Fluency in English is an achievable goal if you build an effective lesson plan. And especially the effectiveness of the lessons is important at the initial stage of study, when we have a passion for obtaining knowledge, but there is still no clear understanding of how to conduct our classes. Therefore, to help beginners, such a technique as a topic on english language on the topic of everyday life, relationships, a story about yourself, etc. Just in today's material, we will analyze what is remarkable about this format of classes, how it is carried out and how effective the results of such training are.

What is an English topic on the topic of family, hobbies, media, etc.

Let's start with what this study methodology is all about. So, English topics by topic are adapted training modules in which information on a specific topic is concentrated. Even the very designation "topic" is a topic in English. Therefore, in Russian, for example, a topic may be called “ story about myself " or " my family ". More generalized options are also possible: “ journey », « tourism», « food and drink" etc. In this case, the training material consists of the following sections:

  • Popular vocabulary ( preferably with transcription and translation);
  • Text ( usually with grammar adapted to the level of knowledge of the students);
  • Questions and tasks ( often suggestive, i.e. you can answer with ready-made sentences from the text);
  • Independent work to consolidate the studied material (an essay in English on a topic or an oral story).

This lesson structure is not accidental. The fact is that topics in English are designed to diversify the skills of foreign speech perception. To achieve this goal, this technique actually artificially recreates the language environment, i.e. forces students to immerse themselves in the topic as much as possible and concentrate on English. Accordingly, the topic should be selected according to its educational level. For example, there are English topics for students ( for students), for beginners ( for beginners), for pupils ( for schoolchildren) etc. All of them differ in the complexity of grammar, variety of vocabulary and general disclosure of the topic.

This is with regard to the definition of topics as a method of learning a language. Now let's consider whether there is efficiency from this method and how high it is.

How to conduct lessons with topics in English

To assess how useful English topics are for beginners, you first need to understand the principle of conducting classes. After all, only a competently conducted lesson will provide the desired result. So, let's analyze the lesson with the topic in stages.

Vocabulary set

The first step is to familiarize yourself with the list of subject words. A good topic in English necessarily contains a dictionary, and all expressions in it are presented with transcription and translation. If your teaching material does not have a separate dictionary, then you need to make it yourself. Read the text of the lesson and find an unfamiliar word, write it out in a notebook. Work through the entire text in this way, and when you have a ready-made list of words, start looking for their translation and correct pronunciation. Do not be lazy to write out the transcription at least in Russian letters, because this will help you not only pronounce the words correctly, but also quickly memorize them.

Reading

The second stage of working with a topic is meaningful reading of the educational text. As we remember, the topics are designed to reveal everyday topics of the English language in an adapted form, i.e. adjusting to the level of knowledge of the reader. Therefore, there should be no difficulties here, especially since you have already sorted out all the incomprehensible vocabulary in advance. So, what should you concentrate on when reading:

  • On the content. Understanding the text is the main task. After all, we then still have to answer questions or write an essay on the topic in English.
  • On the use of words written out in the dictionary. New expressions are better remembered in context, so it doesn't hurt to mark the pattern of using a new word once again.
  • Pronunciation. Reading the text aloud helps to eliminate the Russian accent and imitates the speech situation, i.e. later it will be easier for you to speak in English, since you are confident in the correctness of your speech and you are used to its English sound.
  • On grammatical constructions. It will not be superfluous to note the use of recently studied aspects of tense, irregular forms of verbs, etc.

Of course, it is impossible to immediately notice all these nuances, so the educational text is read at least 3 times. First, just for understanding the content, then out loud to practice pronunciation, and with the third reading we consolidate the information, along the way paying attention to the grammar and contexts of new words.

Listening

This stage is typical only for some lessons, since not all topics in English with translation are supplemented with audio material. If your text is accompanied by an entry with its content, additional dialogues or questions, then this is a great success. Because in this case, you can not only develop the correct pronunciation, but also work out the perception of English speech by ear.

