Lesson 03

Small Talk

Keeping a casual conversation alive — reacting, following up, and not letting it die after one answer.

Adult Speaking English · Arc 1: Foundation

By the end of this lesson

Today's Goals

You will be able to:

The student can open small talk naturally on common topics: weather, work, food, travel, hobbies, weekend plans.
The student can react genuinely to what a partner says using natural reaction phrases, instead of staying silent or just saying "yes."
The student can ask follow-up questions that extend a topic rather than jumping to a new one immediately.
The student can keep a casual conversation going for at least 6–8 turns without the teacher rescuing the conversation.
The student can hold a full 3-minute casual conversation covering more than one small talk topic.

Lesson flow — 45 min

Warm-up5 min

Input8 min

Controlled Practice8 min

Listening7 min

Role-play10 min

Free Speaking5 min

Review/Homework2 min

Lesson 03 — Small Talk3

Stage 1

Warm-up

55 min

Goal

Loosen up with quick real small talk about today (weather, how the student is feeling).

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

weather forecast

天气预报

The weather forecast says it's going to rain.

freezing / burning up

冷死了/热死了

It's freezing out today! / I'm burning up in here.

busy season

忙季

Work's been crazy, it's our busy season.

in a good mood

心情好

You seem in a good mood today.

get away

出去走走，度假

I really need to get away this weekend.

grab a bite

随便吃点东西

Want to grab a bite after this?

catch up

叙旧，聊近况

We should catch up sometime soon.

exhausting

令人筋疲力尽的

This week has been exhausting.

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High-frequency words

Key Vocabulary (cont.)

Press C to show or hide the Chinese.

plans

计划，安排

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

no way!

不会吧！/真的假的！

No way! That's such a coincidence.

same here

我也是

Same here, I'm exhausted too.

I bet

我猜也是，肯定的

I bet you're tired after that trip.

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2 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 1–2

How's your day going? / How's it going?

你今天过得怎么样？/ 最近怎么样？

Hey, how's your day going so far?

How's it going? You look busy today.

Your turn: Practice asking this to open a conversation, then actually answer it honestly about your real day.

What do you do? / What do you do for fun?

你是做什么的？/ 你平时喜欢做什么？

So, what do you do, if you don't mind me asking?

What do you do for fun on the weekends?

Your turn: Practice both questions — one about work, one about hobbies.

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4 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 3–4

What do you like to do?

你喜欢做什么？

What do you like to do when you're not working?

What do you like to do to relax?

Your turn: Answer with something real and specific, not just "watch movies."

What about you?

那你呢？

I usually just stay home on weekends. What about you?

The weather's been nice lately, hasn't it? What about where you live?

Your turn: Practice attaching this after answering any small talk question.

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6 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 5–6

Really? / No way!

真的吗？/ 不会吧！

Really? I had no idea you used to live there.

No way! I actually went there last year too.

Your turn: Use one of these the next time your partner tells you something surprising.

That's cool. / That sounds fun/rough.

真不错。/ 听起来很有趣/很辛苦。

Oh, that's cool — I've never tried that before.

That sounds rough — busy week, huh?

Your turn: Match the reaction to what your partner actually says — fun news gets "sounds fun," bad news gets "sounds rough."

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8 of 8 patterns

Core Expressions 7–8

Me too! / Same here.

我也是！

Me too! I've been really into cooking lately as well.

Same here, I can't wait for the weekend either.

Your turn: Find a genuine overlap with your conversation partner and say it naturally.

Follow-up question (So... / And... / Have you...?)

追问，让对话继续下去

That's cool, so how long have you been doing that?

Oh nice, and did you go with friends or alone?

Your turn: Practice turning one of your own answers into a question for your partner instead of stopping there.

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Stage 4

Listening

77 min

Hey! How's your day going?

Pretty good, thanks — a bit tired though, it's been our busy season at work.

Oh really? What do you do again, remind me?

I work in accounting, so this time of year is always crazy for us. What about you, how's work been?

Not bad, actually pretty quiet this week. Hey, have you seen the weather forecast? Apparently it's going to be freezing this weekend.

No way, really? I was actually planning to get away for a couple of days.

Oh nice, where are you thinking of going?

Somewhere warm, hopefully! Maybe just a short trip, I really need a break after this month.

I bet. That sounds like exactly what you need. Any plans besides the trip?

Not really, just relaxing. What about you, any weekend plans?

