Small TalkIntroduction

Reading and speaking

Introduction-1 Brainstorming （ 2ms) discuss the picture, you may use the following words:

topic

meeting

serious/causal

officials

atmosphere

easy

friends

formal/informal

Question:

Do you think it is small talk?

What is small talk?

Can you find the definitions in the

dictionaries?

Famous Dictionaries

• Macmillan English Dictionary• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary

English• Collins Cobuild English Language

Dictionary• Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Introduction-2.Answering (4ms)

Finish activity 1

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 definition

3. Why is it a problem if someone has no small talk?

4. What do you think is the Chinese for “small talk”?

They find it difficult to make friends.

闲谈，聊天

Introduction-3. Discussing (2ms) Which of the topics do you like talking about with your friends?

careers cars examinations

film stars food music politics

sport travel weather

film stars, music, sport, travel, food, weather

small talk

serious talk careers, politics, examinations

Think topics as more as possibleBoys girls boys& girls

Cars

SportGames

Shopping

Makeup

Junk food

Music

Films Stars

Travel

Weather

Pets

…

Cartoon

…

Exam

Girls Boys

Introduction-4. Activities (5ms)talk about the pictures in groups

You may use the following questions::

What are they talking about？

Do you think it is a small talk?

What kind of talk is small talk?

What are the features of small talk?

features

informal unimportantpolite friendly light ordinary matter …

Place it happens

Informal place

party Kara OK trip playground café cinema park bus stop restaurant …

I don't enjoy parties where I have to make small talk with complete strangers.

Activities: Oral Practice work in pairs to prepare a small talk

Imagine the situation

Small talk can be a big challenge, but a little preparation and confidence is all you need.

How to make small talk

Module1 Small Talk

Vocabulary and Reading

高二外研版选修六

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

damagedencourage

impressed

prepare

recognised

Vocabulary and Reading-2.Pre-reading (3ms) Look at the picture and discuss.

What do you think about Social Skills?

Are you good at Social Skills?

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”.

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.

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

Vocabulary and Readin5.Discussion(4ms) Do … Don’t …

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 information to

remember some social rules

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?

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.

• 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.

sigh yawn nod avoid lack smile

avoid

lack

noddedyawned

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.

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.

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?

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.

Language Points

1.Have you ever crossed the road to avoid talking to someone you recognize?

　你是否做过这样的事情：看见认识的人以后，故意过马路以避免与其说话。

　 avoid 避免、避开，后面跟名词、代词、　或具有名词性质的－ ing 形式。

他的工作是帮助很多人免于意外事故。His job helped many people avoid accidents.

要避免错误不是那么容易。It is not very easy to avoid making mistakes.

2. Do you want to make more friends but lack the confidence to talk to people you don’t know?你是否想结交更多的朋友但又缺乏与陌生人交谈的信心？make friends with 和……　交朋友

他们很想和彼此交朋友，然而两个人都很害羞。

They wished to make friends with each other, but both of them were shy.

1.lack (1) vt.

He is good at his job , but he lacks confidence.

He lacks common sense.他缺乏常识 .

(2) n. 缺少 , 缺乏

There is a lack of water in this area.

for/through lack of… 由于缺…由于缺水植物死了。

no lack of 不缺… 很多…

There’s no lack of volunteers.

The plants died for lack of water.

advance (1)adj. 预先的 , 在前的 an advance plan

(2) in advance= ahead of time

It’s unwise to spend your income in advance.他们提前定了票。

They booked the tickets in advance.

3. And are you nervous about the idea of being at a social even in another country?你是否一想到要在别的国家参加社交活动就觉得坎坷不安。

be nervous about 　对……感到焦虑、紧张不安 没有人知道她担心什么。Nobody knows what she is nervous about.

我想他在高速公路上开车不会再紧张了，他很大胆。

I don’t think he will get nervous about driving again on that highway. He is bold enough.

4. They are easy to learn.

形容词 cheap, dangerous, difficult, easy, expensive, interesting, nice, pleasant, strange, fit 等后常常跟不定式的主动形式，表被动意思；不及物动词要加上相应的介词。跟玛丽谈话很愉快Mary is pleasant to talk to.

这条河里洗澡很危险The river is dangerous to bathe in.

这个问题很难回答。The question is hard to answer.

脏水不适合饮用。Dirty isn’t fit to drink.

