Tefl.NET Forums

Hi everyone,

I have a student who I give private lessons to. We just started this week and she mainly wants to work on her conversation skills.

She has said to me that for the next lesson she wants to practice conditionals. She says she knows the structures when writing but that it gets all mixed up in her head when speaking. So she wants to practice the conditionals through speaking only.

Has anyone got any ideas of speaking activities to practice the conditionals on a one-to-one basis? I've already thought of doing conditional chains but as you know that will last all of five minutes

Any and all ideas are most welcome

Thanks in advance

Moon Unit

Dear Moon Unit,

You could have some form of negotiation with your student. This could take the form of a client and supplier or manufacturer. You can then discuss terms using language such as: “if you place an order for more than 50 items, I won’t charge for delivery”.

Lucy

I used to try a speaking activity with Chinese students. They worked with their partners. I gave them sentence starters such as “ If I could have a superpower” or “if I could be anyone else”. They completed the sentences on their own, and then tried to guess their partner’s answers by asking questions such as “ would you be a time traveler if you could have a superpower?” They gave each other hints until they got the answers. The activity worked very well, and students very liked it.

I think in every country, in every town there are lots of speaking clubs where you can practice your language, just search through internet and you`ll find the right one!