Figure A: Oral Language Observation Matrix (based on Student Oral Language Observation matrix,
CA Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Education).
Language Area
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
has great
does not
A. Comprehension
understand
even simple
conversation
2. vocabulary
understands
most
everyday
conversations
understanding
of conversation
at normal
and beginning
speed; trouble
to function in
what is said and with prompts only with many
repetition at slower with some
most
prompts,
than normal speed idioms and
non-context
speech is
hesitant,
fairly constant flow
limited to few
awkward; silent
but disrupted or
tries to mimic
understands
understands most conversations
halting words of or very limited at halted by apparent
1. speech flow
Level 5
difficulty
repetitions
B. Speech
Production
Level 4
times
little or not
very basic
basic,
functional control
functional
and very limited
vocabulary
self-expression
limitations
vernacular
embedded
forms
social discourse
generally fluent
in conversation
with periodic
hesitations and
awkwardness
for his/her age,
infrequent misuses only periodic
of words; awkward semantic
self-expression
misuse or
inadequacy
periodic misuse
3. word-order
and usage
little or no
restricted to
numerous syntax,
ability to string
chunks, phrases; usage + grammar
words together much rephrasing errors
of syntax,
usage +
grammar
without loss of
meaning
fluency and
ease in
conversation
and discussion,
approximates
native speaker
for his/her age,
near-native use
and or words
and idioms, with
an occasional
inadequacy
occasional
lapse or
inadequacy but
near native
approximation
intelligible with
4. pronunciation
Barely/ not
very difficult to
difficult to
periodic
intelligible with
understand;
comprehend;
intonation and
occasional
many
stress errors
intonation and
comprehensible needs to repeat
often
misunderstandings but understand- stress errors
able
adequate and
C. Communication
does not
Management
1. discourse
management
instrumental
functional
clear
expression with
expression with
expression with expression with
express self in
little control of
some conversation periodic
near-native use
English
conversation
management
inadequacy in
of discourse
management
control
discourse
management
management
1
clear
observations
2. pragmatics and
paralinguistic
does not
recognizes but
recognize or use minimal use
comprehends and
comprehends
uses periodically
and uses often
forms
applies with
near-native
approximation
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/fritzassess.htm
To succeed, you need to show you can take part in a conversation in English by answering
and asking simple questions.
Whether you are introducing yourself, answering questions or interacting with the other test
taker, you must use your English language skills to communicate. Don't be afraid to have a go.
Speaking Rules you need to know!
1. Don't study grammar too much
This rule might sound strange to many ESL students, but it is one of the most important rules. If
you want to pass examinations, then study grammar. However, if you want to become fluent in
English, then you should try to learn English without studying too much of the grammar.
Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think about the rules when
creating sentences instead of naturally saying a sentence like a native. Remember that only a
small fraction of English speakers know more than 20% of all the grammar rules. Many ESL
students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say this with experience. I
am a native English speaker, majored in English Literature, and have been teaching English for
more than 10 years. However, many of my students know more details about English grammar
than I do. I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I don't know it off the top of my head.
I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a few of them know the
correct answer. However, they are fluent in English and can read, speak, listen, and communicate
effectively.
Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do you want to be able to
speak English fluently?
Speak/respond quickly / easily / automatically / fluently / appropriately
2. Learn and study phrases
Listen first. Learn with your ears, not only with your eyes.
Many students learn vocabulary and try to put many words together to create a proper sentence.
It amazes me how many words some of my students know, but they cannot create a proper
sentence. The reason is because they didn't study phrases. When children learn a language,
they learn both words and phrases together. Likewise, you need to study and learn phrases.
If you know 1000 words, you might not be able to say one correct sentence. But if you know 1
2
phrase, you can make hundreds of correct sentences. If you know 100 phrases, you will be
surprised at how many correct sentences you will be able to say. Finally, when you know only
1000 phrases, you will be almost a fluent English speaker.So don't spend hours and hours learning
many different words. Use that time to study phrases instead and you will be closer to English
fluency.
Don't translate
When you want to create an English sentence, do not translate the words from your Mother tongue.
The order of words is probably completely different and you will be both slow and incorrect by doing
this. Instead, learn phrases and sentences so you don't have to think about the words you are
saying. It should be automatic.
Another problem with translating is that you will be trying to incorporate grammar rules that you
have learned. Translating and thinking about the grammar to create English sentences is
incorrect and should be avoided.