Other English topics: Learning English on your own from scratch: how to achieve success

The listening process itself is as follows: the student listens to the recording, repeats after the speaker and tries to understand by ear what is being said. At first, you can and should use printed text as a guide, since it is better to clearly see what the announcer is saying. Otherwise, beginners can easily "get lost" in the recording, get nervous, understand nothing and only ruin the whole lesson for themselves.

Transfer

While reading or listening to the topic in English, the student acts as a translator, translating the text into Russian. Of course, ideally, you need to achieve a subconscious understanding of English, i.e. we read, and immediately understand what is at stake, we don't even need to look for Russian equivalents of words and expressions. But at the initial stage of training, such perfection is simply impossible to achieve, you need months or even years of practice. Therefore, here we work in a standard way - we translate consecutively according to sentences, and preferably in writing.

Why is translation needed? There are a number of reasons for this. First, in this way we will once again go through the content of the text and learn it better. Secondly, again, we will repeat the new vocabulary of the lesson. Thirdly, you may need a text with a translation for an essay in English, because when writing an essay, you need to start from something. In addition, you need to know the translation for listening, so that it is easier to navigate the speaker's speech.

Questions and writing

After thorough work with the text, the learned information needs to be consolidated with practice. To do this, the work provides for mini-tests and leading questions, or, for example, they offer topics to translate Russian sentences into English. It all depends on the level of training of the student.

This is how lessons are conducted according to the method of English topics. As you can see, the work is quite voluminous, so it is possible, and sometimes even necessary, to divide it into several lessons ( especially if the topic in English requires writing an essay). At the same time, do not forget to start each next lesson with a short repetition of the already studied part of the material.

An example of an English topic for beginners

We examined what the topics are and learned how to deal with them correctly. But this is all theory, and for a general understanding it would be nice to add a little practice. Therefore, now let's look at what a typical English topic looks like with translation for beginners. It has already been noted that topics for English are diverse and almost limitless, but for simplicity and clarity of the example, we will take the simplest one - "About myself". So, let's begin.

Related vocabulary

name is ... name, called
… Years old …years old
was born born
live live
currently [ˈKʌrəntli] now, now
dormitory [ˈDɔː.mɪ.tər.i] dormitory
tall high
cheerful [ˈTʃɪəfl] cheerful
kind kind
sociable [ˈSəʊ.ʃə.bl̩] sociable
handsome [ˈHæn.səm] handsome (only about men)
imagine [ɪˈmædʒɪn] imagine, imagine
communicate communication
spend time spend time
however however
to be alone be alone
sometimes [ˈSʌmtaɪmz] sometimes, from time to time
fishing [ˈFɪʃɪŋ] fishing, fishing
fond of get involved
take a part participate
develop develop
unit [ˈJuːnɪt] unite
thanks to… [θæŋks tə] thanks to
a few [ə fjuː] several
become
mission [ˈMɪʃ.ən] mission, meaning

Text

My name is Sergey and I’m 25 years old. I was born in Russia, in Omsk city. Currently I live in Saint-Petersburg. I study at the Saint Petersburg State University and now I’m living in a student dormitory.

I am a young, tall and handsome man. My friends say I am kind and cheerful. I have many friends because I am very sociable. I like to talk with people and I can’t imagine my life without communicate. I spend much time with my friends, however, I want to be alone sometimes. At such moments I go fishing in the river.

Other English topics: How phrases and words are formed in English with examples

Also I am a sportsman. I fond of volleyball, and I often take a part in competition. I have more 50 different medals, but is not much important. I really love this game! Volleyball develops speed, coordination of movements, arm strength and height of jump. And volleyball is a team sport: this game unites the people. Thanks to volleyball I met a lot of a good friends.

And finally, I would like to say a few words about my dream. I want to have a large family and I plan to teach my children volleyball. They’ll become the best players. That is my life’s mission.

Transfer

My name is Sergey and I am 25 years old. I was born in Russia, in the city of Omsk. I currently live in St. Petersburg. I study at St. Petersburg State University, and now I live in a student hostel.

