GERMAN CONVERSATION STARTERS BUNDLE #1

ADVANCED BEGINNER GERMAN INTERMEDIATE GERMAN ADVANCED GERMAN CONVERSATION STARTERS two sets of 100 German conversation starters @ $3.00 each in the bundle

Set 1 German Conversation starters features 100 starters in question format, suitable for advanced beginner German to intermediate German students. Set 2 German Conversation starters also features 100 starters in question format, suitable for intermediate German to advanced German students.

Speaking is a language skill that learners tend to find very challenging, regardless of level, and increased engagement with language that requires them to both reproduce accurately language they are already familiar with, and to be creative with that language in order to produce new language is integral to successful language learning.

In Set 1, the questions focus largely on the present tense, with some examples of the present perfect tense. I include tenses we may not have formally covered, as the activity is not solely about practicing language, but also about actively learning it. I encourage students to look for cues and clues in the questions themselves, and this certainly enables them to engage with new or unknown language successfully, and to progress in their learning.

In Set 2, the questions feature a range of tenses and moods, such as the present tense, present subjunctive, perfect, imperfect, and conditional perfect. There are several questions focusing on wenn + subjunctive + conditional clauses, and a significant amount of implicit input on a range of grammatical concepts, such as word order with separable verbs in various tenses, um + zu clauses and so on.

Questions formats are varied, to ensure maximum opportunity to work with the different ways to ask questions in German. Some questions seek to elicit very similar information, but are asked in different language: this avoids learners simply parroting learned responses to fixed prompts.

I remind students that it is not necessary to tell the truth - the purpose is to create and produce accurate and realistic language. Students can prepare their responses in as much detail as possible on the accompanying planning sheet, remembering that these are conversation starters, so that once they have responded, they should then say something to continue the conversation going.

Frequent and regular engagement with the activity brings the best results: with the planning sheet, students can create and prepare increasingly detailed and more complex responses, reflecting their learning progress. I definitely find it useful to read through the questions together as a whole-group, with students offering initial suggested responses. This ensures everyone can actually access the language, and they also benefit a lot from each others’ ideas.

As a whole-group activity, distribute the cards amongst your students, one or several. Ideally, they should walk around the classroom, asking questions, and swapping cards. For pair or small-group work, students can work in a designated area. This really helps them focus closely on the language, and helps learners who are slightly less confident working with a larger group.

The cards work particularly well as ice-breakers at the beginning of the school year. They’re also great as both entrance and exit tickets, and also for five-minute refreshers, which I use quite frequently during the school year. In the preparation phase, having access to bilingual dictionaries and / or the internet, this can be really helpful. These tools can help them prepare detailed responses to questions in ways that do not necessarily always focus on their own life and experiences.

The starters in Set 1 broadly address the following themes:

• personal information
• family & routines at home
• hobbies & free time
• likes & dislikes
• local environment
• food & drink
• school & studies
• sport & healthy living
• countries & languages
• weather & seasons

The starters in Set 2 broadly address the following themes:

• music, film & television literature & culture
• personal life, information & preferences
• leisure & free time
• health & well-being
• history & society
• recent & current events
• travel, tourism & holidays
• technology & social media
• likes & dislikes
• local environment
• environmental & social issues
• education & studies

Try this freebie to see if this kind of activity would work well for your students:

GERMAN 10 CONVERSATION STARTERS FREEBIE

If you're focusing on developing German speaking skills, there's a range of German Paired Speaking Practice cards in my store - have a look at them here: 

GERMAN 30 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS FREEBIE

GERMAN 100 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS #1

GERMAN 100 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS #2

GERMAN 100 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS #3

GERMAN 100 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS #4

GERMAN 100 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS #5

GERMAN 200 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS BUNDLE #1

GERMAN 200 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS BUNDLE #2

GERMAN 400 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS BUNDLE #3

GERMAN 500 PAIRED SPEAKING PRACTICE CARDS BUNDLE #4

The conversation starters and paired speaking practice cards are also available in a bundle:

GERMAN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES BUNDLE #1

Have a browse in my store for a wide range of German resources and freebies.

Files are non-editable in a zipped format. The resource is copyright, all rights reserved. It may not be copied, rewritten, amended, shared or distributed outside your own classroom in any way. The license for purchase is a single-user license only. Please read the Terms of Use.

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