My last student was very untalkative in the lessons, does anyone have any tips to get chatting?
8 answers from our tutors
Best answer
You could ask him/her to describe four of their favourite childhood memories. And other similar questions that they can't possibly get away with by giving short answers.
If I find the student untalkative I usually use pop culture because students can relate to it.
Make conversational lessons here and there, like asking about their day and ask her/him questions about what you will be teaching about, make your classes interactive and engaging.
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Have some free conversation with them. give them the option to choose. that really helps. sometimes watching a TED, documentary, comedy, and.. at the start of the session, can change the mood...
first ask about how his or her day was. ask about the weather ask about how the week is going so far it will make your student be at ease and be comfortable.
Sometimes, out of sheer habit, we tend to ask close-ended questions which naturally bring us one-word answers. So firstly you have to make sure you're not asking 'Did you have fun at that party?' Rather, you should be asking, 'What did you do at that party?' Secondly, cliched questions like 'how was your day yesterday?' only get you one-line, cliched answers like 'I'm fine.' Try asking a more interesting question like 'What is that one thing that made you smile yesterday?' Finally, Ice-breakers and games centered around Speaking topics add more fun to an otherwise boring session. It engages the learners more. I hope you found this helpful :)
Establish a comfortable relationship with the student. Use informal conversations to break the ice and make the student feel at ease. Tailor the lesson material to the student's interests. When students find the subject matter engaging, they are more likely to want to discuss it. Ask the student for their opinions, thoughts, and experiences . Assure the student that making mistakes is ok.
Might be he/she is just a bit shy. If the student is still willing to continue lesson with you, it might be a matter of time and getting comfortable around each other. Ask them how they feel and so on. Other than that I don't think there really is a fail-proof way of handling this. If you can do a more direct approach you can carefully ask about this and if it is normal for the student. If you prefer a more subtle style: try to encourage them to talk despite mistakes and really say whatever, make sure you are supportive and patient. It's much better to speak while making mistakes than not to speak at all. If it's fear of speaking in front of a native speaker this should help. You can try to strike up a conversation. Provide some vocabulary and helpful phrases beforehand and use them as you start the topic. It might help if it's limited vocabulary which is in the way. I guess there is need for more context but other then that it's pretty much everything I could think of.
