oral activities
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Oral ActivitiesTRANSCRIPT
Making the Most of Oral Activities in Beginning Level Classrooms
Paul A. Lyddon
Miami University
1) ____________________
2) ____________________
3) ____________________
4) ____________________
5) ____________________
Miami University Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (MUCTFL)
Oxford, OH
Friday, October 17, 2008
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Three Classroom Management Strategies for Maximizing
Oral Target Language Use
CM Strategy #1: Provide learners with necessary control language.
General:
o Sorry, I don’t understand.
o Could you please speak more slowly?
o Could you please repeat that?
o How do you spell that?
o What does … mean?
o How do you say … in English?
Task-specific:
o Whose turn is it? It’s your turn.
CM Strategy #2: Establish clear signals for use of L1 and L2.
Two-sided sign on board (L2 only, please—in TL; L1 OK)
Flags (one for TL, two for choice)
CM Strategy #3: Engage all learners in optimally challenging,
meaningful tasks.
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Pair Activity: Birthdays
Student A
Directions: Look at the table below. Take turns asking and answering questions
with your partner. Fill in the missing information.
Example:
Student A: When’s Paul’s birthday?
Student B: It’s from July 12.
Name Birthday
Paul 7/12
Bill 2/18
Amy
Cathy 4/20
John
Ken 8/21
Jane
Sue 5/12
Mark
Steve 10/31
Mary
Your Partner:
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Pair Activity: Birthdays
Student B
Directions: Look at the table below. Take turns asking and answering questions
with your partner. Fill in the missing information.
Example:
Student A: When’s Paul’s birthday?
Student B: It’s from July 12.
Name From?
Paul 7/12
Bill
Amy 9/3
Cathy
John 12/26
Ken
Jane 6/17
Sue
Mark 11/28
Steve
Mary 1/10
Your Partner:
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Whole Class Activity: Getting to Know Your Classmates
Directions: Complete the table below as you listen to your classmates introducing themselves.
Then complete the table below. Finally, use the information from the table to answer the
questions at the bottom of the page. You may write your answers on the back of the page if
necessary.
N.B.: Be sure to include yourself in your answer to Q4 or Q5, as appropriate.
Name Age Hometown Year in
School
Major
1. How many of your classmates are older than you? Who are they?
2. How many of your classmates are younger than you? Who are they?
3. Are any of your classmates the same age as you? If so, who?
4. Which of your classmates are in the same year of school as you?
5. Which of your classmates are ahead of you in school?
6. Which of your classmates are behind you?
7. Who in this class is from Ohio?
8. Where are the others from?
9. Whose hometown is closest to yours?
10. Does anyone have the same major as you? If so, who?
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Pair Activity: What do you think of …?
1-3 4-6
♥♥ I love it.
♥♥♥ I’m crazy about it.
I don’t really like it.
I like it. I don’t like it.
It’s OK.
It’s all right.
I hate it.
I can’t stand it.
**I’ve never done/tried it.
Procedure:
1) S1: “What do you think of …?”
2) S2: Roll and answer.
3) S1: “I believe you,” OR “I don’t believe you.”
4) S2: “Actually, ….”
5) S1: or .
6) Change roles and repeat
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Six Suggested Strategies
for Optimizing Oral Language Activities
Look for ways to make the learners care about the learning
objectives (e.g., by connecting them to their personal lives).
Give the learners a stake in the activity (e.g., by letting
them supply some of the content and/or by turning the
activity into a challenge or task).
Engage the learners cognitively (e.g., by encouraging
informed guessing).
Empower the learners to influence the way the activity
unfolds (e.g., by allowing for learner choice).
Allow the learners to practice realistic language use (e.g.,
by situating the activity within a naturalistic context).
Maximize learner production (e.g., by implementing small
group tasks with clear goal structures and encouraging the
use of control language)