1. Oracy and the English Classroom

2. Activities on The Test Evaluating: Groupwork: how well did you work together? Did everyone feel involved? Were there any issues/problems? Text: Did the activity add to your understanding of the text or not? Did it lead you to read it again/differently? Language/Form: Did the task make you use language differently for specific purposes? What linguistic and other prior knowledge did you draw on? Overall: What are the implications of these answers for this kind of work in the classroom? What learning do you think this kind of activity fosters?

3. ‘Formal’ Speaking and Listening Activities Can be motivating and enjoyable Can help to deepen/refine understanding of material used (literature or non-fiction) Can develop students’ linguistic abilities, by asking them to adapt language for particular forms and audiences Can be a way to work on the conventions of ‘oral text types’ Can offer relatively straightforward ways to assess speaking and listening (teacher, peer and self assessment) Can offer alternatives to written responses to text

4. Formal Speaking and Listening- Practical Issues Set clear tasks, clear outcomes, and clear time limits; build in short term targets/stagin posts Realise the danger of ‘over-enjoyment’ and students moving off at tangents Think carefully about the structure of groups in these type of extended tasks Use basic tape recorders – they are normally available, easy to use and can produce results of a decent standard Think about use of available physical space

5. Types of Activities TV/radio adaptations of poems, play scenes, novel extracts, short stories Advertisements/trailers Sales pitches News bulletins Talk shows, radio phone-ins Press conferences Hotseating characters in literature Etc…etc…. Always consider the audience, purpose and form in relation to the assignment in order to establish clear objectives/success criteria