Optimizing Oral Skills

Day 1: Speaking Tasks

Day 2: Speaking Tasks (hands-on)

Day 3: Teaching Pronunciation

Day 4: Error Feedback

The Importance of Speaking Activities

“Do you ________ German?”

Languages are primarily oral

2 CTJ students

Pair Work• No preparation• timing (st A vs. st B) & quantity• two monologs (no PW)

–Not necessarily interactive• May be interactive because of the ss (motivated, extroverted, etc), not because of task design

– role of the listener

• no monitoring• no debriefing

Preparation

Think about your vacation:• What did you do?• Where did you go?• Who did you meet?• What was the best/worst part?• What would you do again?• What didn’t you have time to do?

Reaction Expressions

Really?Me too!I can’t believe it!Are you serious?You’ve got to be kidding!No way!That’s awesome!Sounds great!

Follow-up QsHow come?Did you like it?When was that?And how did you feel?etc...

Pair Work (making it better)• Preparation (pre-speaking)• time management (so both ss get to talk)• give the listener a role / create a need for

interaction– Force information gap (listener has to find out

sth)– Force a certain number of turns (reaction

expressions and follow-up questions) – especially for very controlled activities.

• Monitoring (listen to the pair ahead)• debriefing (post-speaking) – volunteering

vs. calling on ss

Concept of communicative tasks

• direct vs. indirect approach (children, teens and adults)

• Importance of knowing the purpose of the speaking activities

• Importance of knowing why they should work in pairs, groups, with different students

GW (trio)• Same steps as PW: pre-speaking,

speaking, post-speaking• Easier for shy/weaker ss to hide

– strive for even/balanced participation– Monitoring– Giving clear roles

• Timing (what if one group finishes before the other?)

Discussions

What expressions do we teach our students for discussion activities?

Softeners IntensifiersA little (bit) tiredKind of unpleasantSort of inspiringNot really* interestingNot that crazy about itI kind of like itI sort of like it

Really enjoyReally don’t* appreciateSo quicklyToo tiredSo much funSuch pleasureSuch an enjoyable experienceSo much better

Negative questions (don’t you…? / Why didn’t you…?

RJPeople forced to leave their homes: 13,830Deaths: 803Missing: 324

AustraliaPeople affected by the flood: 200,000Cities and towns affected by the flood: 22Deaths: 20

• Trios/groups (superteachertools)

• (A) Whose fault is it?• (B) What should be done now to rebuild

the cities?• (C) What should be done now to avoid

more disasters like these?

• Online stopwatch (6 min, 2 for each question)

titSIN prnnsieISn

• Communication (vid)• Language ego• Brazilian Portuguese vs. English

Why teach pronunciation?

Teaching pronunciation(vid)

Letter-Sound Correspondence

PROCRACIDADE FLABELAÇÃOFUMIGAÇÃO TARTAREAR INDENIDADE

DOMICILE PREFACE ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRIBUTE CANBERRA IRON

STEAK GAUGE HAPHAZARDMISCHIEVOUS SEW UTENSIL

Homographs

Bough GoThrough OffAlthough CowEnough CuffCough True

Homophones

(vid)

Tea Meet Key

Believe Receive Me

Ski People phoenix

Silent Letters

Psychology Amoeba Phlegm

Singer Bomb Honest

CONSONANTS

Initial [p] [t] [k] in stressed syllables sound

[pH] [tH] [kH]

‘pay’ [pHeI] – [peI] = [beI]‘tie’ [tHaI] – [taI] = [daI]

‘cap’ [kHQp] – [kQp] = [gQp]

Hold a sheet of paper in front of the mouth while saying the words. The

paper should move to plosive sounds.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper

picked?

Last sound of the base form is

Voiceless

Last sound of the base form is

Voiced

Last sound of the base form is[t] or [d]

[t] [d] [Id] [d]

wiped [pt]liked [kt]

laghed [ft]messed [st]crashed [St]

matched [tSt]

bribed [bd]jogged [gd]lived [vd]

named [md]opened [nd]

rolled /ld/appeared /rd/

raised [zd]breathed [Dd]

longed [Nd]merged [dZd]

cried – vowel + [d]

one syllable is added to the verb

lasted [tId] [td]accepted [tId] [td]added [dId] [dd]

founded [dId] [dd]

Vid

[T] [s]

Thank Sank

Think Sink

Thin Sin

Math Mass

Path Pass

Mouth Mouse

[T] [t]