Honestly, probably just grabbing a bite with some friends, nothing too exciting. We should catch up properly sometime, though, it's been a while.

Definitely, let's do that after this busy season calms down!

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Comprehension & discussion

Listening Check

Before listening

What do you think these two people are going to talk about — guess two topics before you listen.
Do you think they know each other well, or are they meeting for the first time? Why?

While listening

Listen and write down B's job.
Listen and check: is A's week busy or quiet?
Listen for the weekend plans mentioned by both people.
Listen for two reaction phrases used in the conversation (e.g. "No way," "I bet").

After listening

In your own words, summarize what B is planning to do this weekend and why.
Which topic in this conversation would you personally want to talk more about — the weather, the trip, or the "catch up" idea?
If you were A, what question would you ask next to keep the conversation going?

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Stage 5

Controlled Practice

88 min

Model

Teacher demonstrates a short natural exchange: "How's your day going?" / "Pretty good, a bit busy. What about you?" / "Same here, actually!"

Repeat

Student repeats the short exchange with the teacher 2–3 times for natural rhythm and intonation.

Substitute

Teacher swaps the topic, student adapts the same reactive structure:

Weather: "It's freezing today, isn't it?" → student reacts and adds a comment.
Weekend: "Any plans for the weekend?" → student answers and asks back.
Food: "Have you tried that new restaurant?" → student reacts and follows up.

Personalize

Student answers each small talk opener with real, personal information across all six topic areas (weather, work, food, travel, hobbies, weekend).

Remove prompts

Teacher starts small talk with no warning ("So, cold today, huh?"), student must react and keep the exchange going for at least 3 turns without a prepared script.

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Stage 6

Role-play

1010 min

Situation

You're waiting for a meeting to start (or standing in an elevator, or in a waiting room) with someone you know a little but not well. You have a few minutes to make small talk.

Teacher

Play the acquaintance. Open with one small talk topic, react to the student's answers, occasionally change topic, and throw in at least one unexpected question or comment.

Student

Respond naturally, react genuinely, ask follow-up questions, and try to keep the conversation moving across at least two different topics.

Useful language

How's your day going? / How's it going?

What do you do? / What do you like to do?

Really? / No way! / That's cool.

That sounds fun/rough.

Me too! / Same here.

Follow-up: So... / And... / Have you...?

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Make it unpredictable

Challenge Cards

Drop one of these in mid-role-play.

The awkward silence rescue

The teacher gives a short, flat answer ("Not much.") and stays quiet — student must revive the conversation with a new question or topic.

The surprising news

The teacher suddenly mentions something unexpected ("Actually, I'm moving to another city next month.") — student must react genuinely and ask at least two follow-up questions.

The topic switch

Mid-conversation, the teacher abruptly changes topic ("Anyway, forget that — did you see the game last night?") — student must follow the switch naturally instead of getting stuck on the old topic.

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Stage 7

Free Speaking

55 min

Task: "Have a 3-minute casual conversation." With no notes and no fixed script, the student holds an open small talk conversation with the teacher that naturally moves across at least two or three topics (weather, work, food, travel, hobbies, or weekend). The teacher participates as a real conversation partner — introducing topics, reacting, and occasionally going silent to see if the student can keep the conversation alive.

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Error correction

Review & Common Mistakes

Correct immediately

Silence or one-word answers that kill the conversation (communication breakdown) — coach the student in the moment to react and follow up.
Misuse of this lesson's core patterns (e.g. flat "Yes." instead of a reaction + follow-up).
Reactions that don't match the tone of what was said (e.g. saying "That sounds fun!" to bad news).

Note & correct later

Minor grammar slips in follow-up questions that don't block understanding.
Small pronunciation issues that don't cause confusion.
Slightly stiff or bookish phrasing — note it and offer a more natural alternative at the end of the lesson.

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Before next lesson

Homework

22 min

Speaking

Record a 2–3 minute voice memo doing "one-sided" small talk practice: imagine a partner's answers and react out loud to each one, moving through at least three topics from this lesson.

Review

Review the reaction phrases and follow-up question patterns from this lesson — practice saying each one out loud with a different topic before the next class.

Real life

This week, try starting real small talk with someone (a colleague, a barista, a neighbor, or an online English-speaking contact) using one opener from this lesson, and notice how far you can keep the conversation going.

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Lesson 03 complete

Nice work.

Next up: Lesson 04

Adult Speaking English