I am a young, tall and handsome man. Friends say that I am kind and cheerful. I have a lot of friends because I am very sociable. I like to communicate with people, and I cannot imagine my life without communication. I spend a lot of time with my friends, but sometimes I want to be alone. At such moments, I go fishing on the river.

I am also an athlete. I am fond of volleyball and often take part in competitions. I have over 50 different medals, but this is not so important. I really love this game! Volleyball develops speed, coordination of movements, arm strength and jump height. And volleyball is a team sport: this game brings people together. Thanks to volleyball, I have met many good friends.

And finally, I would like to say a few words about my dream. I want to have a big family and plan to teach volleyball to my children. They will become the very best players. This is the meaning of my life.

Verification work

Task number 1: Answer the questions:

  1. How is Sergey old?
  2. Where does he study?
  3. What do his friends say about him?
  4. What kind of sport does Sergey like and why?
  5. What is his dream?

Task number 2: Using the given vocabulary and using the sample text, compose your own story about yourself in length of 10-15 sentences.

This is something like a typical english topic... We do not have an audio accompaniment for the text, but as an alternative we can recommend using a regular online translator. You just need to copy the text into the translator window and press the sound button.

The effectiveness of teaching topics in English

Now we have considered both theory and practice - it remains to evaluate the results. So, what is the usefulness of the methodology of English topics, it is also topics in English, if we speak in English.

Of course, topics carry a lot of useful information. This is a common vocabulary in speech, and behavior in everyday situations, and traditions, and the mentality of people. All these things are important to know for understanding the culture of the country and, accordingly, its language. In addition, topics are good because they allow you to develop a "base", i.e. quickly learn simple topics and start communicating in English.

It is important to note that with the help of topics, students develop comprehensively. Provided that the topic contains vocabulary, text, audio files and written assignments, students improve their English skills in one lesson on several points at once:

  • Replenishment of vocabulary.
  • Improved pronunciation.
  • Working with listening comprehension.
  • Remembering grammatical nuances.
  • Ability to formulate your own thoughts in English.

Actually, the five points listed above represent full-fledged knowledge of the language. Indeed, for free communication in English, you need to know the meaning of words, be able to pronounce them correctly and understand what the interlocutor is talking about. In addition, our speech must be competent and fluent, i.e. you need to be able to quickly compose an answer to a question, and not lose the thread of the conversation.

Thus, it turns out that topics form a high-quality knowledge base of the English language for the student. Consequently, the effectiveness of the technique is extremely high. But, it should be noted that the overall performance strongly depends on the format of the classes. For example, if you will not listen to texts and answer questions to them, then it is natural that you will not perceive English by ear. The same applies to writing: if you don’t want to write essays, don’t write, but only then you won’t learn to formulate thoughts in English. Therefore, it will be difficult for you to speak with foreigners.

So in itself, the methodology of topics in the English language is almost flawless, but do not be lazy to correctly conduct your lessons and constantly monitor the results of classes.

We also advise you to study the useful material about 1000 words in English that you need to know, it will definitely come in handy when compiling your texts in English.

Good luck and see you soon!

Here is a collection of topics and essays on the English language (short thematic stories). All topics are grouped according to their respective topics.

Topics, essays on topics:

  • My life (91)

    Personal compositions, stories about yourself, your family, pastime, vacations, hobbies, best friends. All topics in this section in one way or another relate directly to the personality of the narrator.

  • Books (29)

    This section contains stories on the topics of books read, the general meaning of literature and reading in human life. There are essays on such topics as "My favorite book", "Books in my life", etc.

  • Geography: cities and countries of the world (220)

    This section is fully devoted to the description of geographical objects, cities, countries, continents. It contains information about the peculiarities of their political structure, history of development, economy and culture.

  • Education (28)

    Topics on topics of learning English, peculiarities of education in a particular country, education in schools and universities. All essays in this section are devoted to educational topics.

