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CONVERSATION COURSE

Name______________________________

SESSION ONE INFORMATIVE SPEECH

INTRODUCTION
MODULE ONE
STUDENT As sheet
Uses of Speech
Conversation is speaking. What do we use the spoken word for? In other terms, what are the uses of
language? In the example of arriving to a dinner party, the first thing we saw was a greeting, afterwards, you
might introduce yourself to new people or you might introduce your companion, thank your host, ask where you
can leave your coat, etc. This is putting language to use, these are the FUNCTIONS of language.
1-Look at the list below and individually fill in with as many other functions as you can think of in as many
situations or CONTEXTS as you can think of. Then share with your partner and see how long you can make
the list.

TABLE 1
FUNCTIONS
1-greetings
2-introductions
3-expressing gratitude
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EXPONENTS

Look at this table. It includes a number of phrases or sentences we say or utter to fulfill the function. The first
EXPONENT is Hi, the next exponent is Hows it going?
FUNCTION
Greetings

Introductions

EXPONENT
Hi!
Hows it going?
Hello
Good evening, Mister Kinyon
This is Betty
This is my wife, Betty

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Commenting

May I introduce my wife Elizabeth?

Wow, nice party
You look great!

2- Do you notice any differences in the exponents below? How are the utterances organized?
FUNCTION
CONTEXT
REGISTER
Informal
Hi!
Hows it going?
Greetings
Formal
Good evening,
Mrs.
Williams
Informal
Meet Betty
This is Betty
Formal
This is my wife Betty
Introductions
May I introduce my wife
Elizabeth?
Registers, as you can see, is the exponent used in the correct context.
3-With your partner think of and write an exponent for as many functions as you can in table 1 above. Dont
worry about correct register, just think of exponents; things we say in situations.
4-Read the text below. The instructions are different from your partners, so read them carefully.

Instructions

Student A, read paragraph A1 of the text Why Conversation? below. When you are finished reading
Paragraph A1 summarize it in your own words and tell Student B what you read. Student B will then fill
in box A with his or her own words (notice you do not have box A on your paper).
Then, Student B will tell you what he or she read and you fill in box B using your own words with the
information B gave you.
Together, comment the information you have in paragraphs A1 and B1.
When you are satisfied with this exchange, continue with paragraph A2 and B2, and so on.
When you are both done, compare your information with another pair and comment on how similar your
information is.

Why Conversation?
A1 Participating in an ESL conversation course can be instrumental in increasing your English fluency.
Many people need and benefit from conversation classes to improve their spoken, everyday English. One
important feature of these classes is that they can provide a comfortable environment for the ESL student
to gain speaking practice. Many ESL students do not feel confident holding conversations with native
speakers, and this practice is a great confidence builder in addition to a skill builder. ESL conversation
classes serve three main purposes: Skill Building, Test Preparation, and Confidence Building.
B1

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A2

Test Preparation

Many students in this course will want to go study abroad to another university as exchange students or will
later find jobs in large companies or corporations which today demand certain command of the English
language because it is the international language in our globalized world. In order to gain access to these
universities and companies, one has to show knowledge of the technical and written aspects of the language
as well as well-developed speaking and listening abilities. The practice you get from this conversation course
will help you in increasing your scores on these areas of the tests you will have to take eventually. In addition,
our conversations will focus on various topics relevant to everyday life and topics which may be new to you,
therefore giving you a base of knowledge that you can use for writing topics on English tests.
B2

A3

Practice

Sometimes you may feel timid or insecure in expressing yourself for a number of reasons. If we look at these
reasons a bit closer we will be able to overcome them. These may be because:

You dont have an opinion on the subject

You have an opinion but you may be worried about what your classmates might say or think
You feel you cant say exactly what you are thinking
You begin giving your point of view but you want to say it in the same eloquent manner in which you
can say it in Spanish
Other more active students who speak confidently and appear to be more eloquent make you feel less
confident

B3

A4
Some speaking situations are partially interactive such as when giving a speech to a live audience
where the convention is that the audience does not interrupt the speaker. The speaker nevertheless can see
the audience, and from expressions on their faces and body language the speaker can judge if he is being
understood or not and can make adjustments to his speech in order to maintain the audiences interest.

B4

A5 and B5
In this Conversation Class we will focus on the interactive aspects of speaking but also on the
partially interactive. This is because partially interactive speaking will develop our awareness of the listener,
our abilities to use our voice modulations, gestures, and body language as integral parts of communication.

Voice modulation in speech

Listen to the teacher say the word no. What does she or he mean by the way her or his voice is modulated
and intoned?
Listen to the way she or he says yes.
Now you try saying yes and no to your group and get their feedback. Are you doing it convincingly?
In the box below write your impressions of this first module. Include a self-evaluation of how you think you
performed in class and a self-reflection of what you think you already do well and what or where you think you
can improve.