Speaking is a challenging skill for all students,
but for many it is also a high priority
for learning a language.
In this video, we're going to look at some tips
for making speaking practice a success.
It isn't practical for most classes to
speak in English all the time.
Quick translations of vocabulary and grammatical concepts
can be both effective and time-efficient.
However, to maximise opportunities for speaking,
it's useful to establish exactly when you expect
students to speak English.
Some examples might be for students to use English for all classroom language,
such as 'Can I borrow a pen?',
and in vocabulary games - where teams
can also lose points for using their first language.
However, it should also be clear to students when
they can use their first language freely, for example
in checking a grammar exercise in pairs,
or planning projects.
Whether students are doing controlled pairwork activities
or having an informal discussion in open class,
They need to time think,
to prepare both the content of what they're going to say
and the language.
So after demonstrating, say, a pairwork activity,
try adding another stage before you ask them to speak:
ask students to think about what they're going to say
before they start.
In open class activities, giving thinking time is simple:
after asking a student, count to five in your head.
It is often tempting to fill the silence by repeating
or rephrasing a question, but
try to resist doing this unless absolutely necessary.
And if a student still needs more time,
but you want to give someone else an opportunity,
end the interaction on a positive note:
Say 'Can I ask you again in a minute?'
and make sure the student gets an opportunity to try again,
later in the lesson.
We all know that practicing speaking involves making
lots of mistakes. And
correction is a necessary part of this.
But it's important to differentiate between speaking activities
which focus on accuracy and those which focus on fluency.
When the focus is on students speaking accurately,
you might choose to correct their mistakes yourself.
Alternatively, getting students to correct themselves,
or self-correction, will make them more aware of their mistakes
and as a result, less likely to make the same mistake in the future.
For instance, a large S on a piece of card on your
classroom wall can prompt students to self-correct a
very common mistake: leaving out
the third person S.
When you hear students do this,
point to the S, give the students
time to think about why you are pointing to it
and then encourage them to self-correct.
You can develop other signs to prompt this kind of correction -
or even hand gestures to prompt, for example,
past tense.
On the other hand, a discussion, say, about
school uniforms is a fluency exercise.
Interrupting students to correct their mistakes,
or even encouraging them to self-correct, will
discourage them from participating.
Instead, make a quick note of errors -
and good examples of language too -
and keep them for later review - perhaps
at the end of a lesson as a game.