Real Talk: Advanced Conversational Skills for Teens
Teen learners will develop greater understanding of social skills, effective communication, conversational skills, and communicative confidence that will help them in a variety of real-world situations.
Miss Suzanne (M.A., CCC-SLP)
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(120)
What's included
1 live meeting
30 mins in-class hours per weekAssessment
no testsClass Experience
This "Real Talk" class is for teenaged learners who are ready to practice more social and conversational skills that are applicable to teen life today. Learners do not need to have taken the "Real Talk: Am I In The Zone?" level 1 and 2 classes previously (for kids or teens), but if they need support in social awareness, those would also likely be helpful for them! The teacher will present one topic related to communication, conversation, or language each meeting. Then the learners will have the opportunity to practice these skills with each other, with the teacher prompting and guiding as needed. Games and activities related to that week's topic may also be presented. Each class will only admit a small group of learners in order to maximize the opportunity for interaction. Some weeks will be "conversational weeks" that allow for practice of newly-enriched language/social/communication skills, as well as fun activities. As sections were not created concurrently, each section may be on a different topic, so I cannot list an exact schedule here. However, here is a list of just a few of the topics I've covered so far in 2023: -Communicative changes reflecting personal reinvention -Communicative characteristics of charismatic people -Non-verbal communication: How smells can make or break rapport -The "43:57 Rule" of conversation -Using context clues to determine if you can join a conversation -Proxemics -Communicating when you're disappointed My teaching style is real, warm, engaging, enthusiastic, and empathetic. Since learners excel in different ways, multiple teaching modalities are used, including: lecture, photos, animated .gifs, drawings, text, videos, audio, practice scripts, gestures. Both neurotypical and neurodiverse (and everything in between!) learners are welcome. All gender expressions (binary, nonbinary, fluid, etc.) are respected. Secular and religious views are recognized.
Learning Goals
Learners will develop a tool box of communication/social skills to use in a variety of social situations that are realistic and applicable to teen life today.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Teen life can involve seeing or hearing others discuss vaping, smoking, drug use, drinking, dating, internet usage, safety, divorce, driving, music and lyrics, afterschool jobs, harassment, bullying, etc. These topics will likely be touched on. There will be NO outright discussion of sex or sexual activity (if a learner introduces the topic, the teacher will segue off of the topic and keep the focus on communication and social skills). If parents have any questions about particulars, please feel free to message the teacher.
Both neurotypical and neurodiverse (and everything in between!) learners are welcome. All gender expressions (binary, nonbinary, fluid, etc.) are respected. Secular and religious views are recognized.
Supply List
no supplies needed
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
Teacher creates curriculum. Research sources will be cited as needed (which also supports learners in the development of learning how to cite sources when they are writing reports and essays).
Joined February, 2020
4.9
120reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Master's Degree from San Jose State University (San Jose, CA, U.S.A.)
Bachelor's Degree from University of California Irvine (Irvine, CA)
Suzanne holds an M.A. in Education - Speech-Language Pathology, and a B.A. in Linguistics (cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Campuswide Honors Program, Linguistics Honors Program), with an emphasis in Sociolinguistics and a secondary emphasis in Historical Linguistics. Her Honors thesis, "'Like', 'go', and 'all' in the speech of Southern California youth," (1996) reflected her desire to understand how language is actually used. In high school, she was on drill/dance team and in theatre, belonged to a slew of clubs, played in two string ensembles, was an award-winning creative writer, and was a National Merit Commended Scholar.
She is a speech-language pathologist, an educator, and a parent of three kids (two teens, one elementary-aged) with various special learning and health needs. She is also a twice-exceptional/NAT individual.
She has experience (as a professional, a parent, or a volunteer) across the full spectrum of education, including public school, private school (secular, Christian, International Baccalaureate), homeschool, homeschool co-op, online school, de-schooling, mainstream education, special education, special day class, Deaf/HOH schools, and day care. She is familiar with a variety of curricula and has also developed her own curricula. She has approximately 20 years of experience as speech-language pathologist, and has been volunteering in schools since she was a fifth grader (more years ago than she'll admit). She has dedicated her life to lifting children up and supporting their educational and socio-emotional needs.
In her spare time - when she has any - she is a performer (dance production, modeling, on-screen acting), takes voice lessons, manages her daughter's acting career, reads voraciously, plays multiple instruments, goes to the gym, tends to her garden, slays at real estate investing, and takes walks with her dog and her husband.Reviews
Live Group Class
$21
weekly1x per week
30 min
Completed by 89 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 14-18
3-9 learners per class
