[Holding Our Breath]

How do you write a lesson plan for a conversation class? Or is the answer "You don't"?

[Mr. Mulliner]

That's a great question. I can come up with a lesson plan, but am always delighted when we get onto a topic that everyone is interested in because that's what we're supposed to be doing anyway. But the hard part is grading them. Most teachers are satisfied with giving a homework assignment from a workbook, but to me that's not really what they are supposed to be doing. And a written test is also very much beside the point.

I make them have conversations with native speakers and then write them up. They are petrified when I ask them to do it and several have not turned in that homework.