Tips & Tools
Principles of Effective Conversation Sessions

Preparing for Sessions Using Conversation Guides

Principles of Effective Conversation Sessions

1. Picking a Guide

Find the Conversation Preparation Guide with a theme that fits most closely with the material you are studying this week. If you have trouble finding a directly relevant theme, think about other aspects of what you’re studying this week: 

2. Studying the Guide 

Think: What thoughts and ideas come up while you’re reading the Preparation Guide? Is there additional vocabulary or information you will need to practice with it?

  • Search for resources. Can you locate the following in the language you are studying?
  • Look up and internalize this new information.
    • Make flashcards if appropriate. 
    • Add to the Collaborative Document if relevant. 
  • If you have questions, write them down for your Conversation Partner. 

3. Making Use of the “Practice On Your Own” Section

If the prompt directs you to write something out, use the script/alphabet of the language you are studying and write it out by hand. 

  • Example: In Interviews for Work: Languages You Speak, you are directed first to imagine that you speak at least 6 languages and to write them out along with the countries that speak that language. Be sure to use the word for each language or country in the language you are studying.
  • Try to write these out without looking them up. What can you do from memory? Check your work. Make corrections as needed. Look up words or spellings you cannot remember. 
  • Make flashcards for new words or grammar. 
  • Once you have written out the material from the prompt, say them out loud. 

If the prompt directs you to research, look up the information that it directs you to find. If you have trouble finding the information in one resource, try a different resource. 

  • Search for audio sources to hear pronunciation and intonation where possible. 
    • Listen to the audio multiple times and repeat it out loud.

If the prompt directs you to create sentences, questions, dialogues, or lists, write them down in the script you are studying. 

  • Work from memory as much as you are able to. 
  • Then, check your work and make corrections as necessary. This may be spelling, word order, grammar, or other things. 
  • Next, practice saying these out loud, either by yourself or with a friend or study partner. 

If the prompt suggests you review a subject or vocabulary before you proceed, check your memory and understanding of that. 

  • Review old flashcards.
  • If you have a textbook, find the chapter(s) that covers the topic. Work through exercises. How challenging does the material seem?
  • Find a short article or video on the topic (on LangMedia, GLOSS, or social media) and check your comprehension.

If the prompt asks you to cover a topic more complicated than you are able to, break it down into multiple smaller assignments. 

  • Example: Interviews for Work: Job Interview. This topic assumes knowledge of job interviews and workplaces.
    • What vocabulary do you already know about this topic? Read through Policies and Rules: Personnel Policies for ideas of what kinds of vocabulary you might want to study. 
      • Look for other relevant Conversation Preparation Guides for review and context.
    • Look up job ads, resumes, and companies in the language/country you are studying. 
      • Use a dictionary or search engine to define or give additional context to words or abbreviations you don’t know. 
    • Find a short article or video on the topic (on LangMedia, GLOSS, or social media) to expand your knowledge. 
    • Repeat the above with any additional prompts under Practice on Your Own.

4. Preparing for Conversation Sessions

Whether you are using this for individual studies or in preparation for meeting with a Conversation Partner, it is helpful to use both the Practice on Your Own and the Practice in Conversation Session sections of the guide.

Approaches to preparation:

  • Practice the activities under Practice in Conversation Session out loud. If you are practicing alone, play both parts when asking questions and answering or when acting out a role play. If you have trouble spontaneously creating the back-and-forth of these scenarios, write out a dialog, a set of questions and answers, or a role play first. 
    • Practice the written scenario out loud.
    • Try to practice the scenario without reading off of the paper. 
    • Take a break. When you return to one of these scenarios, can you change a response without writing it out? Can you extend the conversation without writing out the next piece?