Well this reply maybe slightly late, but better late than never. I use News articles in my conversation classes. This helps students to understand the world around them in English.
Furthermore, I also use
Speaking Extra, which is a great resource book for groups of students. You cannot use it for individual students though. However, when you look at the contents of the book it helps you plan what to teach during the week. Please see below a list of the contents for some ideas for your conversation classes:
1
Personal Information:
1.1 What about you?
1.2 Life experience
1.3 Spy Catcher
2
The family:
2.1 She's got her dad's eyes
2.2 Family tensions
2.3 Family values
3
Daily activities:
3.1 Whose Saturday?
3.2 Are you in touch with your body clock?
3.3 Beyond the routine
4
Homes:
4.1 House doctor
4.2 A perfect home
4.3 A messy home means a messy mind
5
Town and country:
5.1 A nice neighbourhood
5.2 Then and now
5.3 A business proposition
6
Travel and tourism:
6.1 Hotels
6.2 Traveller's tales
6.3 Life's an adventure!
7
Food and drink:
7.1 Recipes
7.2 Menu, please
7.3 Food for thought
8
Describing people:
8.1 Lost!
8.2 Who's who?
8.3 Star quality
9
Describing things:
9.1 Can you describe it?
9.2 Lost property
9.3 In your mind's eye
10
Friends and relationships:
10.1 What kind of friend are you?
10.2 Moral dilemmas
10.3 What are friends for?
11
Health and fitness:
11.1 Well-being
11.2 Healthy, wealthy and wise
11.3 First Aid
12
Leisure time:
12.1 What's on?
12.2 Focus on leisure
12.3 Leisure centre
13
Education:
13.1 Learning to learn
13.2 The best years of your life
13.3 A preparation for life
14
The world of work:
14.1 Why work?
14.2 The right person for the job
14.3 Great perks!
15
Money:
15.1 Sale or exchange
15.2 Common currency
15.3It's all about image
16
Past experiences and stories:
16.1 Really?
16.2 Interruptions
16.3 Small ads
17
Science and technology:
17.1 Gizmos and gadgets
17.2 It'll never happen
17.3 It will change our lives
18
Social and environmental issues:
18.1 How green are you?
18.2 Pressure group
18.3 Keeping an open mind
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Also click
here for some sample material with the textbook.
I hope the titles gets you thinking about how you could plan for your lesson and topics to introduce to the conversational classes.
