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In the waiting room

In the waiting room

Watch Dev from India and Ana from Brazil as they practise small talk in the waiting room at the doctor's surgery. The players are trying to think of some topics of conversation. What topics would you use to make small talk with people you don't know?

After you have watched the video, there are some activities to complete and then finally, there's a quiz to check what you remember!

Ana making small talk and Dev staying quiet in the doctor's waiting room.

Making small talk

The following activities will help you, if you are trying to make small talk in the UK. 

Activity 1: In this activity, you have to match the most important vocabulary from the video with the descriptions.
Match the words to the definitions.
 

Activity 2: In this activity, you have to read the statements and decide if they are true or false.
How much did you understand?

 

Activity 3: In this activity, decide what is usually the best topic for small talk when speaking to people in the UK.
Choose the topic that you think is more suitable.
 

Quiz

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Your turn

The players didn't do very well in this episode. What mistakes did they make?

Football is a good topic for small talk.

Here are some more questions for you to answer in the comments section:

Would you talk or stay quiet in Dev's situation? Would you ask a person's name?

Would you ask if someone is married?

The weather is often used for small talk in the UK. What topics are used for small talk in your country?

Leave a comment

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Comentários

ahelmy
12/05/2015
EG
0
points

in my country there are many topics for small talk like football , films , TV programs


ahelmy
12/05/2015 15:58
Egypt
Chelsea
0

in my country there are many topics for small talk like football , films , TV programs

frantoix
26/12/2014
ES
0
points

I think there is a mistake in the correction of one of the questions.
The inappropriate question "Are you married?" is asked by Ana, not by Dev.


frantoix
26/12/2014 19:44
Spain
Swansea City
0

I think there is a mistake in the correction of one of the questions.
The inappropriate question "Are you married?" is asked by Ana, not by Dev.

Rich's picture
Rich
27/12/2014
ES
594
points

Thanks Frantoix, we've corrected the mistake.


Rich's picture
Rich
27/12/2014 15:41
Spain
Liverpool
594

Thanks Frantoix, we've corrected the mistake.

luciall
25/11/2014
ES
0
points

i would stay quiet in this situation.
yes i would ask, no i wouldn´t.
a person´s hobbies


luciall
25/11/2014 14:20
Spain
Manchester City
0

i would stay quiet in this situation.
yes i would ask, no i wouldn´t.
a person´s hobbies

admin's picture
admin
25/11/2014
GB
560
points

Hi Luciall

I think I would probably stay quiet, too. I'm pretty rubbish at small talk.

Thanks for commenting. - Jack


admin's picture
admin
25/11/2014 15:11
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

Hi Luciall

I think I would probably stay quiet, too. I'm pretty rubbish at small talk.

Thanks for commenting. - Jack

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6570
2mobeckham6536
3hsn5555
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74670
2Ukraine33833
3Spain29384
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23388
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20437
8Turkey20093
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United146566
2Liverpool111201
3Chelsea90102
4Arsenal86318
5Manchester City58708
6Tottenham Hotspur19407
7Newcastle United10560
8West Ham United7642
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Everton4533

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Vocabulary

Language related to small talk

Culture

Topics to avoid when speaking to people you don't know

Downloads

Glossary

small talk

polite conversations about ordinary topics

to break the ice

to say something to make a person feel more relaxed, especially when meeting for the first time

tricky

something that is difficult

to pass away

to die; we often say this because we don’t want to use the word ‘die’

Tips

Making Small Talk

The most important thing is not language but confidence. If you start the conversation you will find most people are happy to talk, just remember to choose the right topic!

Extension

Find out more about UK culture on the Learn English's UK Culture page.