Possible teacher action for Speaking issues
Please read these quotations from teachers. When you have finished go to the next activity
on the course.
Teacher 2: If this is a problem for lots of
Teacher 1: When I see this in my class, I
pupils, I make a note to include an
sometimes stop the activity and give
instructions again in a different way. Then
I check them carefully before restarting
the activity.
activity with input about the topic (e.g. a
reading text) in the next lesson. I often
then repeat the speaking activity.
Teacher 3: To avoid this problem, I always give
models of language to the whole class before a
speaking activity. I often write the target
language (the language I want pupils to use) on
the board to support less proficient pupils.
Teacher 4: I often use a communication
regulator, such as contribution cards,
which pupils ‘use’ when they say
something in a group – when all the cards
are gone, they can’t contribute any more!
Teacher 5: I try to use the pupils’ ideas as
much as possible. If there is a chance they
can choose a topic to focus on, then I always
take that opportunity!
Teacher 7: When I see this, I note it
in my class notebook, and try to group
pupils differently next time, e.g.
pairing pupils who are friends
together.
Teacher 6: I have a traffic lights
system. When the lights are green,
they can use some L1; orange and they
use as much English as they can, but I
allow some L1. When they are red,
though, they must use only English.
Teacher 8: I always monitor carefully and give pupils support and plenty of
praise individually, especially to quieter pupils. Then I make sure to give
praise to the class after an activity (assuming they tried hard, of course!).
Teacher 9: I regularly ask pupils to self-assess
their speaking. The criteria can focus on both
accuracy and fluency. If there is a fluencyfocussed activity, I ask them to self-assess using
only the fluency-focussed assessment criteria.
Teacher 10: I never force a pupil to speak, especially not in
front of the class. If an individual doesn’t want to speak, I
talk to them (in L1) to find out what the problem is, then
help them gradually develop confidence to begin to speak in
English. Then support them as they do so more and more.