Module 1 Small Talk Reading and Vocabulary 导学案 中学英语 ( 选修 6)

Words Preview small talk informal serious 闲谈，聊天 adj. 非正式的 adj. 严肃的

Warm up Which conversation in the pictures is a “small talk”?

What is small talk? 1.Light conversation: polite conversation about matters of little importance, especially between people who do not know each other well 2. Small talk is pleasant conversation about common interests. 3. Polite conversation about trivial or uncontroversial matters. 4. Casual or trivial conversation. 5. Light informal conversation for social occasions Discussio n

Small talk can be a big challenge, but a little preparation and confidence is all you need. small talk (from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary): conversation about unimportant things, often between people who do not know each other well: I don't enjoy parties where I have to make small talk with complete strangers. How to make small talk

Famous Dictionaries  Macmillan English Dictionary  Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English  Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary  Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Read the dictionary definitions of small talk and answer the questions.  1 Which definitions make small talk sound like a positive thing?  The Longman definition.  2 Which definitions refer to places where small talk might take place?  The Collins/Oxford definitions. 1

3 Why is it a problem if someone has no small talk? They find it difficult to make new friends. 4 What do you think is the Chinese for “small talk”? 闲谈，聊天。

Discussion and Speaking 2 Read the words. careers cars examinations film stars food music politics sport travel weather

1 If you talk about these topics, is the conversation serious or small talk? 2 Which of the topics do you like talking about with your friends? 3 Which of them do you talk about with your parents? 4 Which of them do you talk about with your teacher? 5 Which of them do you never talk about?

confidently make friends Lack (be) nervous about advance think of nod adv. 自信地 交朋友，建立友谊 v. 缺乏，缺少 对 …… 焦虑不安 adj. 预先的，在前的 想起，回忆起 v. 点头 Words Preview

body language yawn sigh look away from social rules in addition find out opportunity 身体语言，肢体语言 v. 打哈欠 v. 叹气，叹息 把目光从 …… 移开 社交规则 除此之外，另外 了解，找到（信息） n. 机会

damage encourage impress prepare recognise Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the box. 1

1 The singer was really good! She _________ me a lot! 2 He had an accident and ________ his bicycle. 3 Don’t shout at the children. You should _________ them to do better. 4 Make sure you _______ for your English examination. Do more homework! 5 At the party, I _________ a boy who used to attend my school. damaged encourage impressed prepare recognised

 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 “Learn how to do small talk”, “Develop your listening skills” and “Learn the rules”. Skimming the passage

 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.

Careful Reading The main idea of each paragraph: Part 1 (Paras.1-2) Introduction to the body of the passage by asking questions Part 2 (Para.3) How to do small talk Part 3 (Paras.4-6) Dos and don’ts while listening Part 4 (Paras.7-8) The social rules

1 According to the article, should people plan what they’re going to say at parties? Yes, they should prepare some topics to talk about. 2 What do people think about those who talk too much? They are not impressive. Read the passage again and answer the questions. 3

3 Describe two things you shouldn’t do in a conversation. Look at your watch; yawn ( sigh, look away, change the subject, finish other people’s sentences). 4 Why is it a good idea to nod and smile when the other person is talking? To show that your are listening.

五、学生质疑 学生主动提问，教师解答。 六、课下自我测评 5 What does the quotation from Benjamin Disraele tell you about people? People like talking about themselves.

 1 When I meet strangers, I don’t like to talk about myself, so I _____ answering personal questions.  2 There are very few foreign visitors to my town, so we ____ the opportunity to meet people from other countries. sigh yawn nod avoid lack smile avoid lack 4 Complete the sentences.

3 I said that we don’t have enough opportunity to speak English and he ______ his head in agreement. 4 I think the man I spoke to was tired- he _______ a lot. 5 He looked very sad when I asked him about his home. He _____ when he answered me. 6 I felt very welcome when I arrived at the party. The host ______ at me and shook my hand. nodded yawned smiled sighed

Look at the phrases from the passage and answer the questions.  1 If you can talk confidently, does this mean that you are worried about talking to people?  No, it doesn’t.  2 What kind of advance planning could you do before going to a party in a foreign country?  You could find out what the social conventions are about arriving, leaving and bringing gifts. 5

3 Can you give an example of a low- risk conversation opener if you were talking to a friend of your parents’, for example? “Did you watch the Cup Final last Saturday?”/ “Have you seen the new James Bond film?” 4 What encouraging noises and gestures can you make when you’re having a conversation in Chinese?

Smiling, nodding, saying “Yes” and “Oh, really?” etc. 5 What is an example of positive body language? Facing the person who is speaking and making eye contact. 6 Are social rules the same in every country? No, they aren’t.

 1 Which of the ideas in the reading passage do you think are useful in your society?  2 Are there any conversation techniques that you think you will use in the future?  3 Which of the listening skills are you good at?  4 Which of the social skills do you need to improve?  5 What are some of the usual small talk topics in China? Discussion and Speaking

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

七、学后反思 在本节课你学到了哪 些知识、哪些活动你 积极参与了、哪些地 方需要改进？