STUDENT’S WORKSHEET When did we lose our sense of awe and wonder If your personality could be summed up in three

and adventure and passion in conversation? colours, what would they be?
SMALL TALK, I CAN’T DO IT ANYMORE
(adapted from the Elephant What mythical character do you most connect
Journalhttp://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/01/ (…) with?
smalltalk-i-cant-do-it-anymore/) And so we play it safe. Sticking to questions and
By Morgan Leigh Callison comments that are easy and unimportant, classic Once you get started, the questions just keep
and polite. But no-one is winning in this situation. presenting themselves, but first, the biggest step is
When was the last time you found yourself in the We’re all just staying trapped in our pretty little to open to the courage that is already alive inside of
middle of a “smalltalk” conversation, wondering boxed in, self-made realities. B-O-R-I-N-G! you and let yourself be seen for everything that you
how the heck you got there, and how the heck you are.
were going get out of it? (…)
The questions and answers are limitless. All it takes Be willing to see and explore all the greatness and
For me, it was earlier today. from us is a willingness to dive into our imagination peculiarities and unique qualities that everyone
and start speaking from our hearts as well as our around you possess as well.
I was at work, and I was talking about the weather minds.
with a customer. Sometimes the weather can be an Let’s just all be done with this smalltalk bullsh*t and
in depth and stimulating topic of conversation, but If you’re wanting to explore this but feeling a bit get some realness back into our exchanges.
today it was merely commentary on the sunshine stuck with where to start, here is a list of questions
and how it wasn’t raining like the weather network to keep in your back pocket (literally or figuratively) I’m ready. Are you?
had predicted, and how much warmer it was today to help you on the way:
than this day last week and yesterday was a classic WRITE DOWN 5 QUESTIONS THAT GO WAY
west coast winter day and blah blah blah. What song currently makes your heart sing with BEYOND THE SURFACE AND ASK YOUR
joy? CLASSMATES.
When did we become so scared to talk to one __________________________________________
another about the things we’re feeling in our What word in the English language to you find the __________________________________________
hearts—the way our soul was stirred when we most challenging to understand the meaning of? __________________________________________
heard a song from the past, how our dream last __________________________________________
night left us feeling confused and scared? What inspired you to get out of bed and start your __________________________________________
day today? __________________________________________
When did we start keeping everything on the __________________________________________
surface? If you could have any artist paint at portrait of __________________________________________
you, who would you choose? And why? __________________________________________
What are we hiding from? Is it ourselves or others? __________________________________________
Or both? If a new constellation was discovered and you got __________________________________________
to choose the name, what would you call it?
When did we become satisfied with the mundane?
TEACHER’S WORKSHEET How’s your (mom) doing?

This is a speaking class for Intermediate and Upper- Write all the questions on the board and ask SS if
Intermediate ESL/EFL students . they have been asked any of them recently and in
what circumstances (place, people, time of the
Duration: between 40 to 50 minutes day).

You can start the class writing “SMALL TALK” on the Now it’s time to read the adapted article “SMALL
board and ask students if they know what it means. TALK, I CAN’T DO IT ANYMORE”. Suggestion: ask
Write what they say on the board (this might last each student to read aloud one sentence from the
about 5 minutes): text so you can check their pronunciation. You may
“It’s a short conversation”. also ask them to stop reading after a meaningful
“It’s a conversation between small children”. sentence or a word or phrase they might not now
“It’s a type of conversation between strangers on a very well.
bus”.
When the author reaches the part of the text where
After that, write the definition from the Urban she suggests some meaningful questions to ask
Dictionary on the board: instead having small talk, ask SS to work in pairs
“informal, friendly conversation about unimportant asking and answering those questions. This might
subjects” take about 20 minutes.

Ask SS to give you examples of small talk topics . Finally, ask SS to work in groups of 4 or 5 people
Write them on the board: and make up some questions of their own for a
The weather meaningful conversation.
Friends and acquaintances
School/college
Work Teacher Candice Soldatelli
Something on the news Link Idiomas e Comunicação/Brazil
Traffic
Daily activities

Now ask SS to work in groups of 4 or 5 members

and write down 5 common small talk questions,
such as:
How’s traffic today? Too bad?
What’s the weather forecast for the weekend? It
might rain on Sunday.
Did you watch the news last night?