Best Practices for Creating Conversation Assignment Topics
See example assignments at the bottom of this article!
DO clearly and briefly communicate the topic
- Write all instructions in the target language - not all our partners know English!
- Put instructions relevant to both partners and students. Add information only for partners at the bottom (student levels, etc...)
- Pick familiar topics, based on the level of your learners and their classroom learning
- Pick a topic that works for 15 or 30 minutes. Suggest how much time for each part of your topic.
- Limit pdf attachments to one page
DO start assignment names with a number
- Our system organizes assignments by number and then by alphabet
- Put a number in front of the assignment names so they appear in the right order
DON'T include incomplete or unrelated content
- Only include information useful for both the partner and learner during this conversation. For example, you usually don't need to include much about the students' pre-conversation and post-conversation activities. Don't reference class materials our partner can't access.
- Don't put TBD or TBA and then forget to add the content later.
Examples
See 15-min and 30-min example assignments here.
Successful 30-minute assignments
- Conversazione 1 - Introduzioni by Kelly Blank, Xavier University
- La Mejor Tinta by Dianne Moneypenny and Kathryn Johnston, Indiana University East
- La Vida Moderna by Mariana Stoyanova, Georgia College and State University
Successful 15-minute assignments
- TalkAbroad 1 by Romain Rivaux, Florida Atlantic University
- Ocio y Entretenimiento by BenjamÃn Chang, Greendale Community College
Unsuccessful 30-minute assignments
Unsuccessful 15-minute assignments
Have more questions? Please reach out to us by emailing support@talkabroad.com.