ESL Conversation Questions - What if...? (I-TESL-J)

This is a series of questions used for conversation classes on one of my favorite websites for learning and teaching English:The I-TESL JOURNAL.

CLICK TO SEE MORE... ESL Conversation Questions - What if...? (I-TESL-J): "Conversation Questions
What if...?
A Part of Conversation Questions for the ESL Classroom.
If you had only 24 hours to live, what would you do?
If a classmate asked you for the answer to a question during an exam while the teacher was not looking, what would you do?
If someone's underwear was showing, would you tell them?
If the whole world were listening, what would you say?
If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be?
If you bumped your car into another car, but nobody saw you do it, would you leave your name and address?
If you could ask God any one question, what would it be?
If you could be a bird, what would you choose to be?
If you could be a plant, what would you choose to be? "

CLASS MEEETING #2 September 23, 2005

WHAT WE DID IN CLASS TODAY

1) Dr. J discussed "weekend terms" (cultural differences, such as why do many Western people like to go to the ocean and sit on the beach whereas most Taiwanese would rather fish or have a bb-que on the beach at night?)

2) Timed Writing 7-minutes: "What I Plan on Doing This Weekend"

3) Student Group Work on weekend plans & Presentations of four groups

4) Dr. J gave Unit 1 Handouts (pp. 2-5) and we discussed basic layout of the book chapters

5) Dr. J discussed the STEP-UP STEP-DOWN intonation method. Each sentence in English has a high and low point. A question always goes up at the end and a statement like one that ends in a period always goes down like the Chinese third tone.

~~HOMEWORK FOR NEXT WEEK (SEPTEMBER 30, 2005)~~

1) Read over Unit 1 Handouts (pp. 2-5)

2) On page 2 do Lesson 2 (ALL). This should be pretty easy.

3) Be prepared for a group-led discussion on "What I Thought I Was Going to Do ... But What I Did Not Do This Weekend"

DAY #1 (September 16, 2005)Activities Completed:
1) Dr. J introduced himself (yawn!) and the basics of language-learning strategiesRemember that LANGUAGE IS A SELF-DEFENSE WEAPON and not a TOOL.
2) We looked over the course description and the contract students must sign saying they have read the course description and requirements (some parts are subject to change, depending on student abilities and interest levels)
3) Dr. J discussed the NAME-CARD that you must please present next week (a small card with your photo in the right corner and your Chinese and English names in the left top corner ... And something about yourself that you want me to know (anything is fine...e-mail address, hobbies, special talents or needs you might have)
4) We talked about textbook purchase ... and all of those exciting details.

~~~HOMEWORK~~~

• Complete the NAME-CARD and bring it to class next week
• Read over the Course Description and bring signed contract form to class
• Create a weblog ("blog") named any name you like and bring the URL to class so that we can link all URL's together. NOTE: You will be posting homework to the class blog and not to your own blogs. Your own blog is for you to find relevant web-sites and articles using "BLOG THIS" using THE GOOGLE TOOLBAR!