  • Ecological problems, climate pollution, the impact of human activity on the environment - topics on these and other similar topics are collected in this section.

  • Biographies (92)

    Here are collected stories in English about the biographies of great people, their scientific discoveries and inventions, about how their work influenced the future of mankind.

  • Art: painting, music, poetry (44)

    Essays and topics in English about culture, art, painting, music and cinema. It also contains stories about famous museums and exhibition galleries in our country and abroad.

  • Holidays and traditions (44)

    Stories about what holidays exist and how they are held in different countries of the world. Features of national traditions and cultures.

  • Professions and careers (18)

    Essays in English about the choice of profession and career. Here are collected topics on such topics as "My future profession", "Employment", etc.

  • Media (32)

    This section contains texts about the media: television, newspapers, radio, Internet. Issues of censorship, professional ethics, advantages and disadvantages of the media are discussed.

Good day, dear readers! Surely you have come across the phrase topics for reading on the Internet more than once. And some people have a misunderstanding, how is it in English? From England or what ?! And how to read them? This is the reasoning for those for whom a topic is a type of clothing - a short T-shirt. But in the language of the Internet and education, this concept has a completely different meaning. And which one we will find out today.

Reading topics in English

So what does the phrase "English topic" mean for language learners? One of the translations from english word « topic"Is the noun" topic", That is, this is a topic for conversation or conversation: Let’s change the topic - Let's change the topic. And the subject matter can be very diverse - from cooking to scientific, from everyday to erotic, from highly intellectual to ordinary "secular" chatter.

Thus, we can decipher the phrase "Topic for reading in English" as a short story on a specific topic. Even at school, we are faced with similar texts, when the teacher asks to write an essay about a favorite holiday, sport, about yourself in English. Today there are even special collections that contain topics in the English language with translation from a wide variety of areas of life and work.

Such texts are not very important for applicants, graduates and simply for those who are studying English. We can say with 100% certainty that in any English exam there will be an assignment to write an essay on a specific topic. And here, previously learned topics will help you a lot. You can also write your own essay based on one of the texts.



Topics in English with translation

For those who study the language, such ready-made texts will also be of great benefit. Studying them a beginner:

  • Trains skills of fast reading and translation
  • Enhances vocabulary
  • Develops spelling vigilance
  • Acquainted with the culture of English-speaking countries
  • Learns to build a competent conversation
  • Develops communication skills
  • Remembers the rules of syntax - building a sentence in English

In addition, the student gets the opportunity not only to memorize a new word as a separate lexeme, but also to see its use on the example of a specific speech situation, that is, in a sentence. That is why many teaching methods for anyone foreign language include the obligatory memorization of topics on a variety of topics that not only broaden the horizons, but also significantly help in language learning.

Topics in English with translation

English topics should not be too short or too long. In oral expressive reading, their duration should be from 5 to 10 minutes. The vocabulary should be simple, common, without a lot of terms and other incomprehensible words. You should be comfortable not only reading them, but also memorizing speech constructions.

I present to your attention about 50 texts in English with translation (and somewhere with a dictionary) on the most popular topics:

Appearance (man, woman, child, appearance)
About myself (hobbies, family, I)
Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Birthday, Shrovetide, Thanksgiving)
Travel (tourism, car travel)
Sports (my attitude to sports, cycling, Olympic Games)
Cuisine Food (Russian, British and American cuisine)
Education (education in Moscow, higher education In Great Britain, short story Cambridge)
Russia (museums and libraries of Moscow, Russian Federation, Russia is the largest country in the world)
Profession (choice of profession, financial career, who works for whom)

In the article “How to name the seasons in English? "You will also find a topic on the topic" My favorite season "

These topics, you can use, both for complete memorization, and as a support for writing your own compositions. And for beginners to learn the language, it will be simply useful to read 1-2 topics every day in order to develop visual memory and other skills.

