How to Teach Conversational English
How to Tea ch Conversational English 9 Best Practices by Stacia Levy When other teachers, even other ESL teachers, hear I’m teaching an ESL conversation class, they often say it sounds “relaxing,” or “fun” or “easy.” Most teachers will smile at this, of course, recognizing that any teaching, while it may be fun, is almost never “relaxing” or “easy.” And while the conversation class may certainly be less rigorous than, for example, an advanced writing class, it has its own set of problems. In a writing class, I know what the students need, and the title “Advanced ESL Composition” alone suggests the curriculum: course readings and several student essays on related topics over the course of the semester, in drafts increasing polished and focused on structure, grammar, and punctuation. A conversation class, however, is less defined. What exactly is a conversation class? What is the curriculum? Sometimes there’s not even a course text available. Despite this initial lack of
