A selection of English ESL short conversations printables

A fun and engaging ESL conversation and video-based lesson on Telling a Story about Japanese culture. 



One of many of our lessons to talk about and teach cultural awareness. 

Start the lesson with visual aids: Have students google the words and explain the topic regarding Japanese culture. 



Next, students watch a YouTube video and answer listening comprehension questions, complete a vocabulary matching exercise, discuss some things about Japan, Japanese culture, and world culture and finish with a listening exercise.



This lesson is part of our original Pocket Passport course which consists of 4-levels and 80 lessons. Get access to everything: www.pocketpassport.com



The video link is in the lesson plan or you can get a sneak peek here: 

https://youtu.be/KXs6rz7VuW4

Telling a Story: Japanese Culture

Short dialogues to practice small talk with absolute beginners. Students can first read the conversations and then role-play them. They can then write their own conversations based on the samples provided. It's a speaking drill that can be used in pairs or with the whole class.   

Small talk for beginners 

**file resubmitted because of formatting errors

Short worksheet and conversation exercise about shopping for clothes with US money.

Shopping Time!

This worksheet is based on a short video about Japanese students participating in school chores. Most of the video is actually in Japanese, but English subtitles are always provided and bring a nice topic of conversation in class. 

I have provided the link to the video on the worksheet and you can directly find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4oNvxCY5k

"Video" comprehension: chores at school

This one of our original lessons on Fluentize.com, and personally, one of my favorites. It's designed for teachers with teenage or adult students at the B1 / Intermediate level, and makes for a perfect one-one private lesson topic, but it can also be used in a group. All of my students have enjoyed doing this one so much, and teachers have given lots of positive feedback on it. You can find a more comprehensive version, and unlock the full lesson material for it on Fluentize. It's downloadable for free, including the interactive lesson plan for online lessons, and the mini lesson.



In the lesson, students watch a video and do a listening exercise about a date Will Smith has with Sophia, the humanoid robot. It's a short, 3-4 minute and a lot of fun. The lesson includes discussion questions and conversation activities about artificial intelligence,  robots, & dating. Students also learn some important vocabulary terms, phrases, and expressions from the video. In the video, Will Smith tries to "make a move" on Sophia the robot, a phrase which is also taught in the lesson. The grammar exercise features the usage of the present perfect simple and continuous. There is a quiz and review section, as well as a bonus activity for students to write a letter or do a short role play 'from the future.'



Hope you enjoy this fun and engaging Fluentize lesson plan!



- Jake





Video-Based Lesson Plan: Will Smith Tries Online Dating With Sophia the Robot

This is a handout for Rio 2 trailer and a short conversation from the beginning of the movie. (about 14:25). There are 2 pages for ... I would say pre-intermediate and intermediate level. The purpose is not to use both pages with the same group of students. 

Rio 2

1. You should go through this vocabulary with your students. Some of them they may know, but the idea is to explain it in English, not translate

2. Fill the short dialogues

3. Let them pick 5 which they liked the most and create dialogue / sentences with them.



Have fun!

Casual expressions & vocabulary to use in conversations advanced upper-intermediate

short excerpt about being an only child for teachers as a guided conversation.  Very useful to show topics to discuss in class.

being an only child

Hey Teachers!



With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18th, I've decided to create and publish an ESL lesson plan on him. This lesson is based on a short biography video about MLK and racial segregation in the USA in the 1950s & 60s. With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, I found it would be an interesting topic for students to study in the context of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in the USA that took place in the 1950s. One of the aims of the lesson is to help students build awareness on racial discrimination in the USA and what it was like.



I would say this lesson plan is probably most suitable towards intermediate (B1) to upper intermediate (B2) level students - probably better for upper intermediate level students, although you could probably present a tough challenge to an intermediate student if you're willing to play the video a few times for them.



In order to view the video, please visit the lesson page on Fluentize via the link below. The full lesson plan is free to download on Fluentize until January 18, 2021 as long as you're registered. After that, the lesson will cost 1 credit. Here on iSL Collective, you get the first half of the lesson plan for free, which includes the preview activities and viewing activity, but excludes the post-viewing exercises.



https://app.fluentize.com/lesson/martin-luther-king



As you'll see, the preview activities include feature discussion material, pre-teaching the essential vocabulary that is presented in the video, and then the viewing activity is essentially a listening comprehension exercise based on the video. The post-viewing sections feature activities on a video quote, vocabulary context usage,  prefixes / suffixes, grammar using the conjunction "despite", follow-up conversational material, and then a quiz & review, in addition to the teacher's guide.



Students learn about Martin Luther King Jr., what segregation. They'll also learn a few special phrases and terms such as "to be on the run" and what "sit-ins" are. After watching the video and completing the first post-viewing section, there is a second post-viewing part that focuses on some grammar using the conjunction "despite" based on the following quote from the video:



"Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the power of nonviolent sit-ins and marches despite the use of force by police."



You can follow everything up with additional discussion material based on the following topics...



- The effect of racism on society

- What racism and discrimination is like in the native country where students are from

- Cultivating anti-racist attitudes for future generations

- What kinds of other social changes students would like to see take place in the future beyond racism



From the creator’s standpoint, my favorite part of the lesson is the section on prefixes and suffixes, as I found that the specific vocabulary words in the video and their accompanying prefixes and suffixes to be both interesting and useful (discredit, nonviolent, outspoken, brotherhood, rightful).



I also realize that many English language teachers are teaching in an online environment. For those of you who are, I recommend trying out our interactive lesson plan for it  (attached below), which is basically a digital version of the lesson materials that comes equipped with interactive fields for your students to write answers within.



I hope you have a great lesson exploring Martin Luther King Jr. and his influence in detail with your students!

Martin Luther King Jr. Bio - Lesson Plan

This is an activity that I planned for the students of 4º ESO about idioms related to body parts, to enlarge a short exercise that is in their text books. The activity focuses in the use of idiomatic  everyday expressions that are used with parts of our body. Also, we can make students aware of the words we use in our native language, comparing and translating.

IDIOMS WITH BODY PARTS

A very simple dialogue example, ordering coffee and choosing a cake from a selection. Students can then practice their own conversations, ordering different items from the waiter.  

Cafe sample dialogue

A fun sheet with questions in the simple past, a short text in the simple past and questions contrasting the simple present and the simple past. Most verbs used are irregular. It's an easy way to practice affirmative and negative sentences, as well as questions. Also, it helps students see some important aspects of this tense. 

Conversations in the Simple Past - What Did You Do

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

For personal or classroom use only. Uploading on other internet sharing platforms or any commercial use NOT PERMITTED. Share Alike.

Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License

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Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License

how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

170 Short conversations English ESL worksheets pdf & doc