What other topic would you like to see a topic on? Write about your wishes in the comments, and we will definitely fulfill your request. So, in accordance with your wishes, the list and thematic variety of tests will increase.

I wish you a spring mood and a sunny smile!

TOPICS IN ENGLISH are small texts on a specific topic. Here you will find original English topics on a number of topics.

What are English topics for? Working with topics is a very useful activity, since, mainly, a topic is always sharpened for a specific topic, i.e. is full of relevant vocabulary that you can write out and learn for your own further use. Educators love to force students to work with topics, often encouraging them to write their own topic texts.

On this page, the publication of topics in English is open, the collection of which will be regularly updated. Here you can find a ready-made topic, learn it by heart, or take it as a basis for compiling your own statement.

Topic About Myself

A topic for those who need to learn how to talk about themselves, their character traits, interests and life in general.

My Family topic

This topic will help you learn to talk about your family members: describe their age, hobbies, personality traits.

Topic Home

Learn to talk about your home: a description of the house, a description of the interior, housework - this and much more in this topic.

My Working Day Topic

A topic about a personal working day. What time the working day starts, how it goes by, what has to be done during the working day - all the necessary aspects are disclosed in this topic.

Topic My Day Off

My day off is a topic that tells about ways to spend my free time (stay at home, meet friends, visit theaters, etc.). If you need to learn how to talk about how you spend your weekend, then this topic will be of great help to you.

Topic My Household Chores

This topic is dedicated to doing household chores. You will learn how to describe your daily household activities: sweeping the floor, washing and ironing clothes, cleaning the room and much more in this topic in English.

Topic My School

A topic for those who need to make a message about their school in English. You will learn phrases to describe the exterior of a building and its interior decoration. You will learn to talk about school subjects and timetables, as well as frequently performed activities in school.

Topic My Favorite Subjects at School

Need to talk about your favorite subjects and explain why you like them? No problem! In this topic you will find a detailed description of school subjects and the arguments in their favor.

Topic Professions and Careers

Choosing a profession and a future career is a difficult choice. If you want to learn how to reason on this topic in English, then use this topic. This topic is filled with both general phrases and vocabulary that you can use to describe specific professions.

Topic Friends and Friendship

Learn to describe people, in particular your boyfriend or girlfriend. Appearance, character traits, habits and hobbies - all this is in this topic.

Topic Trips an Journeys

The topic is dedicated to travel and travel. Learn to talk about the delights of travel, the ways of travel, the benefits of different modes of transport, and other things.

Topic Shops and Shopping

It is very important to be able to communicate on the shop topic, since every day we are faced with the need to buy something. In our topic, you will find useful vocabulary related to shopping and shopping.

Topic Seasons of the Year and the Weather

We learn to talk about the weather: we describe weather phenomena, characterize the climate, express our personal attitude to the weather. The topic is full of weather-themed vocabulary and is useful for all English learners.

Topic Hollidays

Our life would be much boring and uninteresting if not for the holidays. You are invited to get acquainted with the topic, which describes the most popular holidays that are celebrated by people around the world.

Top Sport

Learn to talk about sports: the benefits of playing sports, the benefits of various sports, sports competitions and much more are covered in this topic.

Topic My Favorite Writers

The topic is dedicated to favorite English-speaking (English and American) and Russian writers - Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Topic Great Britain

This topic contains brief general geographic and sociocultural information about the UK.

English speaking club

Conversation club is fundamentally different from English courses. The main characteristics of the spoken english club are as follows:

The purpose of the English speaking club is to develop primarily the Speaking skill and, to a lesser extent, Listening. Reading and Writing skills are completely ignored at meetings of the English Speaking Club, as well as clarification of phonetic, grammar and lexical rules of the English language.

The meetings of the conversation club in English are not related in any way thematically, so the participant can skip them without prejudice to the entire program of the course.

