Dubravka Blažić Managing speaking skills in vocational schools

Why is speaking that difficult to our students?

Speaking activities (what kinds Speaking activities (what kinds?) are difficult to organise in large classes

Speaking is difficult to assess

USING SPEAKING TO DEAL WITH VOCAB AND GRAMMAR Pure technical words: welding, milling, grinding Semi-technical words: design machines, stress Academic vocabulary: define, describe, analyse Linking words: result in, result from Nominal compounds: air pollutant, water purification Collocations: meet tight deadlines, put forward proposal Technical jargon: hauba, šoferšajba Grammar: passive, prepositions, phrasal verbs, etc… The role of Croatian?

1) PRESENTATIONS KEEP IT SHORT and SIMPLE KISS

A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt...

long enough to cover the subject...

and short enough to create interest.

Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, s____________ skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others. The Collins English Dictionary defines the term soft skills as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired k_______________: they include common sense, the a_______________ to deal with people, and a positive flexible a_________________.”

Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others. The Collins English Dictionary defines the term soft skills as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude.”

SOFT SKILLS/ PEOPLE SKILLS late 1960s in the context of U S Army training.

A study conducted by Harvard University noted that ________% of achievements in career are determined by soft skills and only ________% by hard skills.

A study conducted by Harvard University noted that 80 % of achievements in career are determined by soft skills and only 20% by hard skills.

1) DEALING WITH Imagine the situation. You’re having a conversation with.............How do you feel? How do you react? What do you say? -You look horrible this morning! I hear your presentations didn’t turn out well yesterday? -You still haven’t finished that report? What is wrong? Private problems, ha? -What is wrong with your hair? Aren’t you well paid for your job? -Your English accent is horrible!

Are you asking me if…? Why are you asking that? Are you saying that…? Could you please repeat that question? Are you talking to me? I need some time to think about it… I completely agree with you! Yes, I know that!

What strategy is used in the answers? 1 face the person with what he/ she said 2 give yourself time to think about a good answer 3 confuse the person provoking you by agreeing with her/ him (use satire, be ironical)

2) DEALING WITH C O M P L A I N T S You work for a company. A client comes to you and complains about.... What kind of business is it? -There is a hair in my soup! -That copying machine isn’t working again! And you serviced it last week?! -Impossible. I booked a single room, for three days, a month ago. I want an explanation! -My extensions are falling out! I want my money back! -My car broke down the second time. I’ve changed the battery twice this year. I’d like a refund or some explanation.

-I understand that you are upset, but… -Aren’t you aware that…? -Would you consider…? -Haven’t you noticed that…? -What do you say about? -I’m sorry about that. What do you think I…? -Yes, I made a promise, but I… - How do you propose to…? -You are absolutely right! (can you be more absurd?)

3) EXPRESSING OPINION AND DEBATING Work in pairs. Choose one statement to talk about. One of you is in favour of the statement, the other one is against it. Make a three minute dialogue. 1 Women are less paid for the same position than men. 1 School leaving exam should be introduced after grade eight. 3 You can get much further with a kind word and a gun, than you can with a kind word alone. 4 You are what you wear.

I am strongly against that! You see,… I would definitely support that because… That is unimaginable to me. If you ask me, … If I could choose, I would… To go back to what you were saying… Let me give you an example to justify my point… Why do you think that…? Could you explain that better, please… Don’t you think that your opinion is too…

4) ACTING OUT A J O B I N T E R V I E W You have just graduated from your vocational school and are very enthusiastic about applying for a job. You get the opportunity to come to an interview with an HR officer. How do you feel and react? ( frightened, insecure, confident, showing off......... Why have you selected to join us? Where do you want to be in five years? Why are you leaving your current job? What salary do you expect? Why should we hire you? How do you handle criticism? What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? What would you do if our competitor offered you a job?

Studies by Stanford Research Institute and the Carnegie Mellon Foundation among Fortune 500 CEOs established that 75% of long term job success resulted from soft skills and only 25% from technical skills (Sinha, 2008). Hence, soft skills are as important as cognitive/technical skills (John, 2009; Zehr, 1998).