Conversation Strategies

Conversation strategies are techniques that help the speaker and  listener keep a conversation going to its natural and desired  conclusion. These skills supplement the linguistic and sociolinguistic  skills most texts focus on: grammar, vocabulary, and usage. However, to  develop strategic competence, students must learn the words, phrases,  and conventions used as two speakers engage in the active give-and-take  of conversation.
The strategies practiced in this book include 1)  getting more information, 2) making comparisons, 3) correcting someone  politely, 4) agreeing and disagreeing, 5) summarizing, 6) sharing  information, and 7) making decisions.
Students also practice 1)  polite forms, 2) rejoinders, 3) clarifications, 4) follow-up questions,  5) getting a response, 6) expressing probability, 7) interrupting, and  8) avoiding conversation killers.
The 29 pair and group activities  help develop communicative competence. These fun, student-centered  activities begin with controlled language and move to open, imaginative  exchanges.