The speaking classes in the junior college Department of English Communication (1992-2008) used to give students an opportunity to use their own English for social purposes. There was a four-day cycle for each unit/topic (see topics below).

• Day 1--Sentences. Students look for verbs among the list of questions and practice making basic sentences about the new topic using the verbs that they find.

• Day 2--Questions--good, bad, better. Students ask the teacher questions about the topic. They list questions they find useful, (bad) questions that they think should be eliminated from the list, and suggest (better) questions that they would like to see added.

• Day 3--Short svo answers. Students discuss each numbered question. After listening to each and every group member's answer they write down the most interesting one.
  Homework--At home each student thinks about the topic and decides (a) what she wants to say in her group and (b) how to say it in English. Then she writes at least one page in her Speaking Journal.

• Day 4--Free discussion based on the homework. Students write down discussion questions based on the content of their actual discussion.

Students should have paid attention, practiced, and asked questions everyday. Here is a list of topics we used, linked to lists of questions that might still be useful to help students think about and discuss each topic.