1st Session

1. Introduce yourselves.

2. How often do you talk to native English speakers in your day-to-day life?

3. What do you find difficult about talking to native English speakers?

Speak Like a Native: How to Use Question Tags

You'd like to learn about question tags, wouldn't you? There's a question tag right there! Question tags turn a statement into a question. So above, "wouldn't you?" is the question tag.

We most often use question tags when speaking, not writing ― and usually when we expect the person we're talking with to agree with us. Take this example: "Bob will be at the party, won't he?" The speaker is expecting to hear that, yes, Bob will be at the party. The opposite would be: "Bob won't be at the party, will he?" Here, the speaker expects that Bob won't be coming. In the first example, the statement is positive, but the question tag ― "won't he?" ― is negative. In the second example, the statement is negative and the tag is positive. That's the usual rule ― the question tag should usually be the opposite of the statement. So you'd say, "Bob isn't sleeping, is he?" or, "Bob plays the piano, doesn't he?"

For language learners, it can sometimes be hard to know which verb to use in the question tag. An easy way around this is to just say "right?" For example: "Bob ate lunch already, right?" "Right" can even work with many negative statements: "Bob doesn't like cats, right?"

Another option ― although just for positive statements ― is "no." People might say: "Bob is bringing pizza to the party, no?" Linguist Adam Aleksic suggests this might actually have come from Spanish and other languages where this formation is common.

So, you'd like to try using question tags now, right?

1. Have you heard of question tags before? Do you ever use them?

2. What did you find most difficult about English when you first started learning it?

3. What grammar rules in your language do English speakers struggle with?

2nd Session

1. If you could have a conversation with anyone in the world, who would you choose and why?

2. Do you prefer talking to your friends online or in person?

3. Do you think it's good to have conversations with people you disagree with?

Struggling with Small Talk? Try These Tips

Making small talk can be very difficult at times, even for native English speakers. Here are four tips to help you make small talk with anyone you meet.

Share details

When someone asks, "How are you?" say more than just, "I'm fine." Say, for example, "I'm good! I had a great weekend!" Then the other person might ask what you did on the weekend. Or if someone asks about your work or hobbies, don't just say the name of your job or hobby ― give an example of something you did recently.

Don't only talk about yourself

Ask questions and listen to the answers. Also, try to remember the answers so you can talk about them later. The easiest questions are about family, jobs, hobbies, and dreams. Try to think of some questions on these topics so you can use them when you meet people. "Wh-" questions are best: who, what, where, when, why, and how. For example, "Why did you come to Tokyo?"

Don't just ask questions

If you only ask questions, the person you're talking to may feel like they're being questioned by the police. A good rule to follow is: two statements, one question. For example, if someone says, "I'm from Vienna," you can say, "Oh! I've never been to Vienna. But it looks beautiful! Do you live there now?"

Bring knowledge and look for more

It's important to read or watch the news because people enjoy talking about what's going on in the world and how it affects their lives.

1. In your opinion, which of the tips in the article are most useful?

2. Do you ever find it difficult to make small talk? + What’s your MBTI?

3. What do you usually talk about when you meet someone new?