Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
Teaching Speaking Skills
Communication involves the use of four language skills:
 listening and speaking in oral communication
 reading and writing in written communication.
The sender of the message uses speaking or writing skills to communicate ideas, the receiver
uses listening or reading skills to interpret the massage. The skills used by the sender are productive
and those used by the receiver are receptive (or interpretive).
The use of each skills demands various components of language substance. Each skill involves
the use of specific vehicles.
Learners usually attain a much higher level of proficiency in the receptive skills than in the
productive skills. Mastering the language skills, like mastering any kind of skill, requires a considerable
amount of practice. Step by step in the teaching-learning development process the learner should
become more proficient.
When we say a person knows the language, we first of all mean he understands the language
spoken and can speak himself. Language came into life as a means of communication. It exists and is
alive only through speech. When we speak about teaching a foreign language, we first of all have in
mind teaching it as a means of communication. Speech is a bilateral process. It includes hearing and
speaking. Speaking exists in two forms: dialogue and monologue.
Developing Oral Communication Skills
Developing oral communication skills attention should be concentrated on the following main
problems:
 syllabus requirements
 language and speech
 physiological and linguistic characteristics of speech
 ways of creating situations
 prepared, unprepared and inner speech
 types of exercises.
Oral communication has 2 types: productive-speaking and receptive-listening.
The syllabus requirements for developing oral communication are as follows:
 to listen and understand the language spoken
 to carry on a conversation and to speak a foreign language within the topics and
linguistic material the syllabus sets.
Oral language is a means of testing pupils’ comprehension when they read or hear a text.
Properly used oral language ensures pupils’ progress in language learning and, consequently,
arouses their interest in the subject.
Language and Speech
Language refers to the linguistic system. It is a system of forms, which any speaker possesses. It
enables him to produce meaningful sentences.
Speech is the activity of using a language system for communicative purposes in real situation.
We should seek methods of teaching not language so much, as communication through the language.
Mastery of language depends not only on what the language is, but also on what the language is
for. That is for communication language system of forms is taught to help the learners to develop their
philological and logical thinking on the one hand and as a means of developing communication skills, on
the other. Both of them are equally important.
To get a better understanding of what speech is, the teachers should know psychological and
linguistic characteristics of speech.
Psychological Characteristics of Speech
 Speech must be motivated.
The speaker should have inner motivation, a desire, a necessity to say sth. to someone. Motive is
the factor, which incites a person’s will to do or say sth. When we speak we want either to say sth to
someone or get information from someone about sth. important. Pupils should have a necessity, desire
to express their thoughts and feelings, to inform the hearer of sth. Interesting, important or to get
information. Their speech should be stimulated (by the teacher).
 Speech is always addressed to an interlocutor.
We don’t speak when there is no one to address the speech. Teaching oral language pupils
should address, speak to someone, to their classmates, to the class, to the teacher. They should
interact.
1
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
During English lesson the pupils very often don’t know where to look while they speak, they look
either at the ceiling or out of the window, because they don’t know whom their speech is addressed to.
This point is closely connected with motivation. When we have an inner necessity to say sth, we should
say it to someone. So the teacher should suggest: “Tell the class… Ask your friend… Tell me…”
 Speech is always emotionally coloured for a speaker expresses his/her thoughts,
feelings, attitude what he/she says.
That’s why the pupils should be taught to use emotional means to express their feelings about what they
say.
 Speech is always situational.
It takes place in a certain situation. There can be no speech out of situation. There can be no
speech out of situation. Situation is the integrity of circumstances in which the human beings are
motivated to develop speech activity. The main components of situations are: the speaker, the stimulus
to speech and the person to whom the speech is addressed.
Linguistic Characteristics of Speech
Oral language as compared to written language is more flexible. It is relatively free and is
characterized by some peculiarities in vocabulary and grammar. We don’t teach pupils colloquial English.
That’s why oral language taught in schools is close to written language standards and especially its
monologic forms.