We found the report easy

A.to be understood B.to understandC.understandingD.being understood

B

5. It helps if you do a little advance planning. 要是预先做些准备，将会对你有所帮助。1 ） do planning 做计划，准备

do advance planning 预先计划一下， 预先准备一下2 ）在此句中，“ it” 指的是 if you do a little advance planning. 做的是形式主语。例如 :

It will be a pity if you have to leave our company.

6. Small talk is very important and prepares you for more serious conversations.　　聊天是很重要的，并不能帮助你为一些严肃 的谈话 做准备。

prepare vi. (for) 做好准备；vt. 把……准备好，使……有准备

Be prepared! Have some low-risk conversation openers ready.

有备无患！准备好几句不太会出错的开场白。

他要我们提前做准备。He wanted us to prepare beforehand.

prepare sth. 准备某事

我将准备我的课。I’ll prepare my lesson.prepare to do sth. 准备做某事他正准备去旅游。He is preparing to go on a trip.

prepare sb. sth= prepare sth. for sb.

为某人准备某物母亲正在为我准备早餐。Mother is preparing me a meal.

prepare for sth. = get ready for sth.

为……作准备学生们正在为考试做准备。The students are preparing for the exam.

prepare sth. for sth. 为某事作准备

The teacher is preparing his students for the exam.

Mary is preparing the table for dinner.

prepare against 准备对付，应付……（不愉快的事）历史告诉我们要准备应战。History has told us to be prepared against wars.

prepare sb. for sth. 指导某人准备某事老师正在指导学生准备考试。

Mary 正在放桌子准备吃晚饭了。

7. Always remember---you won’t impress people if you talk too much.

要永远记住 --- 话太多并不会给人留下怎样的印象。

impress v. 留下印象 impression n. 印象这片美丽的湖水给外国游客留下了深刻的印象。

The beautiful lake impressed the foreign visitors deeply.

give sb. an impression 给某人留下印象他的行为给她留下了一个坏印象。

His behavior gave her a bad impression.

She impressed me as a person of great ability.

她给我的印象是一个很能干的人。

impress on sb. sth.=impress sb. with sth. 使铭记；使产生强烈感受父亲让我牢牢地记住了工作的重要性。

My father impressed me with the importance of work.

____with the poor condition of the school, the rich man determined to give half of his money away to the school. A. Impressing B. Impressed C. Impressive D. To impress

B

be impressed ( with sth.) 表示“受感动、留下印象”

7. Remember also that in some countries, you mustn’t take flowers of a certain color, because they’re unlucky.

a certain 某一，某种（不确定）的我在某本书中读到过。

I read it in a certain book.

由于某些原因，他不能过来了。He can’t come for a certain reason.

8. It is estimated that 80% of all conversation in English is small talk. 据估计 80%的英语会话是聊天。

It is estimated that…据估计…it 为形式主语 ,　真正的主语是 that引导的从句

It is good news that our team is the school champion now.

我们队成为学校冠军是好消息。

类似的结构还有 :It is said that… 据说…It is known that… 众所周知…It is thought that… 人们认为…It is believed that… 人们相信…It is hoped that… 人们希望…It is reported that…据报道…It is suggested that… 人们建议…

会议将在哪开至今还不清楚。It is still unknown where the conference will be held.

9. Because they used this very useful social technique, they found something they have in common.

因为运用这种非常有用的社交技巧，最终他们找到了共同的东西。

have …in common　　有共同之处这兄弟俩有太多相同的地方。The two brothers have so much in common.

1. We have many things _________ common. A. at B. on C. in D. to

Choose the best one:

2. You tell George about it, for I have already told him . A. mustn’t B. needn’t to C. haven’t to D. don’t have to

C

D

3. --I must apologize for ahead of time .

--That’s all right . A. letting you not know B. not letting you know C. letting you know not D. letting not you know

4. Will you me a favor and carry this box ? It’s too heavy for me .

A. give B. make C. do D. bring

C

B

5. The exciting news he had been looking forward ___ at last, so he did nothing but____. A. to came; cry B. to coming; cry C. to come; to cry D. of come; to cry

6. Occasions are quite rare ____ I have the time to spend a day with my kids. A. who B. which C. why D. when

A

D

Homework

1. Try to search more social skills of other countries form Internet, and

share with your classmates.2. Review the words and expressions

you’ve learnt and preview for next class.