system of activities to improve speaking skills and bibliography

8/14/2019 System of Activities to Improve Speaking Skills and Bibliography

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SYSTEM OF ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS

Activity One

Topic: My House

Grade: Twelfth Grade

Lesson Objective:to get the students speaking about housing

accommodation, and their past experiences in it

Resources: Projector, markers, pair and group work

Teaching Procedure

Pre-Task

Have students work in pairs and create a mind map on the word housing.

Students are asked to come up with words related to housing in two minutes.


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During the task

1. In pairs, tell each other about the place you live. Is it a flat or a house?Do you rent it? Describe your favorite room.

2. Tell your partner about an interesting place you have lived, e.g. I used

to live on a boat, in a tent ...3. In small groups, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in

the following places. Each group presents a summary to the rest of theclass.

Post Task

1. The students in pairs analyze the scripts to the answers of twonative speakers that were asked about the place where they live.Mostly, students pay attention to the vocabulary and structuresused.

2. The teacher plays the original recordings for pronunciationpurposes.


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Activity Two

Topic: Animal Talk


Lesson Objective:to get the students interacting orally about animals: wild

vs. domestic animals.


Teaching Procedure

Pre-Task

1. Teacher write on the board: Animals as pets, and invites the studentsto watch a 5-minute video on cute, sweet animals athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ym77NL2t8

2. After the video ask students to name the animals they saw in thevideo. This activity should activate some existing vocabulary related toanimals.

3. Answer could include:

Cat Rabbit Puppies Mouse Pigeon Turtle

During the task
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ym77NL2t8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7ym77NL2t8


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1. Have studs work in groups of three, and discuss the followingquestions:

2. After the class has discussed the questions for 20 minutes, have thegroups present the main results; encourage participation of everystudent.

3. The teacher writes the more common aspects on the board.

Post Task

1. Students in the same groups discuss the present simple examplesfound in the answers they provided that were written out on the board.


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Activity Three

Topic: A Trip to Africa


Lesson Objective:to get the students speaking about housing

accommodation, and their past experiences in it


Teaching Procedure

Pre-Task

Ask the class if there are any countries in Africa they would like to visit. They

could do some internet research in class, and find out about holidays in

Africa. What would they do there? How would they travel? How would they

plan the journey?

During the task

1. Present this note using a projector, or have groups of four studentsget one copy.

2. Ask the students to move to the next stage of the task cycle

planning. One member of the group, a speaker will be asked to tell

the whole class the questions the group has decided on. The

speaker is not allowed simply to write down the questions and read


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them out, but can be allowed to take up to twelve words of notes to

work from. So the group will begin to prepare the speaker for the

report.

3. The speakers for three or four groups give some of their questions.As they do so, the teacher will make brief corrections wherenecessary and write up a list of their questions on the board.

4. Finally the class will listen to the discussion between Janet and herfriend or read a transcript of their conversation. As they do so theywill check to see how many of their own questions have beenanswered, and how many of the ones listed on the board.

Here is a transcript of the conversation between Janet and her friend:

B: Janet, I hear youre planning a trip to Africa.

J: Yes its very exciting. Going in September to see my son

whos doing volunteer work in Zambia.So Im going to fly to

Lusaka and hell meet me there and well do a bit of travelling

round. I think were going to be staying most of the time in

Monze, where hes working. Its about a hundred miles south

of Lusaka. But were planning all sorts of exciting things.

Were going to go on safari

B: How long are you actually going for?

J: Oh, six weeks. Quite a long time so we can do quite a lot. I

think were going to one of the big game parks Luangwa

a game parkfor a few days.

B: Right.

J: Probably going on down to see the Victoria Falls. And were

actually going to Zimbabwe as well.

B: Matter of interest. What airline are you planning to fly by?

J: Sorry? Er, Air Zambia.

B: Air Zambia.

J: Ive had to do it as cheaply as I could and I looked online

and got this flight. I mean its a regular flight. Its not a charter

or anything.