Linguistic peculiarities of dialogue are as follows:
1. The use of incomplete sentences (ellipses) in response:
e.g. Where do you live? - In Yerevan. How many books do you have? – One.
2. The use of contracted forms: doesn’t. won’t, haven’t, can’t
3. The use of some abbreviations: lab, bike, math’s, fridge, comp, etc.
4. The use of conversational tags. These are the words the speaker uses when he/she wishes to
speak without saying anything: e.g of course, perhaps, surely, etc.
Prepared and Unprepared Speech
Pupils’ speech whether it is a monologue or dialogue may be of 2 kinds: prepared and
unprepared.
When the pupils are given enough time to think over the content and form of his speech. it is
prepared speech. He can speak on the subject following the plan made either independently at home or
in class under the teacher’s supervision. His speech will be more or less correct and sufficiently fluent
since plenty of preliminary exercises had been done before.
When the pupil speaks without any previous preparation, his speech is unprepared and he can:
 speak on a subject suggested by the teacher
 speak on the text read (summarize or give content)
 discuss problems touched upon in the text read or heard
 help a “foreigner”, e.g. to find the way to some place.
Prepared and unprepared speech must be developed simultaneously from the very beginning. In
junior stage prepared speech takes the lead, while in senior stage unprepared speech should prevail.
The aim of teaching is to develop the learners' unprepared speech.
Principles for Designing Speaking Techniques
1.Techniques
should
cover
the
spectrum
of
learner
needs,
from
language-based
focus
on
accuracy
to
message-based
focus
on
interaction, meaning, and fluency 1.
When you do a jigsaw group technique, play a game, or discuss solutions to the environmental
crisis, make sure that your tasks include techniques designed to help students to perceive and use the
building blocks of language. At the same time, don't bore your students with lifeless, repetitious drills.
The drills must be as meaningful as possible.
2. Techniques should be intrinsically motivating.
1
H. Douglas Brown, Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy,
San Francisco State University, 1994, p. 268.
2
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
Try at all times to appeal to students' ultimate goals and interests, to their need for knowledge,
for achieving competence, autonomy, and for "being all that they can be." Even in those techniques
help them to see how the activity will benefit them.
Many times students don't know why we ask them to do certain activities. So techniques
should encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts.
It is not easy to keep coming up with meaningful interaction. It takes energy and creativity to
devise authentic contexts and meaningful interaction, but with the help of quite a storehouse of teacher
resource material now it can be done. Even drills can be structured to provide a sense of authenticity.
4. Provide appropriate feedback and correction.
In most EFL situations, students are totally dependent on the teacher for useful linguistic
feedback. It is important that you take advantage of your knowledge of English to inject the kinds of
corrective feedback that are appropriate for the moment.
5. Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening.
Many interactive techniques that involve speaking will also of course include listening. Don't lose
out on opportunities to integrate these two skills. As you are perhaps focusing on speaking goals,
listening goals may naturally coincide, and the two skills can reinforce each other. Skills in producing language are often initiated through comprehension.
6. Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication.
A good deal of typical classroom interaction is characterized by teacher initiation of language. We
ask questions, give directions, provide information, and students have been conditioned only to "speak
when spoken to." Part of oral communication competence is the ability to initiate conversations, to
nominate topics, to ask questions, to control conversations, and to change the subject. As you design and
use speaking techniques, ask yourself if you have allowed students to initiate language.
7. Encourage the development of speaking strategies.
The concept of strategic competence is one that language students must be awared of. They
simply have not thought about developing their own personal strategies for accom plishing oral
communicative purposes. Your classroom can be one in which students become aware of, and
have a chance to practice such strategies as:
 asking for clarification (What?)
 asking someone to repeat something (Huh? Excuse me?)
 using fillers (Uh, I mean, Well) in order to gain time to process
 using conversation maintenance cues (Uh huh, Right, Yeah, Okay, Hm)
 getting someone's attention (Hey, Say, So)
 using paraphrases for structures one can't produce
 appealing for assistance from the interlocutor (to get a word or phrase, for
example)
 using mime and nonverbal expressions to convey the meaning.
