The Conversation Class: Teaching Speaking
1. Warm up: Rate the following speaking skills on a scale of 1-7, 1 being the most
important:
Fluency
Grammar/accuracy
Compensation (fillers, hesitators)
Strategic competence (appropriacy)
Lexis (vocabulary, collocations)
Communication (the speaker got what he/she wanted)
Intelligibility (pronunciation)
2. How important is speaking when learning a language? (like learning how to drive a
car without ever getting behind the wheel)
“Speaking is fundamental…even for students whose emphasis is somewhere else.”
3. What are the problems with teaching speaking?
a. Students need something meaningful to talk about. A lot of speaking
activities only occur in the “cyberspace of TEFL”. When was the last time
you asked someone what he/she does in his/her free time? Present – routines
and past – holidays (typical book activities). Then there is the case of a 16year-old and a 40-year-old and questions the older one didn’t want to
answer. Also, greetings.
a. Activities: small role plays using greetings
b. Discuss these questions: What’s the best time of the day to: Do sport
or exercise? Have a glass of wine? Have an injection? Put on face
cream? (Answer considering the body, not the person.) In class, had
an article which confirmed/rejected answers, led to a class discussion
that was more authentic because responding to an article, which we
do in real life.
c. Ask yourself: When was the last time I used this language? What are
people really talking about with this language? Give some grammar
and have participants think of some topics.
b. Activities often require more imagination than students have.
a. Difficult to answer: what are your goals in life, what will be
happening in the next 50 years?
b. Give students a role or attitude: example: “I lent George some money
yesterday” pessimist (you’ll never get it back). Do a couple activities
together.
c. Students often agree. One way to help is to put them into groups of 3 (not 2)
or to mix the sexes.
d. Turn a speaking activity into a game: answer yes to everything, students
have to guess what is true and what is false, or “Obsessions” (students are
given a topic and must make small talk with others, always trying to lead the
conversation to their topic, the topic they are “obsessed” about).
4. What is the importance of pronunciation?
Findings of a study: of 40 breakdowns in communication, due to:
1 world knowledge
3 ambiguous
1 grammar
8 lexis
27 pronunciation
Yet in classes, studies have found that:
70% is focused on grammar
20% on vocabulary
5% on pronunciation
Why is there this gap? (brainstorm)
1. belief that pronunciation has no rules (students)
2. teacher insecurity (natives with symbols, IPA, and non natives with different
pronunciation from book)
3. belief that some aspects cannot be taught
4. not dealt with in the coursebooks
5. pronunciation not relevant at higher levels
6. pronunciation cannot be taught/changed after a certain age (14)
7. experts, especially sociolinguists, claim that there is no such thing as correct
pronunciation.
Yet natives interviewed say “correct” or acceptable pronunciation (Received
Pronunciation in British English) is associated with same values perceived essential for
socio-economic success:
1. intelligence
2. professional competence
3. persuasiveness
4. diligence
5. social privilege
5. Reflection and Action Plan:
How do you plan to incorporate speaking into your teaching/coursebook? What
changes will you make? (Jot down for two minutes)
Evaluations