Chapter 7 Speaking

Conversation and Discussion classes Topics and Cues Structuring talk Avoiding the talk-talk loop Open Questions Playing the devil’s advocate

Communicative Activities  An activity that has communication as its main aim (as opposed to practice of particular language items) ? A communication activity will normally involve an ‘information gap (when one person knows something that the other one doesn’t). Such gaps between people give us a need and desire to communicate with each other.

A few keys to getting a good discussion going… Frame the discussion well Preparation time Don’t interrupt the flow Specific problems are more productive than general issues Role cards Buzz groups Break the rules

Some common communicative activities Picture difference tasks Group planning tasks List sequencing tasks/ranking tasks Pyramid discussion Board games Puzzles and Problems

How to organize learners in ‘Speaking tasks’ Make eye contact with those they are speaking to Hear clearly what the other person/people are saying Be reasonably close together

Other common speaking activities: “Role-play”  Activity where students take on a character or make use of given information or ideas in order to get speaking practice

Role-play (cont.)

Role-play (cont.)

“Real-play”  A variety of ‘role-play’ in which students play themselves in familiar contexts, perhaps to help study and resolve problems they have had in these situations

Real-play (cont.)

“Simulation” A large-scale role-play. Role cards are normally used, but quite a lot of other printed and recorded background information as well (memos, news flashes, graphs, articles, etc.) causing participants to take note of the data and re-adjust their positions. The intention is to create a much more complete, complex ‘world’ (business company, television studio, government body, etc.)

General concepts about ‘Accuracy’ & ‘Fluency’ Refers to the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences, but may not include the ability to speak/write fluently. Accuracy activities teach ‘new language’ or may focus on developing correct language. Fluency Speaking naturally without worrying too much about being 100% correct. Fluency activities normally allow learners to try out language they ‘already understand’ and have ‘learned’, but not yet made part of their repertoire.

Fluency, Accuracy and Communication You often need to decide whether to focus on one or the other. There are times in classroom work where a focus on getting language correct is more useful than a focus on fluency and vice versa.

Running a ‘Fluency Activity’

Ideas for correction work after a fluency activity Write up a number of sentences used during the activity and discuss them with your students Write a number of sentences on the board. Give pens/chalk to Ss and encourage them to make corrections Invent and write out a story that includes a number of errors you overheard during the activity. Hand out the story the next day and the students (pairs/whole group), find the errors and correct them Write out two lists (A&B). Each list has the same sentences, but there are mistakes in one or the other. Divided in two groups (A&B). Students need to reach conclusions about which sentences are correct.

Scaffolding Refers to the way a competent language speaker helps a less competent one to communicate by both encouraging and providing possible elements of the conversation. Does not interfere too much with the flow of conversation Offers useful language feedback Actually helps the speaker to construct his conversation It isn’t a normal conversation in the sense that the teacher/listener is not aiming to contribute any personal stories/opinions of his/her own; the aim of his/her own speaking is solely to help the speaker tell his story

Scaffolding Techniques Showing interest and agreeing Concisely asking for clarification Encouragement echo Echoing meaning Asking ‘conversation oiling questions’ Asking brief questions (or using sentence heads) Unobtrusively saying the correct form of an incorrect word (only if it contributes to communication) Giving the correct pronunciation of words in replies without drawing any particular attention to it Unobtrusively giving a word/phrase that the speaker is looking for

Different kinds of Speaking (speech genre)  A genre is a variety of speech/writing expected to be found in a particular place, with particular people, in a particular context, to achieve a particular result, using a particular channel (e.g. face-to-face/phone), etc. It is often characterized by specific choices about style, manner, tone, quantity, volume, directness, choice of words, formality, type of content, etc.

Some ‘speech genres’ Telling a joke in a cafe Meeting people at an informal party Discussing sales in a business meeting Asking for directions on the street Leaving an answer phone message Agreeing the price for a business deal

Analyzing a ‘genre’

Try this… What characteristics do you find when people speak in the following contexts?

1

3 2

4 5

6 7

8 9

Why is ‘genre’ important? A language learner needs to learn not only grammar, pronunciation, etc. but appropriate ways of speaking in different situations as well (these may be significantly different in the target culture) We must give learners chances to select appropriate genres and planning the appropriate language needed for a variety of different speaking situations and audiences to ensure successful communication

Factors involved in ‘Speech Acts’ Pronunciation Choosing and maintaining a suitable level of politeness Organizing information Interaction Context Listening Speaking strategies Language items

Stages in a ‘Speaking Lesson’ (Basic lesson sequence) 1. Set task Stages in a ‘Speaking Lesson’ (Basic lesson sequence) 2. Plan the speaking 3. Rehearse the speaking 4. Do the task 5. Feedback/Review the success 6. Add/Correct/Revise 7. Redo the task * Exposure to example

Designed as a companion for “Learning Teaching” by J. Gonzales Office of Academic Research - ICPNA