Skilled conversation partners can take information revealed in the warm-up and integrate it into the lesson. Here the student mentions a “barbecue” and the conversation partner follows up.
Every session starts with a warm up. Conversation partners need to ease students into this the session by asking them questions they can quickly and easily answer. It gives the students confidence, establishes the target language as the norm, and sets the stage for the session.
The conversation session is designed to be the time when the student is completely immersed in the language, so keeping the session in the target language is essential. This is the one opportunity all week that the student has to practice the language with peers, so no time should be lost in English. Tell students that during the last 5 minutes of the session they may ask questions in English if they still need to and then stick to the target language.
One of the more important roles of the conversation session is to give the student the opportunity to practice creating language in the presence of a native speaker who can give immediate feedback. There are instances in which the person serving as the conversation partner is a fellow student, is younger than the person studying the language, or comes from a culture where it is considered rude to correct someone trying to speak a foreign language. It is imperative that the conversation partner set aside these mitigating factors and make certain that students understand that they have made an error and what is the correct word, phrase, or structure.
Correction techniques vary and each conversation partner needs to come up with a system that works and is comfortable for the individual. Correcting a student can be as easy as making a hand gesture and saying the correct word and then making the student repeat it. This method allows the session to continue in the target language with no break into English. Sometimes the error is such that a brief explanation in English is required such as “you said ‘kitchen’ but you mean ‘chicken’” before making the student repeat “chicken” and continuing the conversation.
Remember that the job of the conversation partner is to correct oral errors. Students want to practice and want to be corrected. Letting an error pass does no one any favors.
Having students work in pairs is one way to ensure that all students are participating at the same time. Listening to and interacting with a native speaker (the conversation partner) is a different exercise than listening to and interacting with a peer. Both are useful exercises.
Role play is one of the most common and useful components of a conversation session because it puts language in its cultural context. Role plays can always be varied; thus, the possibilities are limitless. There are a variety of ways to initiate a role play. Students can be handed a role play card that outlines the scenario to be played out, or they can be assigned characters (genders, ages, and so forth) and then given a general topic to improvise. Whatever method is chosen, remember that anyone can be any age, any gender, and of any social position, so all possible interactions can be covered.
There is no end to the descriptions students can make up in a conversation session. Description allows students to experiment with a variety of vocabulary, to include their understanding of the target culture in the exercise, and to use their imagination. It is an effective way for the conversation partner to verify that the students have internalized the week’s vocabulary, and is an easy exercise to tack on at the end of a session when 5 minutes remain or it can form the core of the session.
The question-and-answer format encourages extemporaneous speech because conversation partners can always follow up the students’ answers. The key for the conversation partner is to formulate questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” response. It is a good idea to write out the questions in the proper form before the session so that the Q&A exchange goes smoothly.
Even students with limited vocabulary can participate in a discussion at a basic level. Discussions force students to make themselves understood by their peers and not just by a sympathetic listener such as the conversation partner.
Students always need a lot of practice with numbers and there are a variety of exercises that can be simultaneously fun and educational. As with all constructions, there is no such thing as too much practice.
Conversation sessions should take place with the textbook closed or not present at all so that students are not tempted to spend too much time looking at the book and not paying attention to the flow of the session. However, there are a few instances when the conversation partner can use the book to advantage.
Although students are ostensibly studying the target language, they are simultaneously studying how that language interacts with the target culture. Therefore, the conversation partner must always be alert to cultural nuances associated with language. In order for a student to correctly practice a greetings situation, for example, the student must learn and demonstrate understanding of the body language that accompanies the greeting. The words cannot be learned in a vacuum but must be learned in an appropriate cultural context.
Getting a student to produce as much language as possible while staying as silent as possible oneself takes practice. Being receptive to what the student is saying silently invites the student to continue speaking. Smiling, nodding, and saying nothing all convey the same message to the student: “yes, you can do it, you’re doing fine, keep speaking.” In eliciting speech production, nothing is as effective as silence. The student will try to fill it and if the conversation is nodding but continues to be silent, the student will keep going. If the students stops, a simple “what else?” can get them going again.