English, baby!

Talking to Strangers

Date: Jan 28 2011

Themes: Friend

Grammar: First Conditional

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Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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One rule that almost everyone learns as a child is “Don’t talk to strangers.” But when you get older, being able to approach someone you don’t know and start a conversation becomes a good skill to have. Talking to strangers makes you a social, outgoing person.

But some adults still don’t like talking to strangers. If you aren’t in the mood to talk, it can be annoying if a stranger comes up to you and tries start a conversation with you. Ella loves to chat with people she doesn’t know, but Amy prefers to keep to herself. Find out why.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Ella

Amy

Ella: So growing up, you know, one of the main rules as a kid is to never talk to strangers, right? But I feel like I talk to strangers every day, and I learn more about them than I’m supposed to, especially in my career.

Amy: But you don’t just go up to people on the street and start a conversation out of the blue, do you?

Ella: Well, if I like what they’re wearing I’ll be like “Oh, where’d you get that?” I think it’s easier for girls to approach girls and guys. But when a guy does it, you just get completely creeped out.

Amy: It’s true, it can be creepy. Have you ever started talking to a stranger and just become fast friends with them?

Ella: I do that a lot on the airplane, ‘cause you’re in such confined spaces.

Amy: That’s so true.

Ella: You know, there’s layovers. Like, “Hey, do you want to get a cup of coffee? I don’t know your name, but I don’t care ‘cause we’ll never see each other again.” So you get close pretty quick. I’ve done that many times.

Amy: Do you have a particular icebreaker or anything that you use when you’re starting to talk to a stranger?

Ella: I remember one time, this girl sitting next to me on the plane happened to have the same magazine. Or I try to find similarities first.

Amy: See, I’m sort of the opposite. When I’m like on a plane or the bus or whatever, I do not want people to talk to me. I just have my book, and I just want to be left alone, and, you know, sometimes it’s not true but for the most part, I still follow the rule of don’t talk to strangers.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Discussion

Go Super to Listen

Ella likes talking to strangers and does it all the time. She often starts conversations with people she doesn’t know when she’s traveling on an airplane, but sometimes she says things to strangers she passes on the street, too. She thinks a good way to break the ice with a stranger is to point out something you both have in common, or to give the stranger a compliment.

Amy disagrees with Ella. She doesn’t like talking to strangers. Sometimes she even gets annoyed if someone she doesn’t know tries to start a conversation with her. Both Amy and Ella agree that when guys approach girls they don’t know and try to start a conversation, it can be a little creepy.

Do you like talking to strangers? Are you outgoing, or do you prefer to keep to yourself?

Comments

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@drielle

Brazil

I don't to know break the ice in a conversation and try to start a conversation is very hard with strangers.

sometimes some words, for exemple : time, day, basic things.

@drielle

Brazil

I don't to break the ice in a conversation and try to start a conversation is very hard with strangers.

sometimes some words, for exemple : time, day, basic things.

Ahmad El Nasser

Syrian Arab Republic

To be honest, I don't usually talk to strangers 'cause I'm not a talky person but I welcome anyone who tries to break the ice with me.

adward SD

China

Haha，im fond of talking to strangers，you know ，our friends are stangers before and trying to talk with a stranger is a beautiful job。let's talk to any strangers。

Gaucho baku

Azerbaijan

hello

Gaucho baku

Azerbaijan

hello

anandkawasthi

India

every time is not good talk to strangers.if you are going any where by train,bus it could be dangerous that people you are talking.suppose you are start to rely to stranger after some time found your bag has been stolen. <!~~-Session data~~->

Najwa Al-harthi

Saudi Arabia

I like talking to strangers when I'm in the mood like most of the people , but you know sometimes the spontaneousness conversations with other people make friends ..we all strangers to each other but we get lucky by meeting nice strangers or we can just have a bad day with some pervert …...

after all that sometimes doesn't mean that you need to be outgoing to talk to strangers , you need to be not just in the mood but ( in the mind ) lol

nazansirin

Turkey

İ like talking to strangers. İ can start conversation easily to other person any conditions. İ think, It is very useful to know a person than to read a book.

violeta75

Bulgaria

I talk with strangers only when I'm in the mood. I'm tired of talking with other people in my job, so I prefer not to talk so mauch.

andrespretty2

Colombia

Yes, I like to talk with strangers, I do it often on the bus, and i have an icebreaker for all the situations, and I become fast friend with them.

Mosaic!

Saudi Arabia

if I need that like asking for the description I'll do, but not just to have fun….because I'm not sure if they want to talk or not also I'm not sure about their personality ( some of them are moody or unkind)....