Types of Classroom Speaking Performance
With the obvious connection between listening and speaking, six categories of oral performance
are expected to carry out in the classroom. 2
1. Imitative
Imitation of this kind is carried out not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on
some particular element of language form.
A question that new teachers in the field always want to have answered is: Is drilling a legitimate
part of the communicative language classroom? The answer is a qualified ''Yes''. Drills offer students an
opportunity to listen and orally repeat certain strings of language that may pose some linguistic difficulty
either phonological or grammatical.
Drills in language teaching offer limited practice through repetition. They allow the learner to focus
on one element of language in a controlled activity.
Here are some useful guidelines for successful drills:
 Keep them short (a few minutes of a class hour only).
 Keep them simple (preferably just one point at a time).
2
H. Douglas Brown, Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy,
San Francisco State University, 1994, p. 266-268
3
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology





Keep them "snappy".
Make sure students know why they are doing the drill.
Limit them to phonology or grammar points.
Make sure they ultimately lead to communicative goals.
Don't overuse them.
2. Intensive
Intensive speaking is designed to practice some phonological or grammatical aspect of language.
Intensive speaking can be self-initiated or it can even form part of some pair work activity, where learners
are "going over" certain forms of language.
3. Responsive
A good deal of student speech in the classroom is responsive: short replies to teacher or
student initiated questions or comments. These replies are usually sufficient and do not extend into
dialogues. Such speech can be meaningful and authentic: e.g.
T: How are you today?
S: Pretty good, thanks, and you?
T: What is the main idea in this essay?
S: The United Nations should have more authority.
S1 So, what did you write for question number one?
S2: Well, I wasn't sure, so I left it blank.
4. Transactional (dialogue)
Transactional language carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specific
information, is an extended form of responsive language:e.g.
T: What is the main idea in this essay?
S: The United Nations should have more authority.
T: More authority than what?
S: Than it does right now.
T: What do you mean?
S: Well, for example, the UN should have the power to force a country like Iraq to destroy its
nuclear weapons.
T: Do you think that the UN has that power now?
S: Obviously not. Iraq is still manufacturing nuclear bombs.
Such conversations could readily be part of group work activity as well.
5. Interpersonal (dialogue)
The other form of conversation is the interpersonal dialogue, carried out more for the purpose of
maintaining social relationships than for the transmission of facts and information. These conversations
are a little trickier for learners because they can involve some or all of the following factors:
 a casual register
 colloquial language
 emotionally charged language
 slang
 ellipsis
 sarcasm, etc.
Teaching Two Forms of Speaking
There exist two forms of speaking: monologue and dialogue: Each form has its peculiarities,
which should be taken into consideration.
Teaching Monologue
Monologue is the speech of one person who expresses his thoughts and feelings in a particular
situation and shows his definite conclusion. Monologue is generally prepared speech. The speaker even
may have the plan of his speech. Sometimes it can be unprepared as well. Of great importance are the
speaker’s
 logical pauses
 the speed of speech
 the gestures.
4
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
Pupils should be able to express their thoughts and feelings and attitude towards the fact in a
definite situation within topics and language substance the syllabus requires. The pupils’ speech should
be motivated, situational and addressed to someone.
In teaching monologue 3 stages are distinguished:
1. The statement level.
The smallest speech unit is sentence. No speech is possible until pupils learn how to make up
sentences in the foreign language and how to make statements on the topic or situation suggested.
Pupils are given sentence patterns to assimilate. The sentence pattern is filled with different
words, so that pupil assimilates it:
e.g. I can see a … (blackboard picture)
I am fond of… (the pupils repeat + music)
A pattern must be repeated many times with a great variety of changes in its contents until the
pattern becomes a habit.
eg. a) give it a name:
We write with… - It is a pen.
b) say the opposite:
I live in… - I don’t live in … .
