Starting and Ending Conversations- Disappearing Text Memory Game

Starting and ending conversations disappearing text memory game

Work in groups of two to four people. Look at the text that your teacher tells you to look at. The first person reads out the whole of the text, then covers or deletes one word, keeping the punctuation if you can. 

If you are doing it online, one person should share their copy and delete the words that they choose, and also words that other people choose (to instructions like “Can you delete the word “the”, on the second row/ in the third column?”). The words can be deleted or changed to white.

The next person then reads the whole text, including the word that was just covered or deleted, and chooses one more word. You must say exactly what is written in each square, even when other words would also be correct. The bold text is one person and the normal text is the other person, but one player should read out both people’s parts each time.

Take turns reading out the text and covering or deleting words until the whole text is gone, until you give up, or until your teacher stops the game.

After finishing the memory game, roleplay situations from below, starting with the one that you just memorised:

• Meeting someone again
• The first contact with someone (e.g. meeting for the first time at a trade show/ trade fair/ conference)
• Smoothly ending a conversation such as a business meeting

Do one or both of the brainstorming stages below.  

Test each other on the phrases in the ways suggested on the brainstorming sheets.

Use the boxes given to make similar dialogues for other groups to play the same memory game with.

Play the same memory game with the text that another group wrote.

Roleplay starting and ending a conversation. Before you start, decide how long the whole conversation will be and how long you will spend smoothly ending it, e.g. “Five minutes, with the last minute smoothly ending”. Time yourself as you roleplay that conversation, discuss if it went well or not and why, then try again with the same or different time limits.

Roleplay more realistic meeting people in English situations for you, telling your partner who you are meeting (and so who your partner should pretend to be) and the situation (e.g. a Malaysian supplier who you are visiting at their own office).

 

Starting meeting again conversations disappearing text to delete or cover

Hi	Maria.	Hi	Alex.	It’s
great	to	see	you	again.
Good	to	see	you	too.
How’s	it	going?	Great	thanks.
My	big	project	is	finished!
How	about	you?	How’s	work?
Not	bad.	This	time	of
year	is	usually	not	so
busy.	Lucky	you!	Alex,	do
you	know	Elsa?	She’s	an
admin	clerk	in	our	Spanish
office.	No,	I	don’t.	Nice
to	meet	you,	Elsa.	…

 

Starting meeting again conversations reference copy

Hi	Maria.	Hi	Alex.	It’s
great	to	see	you	again.
Good	to	see	you	too.
How’s	it	going?	Great	thanks.
My	big	project	is	finished!
How	about	you?	How’s	work?
Not	bad.	This	time	of
year	is	usually	not	so
busy.	Lucky	you!	Alex,	do
you	know	Elsa?	She’s	an
admin	clerk	in	our	Spanish
office.	No,	I	don’t.	Nice
to	meet	you,	Elsa.	…

 

Starting and ending conversations disappearing text to delete or cover

Is	this	seat	free?	Yes,
please	go	ahead.	Thanks.	It’s
really	busy,	isn’t	it?	Always!
Is	this	your	first	time
here?	Yes,	I’m	based	in
Vietnam.	Are	you	from	Tokyo?
Yokohama,	so	not	far.	So,
what	brings	you	here?	I’m
selling	security	software.	What	do
you	do?	I’m	in	IT
too.	Well,	the	presentation	is
starting	but	I’d	love	to
hear	more	about	your	products.
My	email	is	here	on
my	business	card.	Thanks.	I’ll
email	you	later	today.	Great!

Starting and ending conversations reference copy

Is	this	seat	free?	Yes,
please	go	ahead.	Thanks.	It’s
really	busy,	isn’t	it?	Always!
Is	this	your	first	time
here?	Yes,	I’m	based	in
Vietnam.	Are	you	from	Tokyo?
Yokohama,	so	not	far.	So,
what	brings	you	here?	I’m
selling	security	software.	What	do
you	do?	I’m	in	IT
too.	Well,	the	presentation	is
starting	but	I’d	love	to
hear	more	about	your	products.
My	email	is	here	on
my	business	card.	Thanks.	I’ll
email	you	later	today.	Great!