3. Reading and Listening is NOT enough.
Practice Speaking what you hear!
Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any language. The same is
true for English. However, speaking is the only requirement to be fluent. It is normal for babies
and children to learn speaking first, become fluent, then start reading, then writing. So the
natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing.
First Problem
Isn't it strange that schools across the world teach reading first, then writing, then listening, and
finally speaking? Although it is different, the main reason is because when you learn a second
language, you need to read material to understand and learn it. So even though the natural order
is listening, speaking, reading, then writing, the order for ESL students is reading, listening,
speaking, then writing.
Second Problem
The reason many people can read and listen is because that's all they practice. But in order to
speak English fluently, you need to practice speaking. Don't stop at the listening portion, and
when you study, don't just listen. Speak out loud the material you are listening to and
practice what you hear. Practice speaking out loud until your mouth and brain can do it
without any effort. By doing so, you will be able to speak English fluently.
4. Submerge yourself
Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are. Anyone can learn how to
speak any language. This is a proven fact by everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least
one language. Whether you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power, you are able to speak
one language.
This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your country, you hear and
speak your language constantly. You will notice that many people who are good English speakers
are the ones who studied in an English speaking school. They can speak English not because they
went to an English speaking school, but because they had an environment where they can be
around English speaking people constantly.
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There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is because they went to
an English speaking school, but found friends from their own country and didn't practice English.
Therefore you need to surround yourself with English. You can do this by making rules with your
existing friends at college and home that you will only speak English. You can also carry around an
iPhone and constantly listen to English sentences. As you can see, you can achieve results by
changing what your surroundings are. Submerge yourself in English and you will learn several
times faster.
TalkEnglish package has over 8000 audio files for you download to completely surround yourself in
English. There are over 13.5 hours of audio files that are not available in the web form. English
conversations and sentences are included, so even if you don't have many English speaking friends,
you can constantly surround yourself in English using your MP3 player. This package is available
at the English Download page. Take advantage of this opportunity and start learning English faster.
Click on the link or go tohttp://www.talkenglish.com/english-download.aspx.
5. Study correct material
A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far from the truth.
Practice only makes what you are practicing permanent. If you practice the incorrect sentence,
you will have perfected saying the sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it is important that you study
material that is commonly used by most people.
Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the language they speak
is more formal and the content they use is more political and not used in regular life. It is
important to understand what they are saying, but this is more of an advanced lesson that should
be studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.
Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both good and bad. You
should be aware of the pros and cons of speaking with a non native speaking friend. Practicing
with a non native person will give you practice. You can also motivate each other and point out
basic mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not sure about what
are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these practice times as a time period to practice the
correct material you studied. Not to learn how to say a sentence.
In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used, and that is correct.
Summary
These are the rules that will help you achieve your goal of speaking English fluently. All the
teachings and lessons on TalkEnglish.com follow this method so you have the tools you need to
achieve your goal right here on TalkEnglish.com.
Information on grammar pertaining to English
speaking
4
In order to obtain English fluency for ESL students, studying grammar can slow your progress down
significantly. Basic grammar is a necessity, but focusing on grammar will prevent you from being
able to speak English fluently in a reasonable time frame. Grammar is most effective to improve
communication and writing skills, but this only pertains to those who have a solid foundation in
English fluency.
One commonality among everyone in the whole world is that they learned to speak before they
learned grammar. Speaking is the first step for any English learner. So if you are a novice at
English, please focus on your speaking and listening skills prior to studying grammar. After being
able to speak English fluently, you will realize how much easier grammar is. But it does not work
the other way around. Being fluent in English speaking will help you with your grammar studies,
but studying grammar will NOT help you with your speaking.
In this article, the four most basic grammar topics are explained, which consists of 1) subject, 2)
predicate, 3) verb, and 4) article. This is the absolute minimum you should know. After you
become comfortable with speaking, then you can study more advanced grammar topics. For now,
please review and study the four items described below.
What is a subject?
The subject in a sentence is "who" or "what" you are talking about. Every sentence needs a subject.
If you don't have a subject, then the sentence is incorrect and nobody will understand what you are
talking about.
In some languages, the subject is not always required. Verbally, the person listening to you will
understand what you are talking about, so a subject is not required. In English, a subject is
always required.
Here are examples of small sentences with the subject underlined.
"I am hungry."
"It is freezing."
