One of the most difficult tasks for ESL teachers is to teach students to converse meaningfully in English. ESL students have been speaking foreign languages for many years, and it may be difficult for them to make the necessary adjustments to speak English comprehensibly and fluently. ESL teachers can help their students communicate effectively in English by encouraging them to take part in English conversations as often as possible.
Since ESL students are not able to speak English proficiently, many of them tend to shy away from taking part in English conversations. Nonetheless, once they are able to overcome their apprehension, they may find that they can actually communicate considerably well in English. By encouraging them to converse more often in English, teachers are actually helping them gain the confidence they need to improve their spoken English. During the course of a conversation, students will learn to pronounce words correctly, gain a better understanding of basic sentence structure, and improve their ability to express their thoughts. All these can contribute significantly to their overall proficiency in the English language over time. With enough conversation practice, they will soon be able to engage in conversations with native speakers, and they will be able to express more complicated ideas and concepts in English.
Conversation practice for ESL students can be done in many different ways. Some ESL students can converse better in English than others, and teachers have to find the correct methods to meet the learning needs of every student. One of the most effective ways to improve the conversation skills of ESL students is to get them to ask questions. ESL conversation questions do not only train the students' ability to reason and express themselves in English; it also enables them to find out more about their classmates' personalities, interests, lifestyles, cultures, and families. Getting students to ask conversation questions is an excellent way to make an ESL lesson fun and effective. Here are some examples of ESL conversation questions.
1. Tell me about yourself
2. What makes you happy?
3. Do you have a hobby?
4. Do you like western food?
5. What is your favorite TV show?
6. Are your parents strict?
7. Are you having problems with school work?
8. What languages can you speak fluently?
9. Do you miss your hometown? Why and why not?
10. Do you celebrate Christmas in your home country?
For more information about ESL conversations, visit these websites:
- ESL Conversation Classes: Discusses the benefits of ESL conversation classes.
- ESL Conversation Strategies: Strategies for conducting a successful ESL conversation class.
- ESL Conversation Ideas: List of great lesson ideas for teaching ESL conversation.
- ESL Conversation Questions: This website contains more than 1,000 ESL conversation questions.