Speaking

Low Beginning: Speaking Tasks

Task 101: Greetings and Introductions Task 102: Giving and Asking for Information Task 103: Talking about Classroom Items Task 104: Talking about Favorite Things Task 105: Talking about Family Task 106: Talking about Occupations Task 107: Expressing Likes and Dislikes Task 108: Describing People Task 109: Talking about Here and Now Task 110: Describing a Picture Task 111: Talking about Feelings and Health Task 112: Talking about Past Actions Task 113: Talking about Life Events Task 114: Closing a Conversation Task 115: Expressing Thanks Task 116: Talking about the Future

Task 101: Greetings and Introductions

Greetings Practice greeting your teacher and classmates in English. Remember to smile (and use handshakes where appropriate). For example, A: This is my friend, Barry. B: Hi Barry. I'm Pete. C: Nice to meet you, Pete. B: Nice to meet you too. Introducing Yourself 1. Practice introducing yourself to your teacher and classmates in English. Use first names for informal situations and full names (first and last) for formal situations. 2. Listen to others introduces themselves. Say "Nice to meet you" and repeat their names. Smile (and shake hands if appropriate). Notes: 1. It is not common to use titles (Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.) when referring to yourself. However, it is polite to use titles with others in formal situations, unless they give you permission to do otherwise. Examples: I'm Mr. Robert Smith. (Title is not necessary here.) I'm Robert Smith. (Better) I'm Dr. Sampson. (Okay, if you want to keep the relationship formal) (After an introduction) Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith. Oh, please call me "Bob." 2. Do not use titles with first names, and do not use last names alone without titles. Hello, Mr. Bob (Wrong!) Hi, Bob (Okay) Good morning, Smith (Wrong!) Good morning, Mrs. Smith (Correct)

Task 102: Giving and Asking for Information

1. What is this? 2. What is that? 3. What's this? 4. What's that? 5. What are these? 6. What are those? 7. Where is Mr. King?

This is a table. That is a chair. It's a pen. It's an apple. These are pencils. Those are books. He is over there.

8. Where is Ms. Knight? 9. Where's Johnny? 10. When's the movie? 11. When's lunch? 12. How is the food?

She's (right) here. He's in the house. It's at 9:00. Lunch is at noon. It's delicious.

Task 103: Talking about Classroom Items

Topic: Classroom Items

Look at these pictures: How many of these items do you know? Look around your classroom. Which items do you see? How many of these things do you use every day? Which ones does your teacher use most often? What items do you carry in your book bag? Situations: Classroom Questions 1. Hold up an item and ask your partner to tell you what it is. 2. Describe an object to your partner and have him/her guess what it is. 3. Tell where each item is located in the room.

Task 104: Talking about Favorite Things

Topic: Sports

Look at these pictures and use the words listed below to describe each pictures: Sports, Fun, Recreation How many of these sports do you know? Which one(s) do you like best? Which one(s) would you like to try? Who do you usually play sports with? Why do people play sports? Do you like to watch professional sports on television? What is your favorite sport to watch? Which famous athlete (sportsman / sportswoman) would you like to meet?

Task 105: Talking about Family

Introducing your family This is my mother/mom. This is my father/dad. (These are my parents) This is my wife. This is my husband. There are five people in my family. (My mother, my father, my older brother, my older sister, me, my younger brother.) I have two brothers. One is older. one brother is older (than me). One is younger. I have one sister. I'm number three. Asking about family How many brothers and sisters do you have? What number are you? He's the oldest (of five children). She's the youngest. Cindy doesn't have any brothers or sisters. Jared is an only child. How many children do you have? We have two. One son and one daughter. Do you have any kids? No, I'm not married. Talk

Task 106: Talking about Occupations

Situation: Talking about Occupations

A: What do you do for a living?

A: What is your occupation? B: I'm a____ (mechanic) ___________. A: A____ (mechanic) _____________? That must be a lot of work. B: It is. Every day I ___ (fix) _____ ___ (cars) ______. A: How interesting. How many___ (cars) _____ do you __ (fix) ____? B: I ___ (fix) _____ about __ (8) ____ __ (cars) ____ every day. Match the occupation with the daily activity. Occupation Activity Mechanic catch fish Teacher take pictures Dentist fix cars Doctor/Nurse cook meals Journalist pull teeth Fisherman plant flowers Gardener put out fires Chef/Cook take care of patients Fire fighter teach classes Photographer write news stories Use the occupations and activities to make conversations like the one above.

Task 107: Expressing Likes and Dislikes

Talking about Likes and Dislikes 1. Tell your partner about your favorite sport. When and where did you learn the sport? How often do you play it? Why do you like it? Who do you play/do the sport with? Are you good at it? 2. Ask your partner about his/her favorite sport.

