TEFL PST OMN 111

What do you find challenging about speaking another language?

When you study/studied foreign languages, what speaking activities to you remember using in class.

Were all those activities effective? Why or why not?

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Eleven Tips for Teaching Speaking Intelligibility vs. Comprehensibility Teaching Speaking at Different Levels Speaking Activities and Techniques

◦ Techniques for all learners (including young learners) Example Activities: List Activities, Alibi

◦ Collaborative or Cooperative Learning Example Activities: No Vehicles in the Park, Starting a

New Civilization

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1. Focus on fluency, accuracy is important, but if you can’t get it out, you can’t make a mistake.

2. Don’t correct until the end of oral activities. Being interrupted is frustrating.

3. Insist that students always use contractions. Even in quite formal Oral, language contractions are almost always used.

4. Help students develop useful “chunks” - high-frequency combinations of words. Be sure they get practice saying chunks.

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5. Have learners memorize short, high-utility dialogue. But don’t just memorize:“personalize” through role plays or simulations.

6. Stress context, so they know in what kinds of situations those particular elements of speech are used.

When do I say? Might I introduce myself.. (or) Hi, my name’s ___

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7. Avoid controversial topics to simulate discussions. Don't make students reveal their personal views just for the sake of language practice.

8. Focus on communicative / procedural language from the start. Learners want to do meaningful things with English.

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9.Teach speaking before writing. Listening comprehension is essential before we can speak. Speaking is a skill we need before we can write.

10. Always emphasize speaking as much as reading; especially

if the two languages are not closely related, or

if the writing systems are different.

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11. Critique pronunciation. You can balance this by also noting speaking strengths. But if you don’t critique pronunciation, students will assume theirs is fine.

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Intelligibility I can understand you if I concentrate and listen carefully to what you are saying.

ComprehensibilityI can understand you easily without having to concentrate.

Both levels are important. Before you are intelligible, you cannot be understood, but until you are comprehensible you cannot interact easily at great length with others.

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Beginners: Work on intelligible production of usefulchunks of language.

Intermediate level: Work on improvement of speaking fluency.

Advanced level:Encourage fluency, but focus more onaccuracy and comprehensibility.

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Think back to the ways students’ proficiency levels affect what we emphasize in speaking activities…

What strategies could you use in the classroom to support beginning, intermediate, and advanced students in building their speaking skills?

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Choral repetitionChoral repetition is when students repeat phrases as a group.

If the whole group is “chanting,” it will be hard to hear individual problems and easy for shy students to hide.

Choral repetition requires no attention to meaning, so it is probably not a very productive activity.

Choral repetition is good “focus on form.” It gives shy students confidence.

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1. Stories: Students can draw simple stories and (with mentoring from teachers) tell them to the class.

2. Who are you? Students can learn to speak about their personal information. Then other students can ask them questions about “who they are.”

3. Do you have a red one? Students can play collection games in which they have to ask others “Do you have a red/blue/green square?” If so, they collect the square.

4. Skits: Students (with mentoring) can conduct dramas and dialogues in English.

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Role plays: Engage in role plays and simulations based on dialogues learned in class.

Find someone who… Play, “Find someone in the room who ...” icebreaker activities.

20 Questions (or 5 or 10 depending on proficiency): includes topics such as famous people and “what am I thinking of?

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All members have a viable role. Tasks have a real world outcome. Tasks have a number of reasonable

answers. Then students must negotiate to decide

which of the different good answers they will choose for their group.

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