B: Yes, yes.


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J: But its er I think itll be okay I dont know.

Post Task

4. Use the text above for language analysis and study. Ask the studentsto identify and underline:

phrases containing part of the verb GO

phrases containing the word TO

phrases with words ending in -ing

ways of referring to the future

expressions of time

expressions of place


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Activity Four

Topic: Getting to know your resources


Lesson Objective:To talk about speaking in English outside the classroom,

its importance and vocabulary around it.

Resources: Projector, markers, pair and group work books (graded

readers), video, magazines and Internet

Teaching Procedure

Pre-Task

1. In pairs students discuss the following questions:

a. Do you use English outside the classroom?b. How?

c. What ways can you practice English outside the classroom?During the task

1. Running dictationPut the text from worksheet one on the wall either inside or outside theclassroom. Organize your students into pairs. One student will then goto the text, read the text and then go back to her partner and dictatethe information to her. The partner who stays at the desk writes thisinformation. When teams have finished check for accuracy. You canmake this competitive if you wish.


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2. In pairs students then read the Getting To Know Your Resources tasksheetCheck any problem vocabulary at this stage. This worksheetcan be adapted according to the resource room at your school.


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3. Depending on how the resources are organized in your center,students then go, in pairs, to the resource room or wherever theresources are kept and complete the tasks on the task sheet.

Post Task

1. Working with a different partner students now compare and share theirexperience.

2. Having monitored the activity and the final stage, use this opportunityto make comments on your students performance. This may takeform of a correction slot on errors or pronunciation, providing a self-correction slot


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Activity Five

Topic: Getting to know your teachers


Lesson Objective:To be able to describe people (teachers) orally through

talking about experiences and giving opinion


Teaching Procedure

Pre-Task

In pairs students talk about an English teacher they have had.

What was her name? Where was she from? How old was she? Do you remember any of her lessons? What was your favourite activity in her class?

During the task

1. Using the Getting to Know Your Teachers task sheet (worksheet three)and the Interview Questions (worksheet four) students write the questionsfor the questionnaire they are going to use to interview the teachers.


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2. To set up the activity students then interview you and record theinformation.

3. Depending on which teachers are free at this time they can then go andinterview other teachers and record the information. You may wish tobring other teachers into your class to be interviewed or alternatively give

your students a week or so to complete the task, interviewing teachersbefore or after class, or whenever they come to the center.

Post Task

1. Working with a different partner students compare their answers andexperiences then decide on their final answers on the superlativequestions.

2. Feedback and reflection. Allow time for students to express their opinionsand experiences of the activity. Provide any feedback you feel isnecessary.


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During the task

1. Explain some of the words and phrases which might cause difficulties.A balaclava is like a ski mask. It covers someones face so only theireyes can be seen. Smarties are small brightly colored sweets with

chocolate covered in a thin layer of sugar. A fake is something whichis imitation, which is not real.

2. Ask learners what they think happened in the story, but do not tellthem if their guesses are right or wrong.

3. Ask them to try to guess what happened in the story. Tell them to useas many of the ideas on the board as they can. The best thing is forthem to work in pairs or groups and discuss their ideas. This will givethem a lot of speaking practice.

4. Tell them you are going to ask some of them to tell their stories to theclass. Give them some time to prepare their stories. Go round andlisten as they work.

5. When they have had enough time to prepare their stories appoint aspokesperson for each group. Ask the groups to work with thespokesperson to prepare the final version of their story.

6. Ask one of them to tell the story. Try to choose someone who thinksthe young man is the robber.

7. Ask the others if their stories are the same or different. Choosesomeone who has a different story and ask them to tell it. Try tochoose someone who thinks the eight-year-old is the robber.

8. Engage the class in a discussion as to whose story is the most likely.

9. Hand out the story for them to read. Or, if you want them to havesome listening practice you can read the story out before they read it.