Conversations: 1. Do you like basketball? Yes I do./ No, I don't. 2. What kind of food do you like? I like Italian food. Conversation practice: 1. With a partner, practice asking and answering questions about sports, activities, or food that you like/don't like. 2. Talk about what your friends like/don't like.

Example: Does Kindra like bowling? No. She doesn't. What kinds of food does Sam like? He likes meat and potatoes.* 3. Talk about movies or music that you like. *Note: When speaking generally, it's easiest to use plurals with count nouns: Example: I like apples. (count - plural) I don't like radishes. (count -plural) I don't like soda pop. (non-count)

Task 108: Describing People

Speaking Situations: Describing People Conversation Practice 1. Tell your classmates about the people in your family. Describe their personality and appearance. Example, My father is kind of tall. I think he's handsome and smart. My mom is really nice. She has short brown hair... 2. Describe your best friend to your partner. What kind of person is he/she? What does he/she look like? Example, Tony is my best friend. He looks like Tom Cruise. He's a very funny person. 3. Describe one of your classmates to your partner, and have him/her guess who you are describing. Example, This person is wearing jeans and a pink t-shirt. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. (Let me guess.) Is it Cindy?

Task 109: Talking about Here and Now

Conversation Practice 1. Look at pictures* and tell what the people in them are doing. 1. What is Ms. Chan doing? She is writing a letter. 2. What is he doing? He's playing hockey. 3. What are you doing? I'm reading a book. 4. Who is singing that song? Frank (is). 5. Who is washing the dishes? The children are. 6. Where are you going now? I'm going to the library. 2. Look around the room and describe what other people are doing. Carl's reading his textbook.

Oh. That's nice. That's interesting. Is it interesting? Oh. It sounds good. That's great. Okay. Have fun.

Jasmine is looking out the window. The teacher's writing on the board. 3. "Pantomime" various actions and have your students guess what you are doing.

Task 110: Describing a Picture

Conversation Practice 1. Find a picture from a book or magazine. Describe the picture to your partner. For example, In this picture, there are two boys. They are running after a dog. I think they will go swimming in the lake. 2. Draw a picture of a house or a room. Describe your picture to your classmates. For example, On the right side of the room, there is a small table. On top of the table, there are some books. Next to the table, there is a tall lamp. 3. Ask questions about a picture or drawing. For example, What are these people doing? I think they're having a picnic. What is (that) (next to the tree)? It looks like a cow.

Task 111: Talking about Feelings and Health

Conversation Practice 1. Ask your partner how he/she feels. Respond appropriately. Examples How are you feeling today? Not very good. I have a headache. That's too bad. How do you feel today? Great. How about you? Pretty good. 2. Pretend you (or a friend) are hurt or injured. Tell your classmates about it. Examples I hurt my elbow. Are you all right? I think so. Ouch! I cut my finger. Please be more careful. Ronnie fell down and broke his arm! Call an ambulance!

Task 112: Talking about Past Actions

Conversation Practice 1. Tell your partner or classmates what you did yesterday. Remember to use past tense. Example, Yesterday, I went to the mall. I bought some shorts and a baseball cap. I spent almost $20. 2. Ask your partner what he/she did last weekend. Respond with related questions. For example, What did you last Saturday? I stayed home and cleaned my room. Did you do anything fun? Not really. 3. Tell about a childhood experience. One day, when I was about 7 years old, there was a knock on our door. When I opened the door, I saw that nobody was there. I felt something was wrong, so I called my mother. . .

Task 113: Talking about Life Events

Conversation Practice 1. Tell your partner about important events in your life. Example I was born in Indiana in 1984. I attended elementary school in Indianapolis. We moved to Iowa when I was twelve years old. I graduated from high school there. Now I'm studying at Bellevue University. 2. Ask your classmates about events in their lives. Example Were you born and raised in Rochester? Actually, I was born in Syracuse. When did you move to Rochester? When I was a teenager.

Task 114: Closing a Conversation

Conversation Practice 1. Prepare to close a conversation; then "say good-bye." Example, Well, it's been nice talking to you. Nice talking to you too. (I'll) see you later. Bye. 2. How would you close a conversation in the following situations? a. You're in a hurry to leave. What do you say?

b. You really don't want to leave, but you can see the other person needs to go. c. You just met someone at a party, but you have to leave the party early. d. You are "seeing someone off" at the airport/train station.

Task 115: Expressing Thanks

Conversation Practice 1. How would you express thanks in the following situations? a. Someone just gave you a gift for your birthday. (What do you say?) Example, "Thank you so much. I really like it!" b. Someone has just bought dinner for you. c. Someone returned your lost wallet. d. Someone helped carry your grocery bags. e. Someone complimented you on your necktie. 2. Role play the above situations with a partner.

