Approved conversation book practice lesson

Conversation needs turns, not scripts

*How to Teach Speaking* by Scott Thornbury (Pearson) treats conversation as something learners do together rather than recite. A practice lesson therefore needs genuine gaps: one person knows something the other does not, and the exchange cannot finish until the gap closes. Scripts close instantly; gaps create real turns.

Three task types

Info gap: two halves of a schedule, each partner holds different appointments to reconcile. Opinion gap: each ranks five weekend options alone, then negotiates one. Decision task: a fixed budget, four possible outcomes, one agreed plan. All three produce disagreement you have to handle, which is where spoken English actually lives.

Repair moves carry the day

When meaning breaks, learners need the toolkit: could you say that again, do you mean, let me see if I have this right. Teach the moves explicitly and count their use, because a conversation where nobody repairs is a conversation where nobody noticed the failure.

The pair protocol

Three minutes per task, partners swap roles, then one piece of feedback: a moment where understanding was repaired well. One note, not a list. Repeat with a new partner so the language gets a second body.

Exercise: build one info gap

Draw two four-item timetables with deliberate conflicts. Write the repair phrases on the board first, then run the protocol twice.

Worked example

Pick a functional topic such as ordering food or making an appointment. Teach five key phrases, model a short dialogue, then have learners swap roles. Record one attempt, listen together, and set one improvement goal. Keep the dialogue under thirty seconds so it stays manageable.

Common pitfalls

• Teaching too many phrases at once.
• Focusing on grammar instead of communication.
• Skipping feedback and repetition.
• Choosing topics learners will not use soon.

Practice

Run the same dialogue three times over a week, changing one detail each time. Note which learners initiate spontaneously and which wait to be prompted.

Checklist

• One function at a time.
• Model dialogue provided.
• Role-play practiced.
• Feedback given.
• Real use encouraged.

Mini-exercise

Choose one everyday situation. Write a four-line dialogue, practice it five times, and use one line in real life.

Related lessons

Practise at English conversation for adults and how to keep a conversation going.

Source

Original LinguaPro lesson informed by *How to Teach Speaking* by Scott Thornbury (Pearson). No text from the book is reproduced; all tasks and protocols are original.