ESL Conversation
Welcome to week 7 of our class English conversation class. It’s time to prepare for the midterm exam which is next week. What do you see in the picture? Are you sure? Try watching this video.
Plan for this Week
- exam preparation
- make a schedule for the speaking test
- fluency development – trivia game
- logic puzzles – thinking and speaking logically
- Touchstone online listening files
ESL Conversation Activities
Hour 1
The ESL speaking midterm exam is worth 20% of your final grade. It will have 4 parts:
- vocabulary review 1 min
- book summary 2 min
- grammar questions 1 min
- opened ended questions 2 min
Total time = about 6 minutes
1 Exam Review and Preparation (45)
Part 1: Vocabulary (30)
This jigsaw activity will help you review and remember 48 words. Explain a list of words to your partner. When your partner says the correct word, he or she writes it down on the paper. When you finish you should have 48 words on your paper.
Key Point
During the exam, I will ask you 3-4 of the words from this list. You should provide a quick definition and sometimes an example.
- The key points here are fluency and accuracy.
Also, I might add some numbers in Part 1. So, you should be able to a number with 3 commas.
Part 2: Book Summary (5)
During the test you will summarize your reading book in one minute. Talk about:
- characters, plot, setting
- What you think about the book?
I will ask you a few follow up questions.
Part 3: Grammar Questions
You will have 2 different kinds of questions in Part 3.
2 verb tenses
This question will test your memory and understanding of two verb tenses:
- present perfect
- present perfect continuous
See present perfect questions and answers on page 13 and 15.
During the test, I will give you a word and a verb tense. You will make one question and answer with that word and verb tense.
Example:
- sing – present perfect
- How long has she sang that song?
- She has sang that song for 10 minutes.
- sit – present perfect continuous
- How long has he been sitting there?
- He has been sitting there for one hour.
Here is a list of verbs to practice with:
- travel, do, save, live, feel
- work, study, play, wait, talk
Superlatives
I will give you a word. You make question and answer with a superlative. See page 24 for a review.
Example:
- big
- What is the biggest city in Korea?
- The biggest city in Korea is Seoul.
Here is a list of words you can practice with:
- good, bad, cold, large, tall, busy
- expensive, happy, wide, fast, interesting, beautiful
Part 4: Open Ended Questions
Here are 3 questions. I will ask you ONE of these questions during the exam. Your answer should be about 30-45 seconds long. I will ask you one or two follow up questions.
The key points in this question are fluency and accuracy. This is similar to the speaking part of an IELTS test.
1 Can you introduce yourself?
- Make an answer like the short stories on page 8 in the book. I will use the questions in Story #2 (Mateo) for the test – so you can practice answers for these questions.
- Use lots of adjectives.
2 What was your favourite subject as a child?
3 Describe your hometown.
Key Points
- Speak for about 30-45 seconds without hesitation (fluency).
- Make sure you can speak correctly and clearly (accuracy).
- Make your answer interesting by providing more than the most basic information.
- Answer my follow questions well.
- If you speak too long, I will stop you.
Hour 2
1 Agree or Disagree (20)
This short activity requires students to speak and think logically. That means, you give an answer based on a clear reason.
Here are the questions for this pair work speaking activity.
2 Word Games and Logic Puzzles (20)
Try these vocabulary games and logic puzzles.
- Things puzzle worksheet
- Memory Test (look at the picture for a minute and remember the 7 actions (full sentences with present continuous).
- Words with F Sounds worksheet
Hour 3
1 Warm Up Sound and Sort (10)
Look at the 30 words on this page. Divide the words into three groups. Make groups with a logic reason.
Here is the word list.
2 Trivia Game (30)
This is a fluency activity that builds speaking and listening skills.
- make a team with 2 people
- one team plays against another team
- highest score wins the game
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Image credit: Use of the wolf image complies with the creative commons license.