Toni HullEnglish Language Fellow

at Tan Chau High School, March 11, 2010

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Do you know what the Nike slogan is?

Just do it!

1. thinking about why and how we teach speaking

2. integrating speaking into vocabulary and

grammar practice

3. improving the speaking lessons in the coursebook

Watch the film clip and try to imagine what the characters are saying to each other.

With your partner, write lines. Practice the lines and be ready to perform for the class.

Nurse: Guard: Nurse: Guard: Nurse:

Bombay nurse

the ______ most frequent words in spoken English make up nearly 50% of all talk

a vocabulary of just ________ words covers nearly 95% of native-speaker spoken texts

learners of English can “get by” with _____ of that amount

typically, productive vocabulary (what speakers can use) is about _________ of their receptive vocabulary (what they can recognize)

from How to Teach Speaking, Thornbury, p. 22-23, 34

1. the 50 most frequent words in spoken English make up nearly 50% of all talk

2. a vocabulary of just 2,500 words covers nearly 95% of native-speaker spoken texts

3. learners of English can “get by” with ½ of that amount

4. typically, productive vocabulary (what speakers can use) is about ½ of their receptive vocabulary (what they can recognize)

from How to Teach Speaking, Thornbury, p. 22-23, 34

WRITTEN SPOKEN123

WRITTEN SPOKEN1 the the23

WRITTEN SPOKEN1 the the2 to I3

WRITTEN SPOKEN1 the the2 to I3 of you

Why is it so hard to teach (and learn) English Speaking in Vietnam? Consider the issue from multiple points-of-view (teacher, student, administrator, parent). Jot down 3-5 reasons. Then discuss.

Students standing.

T. starts Round-Robin:◦ Nhi, what time did you go to bed last night?

Nhi answers and calls on any other student:◦ I went to bed at 11:15. Minh, what time did you go to

bed last night? Minh answers and continues the round.

After a student has spoken he/she sits down.

To make sure sitting students are paying attention:T. can randomly stop and ask any S. what the last person’s answer was.

Objective 1: to get students speaking and thinking in English.

Objective 2: to have students build automaticity (fluency) with a structure that has been taught and practiced.

In groups, think of other language points you could focus on in a similar activity.

The drill can be as easy and/or controlled as the example – or more challenging and open, requiring more choices by the students.

Lead the drill with the group.

choose a topic (e.g. the environment, tourism in Vietnam, movies)

tell students to think of questions related to the topic to ask an expert

4-5 students come to the front of class◦ together they are “Dr. Know-it-All”

students ask Dr. Know-it-All questions Dr. Know-it-All answers, each person

providing one word (and only one word) at a time, building an answer

put students in groups of 4 in each group, students assign themselves

numbers between 1 and 4 (without telling the teacher)

students do activity teacher calls for reports on discussion by

calling on different groups◦ T rolls the dice to determine which S will answer

1 – 2 -3 – 4 student with that number must answer 5 – 6 the students in the group can decide who

answers

Discussion: What do you know about cats and fish?

Watch: as you watch, think about what’s going to happen next.

Question: What do you think is going to happen?

Brainstorm: The cat does not eat the fish. Why not? What do you think happens to stop the cat?

Analyse: This is a commercial for a service. What do you think it is a commercial for?

Cat and Fish

ACTIVATING S SCHEMATA

ACCESSING S IMAGINATION

ENCOURAGING S AUTONOMY

PRACTICING WAYS OF TALKING ABOUT PREDICTIONS, FUTURE ACTIONS

FOSTERING CRITICAL THINKING

Thornbury (p. 63) advocates the idea of Practiced Control (as opposed to Controlled Practice)◦ progressive control of skill◦ mistakes possible and expected◦ support is available◦ self-regulation is the objective

http://www.esl-galaxy.com/board.htm

One of us can … Two of us can … Three of us can … All of us can … None of us can …

Role-play ; a news program

* one student in the group is a TV reporter, asking questions

* other students take the roles of different people in the village (farmer, teacher, student, young mother, grandfather, doctor, truck driver, etc.)

* students use the prompts to talk about possible plans and results (using 1st conditional PLUS they should mention how the improvement will affect their lives

* students practice and then perform for class

Project-based learning:* students need to choose one film to show at the school Film Festival

Steps:* first they tell each other about a film they’ve seen - using the language in Task 2 and the questions in Task 4

* then they debate which one would be best for their school Film Festival

* one person reports to full class their recommendation

* full class must vote on one film from all suggested

The deadly “Talk about”prompt

How can you improve Task 4?

Your group will be given a list of 11 words Create a role-play on any topic, using 5 of the

words on the list (no less, no more). Everyone in your group must have a role and

must speak. Write 2 comprehension questions about your

role-play and give them to Ms. Toni. Perform your role-play for the class. After you perform, the class will

◦ be asked the 2 comprehension questions◦ be shown your list of words and be asked to identify

the words you used

add (v) background (n) demonstration (n) dumb (adj) fire brigade humane (adj) opposition (n) plough (v) romantic (adj) subtract (v) stare death in the face

air-hostess bank (n) determination (n) ease (v) gift (n) humanitarian (adj) origin profession (n) schooling (n) disabled (n) stewed

alternate (v) corner shop dip(v) enclose (v) go off interrupt (v) passion (n) seat belt (v) stimulate (v) tragic (adj) mentally retarded

ambitious (adj) curriculum vitae diploma (n) exhibition (n) gradually (adv) marital status photogenic (adj) rare (adj) semester (n) strong-willed (adj) typical (adj)

announce (v) deaf (adj) fasten (v) harrow (v) pump (v) photography (n) require (v) sorrow (n) stuck (adj) glorious (adj) time-consuming (adj)

Today I think I learned: __ a lot of English __ some English __ a little English __ almost no English

Toni HullEnglish Language Fellowth.in.tesol@hotmail.com

PowerPoint of this presentation available at: italldepends.pbworks.com

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