2. Having assimilated different sentence patterns the pupils should learn to combine
statements of various sentence patterns in a logical sequence - in an utterance. In the utterance
level the pupils are to say a few words about an object, a subject offered.
e.g. This is a pencil. The pencil is green. It is on the table. I like the pencil.
At this stage pupils learn to express their thoughts, attitude to what they say.
3. The discourse level
When pupils have acquired habits and skills in making statements and combining in a logical
sequence, free speech is possible. At this level pupils are asked to speak on a picture, film or comment
on a text they have read or heard, make up a story of their own. The teacher should supply the pupils
with “what to speak about.”
e.g. “The farmer’s treasure” … the teacher asks questions about the text and the pupils reproduce
the facts by means of agreeing with the suggested idea or rejecting it.
Teaching Dialogue
Dialogue is a conversation between 2 interlocutors. It is always situational and emotionally
coloured. Dialogue is generally unprepared. Sometimes it can be both prepared and planned as well.
To carry on a dialogue pupils need words and phrases to start a conversation, to join it, to confirm,
to argue, to reject, to invite, to comment and so on:
I’d like to tell you; and what about; I hope; I mean to say; thank you; I’m sorry; don’t mention it;
good luck etc.- These phrases make dialogues more lively and emotional.
While teaching dialogue we should use pattern dialogues in three stages:
1. receptive: pupils listen to the dialogue once or twice recorded or reproduced by the teacher,
then they read it silently for better understanding. The teacher helps them in comprehension of
the dialogue using pictures.
2. reproduction: 3 kinds of reproduction must be underlined:
 immediate - Pupils listen to the dialogue imitating the speaker. Attention should be
paid to pronunciation and intonation.
 delayed - Pupils enact the pattern dialogue in person (listen second time before it).
 modified - Pupils enact the dialogue changing some element in it. The more
elements they change in the pattern the better they assimilate the structure of the
dialogue.
These first two types aim to store up the patterns in pupils’ memory for expressing themselves in
different situations.
3. Constructive or creative - Pupils are given a picture of situation and they make up their own
dialogues.
There is a great variety of dialogue structures. Here are main four lead-response units, which
should be taught in schools within the topic and linguistic material the syllabus requires:
1. question - response
e.g. - What’s your name?
- Ann…
2. statement - question
e.g. – I’m going to the theatre tonight.
5
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
- Where did you get the tickets?
3. statement - statement
e.g. – I’d like to know when his going to come and see you.
- That’s difficult to say. He is promising but…
4. question - question
e.g. – Will you help me?
- What shall I do?
Question-response dialogue is usually taught in schools. Above mentioned 4 lead-response units
should be taught and their peculiarities should be taken into account.
The use of dialogues in language teaching has a long tradition. 3 Stereotyped dialogues and
dialogues in unnatural language have been recently replaced by more natural dialogues, which illustrate
how sentences are combined for the purpose of communication in clearly defined (specific) social
context.
In dialogue activities not only accurate expression is important but also the appropriate use of
language forms in a specific social context. Therefore the interlocutors (learners) should take into
consideration:
 who is speaking to whom
 about what
 for what purpose
 where and when.
It is also important to heighten learners’ awareness of how dialogue is structured, of ways of
opening, maintaining and classing a conversation, and of the strategies used by the speakers to negative
meaning so that their efforts at communication achieve the desired result.
Using dialogues to help students develop their conversation skills is common practice in most
English classes. One of the main advantages to using dialogues is that students are given a rubric as a
basis on which they can then build. Once they have become comfortable using a dialogue, students can
then go on to have related conversations building on their familiarity with the dialogue and the vocabulary
specific to the situation.
