Topics

[Marina-Del 10]

I'm an ESL teacher as well (in Brazil).

I'm doing a whole series of free conversation (for different levels) for the entire month of July starting next week and I need ideas too! Good topic!

My students always get heated when we talk about Euthanasia, Human Cloning (and selective embryos -like making sure you have a boy or girl, or a kid without certain genetic disorders), watching TV (how much is too much? How much TV should kids be able to watch and should their shows be restricted? What are the benefits of watching TV and what are the drawbacks? (one student here said a benefit of watching TV all the time is that you will never leave your house and therefore are a lot less likely to be killed..... ) . These are always very popular issues and everyone has opinions.

It's also fun to talk about differences between American and English English. You could easily spend 45 minutes talking about these in class one day.

Or talking about proverbs or common sayings and see if they say the same thing in your own language or if it's totally different. One that comes to mind is that in Portuguese when they want to say that someone talks too much they say "they are talking out of their elbow" which doesn't make sense at all in English!! But the saying "lighting never strikes in the same place twice" can be literally translated into Portuguese and people here say it as well. After you discuss the ones in English ask if they have one in their language that might mean the same thing but has a totally different way of saying it. For example "The early bird gets the worm" is what we say in English to mean that if you get there early you are more likely to succeed, but in Portuguese they say "God helps those that are early" (so totally different sayings, but the same meaning).

Other Proverbs you can talk about are:

It's no use crying over spilt milk

There's no smoke without fire

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Speak of the devil (and he appears)

Out of sight, out of mind

Some things are easier said than done

Like father, like son

Slow and Steady wins the race

It is best to prepare today for the needs of tomorrow

--not until pigs fly

---not until he!l freezes over

It's not over until the fat lady sings

Anyway, I'll stop so this doesn't get longer. Those are just some random proverbs and common sayings I could think of off the top of my head (oh yeah, there is another!!! I didn't really think of it *off the "top" of my head*, did I?). If you want to discuss this further, you can PM me!

[ScottThuy 140]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I kept it in the 20th Century.

We discussed:

The Apollo Moon Landings.

Personal Computers

The Internet (which has been on the fritz all day because it's raining).

The Atomic Bomb/Nuclear Energy

I only had 2 students tonight. Thank God one of them was talkative.

Capitalism - Free market... I have fun teaching them that...

[Danno 1,228]

Global Warming - In 20 years will your house wind up underwater, blown out by monster hurricanes, or encased in a glacier?

A: quick, change your light bulbs before it's too late!

[Teacher Mark 53]

Thanks for the responses everybody. I kept it in the 20th Century.

We discussed:

The Apollo Moon Landings.

Personal Computers

The Internet (which has been on the fritz all day because it's raining).

The Atomic Bomb/Nuclear Energy

I only had 2 students tonight. Thank God one of them was talkative.

Capitalism - Free market... I have fun teaching them that...

Most of them want to be rich, so I imagine you get a lot of participation?

[Teacher Mark 53]

Global Warming - In 20 years will your house wind up underwater, blown out by monster hurricanes, or encased in a glacier?

The house winding up underwater is a distinct possibility for the good people of Nha Trang:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nha_Trang

[Teacher Mark 53]

I'm an ESL teacher as well (in Brazil).

I'm doing a whole series of free conversation (for different levels) for the entire month of July starting next week and I need ideas too! Good topic!

My students always get heated when we talk about Euthanasia, Human Cloning (and selective embryos -like making sure you have a boy or girl, or a kid without certain genetic disorders), watching TV (how much is too much? How much TV should kids be able to watch and should their shows be restricted? What are the benefits of watching TV and what are the drawbacks? (one student here said a benefit of watching TV all the time is that you will never leave your house and therefore are a lot less likely to be killed..... ) . These are always very popular issues and everyone has opinions.

It's also fun to talk about differences between American and English English. You could easily spend 45 minutes talking about these in class one day.

Or talking about proverbs or common sayings and see if they say the same thing in your own language or if it's totally different. One that comes to mind is that in Portuguese when they want to say that someone talks too much they say "they are talking out of their elbow" which doesn't make sense at all in English!! But the saying "lighting never strikes in the same place twice" can be literally translated into Portuguese and people here say it as well. After you discuss the ones in English ask if they have one in their language that might mean the same thing but has a totally different way of saying it. For example "The early bird gets the worm" is what we say in English to mean that if you get there early you are more likely to succeed, but in Portuguese they say "God helps those that are early" (so totally different sayings, but the same meaning).

Other Proverbs you can talk about are:

It's no use crying over spilt milk

There's no smoke without fire

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Speak of the devil (and he appears)

Out of sight, out of mind

Some things are easier said than done

Like father, like son

Slow and Steady wins the race

It is best to prepare today for the needs of tomorrow

--not until pigs fly

---not until he!l freezes over

It's not over until the fat lady sings

Anyway, I'll stop so this doesn't get longer. Those are just some random proverbs and common sayings I could think of off the top of my head (oh yeah, there is another!!! I didn't really think of it *off the "top" of my head*, did I?). If you want to discuss this further, you can PM me!

Sorry about the delayed response!

I love idioms, proverbs, etc. They can be difficult to explain though. I'm teaching TOEFL classes at a high school now, so I'm trying to teach them at least one a day.

Have you ever seen this site?

http://iteslj.org/questions/

[ScottThuy 140]

Have you ever seen this site?

http://iteslj.org/questions/

Good resource

[Teacher Mark 53]

Here's a series from the University of Oregon on teaching ESL. There's 14 parts.

I'm recommending that all of my students use freerice.com to learn new vocabulary also.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Idioms are best taught at advanced ESL.

"Bob's your uncle."

[Teacher Mark 53]

Idioms are best taught at advanced ESL.

"Bob's your uncle."

The majority of my students are advanced. They are all placed according to grade level instead of their actual ability.