covered. I’m sure you have experienced it. First day of ESL class, you plan an icebreaker activity, launch the question and you get the dreaded silent stares. What do you do, let them stew with the question and stand…
