Small talk and ESL students???

[bambo86]

Hi guys,

I am now making an assignment about small talk, about "how to organize and use SMALL TALK effectively" in Speaking class for ESL students, so if you guys have any ideas then surely i will greatly welcome

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[oregeezer]

Not sure what you mean by "small talk".
Could be conversation, where you would need a list of "safe subjects"(weather, family, home town,etc.) or it could mean "reduced forms" (wanna, shoudla, coulda).

[Tdol]

Small talk doesn't strike me as something that can be organised very much; it is by its nature fairly unstructured. Make it effective requires strategies for keeping the conversation going, talking to strangers, asking open questions, framing, etc.

[bambo86]

My project is HOW TO ORGANIZE AND APPLY SMALL TALK...

So i mean small talk as a safe topic for ESL students to practice english more frequently...

[Tdol]

Will this be in or out of class?

[bambo86]

For sure, the research will be carried in the class at collegue or university. Exactly for the 1st and 2nd ESL students...

Please help give me your ideas as much as possible! THANKS

[Tdol]

Record or video them; you can analyse how the teachers are keeping the conversation going or not, then devise the strategies for training that could maximise this.

[Ouisch]

One rule of small talk is to ask questions - people love to talk about themselves. So if you find yourself at a function where you don't know anyone and you need to make small talk, ask them questions such as "Where are you from?" "What do you do (for a living)"? [NOTE: Asking a stranger what they do/what type of job they have is extremely common in the US, but is considered somewhat rude and "nosy" in other countries. Be aware of the local customs.] Another tactic is to compliment then question: "That's a beautiful bracelet, where did you get it?" "What a great suit, is it Armani?" Or if it's an informal occasion and a person is wearing a T-shirt with the name of a band or recording artist: "Love your shirt! I'm a fan, too! What's your favorite song?"

[bambo86]

Thank you all of you guys!

Any other ideas! Please post quickly...

[Ouisch]

Suppose the people in question are all students; some "small talk" conversation-openers can be: "Where do you go to school?" "What are you studying?" "I really hate the food in our cafeteria; how is it at your school?" "My worst subject is Math, what is yours?"