Dialogues can be used in many ways in a classroom. Here are a few suggestions for using
dialogues in the classroom:
 To introduce new vocabulary and help students become familiar with standard
formulas used when discussing various topics
 As gap fill exercises for students as a listening exercise
 Use dialogues for role-plays
 Have students write dialogues to test key vocabulary and language formulas
 Have students memorize simple dialogues as a way of helping them improve
their vocabulary skills
 Ask students to finish a dialogue.
Promoting Speaking Skills
Communicative language teaching concerns with all the skills and their integrated usage. In
promoting speaking skills particular attention is paid on ways of developing speaking skills.
Teaching speaking not only linguistic competence, but also sociolinguistic, discourse,
strategic, socio-cultural and social competence should be developed as the components
of
communicative ability. Speaking activities aim to develop the confidence, desire and ability to use the
target language not only accurately but also appropriately and effectively for the purpose of
communication.
The use of communication strategies (Strategic competence)is effective ways to compensate for
gaps in communicative ability.
Language is a tool of communication, yet none of us has such a perfect command of it, not even
in our native language, that we do not encounter communication problems. Communicating through a
language we may get stuck in a sentence constitution, use words that mean sth. else to our partner or
we may simply not know what to call sth. or formulate sth. We often say “I don’t know how to put it into
words” and not only in a foreign language, but also in our native tongue.
To overcome these difficulties there are a number of communication strategies:
 Retracing (when getting stuck in a sentence structure: “Sorry, I’ll start again”)
 Rephrasing (“Let me put it in a different way”)
3
Council of Europe, Communication in the modern language classroom, by Joe Sheils, 1993
6
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology


Substitution:
o by a general word (thing, person)
o by a pronoun (this it, they, sth)
o by a subordinate (“free” for an “oak-tree”, “meat” for “mutton”)
o by a synonym (“discuss” for “debate”)
description by means of:
o general physical properties (colour, size)
o specific features (it has 4 legs)
o interaction (functional characteristics)

demonstration (here, look at this…)

gesture, mime, sounds

appeal for assistance (Pardon? Will you say that again? What do you mean by
that? etc)
These strategies may lead to some errors. The learners should be made aware of the strategies
used in their native language, and how they might employ them in the target language. Activities
designed to practice strategies, in particular, paraphrasing, describing, rephrasing and substitution, help
to foster confidence in learners ability to communicate even with limited resources.
Organizing Communicative Activities
One virtual component of communicative ability is strategic competence, which requires suitable
classroom activities. The activities should be developed in situation where the learner must whish and be
able to engage in communication.
Real satisfaction and confidence are achieved through successful communication. So the learners
must be involved in tasks suited to their interest and linguistic development. and facilitated by the proper
game activities.
A variety of activities to promote the development of speaking skills: dialogues, role play,
simulation, the learner can speak personally in the classroom situation, to know each other better. They
exchange information, express feelings and values through interviews, surveys, games etc and this way
they become involved in discussions, story telling and different projects.
Here are examples of some popular general types of communicative activities. In every case, we
are primarily concerned with enabling and encouraging communication.
Picture difference tasks
In pairs, one student is given picture A, one picture B. Without looking at the other picture, they have to
find the differences (i.e. by describing the pictures to each other).
Group planning tasks
The first example is 'planning a holiday'. Collect together a number of advertisements or
brochures advertising a holiday. Explain to the students that they can all go on holiday together, but they
must all agree on where they want to go.
Divide the students into groups of three and give each group a selection of this material. Their task
is to plan a holiday for the whole group (within a fixed budget per person).
Allow them a good amount of time to read and select a holiday and then to prepare a presentation
in which they attempt to persuade the rest of the class that they should choose this holiday. When they are
ready, each group makes their presentation and the class discusses and chooses a holiday.
List sequencing tasks (also known as 'Ranking tasks’)
Prepare a list of items that learners can discuss and place in a particular order according to
their opinions, e.g.
 What's the most useful invention?
