Discussion Starters: Speaking Fluency Activities for Advanced ESL/EFL Students

By Keith S. Folse

Book Overview

One of the most common problems facing ESL teachers is the advanced speaking class in which the most confident students dominate the discussion and the weaker students quickly withdraw. Discussion Starters is designed to balance the oral participation of all the students in the class and thus promote an environment in which everyone has not only a chance but a real need to speak out.
Each unit contains a relatively small number of exercises (usually around five) which provide speaking interaction about a central topic or idea. In most of these activities, students must work together in pairs or small groups to reach a conclusion about a topic. Other discussion books on the market today often use imaginary situations for discussion (e.g., "If you had a million dollars, what would you do?"). The activities and tasks in Discussion Starters are real situations from all over the world. When students are asked what they would do in a given situation or how a judge should rule in a case, all the material is real.
Naturally, teachers may assign additional readings to supplement the topics in Discussion Starters; however, there is ample background material in the text to start students on their way to a discussion. Thus, students can spend their class time speaking about and discussing topics rather than reading about them. A unique and important feature of this text is the inclusion of homework exercises that call on students to sort out their ideas and opinions before coming to class. This allows all students to be prepared for the speaking activities in class and is of special importance to the weaker, less confident non- native speakers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472083341
• ISBN13: 9780472083343
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.0" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Wow, this is a great book

I teach EFL to adult students at a company in China. This book has been really useful-- most of the topics work well here and the lessons are set up so that the students talk mostly to each other in pairs or small groups. I am seeing a lot of progress among the students, and they really like the discussion structure and topics. This book is making me look good. Highly recommended!

excellent book !

This book is excellent for intermediate level English as a Second Language learners. It goes beyond the usual ESL textbook with chapters of conversations in typical situations. This text is good because it addresses the problems of the student who has studied English for awhile, an intermediate level student. For example, how can I start a conversation in various situations. The students using this book can learn to apply what they already know in a more free form situation, in everyday life.I am an ESL instructor and have been teaching ESL at the university level for over 20 years. I would suggest this book to my students. Need writing Help ? http://englishwritinghelp.com

Very good activities

Our ESL program for advanced adult speakers uses this book as a textbook in our conversation and fluency course, and as a supplement to all of our other courses. It provides great activities to get adult learners talking. The lessons are easy to adapt to your existing curriculum, or you can plan a course around them.