TalkAbouts

72 everyday situations illustrated to stimulate conversation, listening, writing, and vocabulary development

A photocopiable collection of pictures with few words offering plenty of possible conversations, descriptions, discussions, narrations, dictations, and a lot of fun.

There are three types of pictures:

• • The first part, TalkAbout Situations, features conversations

 

• • The second part, TalkAbout Topics, focuses on vocabulary

 

• • The third part, TalkAbout Events and Occasions, focuses on putting it all together with emphasis on grammar (verb tense) and discourse

 

Although the pictures provoke oral language, they can just as easily be used as writing prompts, especially Parts 1 and 3.

Very few words accompany the pictures. In interpreting the pictures either in conversation or writing, the learners naturally use their own words to explain them. We recommend that the learners be encouraged to invent their own story and characters.

At the back of the book, there is a possible script, the “answers.” The characters are given names; a story is told. However, learners should be encouraged to come up with their own interpretations of the pictures. By doing so, the learners become more invested in what they say and write. The result is communication that is more meaningful and fun.

The CD is an optional, supporting element, but it can be very helpful. In a dramatic reading with voices different from your own, the recording provides help with the pronunciation of words and phrases in context. Using the CD with the pictures can be a useful listening comprehension activity.