Three Tree

Thick Tick

Through True

Tenth Tent

Math Matt

Booth Boot

[T] [f]

Thought Fought

Threat Fret

Three Free

Oath Oaf

Death Deaf

Myth Miff

[D] [d]

They Day

Though Dough

Those Doze

Then Den

There Dare

Vid

[s]

House, mouse, blouse

Base, case, basic

Basis, crisis, analysis

Useful

Fantasy

Famous, marvelous, various

Disorder, disappear, dishonest

Misuse, misinform, misinterpret

[z]

His, hers, theirs

Does, was, is

Resort, business, easy

Whose, praise, because

Dessert, scissors, possessive

[s] (noun / adjective) [z] (verb)

Abuse To abuse

Use To use

Excuse To excuse

House To house

Close To close

[s] [z]

Ice Eyes

Spice Spies

Loss Laws

Price Prize

Face Phase

Loose Lose

Once Ones

Race Raise

Advice Advise

Niece Knees

Vid

Last sound of the base form isVoiceless

Last sound of the base form is

Voiced

Last sound of the base form is

[s] [z] [S] [Z] [tS] [dZ]

[s] [z] [Iz] [z]cups /cps/takes/teIks/

student's/studnts/

boys /bIz/lives/lIvz/she's/Siz/

one syllable is added to the verbglasses /glQsIz/washes/wASIz/judge's

/dZdZIz/

[t] [tS]

Two Chew

Tease Cheese

Tip Chip

Tin Chin

Tear Cheer

Art Arch

Beat / Beet Beach

Cat Catch

Bent Bench

[S] [tS]

Share Chair

Shoe Chew

Shore Chore

Shin Chin

Ship Chip

Shop Chop

Wash Watch

Cash Catch

Wish Witch

“She sells sea shells by the seashore”

“She saw a fish on the seashore, and I’m sure the fish she saw on the

seashore was a sawfish”

[m] [n]

Cam Can

Them Then

Pam Pan

Rum Run

Seem Scene

Rom Ron

[n] [N] [Nk]

Son / Sun Sung Sunk

Ban Bang Bank

Ran Rang Rank

Thin Thing Think

Done Dung Dunk

Win Wing Wink

Identify the number of sounds in the words below:

Sing3 (CVC)father

5 (CVCVC)lamb

3 (CVC)stopped

5 (CCVCC)plumber

6 (CCVCVC)

LATERAL

[l] ‘live’ ‘pulling’ ‘no final position’

[] ‘no initial position’ ‘multi’ ‘pool’

Pronunciation Journey

[ow] [ow]

Sow / Sew / So Soul

Bow Bowl

Go Goal

Mow Mole

Row Role

Rode / Road Rolled

Code Cold

Coat Colt

Silent l

half calf talkchalk

would could should balm

palm calm salmonLincoln

[h] /r/

Home Rome

Hose Rose

Hat Rat

Hole Role

Hate Rate

Hear Rear

Hair Rare

Hide Ride

Hope Rope

• Raise your RIGHT hand / stand up if you hear a /r/ sound.

• Raise your LEFT hand / sit down if you hear a /h/ sound.

TAP / FLAP

[] ‘to’ ‘water’ ‘got’

Online recording :Vocaroo, photobabble, voicethread.Audacity, flipvideo, digital camera.

Betty bought a bit of better butter.

Vowels

[i] [I]

Leave Live

Scene Sin

Heat Hit

Seat Sit

Feet Fit

Leap Lip

Beach Bitch

Sheet Shit

Simple Sounds Maze

Odd one out

it – heat – scene – feet

think – thanks – this – thousand

pattern – post – penguin –

psychologist

worked – cleaned – stopped - laughed

Meaningful, communicativeMinimal Pairs

Did you feel/fill it?

Heat/Hit it now!

He will leave/live.

The children will sleep/slip.

[u] [U]

Fool Full

Luke Look

Pool Pull

Cooed Could

Unfair dictation

Only write down words that have a long vowel sound.