Task 116: Talking about the Future

Conversation Practice 1. Tell your partner or classmates what you are going to do this weekend. Example, I'm going to play cards with my buddies. I'm gonna eat dinner at a fancy restaurant. 2. Pretend you just won $5,000 in the lottery. Tell your classmates what you will do with the money. Example, First, I'll put some of the money in the bank. Then, I'll take you guys to Washington. 3. You need some help with a big picnic tomorrow. Ask for "volunteers." Example, Who will help me with the food? We will. Thanks a lot. Scott, will you bring some drinks? Yes, I guess I will. Getting Acquainted Dialog A: Hello! My _________ is Nancy Brown. What _______ your name? B: Hi. I _____ Karla Lopes. A: _____you new here? B: Yes, this is ______ first trip ___ the Philippines. I arrived two days _____. A: And why ________ you come to the Philippines? B: I ______ to the Philippines ___ an exchange student. I plan ___ improve my English. I'll ___ living ___ the Perrys ___ six months. A: That's great! I hope _____ enjoy your stay here. B: Thanks.

Short Answers Are you busy? Yes, ___. Do you live in New York? No, ___. Can Sylvia ride a bike? Yes, ___. Does your father read the newspaper every day? Yes, ___. Do you and your friends play soccer on Saturday? No, ___. Is your sister a doctor? No, ___. Can Jack and Brian play the piano? Yes, ___. Is Paris big? Yes, ___. Are you thirsty? No, ___. Does Robert like pepperoni pizza? No, ___. Are the students listening to music? No, ___. Is the supermarket next to the post office? No, ___. Is Leonardo di Caprio Vietnamese? No, ___. Is your mother sleeping? No, ___. Can you speak Portuguese? Yes, ___. 34 Easy Questions How often do you play tennis? a. On Tuesday. b. For two hours. c. Almost every day. d. With John. Where do you usually eat lunch? a. Sandwich. b. With Jane. c. At 12:00. d. In the cafeteria. How long did you study last night? a. With Bob. b. In my room. c. English. d. For three hours.

What kind of novels do you like? a. Yes, I do. b. I like spy novels. What kind of work do you do? a. I work every day. b. I'm a piano teacher. c. I worked for two hours. How many hours a day do you watch TV? a. About two hours. b. In my living room. c. I watch the news. d. On Tuesday. What is your busiest day of the week? a. In the morning. b. Every day. c. Tuesday. d. Last week. My mother is a good cook. a. I agree with you. b. I agree you. c. I agree to you. d. I agree for you. What does "TV" mean? a. For one hour. b. Yes c. Television. d. For one hour. e. On Friday. How do you spell "dog"? a. No b. D-O-G c. No d. I don't e. Cat. f. I have one dog. What did you do yesterday? a. I am swimming. b. I swim. c. I will swim. d. I swam. What do you like to drink? a. Coffee. b. Saturday evening. c. Two.

d. With my friends. What did you eat last night? a. At six. b. Spaghetti. c. With my family. d. At home. What are you doing? a. I'm eating. b. I ate. c. I will be eating. d. I have eaten. What will you do this afternoon? a. I play soccer. b. I played soccer. c. I'll play soccer. d. I was playing soccer. It seems to me that most restaurants are too expensive. a. I don't think it. b. I don't think. c. I don't think so. Where's Mike? a. At school. b. At eight. c. For three hours. d. No, he isn't. Where do you do your homework? a. With John. b. In the evening. c. About one hour. d. Every day. e. At home. When did you go to that restaurant? a. Spaghetti. b. With Jane. c. Last night. d. About 30 minutes. When was the last time you took a picture? a. A picture of Jane. b. Seven pictures. c. About four days ago. d. With my camera. What were you doing last night at 7:00? a. I sleep.

b. I slept. c. I will be sleeping. d. I was sleeping. When will you mail that letter? a. Last night. b. To Jane. c. After school. What are you going to do after dinner? a. I took a bath b. I'll take a bath. c. I take a bath. How long have you been playing the trumpet? a. About 50 cm. b. For four years. c. In my room. d. By myself. How many hours a day do you sleep? a. I have slept 7 hours. b. I am sleeping 7 hours. c. I slept 7 hours. d. I sleep 7 hours. How often do you write letters? a. Two pages. b. Two times a week. c. Two people. d. Two hours. Where can I buy beer? a. When you are twenty years old. b. About two bottles. c. With Jane. d. At a liquor store. What's your favorite sport? a. Swim. b. Swimming. When was the last time you went shopping? a. Yesterday. b. Tomorrow. c. Near the Station. How often do you speak on the telephone? a. At least once a day. b. In the evening? c. For about 30 minutes.

How many times have you gone camping? a. Three people. b. Three days. c. Three times. When's your birthday? a. November two. b. November twice. c. November second. Where are you from? a. New York. b. 1982. c. At school. How do you get to school? a. With train. b. In train. c. By train.