Do you have problems making small talk om English?
You are not alone.
Most of my students say the biggest problem hey have with small talk is NOT knowing WHAT to talk about.
"We can talk about our hometown, our job or our hobbies for a while," is a common complaint. "After that, we don't know what to say."
You need to know a little about a lot
The best answer is that you need to be able to talk a little about a wide range of topics - especially current events, and popular trends in sports, music, films, electronics, viral videos etc..
Many of you may not be up to date with u with current events or trends. You will need to work on this n order to be able to socialize in English. ( But I'll talk more about small talk in another post)
But, right now you have the perfect opportunity to find out a lot about everything important that happened in 2012 without having to do very much work.
Best of all, you can download all this information for free, and review it every time you want to practice speaking on a wide range of topics.You can even build some vocabulary!
What's the magic formula?
In these last few days of 2012, every newspaper, television network and magazine is publishing extensive reviews of the major events and trends of 2012 as well as predictions for 2013. . All you need to do is read, look at, listen to and download some of the information being published.
The more you do that, the more you will have to talk about.
Imagine being able to go to work, school, or the park and be able to comfortably talk about about who was the most important person in the world in 2012, or what the most watched video of the year was on the Internet. (By the way that was .Gonging Style by Korean pop star Psy. ) which has reached a world record with more than one billion You Tube hits.
Imagine being able to ask someone else what THEY think was the most important event of 2012, and to be able to respond with your own answer.
Material to Talk About : 2012 in Review
I have put together a list of sites that give an easy to understand overview the most important events of 2012.
Some focus mainly on pictures. Others, such as he Guardian Interactive Review, tell the story with pictures and words. Still others Such ads .... deliver the information with video, music and rap.
.
2012: The Year that Was: An Interactive Review (The Guardian)
From the golden summer of sport for Britain to the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused - and Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking jump from space, 2012 was a rich year for news. Here's the Guardian's interactive guide to the most extraordinary moments.
You can simply scroll down to read the entire interactive, or go to the left and click on the month you are interested in.
You can simply scroll down to read the entire interactive, or go to the left and click on the month you are interested in.
Australian Broadcast Corporation Year In Review
For more on what Australians considered the top stories of 2012, go to ABC Net
"The National's" Top Stories of 2012 (CBC.ca) ( 20 minutes) As 2012 comes to a close, CBC's flagship news program The National takes a look back at the sights and sounds of the year's top stories. "Rewind 2012."
- World Moments of 2012 PBS Newshour from sunken ship to Olympic victory, view the top world moments of 2012) PBS.org
- 2012: The Year in Graphics ( New York Times) Graphics and interactives from a year that included an election, the Olympics and a devastating hurricane. A selection of the graphics presented here include information about how they were created.
- Times' Top Ten of Everything for 2012 In 55 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad of the past 12 months
- "The Year in Seconds ( Video) BBC From a royal jubilee, to a royal baby. From drought to flood. Into recession and out again. Elections, protests and of course, the Olympics. It has certainly been an eventful year. Watch the news stories of 2012 condensed into 201.2 seconds."
More from the BBC
- The numbers of the year 2012
- Faces of the year: The men
- Faces of the Year: The Women
- Global notable deaths of 2012
Every week, the BBC Magazine presents 10 tweets to capture the spirit of the news commanding attention in North America. Now, as we bid adieu to 2012, a look back on the tweets that encapsulated the year. As always, some are more serious than others.
a Brief Glimpse of Our Writers' Favourite Moments with photos and videos (from The Guardian U.K)
a Brief Glimpse of Our Writers' Favourite Moments with photos and videos (from The Guardian U.K)- 2012 Year in REview ( YAHOO news) The standout news and pop obsessions gleanedf rom your search ha bits."
- Spotlight 2012 Review (Aljazeera.com ) Interactive infographic on highlights and photos of 2012
- 2012 China Daily
- 2012 in Review (The Telegraph.co) A look at what happened over the last 12 months in the worlds of politics, news, sport, celebrity, science, technology and the arts.
- The Year in Review from CBS Look back at some of the highlights of 2012 and peek ahead at what awaits in 2013.
- Facebook Year In Review An opopportunity to see your own year in review as well as trends from around the world
- The Year In Pictures from the BBC The pictures that made headlines in 2012
- The Best Photographs of 2012 in Pictures ( Guardian U.K.co) "From the camaraderie of the Tour de France to snipers in Syria, Sarah Gilbert selects her favourite pictures of the year." (Guardian.co.UK)
- Best Photos of the Year (Reuters An International News Agency
Predictions for 2013
And last, but not least.... a little RAP from Flocabulary.com to make the history more interesting.
How much do you remember?
Try some of these quizzes on 2012 in Review :
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