Procedure:
Make
mini-groups of three of four. Stand up and
each group goes to the different places on the wall where the different
discussion topics have been hanged. They comment and make conversation
about one, two or the three questions there. After one and a half minutes, the teacher
will whistle and every group will move to the next discussion topic on the
wall. To finish with, we’ll have a whole-class
feedback.
Advantages:
In this way everybody gets to talk about
all the topics.
Teacher is in control of time.
(Idea taken from the "Teacher Refresher Course" done in Excel English School in London with a Commenius scholarship )
first_day_discussion_topics
Summer holidays
Describe your summer holiday in five words more or less.
What did you do this summer holiday that was different to other summers?
What was “typical” of this summer for you?
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Summer holidays
Describe in detail one thing that you bought this summer.
How have summer holidays changed for you since you were a child?
What would you have done if you’d had an extra week of holidays?
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Summer news
Can you remember two international news stories from this summer (what were they)?
Did you follow the swimming World Cup or another sports event (what was your favourite part)?
What was the strangest news item you heard about this summer?
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The English language
What is the most difficult thing for you about learning English? (Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking, …)
Who was your first English teacher? What was he/she like?
What are your favourite words in English?
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The English language
Can you think of one good way to remember new words?
Do you know any good websites to practise your English? Share with your partners.
Look through your English coursebook, find three topics you think are interesting and compare with a partner.
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Establishing good habits
When do you study best: morning, afternoon or night?
Where do you like to study?
How much time do you plan to study English outside the class every week?
Set yourself a goal:
- 30 minutes per day 6 days a week
- 1 hour a day for 5 days a week
- 2 hours per day for 4 days a week
- …..
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English outside the class
When you go to the cinema, do you see the original version with subtitles or the dubbed version?
Do you watch any series in English from seriesyonkis.com? If not, do you know anybody who does?
Do you keep a list of your composition mistakes so that you don’t make the same mistakes again in the future? If not, do you think it would be a good idea?
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Names
Are you named after someone in your family (who)?
Do you have a nickname (what is it, and who calls you this)?
Do you think a person’s name determines, in a way, the kind of life they will have?
If you could have any other name, what would it be?
What names do you think are particularly ugly?
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Music
Do you listen to different kinds of music for different moods you are in (e.g. your “happy music”, your “sad music”)?
What was the latest CD/song you bought or downloaded?
Would you like to study a song in English class (which one)?
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Films
What was the last film you saw?
Tell your partners about a great film or an absolutely awful film in your opinion. Do you agree with each other?
If they made a film of your life, who would you like to play you?
