Module 1 Small Talk

1. Module 1 Small Talk

2. Vocabulary and Reading

3. Vocabulary and Reading-1.Pre-reading (2ms) Look at the picture and discuss. What do you think about Social Skills ?

4. Vocabulary and reading Ex1 • Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the box. • The singer was really good! She _________ me a lot! • He had an accident and _________ his bicycle. • Don’t shout at the children. You should ________ them to do better. • Make sure you _______ for your English examination. Do more homework! • At the party, I __________ a boy who used to attend my school. damage encourage impress prepare recognise impressed damaged encourage prepare recognised

5. Vocabulary and Reading-2. Skimming (3ms)Read the passage and decide what kind of book it is from. Choose from the list. an English teaching book a business course a book which tells you what to do at social events a book to help you prepare for a speaking examination

6. Vocabulary and Reading-5. Structure-analyzing (5ms) Divide the passage into several parts. Introduction to the body of the passage by asking questions 1-2 How to do small talk 3 Dos and don’ts while listening 4-7 The social rules 8

7. Vocabulary and Reading-4. Read the passage and fill in the blanks. look at your watch yawn sigh look away from the person … change the subject finish others’ sentences … have some low-risk topics show that you are listening keep good eye contact use positive body language ask for more informationto remember some social rules

8. Seven questions Income Address Marriage Age Experience Work Religious

9. Skimming the passage • Decide what kind of book it is from. • It is from a book which tells you what to do at social events. We can guess from the title “How Good Are Your Social Skills” and subtitles “Lean how to do small talk”, “Develop your listening skills” and “Learn the rules”.

10. Scanning 1.Why is small talk very important? 2.Why is communication a two-way process? 3.Describe two things you should do in a conversation. 4. Describe two things you shouldn’t do in a conversation.

11. Scanning • The general idea: • This passage is about social skills. It tells us how to have a conversation and how to do small talk and when we go to a social occasion, we should pay attention to social rules in different countries.

12. Ex 3 Read the passage again and answer the questions. • According to the article, should people plan what they’re going to say at parties? • What do people think about those who talk too much? • Describe two things you shouldn’t do in a conversation. • Why is it a good idea to nod and smile when the other person is talking? • What does the quotation from Benjamin Disraele tell you about people?

13. Answers to the questions above • Yes, they should prepare some topics to talk about. • They are not impressive. • Look at your watch; yawn ( sigh, look away, change the subject, finish other people’s sentences)? • To show that your are listening. • People like talking about themselves.

14. sigh yawn nod avoid lack smile avoid • when I meet strangers, I don’t like to talk about myself, so I ____ answering personal questions. • where are very few foreign visitors to my town, so we ______ the opportunity to meet people from other countries. • I said that we don’t have enough opportunity to speak English and he ______ his head in agreement. • I think the man I spoke to was tired- he _____ a lot. • He looked very sad when I asked him about his home. He _____ when he answered me. • I felt very welcome when I arrived at the party. The host___________ at me and shook my hand. lack nodded yawned sighed smiled

15. Ex 5 Look at the phrases from the passage and answer the questions. • If you can talk confidently, does this mean that you are worried about talking to people? • What kind of advance planning could you do before going to a party in a foreign country? • Can you give an example of a low-risk conversation opener if you were talking to a friend of your parents’, for example? • What encouraging noises and gestures can you make when you’re having a conversation in Chinese? • What is an example of positive body language? • ‘Are social rules the same in every country?

16. Answers to the questions above • No, it doesn’t. • You could find out what the social conventions are about arriving, leaving and bringing gifts. • “Did you watch the Cup Final last Saturday?”/ “Have you seen the new James Bond film?” • Smiling, nodding, saying “yes” and “Oh, really?” etc. • Facing the person who is speaking and making eye contact. • No, they aren’t.

17. Ex 6 work in pairs. Discuss your opinion about the following. • Which of the ideas in the reading passage do you think are useful in your society? • Are there any conversation techniques that you think you will use in the future? • Which of the listening skills are you good at? • Which of the social skills do you need to improve? • What are some of the usual small talk topics in China?

18. 1. I think advance planning is very useful. I never paid attention to it before. That is, I didn’t do any advance planning before I went to a party. For example, I didn’t buy proper presents in advance. In a hurry, the present bought was sometimes unsuitable for the host. I seldom tried to know about other guests. Without advance preparations, sometimes I would get embarrassed.

19. 2. I will go to university abroad after graduation. I will meet people from different countries. In order to contact with them very well, I must know about their customs and social rules. So at the beginning I will think of “safe” or low-risk topics to talk about. I believe soon I will make friends with them.

20. 3. I am good at keeping good eye contact with an attentive look. You know, eyes are windows of minds. From my eyes, the speaker knows that I am interested in what he is talking about. It is good manners, even in other countries.

21. 4. Sometimes I don’t know what proper topics to choose when I meet strangers. Most of the time I keep silent. The moment is a hard time to me. From this passage I know a little about how to do small talk. I believe later when I meet with the similar occasion. I can manage.

22. 5. In everyday life, parents choose to talk about their children –their children’s life, studies, hobbies. Teachers get together to talk about their students- good or bad at some subjects or the results of examinations.

23. Today we have learnt the passage about social skills which had much to do with our daily life. From the passage we know that social skills are very important when a person is in communication or having a conversation with others. We have also learnt some social rules and how to do small talk. It is necessary for us to learn something about social skills. As you know, we are now working hard to build a harmonious society if we don’t know how to behave in communicating with others. Especially, in 2008 the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing in our country. At that time how will we display our good manners to the whole world? So we must learn more about this inside or outside class.

24. Intensive reading( III) 1.社交能力 2.避免与某人谈话 3.交更多朋友 4.缺乏自信 5.在社交场合 6.提前做好计划 7使某人为 做好准备 8.准备几句不出错的开场白 9.双向的过程 10.不需要 11.另外此外 12.发现.查明.了解

25. Consolidation ---make a dialogue 1.How to do small talk? 2.What you should do in a conversation? 3.What you shouldn’t do in a coneversation.? 4.Describe some social rules in some countries.

26. You may start like this: A:Nice/Glad….to meet you! I’m not good at social skills. Could you please tell me some information about how to do small talk……? B:Of course/Sure…. A:Thanks……. B:You are welcome…….

27. Social skills secret（社交秘笈） “Talk to a man about himself,and he will speak to you for hours”—British prime minister(Benjamin Disraeli) 同一个人谈论他 自己，他会数小时都说不完! 英国首相—本杰明.迪斯累里

28. Homework. Finish off part5 and part6 on p4

29. Thanks!