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ESL Conversation Lessons

Building connection through conversation

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    • to practice a grammar point
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    • to practice a grammar point
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  • Question of the day
  • Advice and anecdotes

    What was your best/worst first date?

    December 3, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    Get your students to tell you about some of the best and worst first dates.

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  • Lessons - Uncategorized

    Feeling sick? What do you have?

    October 13, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    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…

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  • Advice and anecdotes

    Grammar in a spoonful of sugar anyone?

    September 12, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    3 tips to nail your grammar lessons When you say the word grammar, does your class suddenly give you the blank stare of death? Or perhaps you have a more mature class and they become overly focused on rules and lose sight of the communication goal of language. Whatever the…

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  • Question of the day

    13 resources for ice-breaker questions

    August 22, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    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…

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  • Uncategorized

    What should I wear today?

    August 17, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    3 great sites to role-play shopping for clothes I don’t know about you, but I love getting dressed in the morning. I know, not everyone does, but I do. In fact, there is a whole other version of me in a multiverse somewhere who is a fashion stylist. I love…

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  • Question of the day

    What does your day look like in pictures?

    July 21, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    Challenge your student to take pictures of a day in their lives. Eating, travelling, working, whatever makes up their day. Then you can do a series of “show and tells” with the photos. To make the activity even more engaging, I always suggest that the listeners should think of one…

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  • Question of the day

    Is too much choice making us unhappy?

    March 14, 2023 - By lucelmartel

    Level: B2, C1 Language focus: modal auxiliaries, expressing opinions, questions Exercise: Discussion questions in the post Media: video As a parent, I find I am sometimes in a sad little loop of not feeling good enough, looking for parenting advice, then trying that advice and being exhausted by the amount…

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  • Lessons - Question of the day

    Why do we lie?

    August 17, 2022 - By lucelmartel

    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,…

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  • Lessons

    So many possibilities…I may I might

    July 5, 2022 - By lucelmartel

    I am an avid visualizer. I love hypothetical dreaming. I test out lessons, see possible problems, and think of fun ways to connect the classroom to reality. It’s like a constant mini-movie up there. I don’t just visualize lessons, I play out conversations, memories, happy places etc… Our ability to…

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  • Question of the day

    How do you ask for a raise?

    June 21, 2022 - By lucelmartel

    Level: B1, B2, C1 Discussion questions in the post Language focus: personal caracteristics, money, work tasks Media: video Life changes. And more specifically, it gets more expensive. Yet sometimes it can take time for your employer to catch up. So how can you tackle the prickly question of asking for…

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About Me

Mélanie L. Sisley

B.Ed. TESL, M.A.Educational Studies

My name is Mélanie. I have been working in the field of education and computer-assisted learning for 25 years. I have taught ESL to children, teens and adults. Conversation is my favourite part of teaching ESL. I am happy to share the resources I have been using to get people talking, build fluency and make connections.



Follow me on Instragram @melanielsisley

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