Running an effective conversation class takes more than just getting ENGin students to talk. It’s about finding the right balance between fluency and accuracy, creating meaningful interaction, and providing the right level of support. If you want to elevate your conversation sessions, here are five practical tips — with detailed examples — to help you design engaging, interactive, and productive classes.
1. Prioritize Fluency Over Perfection
In conversation sessions, learners need space to express themselves freely. Constantly correcting every mistake will interrupt the flow and make them too self-conscious to speak. Delayed error correction is a great way to manage this. Instead of jumping in when a mistake happens, take notes and give feedback after the conversation ends. This allows students to stay in the moment and focus on communicating.
Example: How Delayed Error Correction Works
Imagine two students practicing a role-play at a restaurant:
Student A: “I’ll have a coffee and two croissant.”
Student B: “Do you want milk in the coffee?”
Student A: “Yes, please. And bring bill after.”
Instead of stopping them mid-conversation to correct plural forms (“two croissants” and “the bill”), the volunteer lets the conversation flow. After the task, you as a volunteer may these phrases in a chat.
a croissant → two croissants
bring bill → bring the bill
The students review these mistakes together. This way, they learn without being interrupted, keeping the focus on communication and fluency throughout the exercise. The goal is to correct key mistakes related to the lesson’s objectives, not everything, so students stay motivated.
2. Create Meaningful Communication Through Interactive Tasks
Not all speaking activities foster real interaction. Information gap tasks — where students need to exchange information to solve a problem — tend to be more effective than general discussions. This is because students have a clear objective and must use language to negotiate meaning, which mirrors real-life conversations.
Example: Information Gap vs. General Discussion
Information Gap Task:
Scenario: One student has a hotel brochure; the other has flight schedules. Their task is to plan a weekend trip to Barcelona together. They need to ask each other questions to find the best flight and accommodation.
Why it Works: Students have a reason to talk. They ask follow-up questions (e.g., “What time does the flight leave?”) and practice clarifying or negotiating (“So, we’ll arrive in the evening — does that hotel have late check-in?”).
General Discussion:
Topic: “Do you prefer staying in hotels or Airbnbs?”
Why It Falls Short: Some students may just give short opinions without elaborating: “I like Airbnbs because they’re cheaper.”
Tip: Use structures like think-pair-share (students reflect individually, discuss in pairs,) or jigsaw tasks (where each student holds part of the information) to keep the interactions varied and meaningful.
3. Scaffold Student Conversations to Build Confidence
Even confident students sometimes need extra support to express their ideas. Scaffolding provides the help they need without taking away the challenge. This can include giving sentence starters, useful phrases, or model dialogues. However, the key is to provide just enough support — not too much.
Example: Good vs. Bad Scaffolding
Bad Example: volunteer: “Tell me about a hobby you like.” the student pauses, feeling lost
OR:
volunteer: "Did you go to a party? Maybe shopping? Or did you stay home?" In this case, the volunteer gives too much direction. Instead of letting the student generate ideas independently, the volunteer has limited their response.
Good Example: volunteer: “Use these prompts: On the weekends, I usually... or I enjoy doing... because....”
In a good example, students have a starting point that reduces anxiety and helps them focus on building a complete sentence. Another useful technique is giving key phrases for session tasks:
I think we should... (for suggesting)
Could you repeat that? (for clarifying)
What do you mean by...? (for checking understanding)
These prompts act like training wheels — eventually, students will internalize them and use them independently.
By the way, here’s a lesson plan to get your students talking about hobbies. Check it out for inspiration!
4. Use Role-Plays for Real-World Practice on Conversation Classes
Role-plays are excellent tools because they simulate real-life situations, giving students the chance to practice both language and soft skills. The key to good role-play is assigning roles with clear objectives and giving students enough time to prepare. Throwing students into a scenario without preparation can backfire, causing anxiety and silence.
Example: Designing a Successful Role-Play
Scenario: Two coworkers have a disagreement about missing a project deadline.
Role 1: A project manager who needs to explain why the team fell behind.
Role 2: A team member defending their position and proposing a solution.
In this role-play, students practice active listening, summarizing, and making suggestions. Before starting a role-play, brainstorm phrases that students might use and give them time to prepare what they’ll say. For example:
Student 1: “I think we fell behind because the requirements weren’t clear from the start.”
Student 2: “So, you’re saying that better communication at the beginning could have helped?”
This type of practical role-play gives students the opportunity to apply communication strategies they’ve learned, like clarifying misunderstandings or paraphrasing ideas. The volunteer can provide feedback afterward to highlight what worked and what could be improved. By the way, if you’re interested in work-related topics, check out this free lesson plan tailored for practical learning here.
5. Expand Vocabulary Through Targeted Feedback and Note-Taking
Expanding vocabulary is an essential part of improving conversational skills. During conversations, students often struggle to find the right words. Instead of correcting them immediately, note down the tricky vocabulary and review it during feedback. This way, students can reflect on their language gaps without disrupting the conversation flow.
Steps to Present Vocabulary Effectively
Meaning: Explain what the word or phrase means.
Form: Show how it works grammatically and in a sentence.
Pronunciation: Highlight any tricky sounds or stress patterns.
Collocations: Teach words that commonly go together.
Example: Correcting Lexical Mistakes for a Ukrainian Student
A native Ukrainian speaker might say:
Student: “I did a mistake.”
The volunteer notes down the mistake and addresses it during feedback:
Volunteer: “Good try! In English, we say make a mistake, not do a mistake. You can say, ‘I made a mistake in my report.’”
The volunteer can then expand:
Volunteer: “Let’s talk about some useful collocations with make: make a decision, make a plan, and make progress. Can you think of a situation where you made progress recently?”
By introducing collocations, the volunteer helps students learn words in context, making them more likely to use the phrases accurately in the future.
Conclusion
Improving conversation classes requires thoughtful planning, attention to fluency, and meaningful interaction. By prioritizing fluency, creating engaging tasks, scaffolding conversations, using role-plays, and expanding vocabulary with targeted feedback, you can build an environment where students feel comfortable, confident, and motivated to speak.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection — it’s progress. When students feel that they’re communicating successfully, even with a few mistakes, they’ll be more inclined to participate actively and take ownership of their learning. Try these tips in your next lesson and see how your students thrive!
This article was prepared for ENGin by esl.laboratory. You can explore the lesson plans offered by esl.laboratory here.
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