 What's the best improvement that could be made to our town?
 What are the worst programmes on TV?
 Who's the most important person of the last 100 years?
 What are the qualities of a good language course?
Pyramid discussion
A Pyramid discussion is an organizational technique that works particularly well with simple problembased discussions and especially with item-selection tasks, e.g. 'What are the four most useful things to have
7
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
with you if you are shipwrecked on a desert island?', or list sequencing tasks, e.g. 'Put these items in order of
importance'. Here's how to do it:
1. Introduce the problem, probably using a list on the board or on handouts.
2. Start with individual reflection - learners each decide what they think might be
a solution.
3. Combine individuals to make pairs, who now discuss and come to an
agreement or compromise. If you demand that there must be an agreed
compromise solution before you move on to the next stage, it will significantly
help to focus the task.
4. Combine the pairs to make fours; again, they need to reach an agreement.
5. Join each four with another four or - in a smaller class - with all the others.
6. When the whole class comes together, see if you can to reach one class solution.
A.
What's the point of doing a discussion in this way? Well, most importantly, the
technique gives students time to practice speaking in smaller groups before facing the whole
class. Even the weaker speakers tend to find their confidence grows as the activity proceeds
and they are able to rehearse and repeat arguments that they have already tested on
others. It also tends to lead to a much more exciting and well argued whole-class discussion.
Role Play, Real Play and Simulation
The term "Role play" is generally used to refer to a wide range of practice and communicative
activities. Some of the controlled or guided dialogues, especially cued dialogues, might be considered
as an introduction to role play These prepare learners to take part in role play activities which require
greater spontaneity and fluency.
Role play activities vary in the degree of control over how learners act and speak. The interaction
may be controlled by cues or guided by a description of a situation and a task to be accomplished. The
result may be very predictable or an open-ended scenario may allow learners to negotiate the outcome
in the course of the activity.
Role play requires learners to project themselves into an imaginary situation where they may
play themselves or where they may be required to play a character role. In some instances this is
prescribed in detail and at other times learners are free to create the role, which inevitably leads to
greater involvement in the activity. A situation or scenario may be realistic (e.g. coping with a problem in
a campsite, etc.). It may also be unrealistic for learners (You are a detective, explorer, etc.) or appeal to
their sense of fantasy (You are a caterpillar about to become a butterfly ....). All kinds of role play are
useful and it is essentially a question of maintaining a balance between realistic activities and other
imaginative and interesting situations which provide motivation, enjoyment and satisfaction in the hereand-now of the classroom.
Role play is not simply a rehearsal for future real-life transactions. It provides learners with
opportunities to practise correct and appropriate use of a wide range of functions, notions and structures
in a variety of contexts
The ultimate aim of role play, as of all speaking activities, is to involve learners in fluent and
creative expression in a way which can and should be enjoyable. This, as always, requires a supportive
8
Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
classroom atmosphere where learners are not afraid to 'have a go' and where the role play mask may
provide some relief, particularly for shyer learners, from the intensity of T'-centred activities.
Learners who are unfamiliar with pair or group work will need time to get used to these activities.
It is best to start with short, controlled or guided role plays and to supply detailed guidelines on how to
proceed.
Pre-role play discussion is a valuable activity at all levels as learners are communicating about
real and immediate needs. They must, of course, gradually be given the means to conduct this
discussion in the target language and encouraged to do so as much as possible in both the pre-play and
post-play stages.
Learners who are familiar with role play may be introduced to simulation which is a more
complex activity, usually requiring greater preparation and organisation and more time to carry out.
Simulations may involve learners in imaginative activities, for example how to survive on a
desert island in the face of various dangers and difficulties, or, more realistically, in accomplishing a task
such as preparing the front page of a newspaper, a publicity campaign, or a radio/TV programme.
Participants may also be placed in a situation of conflict where teams take on roles to defend or oppose
a proposal before a decision is taken, e.g. whether or not to build a nuclear power plant, to abolish
beauty contests, and so on.
