English Conversation Questions

Writing

Questions

1. Do you prefer writing or typing?
2. What are your biggest problems with writing?
3. When do you need to write in your everyday life?
4. Do you think writing will disappear in the future?
5. Do you like your handwriting? How would you describe it?
6. How old do people learn to write in your country?
7. Is writing in your language different from writing in English?
8. Do you prefer reading, listening, speaking or writing?

Videos

An animated interpretation of William Shakespeare’s poem “All the World’s a Stage”
Poem by William Shakespeare, directed by Jeffig Le Bars and Jérémie Balais.
Category:  Art | Education & Language
Keywords: Poetry | Writing
How do metaphors help us better understand the world? And, what makes a good metaphor? Explore these questions with writers like Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg, who have mastered the art of bringing a

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scene or emotion to life.

Lesson by Jane Hirshfield, animation by Ben Pearce

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Category:  Art | Education & Language
Keywords: Language | Metaphors | Writing
You need social skills to have a conversation in real life — but they’re quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few “anti-social skills,” like eavesdropping and muttering

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to yourself, that can help you write an effective dialogue for your next story.

Lesson by Nadia Kalman, animation by Enjoyanimation.

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Category:  Education & Language
Keywords: Advice | Skill | Writing
Written language, the hallmark of human civilization, didn’t just suddenly appear one day. Thousands of years before the first fully developed writing systems, our ancestors scrawled geometric signs across the walls of the

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caves they sheltered in. Paleoanthropologist and rock art researcher Genevieve von Petzinger has studied and codified these ancient markings in caves across Europe. The uniformity of her findings suggest that graphic communication, and the ability to preserve and transmit messages beyond a single moment in time, may be much older than we think.

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Category:  Education & Language
Keywords: Symbols | Writing

Vocabulary:
cove
secluded
float
shore
anchor
lighthouse
greenhouse
handsaw
hammer
power tool
nail
board (noun)
ton
land sick
biomass
canoe
paddle
real estate
prosper
fulfilled

Expressions:
subsistence living
hon

Vocabulary:
word
word
word
word
word
word
word
word
word

Expressions:
expression
expression
expression
expression

Vocabulary:
prestigious
involuntary
swindler
fraudulence
unwarranted
concern
unfounded
impostor
syndrome
faculty
pervasive
prevalent
disproportionately
underrepresented
downplay
abnormality
self-esteem
spiral
accolade
threshold
susceptible
voice (verb)
peer
dismiss
excel
ease
mentor
competence
banish
frank

Expressions:
nagging doubt
shake a feeling
put something to rest
surefire way

Vocabulary:
filmmaker
principle
handcuff
clown
distill
underdog
aspect
familiar
unfamiliar
chopsticks
keyboard
organic
grounded
clarity
stuntman
steady
gag
perfectionist
rhythm
distinct
continuity
elbow
bunch
flail around
unlike
invincible
impressive
humanize
asset
payoff
relentlessness
finale

Expressions:
kick ass
going above and beyond
get smacked in the face
sell a joke

Vocabulary:
explosion
smoke (noun)
engine
unique
pilot
route
unemotional
terror
instant
reach out (to someone)
postpone
urgency
purpose
regret
humanity
ego
reflect
eliminate
frame (verb)
artistic
talent
bawl
miracle

Expressions:
bucket list
brace for impact
mend fences
make sense
connecting dots