43. What to do when a new student says they just want to improve their English conversation

AI-generated transcript:Do you ever get students coming to you and asking for something specific to learn English?For example, oh I'm going to be sent to Singapore for six monthsThe Free Talk Staffroom featuring Patrick SherriffSo I don't need to tell you how to do that.The problem comes when you get somebody, and this happens quite often, there isn't an obvious need for their English.And you say, why are you interested in studying English?And they say, I want to improve my conversation.Okay, you want to improve your conversation.Why?I just want to improve my conversation, so can we just have conversation lessons?Now, I interpret that aswell it could be any number of reasons why they want to learn English but what they're telling you is they don't want to study grammar and they don't want to study the traditional way that it's done in Japan so you may think and I thought when I first started out oh they want conversation so we'll just don't need to prepare just have a topic and away you go very quickly you realise that doesn't work though because you'll have the student come and after you've talked about them and exhausted theirFree Talk TEFLAs a teacher, well, I'll tell you what you do.Have yourself a book, a textbook.And perhaps a general textbook, not overly fussy about grammar.One with many topics.Oh, I just happen to have lots of textbooks like that.I made them that way.And they're called Tower Talk Topics.Now, I'm not trying to shill my stuff.Not directly.But just to tell you, you know, whatever material you find, but you probably need something written down, ready to go, with questions so that you then have a topic.I think recently I published things like stuff about MLK and Martin Luther King andstuff about a lesson about Quentin Tarantino the movie director a variety of things about famous people not only that but that you can then have a conversation about now now you may think or you may worry that your student is worried that oh no I have to go through this textbook and oh that's not what I wanted I want a conversation fine if they really really want conversationThe Free Talk Staffroom.and then they have the textbook so they can work on it at home if they wish and it gives them the feeling that they're doing something educational which of course they are and if they genuinely do just want to have a conversation then they will be fine but I think you'll find when people say oh I just want conversation their level of English is maybe pretty low so you have to work on some basicThe Free Talk Staffroom.And then they feel that, oh, we had a lesson about movies.And in fact, you really had a lesson about how to form past tense questions or whatever.What's your favorite movie?What did you see?Have you ever seen present perfect?But you're not, the stress is not on the grammar.It's on the topic that you're talking about.So my point is students say they want conversation, butand yes they do but they may not be ready for it and you as a teacher have to make that judgment and you have to have some materials ready to go because if you don't it becomes like pulling teeth preparing for a lesson and we don't want to do that do we nothing wrong with having stuff prepared and it's okay if your lesson then goes off in a tangent I hope it does because then it's probably more interesting but if it doesn't if you're struggling you've got something you can fall back on andand everybody benefits.That's my two pence for today.Have a nice weekend and I'll see you next time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com