"My brother is very smart."
"The movie is so boring."
"We are going to the store now"
"My sister and I will be waiting here"
"The building is very old."
"When are you going to eat lunch?"
"Why are they waiting in line?"
"Who is going to take you to the store?"
What is a predicate?
The predicate in a sentence is the section that informs the person what the subject is or what it is
doing. It is a phrase that contains a verb. The verb is always in the predicate. Let's look at the
sentences we used in the subject lesson to identify the predicates. They will be underlined.
"I am hungry."
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"It is freezing."
"The movie is so boring."
"We are going to the store now."
"The building is very old."
In the above short sentences, we have identified the subject and predicate. In the most basic
sentences, you need a subject and an action associated with the subject. Let's go on to verbs to
understand this in more detail.
What is a verb?
A sentence must have a verb in English, unlike some languages. A verb is an action, existence, or
occurrence. In the simple sentences we used so far, the verb is mostly in the existence form. They
are "am", "is", and "are", verb to "be".
Other types of verbs are action verbs, verb to "do", such as:
wash /run / walk / throw / jump / dance / laugh / teach / cry / make /
There are many action verbs, but I only listed a few to let you know what I am referring to.
are some sentences to help you understand.
"I need to wash my face."
"Jane taught Jill to read."
"Mike is laughing."
Here
A verb can also start at the beginning of the sentence in an imperative sentence:
"Turn to the next page."
"Speak English in class."
"Be quiet."
"Don't be late."
It is important to understand the verb, but having just a subject and a verb is not sufficient. For
example, "Jill run" is not a complete sentence. Although Jill can be the subject, and "run" is the
verb, this is not a complete sentence. That is why the previous lesson on predicate is important.
With the predicate, we can turn the sentence into a proper sentence. "Jill is running."
What is an Article?
Articles seem so easy, but it is extremely difficult to master for non native English speakers.
"A", "An", and "The" are all articles. It is easy to explain the difference between them, but it is
difficult to explain when they are used.
"A" and "An" have the same meaning. They are both indefinite articles. They are only different
depending on what word or sound is following. Here is a brief explanation.
You should use "A" when the following word starts with a consonant.
A dog...
6
A banana...
A book...
A cup of coffee...
You should use "An" when the following starts with a vowel sound.
An apple
An umbrella...
An elephant...
An awesome book...
"The" is a definite article. The difference is if the noun or subject you are talking about is specific
or not. Examples are the best way to understand the difference, so let's take a look.
If you say, "I am going to a library to study", then the person you are speaking with does not know
which library. If you say, "I am going to the library to study", then the person you are speaking
with knows the specific library you are going to.
"I am going to a coffee shop" (No specific coffee shop)
"I am going to the coffee shop" (A specific coffee shop both the speaker and listener know)
Here is a slightly different example, but still using the same concept of specific or general.
"I am going to sit in front of one of the computers in the lab."
"I am going to buy a computer."
Although the computer in the lab can be one of many computers, the correct article is "the"
because it is still a specific computer that exists in the lab. However, if you say you are going to
buy a computer, you cannot use "the" unless you already have the computer specified. Buying a
computer can be any brand, type, or size so it is very general. Therefore, you must use "A" in this
type of sentence.
Here is another type of example:
"The heat wave is unbearable."
"I heard a heat wave is coming."
The difference between these two sentences is that the "heat wave" is specified in the first
sentence, and not specified in the second sentence. In the first sentence, the heat wave is already
present and both the speaker and listener knows that the heat wave they are talking about is the
one they are currently experiencing. The second sentence is referring to a future heat wave that
is not specific.
When and When NOT to use an article
One common rule to keep in mind is that articles are not used when referring to a name.
"Turn right at the burger store."
"Turn right at McDonalds."
"The boy was running very fast."
"Mike was running very fast."
7
Another example of when not to use an article is when referring to general things in conversation.
"Too much alcohol is bad for you."
"Cigarettes can cause lung cancer."
When you are referring to sports, you do not need an article.
"I love playing badminton."
"Football is a dangerous sport."
In most cases, you don't need an article when referring to a country except when the name is
referring to multiple countries or regions. For example, if you say "England" or "Scotland", you
don't need an article; but if you are referring to "The United Kingdom" or "The United States", then
you do need an article.
Source:
http://www.talkenglish.com/Grammar/Grammar-speaking.aspx
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