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Post Task

1. Ask learners to underline all the phrases with to:

tr ies to rob sweet shop; attempted tohold up a sweet shop; to

buya newspaper; to ld her tofill up the bag; whetherhe wanted

me tofill the bag with sweets or with money; who did not want to

give her name; I pretended to reach for some money; asking the

publ ic tohelp.

2. Analysis. Ask them to look at these patterns:PATTERN A

VERB

tries

attempted

(not) want

Pretended

to

to

to

to

to

VERB

rob

hold up

give

reach for


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PATTERNB

VERB

told

wanted

asking

NOUN

her

me

the public

to

to

to

to

VERB

fill up

fill

help

3. Look at these sentences. Are they patternAor pattern B?

a. I need to borrow some money.b. We need someone to help us.c. The boy ordered her to fill up the bag.d. We always had to get up early.e. Can you help me to carry these boxes?

4. Help your learners to organize their knowledge of verbs followed by to:

These are the commonest verbs with patternA:

agree, appear, attempt, begin choose, continue, decide, expect,

forget, happen, hate, help, hope, intend, love, live, learn, mean, plan,

prefer, pretend, promise, refuse, remember, seem start, try, want,

would like.

How many of these verbs are to do with speaking?

How many are to do with thinking?

Can you find other words in the box which mean the same as: appear,

attempt, begin, intend, like, want?


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These are the commonest verbs with pattern B:

advise, allow, enable, expect, help, intend, invite, mean, order, prefer,

tell, want warn (usually warn someonenot to), wish, would like.

Can you find eight words that are also used with pattern A?

How many words are to do with speaking?

How many words are to do with wanting or liking?

5. Practice: Lead class discussions based on this:

Choose either:

Three things you want/would like to do over the next year.OR

Three things you hope/intend/plan to do over the next year.

Write down the three things in your book. Close your book. See How

many things you can remember.

You can listen to a few sentences before learners close their books, then

make sure they all have their books closed and lead a class discussion about

what people want to do and about what they hope to do. These sentences will

generally be pattern A.

Lead more class discussions based on this:


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Choose either

Three things your teacher doesnt allow you to doin class.OR

Three things you would like someone to give you

Write down the three things in your book. Close your book. See how

many things you can remember.


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Conclusions of Chapter II

The system of activities that is presented in this investigation is sustained on

epistemological foundations that explain the process of teaching and

learning, and the process of acquisition of the oral communicative

competence competition in foreign language.

A system of activities based on TBLT is proposed to favor the ability to

speak, because its application requires an active participation on the part of

the student as the center of attention and because the abilities are integrated

to the real situation.


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General Conclusions

The appropriate treatment of the ability to speak as the main axis of

communication would help enhance the interest in learning of the English

language, taking into account the basic necessities to know a second

language and adapting it to the environment in which the student is

unwrapped

The diagnosis made allowed us to corroborate that the main inadequacies

are related with the inadequate handling of the ability to speak to the

students since they are afraid fear of expressing themselves orally inside and

outside the classroom, and the teachers don't practice to dedicate their time

to fulfill the planned didactic units, related to the other abilities of grammar,

reading and writing.

Oral expression in its entire dimension allows both the teacher and the

students the skills to delve into knowledge about a first and a second

language (English Language). The correct use of this type of expression

would help get a good speaking performance, and become a successful

communicator.

By carrying out this investigation, it has been demonstrated that teachers and

students alike can develop high levels of oral communication, which in turn

will allow them to obtain the abilities and skills to reach new lands of

knowledge through an adequate integral education.


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Recommendations

To assess with the executives and teachers the implementation of the

system of activities to be incorporated in the next cycle, and this way to favor

the ability to speak in the students of the third year of high school of the as

well as the rest of the students at Educational Unit Raymundo Aveiga of the

City of Chone.

To motivate the teachers to use the language with the students and

colleagues in and out of the classrooms, so as to provide the students with

an opportunity to be naturally exposed to the language and they can utilize it

as a real means of communication.


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Graddol, D. (2007). The Future of English?: The English Company.

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