1. There is no need to explain why the venue for an English speaking club should be comfortable for all participants. We only note that subdued lighting can contribute to creating an atmosphere in a conversation club in English that is conducive to pleasant communication. It distracts the attention of the participants in the English conversation club from the details of the interior and appearance of the interlocutors, which helps to concentrate directly on the discussion.

2. Does a conversation club have to be led by a native English speaker? On the one hand, people prefer talking clubs with English-speaking hosts. On the other hand, the difference in mentality can make it much more difficult to create an interesting and relevant discussion. In addition, even in a large Russian city, it is very difficult to find a certified linguistic teacher of Anglo-Saxon origin who wishes to lead your conversation club. These are usually students or expats in non-core specialties from around the world, whose language level and teaching skills leave much to be desired. In our expert opinion, the best option is to invite a native English speaker to a conversation club meeting as a guest. In this case, he answers the questions of the presenter on an equal basis with other members of the English speaking club. Of course, like other members of the English language club, he can ask questions or answer himself, but the initiative for conducting the meeting remains with the Russian-speaking participant.

3. As for the number of participants in a conversation club in English, here you should adhere to the "golden rule": when more than 9 people gather, the general discussion inevitably splits into several groups. Thus, without taking into account the presenter, no more than 8 people should be present at the meeting of the conversation club at a time, and without taking into account the English-speaking guest, no more than 7.

4. Most English speaking clubs practice to inform participants in advance about the topic of the upcoming meeting, but we strongly do not recommend doing this! Firstly, a meeting of a conversation club should maximally stage a real situation of a spontaneous discussion with an English-speaking interlocutor. Secondly, complete unpreparedness makes the brain work faster, "raising deep layers" of knowledge to the surface, including from the subconscious. Thirdly, as our experience shows, a regular participant of an English speaking club can miss a meeting just because he hasn’t prepared, or come, but feel insecure.

5. The first meeting of the English speaking club, regardless of the level of the group, we recommend starting with the topic "Names". First, it will help you and the English Speaking Club members remember their names faster. Secondly, this is the easiest of the conversational topics we offer, and, accordingly, the discussion on it will inspire confidence in the participants and positively set them up for further visits to the English language club.

6. The main mistake that the leaders of English speaking clubs make, in our opinion, is that they ask the whole group a question and wait for someone who wants to answer it. As a result of this practice, the same extroverts usually speak at the meeting, and some introverts leave the English speaking club without uttering a word! Of course, this is completely unacceptable! To avoid this monstrous mistake, the host of an English speaking club should ask the same question personally to each participant and, until everyone has expressed their opinion, not move on to the next question.

7. Encourage conversation club members to begin their judgments with introductory expressions such as "I think", "In my opinion", "From my point of view", as is customary in the English-speaking world.

8. It is not at all necessary, by all means, at one meeting of the English language club to go through all 18 questions of your chosen conversation topic. The topics we offer for a conversation club in English are by no means an academic program. Rather, they play the role of some kind of "pusher" from which the discussion in English is started. Moreover, if after the first few questions, the dispute has gone in a different direction, then the meeting of the English speaking club was successful! Always remember that the most important criterion for a successful meeting of a spoken English club is that all its members are interested. If they would like to discuss some other topic in English than the one suggested by you, that's just great!

9. Do not allow members of the English Speaking Club to take any notes during the meeting. First, we repeat that the atmosphere of a club meeting should simulate as much as possible the situation of a conversation with an English-speaking interlocutor. Secondly, taking notes greatly distracts attention from the discussion in English. Actually, this is what makes the conversation club different from English courses.

10. As for phonetic, grammatical and lexical mistakes made by the participants of the English speaking club, they should not be corrected directly during the discussion. Only if the same error occurs in the same participant more than 2 times, it is necessary to delicately point out it to him at the end of the meeting of the spoken English club. If necessary, you can advise him to listen to something, read or do exercises on this topic.

11. Also, at the end of each meeting of the conversation club, it is advisable to remind its participants to read books and watch films in English, as well as perform various exercises in between classes. If necessary, you can recommend the most useful resources for learning English.


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