TESOL/Conversation starters for elementary level

Conversation starters for elementary level --

Teacher's notes: 1) In brackets there are a few translations of more difficult words in Turkish which could obviously be replaced by your SS L1

2) Example uses:

a) Attempt to elicit a few phrases to use when meeting new people (or getting to know someone better) and then write a couple on the board (and if necessary drill) before having a minute or two speaking in pairs. Then regain all the SS attention, correct mistakes and elicit extra phrases and repeat with new pairs.

b) In case of a mixed class handout as translation homework to the lowest level SS only before the speaking session. They should not show the handout to higher level SS otherwise the SS will just read aloud instead of speaking naturally.

Meet new people ---

Hi/Hello I'm ..............

I'm from Samsun, in Turkey on the Black Sea.

I'm in (9th grade/my last year) at high school.

When I leave school I want to ............................

I'm studying ...................................... at Ondokuz Mayis University. When I graduate I want to .............................

I graduated in ................................. from .................................University (last year/2 years ago).

I'm looking for a job.

I'm a ............................ at Samsun Council/Borosan in the industrial park (industrial park=sanayi)

I'm retired(retired=emekli)/in business.

I look after (look after = bakmak) my children/mother/father.

And you? Where are you from?

What do you do?

What do you want to do when you finish school/university?

I live with my parents and my brother and 2 sisters and our pet canary. I live in a student hostel in Atakum. I share a room with 2 other students.

They are very untidy (untidy=düzensiz).

We are good friends.

They are too noisy (noisy = gürültülü).

They are boring.

I am married. I live with my husband and we've got 2 small children, a boy and a girl.

How about you? Do you have a big family?

I am learning English to prepare for university/to help get a job/so I can sell shirts to foreign people/to study for a masters in Canada/to talk to my Irish boyfriend/to talk to tourists/for holidays/because it is fun (fun=eğlence)

And you, why are you learning English?

Have fun

I like walking/reading/going to the cinema/playing computer games/karate/swimming/going to cafes with my friends/shopping/travelling/going to the beach with my son/playing 5-a-side football/watching Samsunspor/playing basket ball/chatting on Facebook/playing backgammon(backgammon=tavla)/listening to music.

Me too. I like shopping. But I don't buy things I just look at stuff (stuff = şey). What do you like to buy?

Me too. I like playing football. I play goalkeeper/midfield/forward. You?

I support Trabzonspor because my family comes from Trabzon. Do you like football?

Oh I don’t like football. I like going to the gym (gym=fitness)

I think Facebook is a waste of time (waste of time = zaman kaybı). I like ....................

I haven't got time to play computer games because I am busy studying but sometimes I ..........................

Hey I love music too. I like slow/pop/jazz/Turkish music/hip hop. What kind of music do you like? I play guitar. Can you play any instrument?

So how about you? When you are not studying what do you do for fun?

How's it going?/How was your day?/So did you have a good weekend?

Great. I just relaxed at home. I had fun with my friends/little boy.

Good. I visited my aunt/uncle/grandfather/grandparents. I hope your family are well.

And you? What's new?/What are you up to?

Just studying all the time. I'm really tired/bored.

I'm fed up (fed up=bıktım) because I haven't got any money.

I'm missing my family/boyfriend/girlfriend in Istanbul.

I am not very well. I’ve got a cold/cough/headache.

I hope you get better soon. /Take care./See you later./Bye/See you Tuesday./See you next week.