[E] [Q]

Bed Bad

Pet Pat

Men Man

Ken Can

Said Sad

Ten Tan

Send Sand

Vid

[i] [I] [E] [Q]

Beat Bit Bet Bat

Bead Bid Bed Bad

Meet Mitt Met Matt

Deed Did Dead Dad

Keen Kin Ken Can

visit feat cab pick canmen sick seek back led

[I] ‘sit’

[i] ‘seat’

[E] ‘set’

[Q] ‘sat’

[] Typical mistake

Correct Pronunciation

ous, as in various [ows] [s]

pro, as in production [pro] [prow]

[pr]

ion, as in illusion [on] [jon] [n]

[] or [U] [] or [I]

today, you (connected speech)

behind, prefer, delicate, chocolate,

wanted

[] [r] [rl]

won, one word world

trouble firm girl

love circle pearl

tongue work curl

culture murder twirl

cup search Earl

[] [U]

luck look

cud could

buck book

stud stood

tuck took

[] [A] []Nut not / knot

Cup cop

buddy body

color collar

duck dock

fund fond

bum bomb

wonder wander

[I] [aI]

sit site

bit bite

miss mice

spit spite

kit kite

Magical final -e

[Q] [eI]

fat fate

Matt mate

rat rate

pan pane

can cane

Magical final -e

[] [A] [oU]

cop cope

Ross rose

cock Coke

rot wrote

Spock spoke

Magical final -e

[] [ju]

Cut cute

Mull mule

hug huge

fuss fuse

us use

Magical final -e

Online Resources

http://phonphon.pbworks.com

The fact that the teacher gives feedback on student performance implies a power hierarchy: the teacher above, the student below.

Assessment is potentially humiliating to the assessed person.

Teachers should give only positive feedback, in order to encourage, raise confidence and promote feelings of success; negative feedback demoralizes.

Giving plenty of praise and encouragement is important for the fostering of good teacher-student relationships.

Very frequent approval and praise lose their encouraging effect; and lack of praise may then be interpreted as negative feedback.

Correcting each other can be harmful to student relationships.

Error vs. mistake (self-corrected if pointed out)

Intralingual vs. Interlingual

Local vs. global

When?

The correction-during-communication paradox

• If we correct during communicative work unobtrusively so as not to harm communication – the correction may be ineffective.

• If we correct more effectively using explicit feedback and ‘processing’ – we may damage the communicative value of the activity.

What’s the answer?Professional teaching judgment, taking into

account:• The goals of the course / lesson / task• How crucial/important/difficult the error is• Source of error (intra/interlingual)• Local or global• The frequency of the error / fossilization• The level of the student / ZPD• The personality of the student / affective

factors / language ego• The motivation of the class overall to learn• The excitement level of the activity

How?

Recast

Repetition

Elicitation

Clarification Request

Metalinguistic Feedback

Explicit Correction

Research

• Lyster, R. & Ranta, L., 1997• Lyster, R., 1998

Types of correction

Frequency of use

Uptake

Recast 55% 18%

Elicitation 14% 46%

Clarification request 11% 28%

Metalinguistic feedback

8% 45%

Explicit correction 7% 36%

Repetition 5% 31%

Conclusion (by Penny Ur)• For optimum effectiveness, corrective

feedback should:–be explicit – involve some measure of active

negotiation• It may or may not be effective to correct

during (oral) communication; this depends on a number of pedagogical considerations.

Individual or group feedback?

Oral Test Feedback

Making error correction visual

How much?

A questionnaire-based survey(by Penny Ur)

• Population: over 1,000 children learning English in State schools in Israel.

• Ages: 10 - 17

When I make a mistake in oral work I think it's very good / good / not very

good / bad if the teacher...

Very Good

Good Not Very Good

Bad

... doesn't correct me at all.

… tells me there's a mistake, but doesn't tell me what it is, so I have to correct myself.

..tells me a mistake and also tells me what the correct form should be.

…tells me there's a mistake, tells me the correct form, and makes me repeat it.

…tells me there's a mistake, and gets another student to correct me.

…corrects my mistake and also explains why it was wrong.

Oral mistakes

0100200300400500600700800900

.. doesn'tcorrect me at

all.

… tells methere's a

mistake, butdoesn't tell

me w hat it is,so I have to

correctmyself.

..tells me amistake andalso tells me

w hat thecorrect formshould be.

…tells methere's a

mistake, tellsme the

correct form,and makes

me repeat it.

…tells methere's a

mistake, andgets another

student tocorrect me.

…correctsmy mistakeand also

explains w hyit w asw rong.

yes

no

Conclusions (by Penny Ur)

• School-age learners want to be corrected.

• They feel corrective feedback is valuable

• They prefer explicit correction

• They understand the value of repeating the correct form.

• They do not, on the whole, like to be corrected by their peers.