reading | ESL Conversation Lessons

What kind of music improves your mood?

Ever get in the car and suddenly a tune comes on that just takes you right out of your thoughts and makes you break into song? Or perhaps you drift into fantasy land and pump out an awesome guitare solo…leaving you to feel like a master of skill…powerful. Or perhaps you can remember cueing up a classic breakup song and let yourself cry all your tears after a separation.

Yes music can do all that. In fact some studies have shown that music can have profound effects on your brain chemistry and your overall well being.

In this article by Thrive Global Mayo Osin, looks at how music can impact your mood.

Pre discussion

What kind of music do you like?
What music puts you in a good mood?
What music puts you in a bad mood?

The article: The Science of How Music Affects Your Productivity

Do a Mind Map of all the elements and words associated to music, mental health and productivity.
What kind of music enhances productivity? What music reduces productivity? Why?
What are the differences between introverted and extraverted people with regards to music and memory?
What types of music should you listen to?

Are you an introvert, extrovert or ambivert?

Are you an introvert, extrovert or ambivert? You probably already know the answer, but wouldn’t you like to check? Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant shares his psycho-quiz on the TED site, which for us ESL practitioners can be transformed into a fantastic interactive reading exercise. I would suggest you pair up your students and ask them to quiz each other rather than simply have them do it individually.

But before jumping into the exercise I want to tell you why I snagged on this question in the first place. Yes, I like to psycho-analyze stuff with absolutely no authority to do so. And yes I love to use frameworks and patterns to help me understand the world better. But more than that, when it comes to spotting an introvert or extrovert or even knowing myself, I think I have it all wrong.

I recently watched a TED talk given by Brian Little which asks “Who are you really: the puzzle of personality,” in which he presents his framework for classifying personality traits. When he got to the extravert/introvert category, his explanation really puzzled me. According to him, I would be a total introvert. Me? I know right! Based on Little’s examples of the behaviours of each of these personalities, I would sway more on the reclusive quiet side.

Are you intrigued yet? So let me link each resource: first the TED quiz and then the TED talk. Let’s see you and your students change perspective…

Pre discussion

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
What are some of the things you love and hate that demonstrate your personality?

The Quiz: Quiz: Are you an extrovert, introvert or ambivert? by Adam Grant

TED talk: Who are you really? The puzzle of personality?

Questions

What are the elements in Little’s framework?
Why do you think ‘kindness’ is not part of it?
Do you agree with his descriptions of introverts and extroverts?
Who do you know that fits those descriptions?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of introverts and extroverts?

What are the top 5 vacations…just for you?

Are you ready for a vacation, but don’t know where to go? Have I got a fantastic tool for you. The Washington Post offers this wild vacation planner tool. All you have to do is answer their questions and the computer will generate the top vacation spots based on your answers.

Is that not an awesome ESL exercise! I was beyond tickled when I stumbled on this gem of a website. Not only is it super useful for the common mortal, but it is also a fantastic speaking, reading and conversation exercise.

The questions are interesting and the options are funny. You may need to help the students with some of the jokes and figurative language, but once they understand that they don’t really have to understand everything verbatim, they should have a good time.

The articles are well written, perhaps a little challenging at times, but include many pictures.

How I would Teach This

Get students in pairs. One person asks the questions and the other answers
Let the computer generate the results
Ask each student to choose an article, even if they are not the traveller. Each read and then do a Tell Back on the content.
Switch roles and repeat steps 1 to 3.

The article: Washing Post Vacation Finder

Let me know how it turns out.

Bon voyage

What books do you want to read?

I know that the prospect of reading an actual novel in a second language may be much too ambitious a goal. However, I do like to sift through book reviews and talk about what students might like to read. And hey, it might get them interested enough that they will attempt it. If they do, I would not hesitate to encourage your students to get the audio version of the book as well.

I love audio books! Not only can I read while walking the dog, they provide a fantastic model of pronunciation and rhythm. Most “readers” even offer a speed feature where you can listen slower or faster. If this is something that could interest your students, send them to Audible.com or check with your local library (it will depend on the country you are in) to see what is available for free.

Pre reading discussion:

What was the last good book you read?
What did you like about it?
What kind of books do you like to read?

43 Highly Anticipated Books of 2019

Scan through some of the books on this page and pick one that catches your eye

Which book would you like to read and why?
What do you think the story will be about?
What books have you read in the past that are similar to this one?
Is there a pattern or theme to the books you like?

Have a great discussion!