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Topic 31 of 60

Discussion picture Discussion questions Key words

Picture warm-up

1. What do you see in this picture?
2. Who are these people, and what are they doing?
3. Does this look like your life here, or in your home country? How is it the same or different?

Discussion questions

1. Why are you learning English?
2. What is the most difficult part of English for you?
3. How many languages do you speak?
4. What is a funny mistake you have made in English?
5. How do you practice English outside of class?
6. Do you feel nervous when you speak English with native speakers?
7. Which is harder for you: speaking, listening, reading, or writing?
8. What English words or expressions do you find confusing?
9. Do you speak your first language at home with your children?
10. Is it important to keep your native language? Why?
11. What app, show, or website has helped you learn English?
12. How do Americans react when you don’t understand something?
13. What is the best way to learn new vocabulary?
14. Do you think about your accent? Is it important to lose your accent?
15. What is one goal you have for your English this year?

Key words

Say the word, then read the example sentence out loud.

• fluent
  She is fluent in Spanish and English.
• accent
  He has a beautiful accent.
• native speaker
  Talking to native speakers helps me improve.
• pronunciation
  My pronunciation is getting better.
• vocabulary
  I learn ten new vocabulary words a week.
• grammar
  English grammar is sometimes confusing.
• mistake
  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
• translate
  Can you translate this letter for me?
• bilingual
  Our children are bilingual.
• idiom
  “Break a leg” is an idiom that means “good luck.”
• slang
  Teenagers use a lot of slang.
• confident
  I feel more confident speaking English now.
• improve
  Reading every day will improve your English.
• repeat
  Could you repeat that, please?
• misunderstand
  I misunderstood the directions.

Next topic: 32. Children & Parenting

Topic chosen by comparing popular ESL conversation resources (see How these topics were chosen). Questions and example sentences are original to this collection. Translations are a guide and should be reviewed by a fluent speaker.