Simulations have rules which constrain participants, requiring them to act in a realistic manner in
keeping with their roles.4 While they are often less flexible than role play activities and less convenient
because they usually require a lot of time.
Simulations usually involve a more complex structure and often larger groups (of 6 to 20) where the
entire group is working through an imaginary situation as a social unit, the object of which is to solve some
specific problem. A common genre of simulation game specifies that all members of the group are
shipwrecked on a "desert island." Each person has been assigned an occupation (doctor, carpenter,
garbage collector, etc.) and perhaps some other mitigating characteristics (a physical disability, an exconvict, thief, businessman etc.) Only a specified subset of the group can survive on the remaining food
supply so the group must decide who will live and who will die.
Both role play and simulation require careful planning-to ensure that they run smoothly, but the
greater proportion of time would be spent on the actual performance and post-play analysis, based on
recordings or observers' comments where possible.
A powerful variation on role-play is Real-play. In this case, situations and one or more of the characters
are drawn not from cards, but from a participant's own life and world5. Typically, one of the learners plays
him/herself. This person explains a context (e.g. from his/her work life) to other learners, and then together they
recreate the situation in class. The real-play technique allows learners to practise language they need in their
own life. It is particularly useful for business and professional people.
Here is a brief description of a sample real-play activity:
In a Business English class, a receptionist at a company said that she found it difficult to deal with foreign
visitors who wanted to ask a question rather than just be directed to a person's office. She described a
recent time when this had happened and then real-played this with another student (who played her,
while she played the part of the visitor). She found it helpful to watch her colleague playing her own role, as
he did some things quite differently from her and used some interesting expressions. The teacher was also
able to suggest some ideas and language. Then they repeated the real-play (with her playing herself). She
said afterwards that she felt a little more confident about such situations.
Running a Fluency Activity
If the main aim is to get the students to speak, then one way to achieve that would be for you to
reduce your own contributions. Probably the less you speak, the more space it will allow the students. It
could be useful to aim to say nothing while the activity is underway, and save any contributions for before
and after.
Scaffolding
‘Scaffolding’ refers to the way a competent language speaker helps a less competent one to
communicate by both encouraging and providing possible elements of the conversation. It is the way a
primary-school teacher might help a young child to communicate, or the way a chat-show host might draw out a
guest.
4
Council of Europe, Communication in the modern language classroom, by Joe Sheils, 1993
5
Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching, Macmillan Books for Teachers, 2007, p. 155-163
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Susanna Asatryan
PhD, professor assistant
The Chair of pedagogy and language
teaching methodology
The listener offers support - like scaffolding round a building - to help the speaker create his own
spoken structure.
Scaffolding in class isn't a normal conversation in the sense that the teacher/listener is not aiming to
contribute any personal stories or opinions of her own; the aim of her own speaking is solely to help the
speaker tell his story.
Here are some notes on techniques that might be appropriate:
Scaffolding techniques
 Showing interest and agreeing: nodding, ‘uh-huh’, eye contact, ‘yes’, etc.;
 Concisely
asking
for
clarification
of
unclear
information,
e.g.
repeating
an
unclear word;
 Encouragement
echo:
repeating
the
last
word
(perhaps
with
questioning
intonation) in order to encourage the speaker to continue;
 Echoing meaning: picking on a key element of meaning and saying it back to
the speaker;
 Asking
conversation-oiling
questions
(ones
that
mainly
recap
already
stated
information), e.g. ‘Is it?’ ‘Do you?' 'Where was it?’ etc.;
 Asking brief questions (or using sentence heads) that encourage the speaker to
extend the story, e.g. ‘And then ...’ ‘He went...’ ‘She wanted ...’ etc.;
 Unobtrusively saying the correct form of an incorrect word (but only if having
the
correct
word
makes
a
significant
positive
contribution
to
the
communication).
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