This month, Chanel’s intermediate level Communication Skills class had a very unique lesson. They ventured out of the classroom and into Westwood Village with a special challenge! The students worked in pairs and found strangers to interview. They were given twelve statements, and were instructed to ask the strangers how strongly they agree with those statements. Some of the statements were funny, and some were serious. Some examples of questions are, “love can last forever” and, “playing a game is only fun if you win.” The goal was to start a conversation!
That week, Chanel’s class had been learning how to articulate agreements and disagreements in both professional and academic ways. The teacher wanted the students to hear native speakers express themselves and engage in a dialogue with them, so she created this fun assignment for them. Even the shy students got out of their shell a bit and enjoyed practicing their English with Los Angeles natives!
The student pairs had to speak to at least four different people, but most students ended up talking to more than the required amount. After their acquaintance answered the survey question, the student had to ask them why they felt the way they did, and write their explanation down.
Once they returned to the classroom, the students shared their results with each other and talked about any patterns that they found. During this time, the students offered their own opinions and discussed why they thought people answered the way they did.
Remember, there are many ways to improve your English other than relying purely on classroom study! It is important to go out and practice your English with native speakers. You can do this exercise on your own by having a conversation with someone, and then writing down what you talked about after. Not only will you be practicing your English, but you will learn a lot about others, and the way people think!
