TESOL/English lesson topics

Interactive or non-interactive

Conversation (interactions between two or more people)	one person (newscaster talks)
Agreeing and disagreeing Agreeing and disagreeing in English	Expressing opinions Giving opinions in English
Making requests and persuading Requests in English Advice in English	Stating preferences Expressing preferences in English (homes)
Expressing displeasure Criticizing in English	Complaining about circumstances Complaining in English
Congratulations Congratulations in English	Things you are glad about or regret Reflecting on the past in English
Asking about people Meeting someone Talking about your job in English	Describing people Describing family members Talking about abilities Emotions in English Describing faces
Allocating responsibility	Responsibility Talking about responsibilities in English
Asking about objects	Describing objects Describing objects - elementary Shapes in English
Giving advice or recommendations, accepting them Recommending clothing Recommending places	Resolutions Making resolutions in English
Coordinating plans, such as meeting at a certain place Planning to meet	Hopes and goals, individual plans Talking about plans
Refusing or asking for help Asking for help in English	Expressing trust Talking about trust
Reactions Reactions in English Reacting with skepticism or belief	Talking about emotions Emotions in English Talking about fears Worrying about the future in English
Talking to a medical professional Talking to a doctor in English	Describing physical condition Talking about how you feel
Giving instructions Giving directions in English	Narratives, describing processes Describing a journey in English
Nostalgia Sharing nostalgia in English Nostalgia in English	Trends Trends in English
Thanks Thanking	Gratitude Gratitude in English
Apology Apologizing in English	Guilt and shame Guilt in English
Meetings and introductions Meeting someone	Self-introductions Introducing yourself in English
Discussing possibilities Probability in English	Speculating about the future Probability in English
Demanding an explanation	Expressing disbelief
Asking where and giving locations Locations in English	Giving locations Locations in English
Making accusations Accusations in English	Accepting, denying, and assigning blame Blame in English

Interactive only

Goodbyes Saying goodbye in English
Interrupting Interrupting in English
Changing the subject and returning to a topic Changing the subject in English

Cross-topic themes

politeness and familiarity

Requests

level of politeness	language
25%	can I can you
50%	could you could I may I
75%	could you possibly could I possibly would you be able to would I be able to
100%	I hate to ask, but could you possibly Would it be at all possible (for me) to for you to Is there any way that I might be able to that you might be able to could I persuade you to

With "you"

Using "ma'am" or "sir" at the beginning or end of a sentence makes the sentence very formal and polite. Do not use it with friends because it is too polite. It would sound cold.

Strength of language

In meaning, the difference between "freezing" and "cold" is that "freezing" is colder than "cold," but there is a grammatical difference as well. "Freezing" is a non-gradable word which behaves differently grammatically than a gradable word like "cold." For many adjectives there is a non-gradable word or expression which is stronger. Adjusting the strength of your message requires knowing these stronger words and expressions and knowing how to use them.

Encouraging or discouraging conversation

To continue a conversation, use the method short answer + extra information. If you want to stop the conversation, give only a short answer.

Another usual way is the use of question tags.