Speaking:

Most language learners find this skill the most important. Many find it the most difficult as they are shy or embarrassed to speak in another language. It’s your job as their teacher to provide interesting speaking activities, with some type of language focus, and make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak. Student centred activities such as pair work or s-s provides more opportunities to speak and this interaction allows them to experiment with the target language that is being taught. These interactions also assist with shy students who don’t want to be under the spot light. In pairs they often feel safer, and the teacher can monitor and listen.

Special notes:

• Watch out for Teacher Talking Time. Remember it’s them who have to speak, not you. You are not a performing monkey!

• Also important to discuss and practice cultural issue such as; turn taking, interrupting, body language, intonation.                                                          

• Many teachers go into a class and just make conversation, without a lesson plan. This is the kiss of death. The students will at some point complain to your school (behind your back) that the lessons are not structured, they are not improving and the teacher doesn’t correct them.

• Even if the student says he/she wants to improve their speaking, still make a structured plan based on target language, and provide error correction. This module will help you to do that.

How to maximise student talking time in the class
1. Planning stage

• Think about the balance of teacher input and student output. Remember that any lesson, STT (student talking time) should be maximised and that students should be speaking at all stages and not just for the last few minutes.
• Remember to choose materials that are interesting and engaging.
• Think about your instructions before giving them so they are clear and you don't waste time using unnecessary speech. If in doubt, plan what you are going to say.
• Incorporate lots of pair and group work in your lessons; this will help reduce teacher talking time. Arrange seats and tables in a position that matches the activity you are planning to do.

2. During class

• Concentrate on eliciting rather than on telling students, e.g. when drawing a picture on the board ask, "Who's this?" rather than spoon-feeding them.
• Give students plenty of thinking time to process what they are going to say.
• Be a good listener; show interest in what the students are saying and respond naturally.

3. At the end of the class/activity:

• Correcting errors - make it a class activity by putting errors that you have noted down during the class on the board. Ask the students to discuss in pairs what is wrong with the sentences and how to correct them.
• Getting feedback - do a session asking students to sum up what they have learnt during the lesson; this rounds it off nicely and gives them a sense of progress.
• At the beginning of the next lesson, you could ask them to discuss in pairs what they did in the previous class. You could monitor and facilitate, and again, maybe write error on the board fro a whole class correction.

Specific speaking activities for use in the classroom

• Describing pictures, films, etc.
• Dialogues and drama.
• Problem solving.
• Two students have different information and have to work together to solve a problem, e.g. Spot the difference: students have similar pictures with a number of differences. They ask and answer questions to find out what the differences are.
• Surveys and questionnaires - students prepare questions on topics such as pop music, sports, free time activities, likes and dislikes and conduct a survey by interviewing each other and compiling information.
• Discussions and debates.
• Role-plays - students are encouraged to imagine that they are in different situations and have to take on a role, e.g. they may be an angry customer in a shop complaining.
• Assimilation – like role-plays but they are playing themselves.
• Telephoning.
• Interviewing. One student is the interviewer and the other the interviewee.
• Following a picture story.
• Telling a chain story.
• Twenty questions.
• Singing.