 

Smoothly ending conversations disappearing text to delete or cover

Well,	I’d	love	to	talk
more,	but	I	have	another
meeting	at	half	past	four.
No	problem.	It	was	nice
to	meet	you,	Abdul.	It
was	great	meeting	you	too,
Kim.	What’s	your	schedule	for
the	rest	of	the	day?
I’m	finished,	so	I’ll	cook
some	Italian	food.	Great!	Well,
have	a	nice	evening.	You
too.	See	you	tomorrow.	Yes,
see	you	then.	Bye.	Goodbye.

Smoothly ending conversations for reference

Well,	I’d	love	to	talk
more,	but	I	have	another
meeting	at	half	past	four.
No	problem.	It	was	nice
to	meet	you,	Abdul.	It
was	great	meeting	you	too,
Kim.	What’s	your	schedule	for
the	rest	of	the	day?
I’m	finished,	so	I’ll	cook
some	Italian	food.	Great!	Well,
have	a	nice	evening.	You
too.	See	you	tomorrow.	Yes,
see	you	then.	Bye.	Goodbye.

 

Brainstorming and finding phrases with the same meaning

Without looking above for now, brainstorm at least one phrase with the same meaning as each phrase below. The phrases could be longer, more formal, etc, but must mean the same. Many phrases not above are also possible. Try to make as many changes as you can to the words below (without changing the meaning), but small changes are also fine.

Starting meeting again conversations

Hello.

It’s nice to see you again.

Nice to see you too.

How are you doing?

And you?

How is your job going?

Fine.

Oh, you are so lucky!

Alex, have you met Elsa?

Pleased to meet you, Elsa.

 

Starting and ending conversations with strangers

Is anyone sitting here? – No, please go ahead.

Have you been here before? – No, I haven’t.

I work in Vietnam.

Do you come from Tokyo?

Why are you here in…?

What’s your job?

Anyway,…

Here is my business card. My email address is written on it.

 

Smoothly ending conversations

So, I’d like to speak more, but I have one more meeting at four thirty.

It was nice meeting you.

Do you have any plans for the rest of today?

Enjoy your evening!

I’ll see you tomorrow.

 

Check with the dialogues, brainstorm more phrases, then compare as a class.  

Test each other on the phrases:

• Read out a phrase and see if your partner can say if it is to start or end conversations
• Read out two phrases with the same meaning, but with a word in one of the phrases replaced by “beep”, and see if your partner can repeat back the whole phrase
• Read out a phrase and help your partner make a phrase which means the same thing. Other phrases not above are also okay as long as they have the same meaning.
• Read out a phrase above and see if your partner can respond to it.
• Read out a phrase above, listen to your partner’s response, respond to that, then together roleplay from there to the end of the conversation.

 

 

Brainstorming by function

Without looking above, brainstorm useful phrases into the categories below. Phrases which aren’t above are fine as long as they have the same function.

Greetings at the beginning of the conversation

 

 

Polite things to say when you meet for the first time (like “Nice to meet you”)

 

 

Friendly things to say when you meet again (like “Nice to meet you” to meet again)

 

 

Small talk questions at the beginning of the conversation

 

 

Responding to people’s answers

 

 

Asking the same question back

 

 

Introducing other people

 

 

Smoothly finishing conversations (giving reasons for ending the conversation, etc)

 

 

Talking about business cards

 

 

Polite/ friendly things to say at the end (like “Nice to meet you”, but at the end)

 

 

Small talk questions at the end of the conversation

 

 

Good wishes for something that the other person will do

 

 

Talking about future contact (the next meeting, etc)

 

 

Greetings at the end of the conversation

 

 

Blank grid to make your own dialogue in