How I structure my ESL conversation classes

It used to feel like a serious chore coming up with interesting topics to talk about week after week in conversation classes with my advanced ESL adult students. Can you relate? I think I felt like, if someone is paying me for classes, I need to bring my A-game: create activities and content from scratch, build a whole personalized lesson, etc. 

Then, I realized I was seriously overcomplicating lesson planning. I don't need to re-invent the wheel, I just need to find a current topic and ask some thought-provoking questions. Now, classes take waaaay less time to plan and my students are always commenting that they love our conversation and the articles I send them. Honestly, they end up being some of the best conversations I have all week, too!

So, I'm here to share my tried-and-true formula for planning a successful conversation class with my B2/C1 students who have expressed a desire to focus on vocabulary, particularly idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs (I avoid grammar instruction unless they explicitly ask to work on a particular concept). I include all of this content in a Google Doc that I create for each student and update weekly so they have a few days to read the article and review the vocabulary before class:

Step 1: Choose an article

I found The Conversation and have never looked back! I have no trouble finding an engaging article on this news site for every student and every class. There are tons of thought-provoking editorial-type pieces and articles about current events by researchers and academics. You can browse a variety of topics, like business, religion, economy, culture, psychology, sports, etc. Plus, the level of English is perfect for my B2/C1 learners.

I am very intentional about selecting articles that I think will give us plenty to talk about and that the student will be interested in. Controversial topics are fun because they give students the opportunity to express their opinions and defend their beliefs (with zero judgement on my end!). If they ask for my opinion, I will give it, but I try to do that as diplomatically as possible. They often like to hear my take as someone from the U.S. 

My advice when choosing an article is to reflect on these questions:

•     Is this a topic that's relevant to my student's interests, studies, or work?
•     Is this article current enough? If not, is there a more recent article about this topic?
•     Would the student potentially be offended by this topic? Are they willing to discuss controversial topics?
•     Is there enough to talk about here? Would we be able to have a productive conversation?

Step 2: Make a list of target vocabulary

I always scan the article and come up with a list of phrasal verbs, colloquial expressions, or unfamiliar terms that I think might be new to them. I shoot for a list of 5 or 6, but that number will depend on the article. 

I'll often use Google translate to see what the word would translate to in their native language. If it's a cognate or very similar in both languages, I omit it from my list. My current students are native French and Spanish speakers, so there's a decent amount of overlap with English.

In the Google Doc, I add the sentence from the article where the term appears, but I don't add a definition. I want them to see if they can grasp the meaning based on context, and if not, I want them to do a little leg work to find the definition and develop their own understanding of the word so it's more likely to be added to their working vocabulary. All of my current advanced students have moved to the U.S. or Canada, so it's important to them to be able to interact with native speakers. 

Step 3: Make a list of related idioms

My students love to talk about idioms in English. They enjoy comparing them to similar idioms from their native language. I usually create a list of 5 or 6 that relate in some way to the article's topic. I will literally just Google "idioms about ______" and choose my favorites, or even ask ChatGPT.

Step 4: Come up with some conversation questions

Of course, the bulk of the class is spent discussing the article's topic. 

I use ChatGPT to "read" the text and come up with a list of conversation questions. I then edit and refine the questions the chatbot gives me and delete any that I don't like.Then, I read through the article to see if any other questions come to mind. I aim for a list of 8-10 questions, depending on the student and how talkative they are. Sometimes, we only get through a couple of the questions, but it's always wise to be over prepared. 

I will typically try to incorporate some of the target vocabulary within the questions so the student gets some practice using them in context. 

I do not add these questions to the Google Doc that the student has access to. Instead, I add these to my own document and go through them in class.

That's it! That's what's in my secret sauce! What other conversation class tips and activities do you swear by?