Conducting speaking activities

SKH Li Fook Hing Secondary School

11 November 2006

Rundown

1. Group discussion and reports

2. Sharing

3. Video clips

4. Material designs

5. Community inputs

6. The four exams

Group discussion

Among all topics given to students, which is the least interesting (not most difficult) topic for students?

Whenever you see your students (both in and outside classroom), what is the percentage that you are spoken to in English?

What stock phrases did you teach students? What is your most interesting essence in the oral

lesson? (talkative, lively, etc) What makes you a (less) capable oral teacher?

(character, knowledge of social issues, pronunciation, etc.)

Teachers

1. Well-read, lively, proficient, opinionated

2. Teacher-centered when giving instructions (5 – 10 minutes)

3. To point out activity / discussion focus for students

4. To stress that exams are testing skills, not personal beliefs

5. To walk away from a student when he is speaking

Teacher

6. Commonly mispronounced words: secretary / security; social / so-so; common / comment; performance / preformance; used, practised, organized, interested, provided, effort, method; th-sounds: think, father (/f/, /d/)

7. To use stock phrases daily for students to pick up: “That’s an interesting point.” “I don’t quite understand, could you say that again?”

8. Let students speak up in non-oral lessons

Chicken feedJump queueOpen doorBurn the midnight oil?An arm and a leg?Around the clock?

Students

1. To prepare a notebook for useful words and phrases

2. A four-way discussion (avoid discussing only to the strong candidate)

3. To agree and comment briefly on what has been presented, then add own point

Materials

1. Games

2. Current issues

3. Writing exam topics

4. Films / Ads

Process

1. To read aloud with students all the time

2. To ask “why” and say “I don’t understand” all the time, so that students have to elaborate. Then, ask the same question again, and expect a complete answer (the complete answer can easily take up 45 – 60 seconds)

3. To elicit common knowledge and specific opinions from students (for organization)

Process

4. 3 – 4 students per group (not with neighbors)

5. Furniture must be moved, so that everyone sees each other comfortably in the group; aisles needed

6. Teacher to circulate among groups; avoid staying at one group for too long

7. To penalize students who speak in Chinese

Process

8. To breakdown the time each student has--CE: 6-minute discussion (each student has 90 seconds = 3 turns x 30 seconds)

9. To have one member in each group to discuss in front of the class

10. The teacher becomes one of the discussants.

Video

What are some of the items seen in the video clips absent in your class? Why?

What are the roles of students who are not discussing?

How can you adapt similar activities in your class?

Material designs

1. Based on the newspaper clipping you have received, decide which level you want to use the short article for, and write one discussion question for TSA, CE, or UE practice.

2. Discuss in your group what you intend students to focus with such a question. Choose the least interesting topic and polish it up as a group. Prepare to report.

Community inputs

1. TV programs / films

2. Newspapers

3. Speech festival (Bible / prose reading)

4. Debates

5. Drama performances

6. Inter-school practice

The four exams

Level Presentation Discussion

1 1 minute (2 minutes)

2 1 minute 3 minutes

3 1 ½ minutes 4 minutes

4/5 2 minutes 5 – 6 minutes

6/7 2 minutes 8 – 10 minutes

Joint-school practiceMixed practice (with students at the

same level during time-tabled lessons)S2 and S3 teachers; S4 and S5

teachers; S6 and S7 teachers

Let students practice, keep instructions minimal. It is their time to speak up.

Thank you