|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Ask for help > Getting them to talk!!!
Getting them to talk!!!
|
Kohaku
|
Getting them to talk!!!
|
I work at an after school program in Japan. Most of my students will be considered advanced to intermediate in English within the regular school system. They know how to read and write English very well. My part is in their conversational English. There is a big difference in how well they can write and how well they can speak.
So my question is... What are some ways to get my silent students talking? The ones that don �t speak up are Junior High leveled students. They are not bad kids and they are not trying to be funny. I feel that my activities are just not getting them going. I need more ideas on subjects that can help them use the English they already know.
Please shoot me any ideas!!! Anything is helpful!!!
One more thing is that these students seem to lack interest in speaking in general :)
|
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
|
miss K.
|
|
You can try playing games that involve talking. I used with my students and it really worked! Also you can check out teachingassistant (I think it ends with .org) site. It �s subdevision of British Counsil (or just search British Counsil ). They have at least one article on that topic. |
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
libertybelle
|
What often works for me is t get them talking with each other.
They speak much more with each other than one-to-one with the teacher.
Try using conversation cards and board games which you can find by
writing in the content box above on this page.
There are literally millions of great ideas here.
That way you just have to go around the class and listen!
Also you can use, spot the difference pictures!
Hope this helps
L
|
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
anitarobi
|
|
I love using speech cards - I write questions, directions, role-play situations on cards and they pull them out and talk. It �s great to have them sit down in a circle, and put a plastic juice/cola bottle (full and unopened) in the middle. Spin the bottle, and the st to whom the cork is pointins has to pick a card which says TRUTH or one which says DARE (all truth cards have a question on the back where they have to answer a question or retell a part of their life truthfully, whereas dare cards demand a st to do sth - recite in English, sing in English, dance to an English song, ask everybody, including you, a question...). Once this st performs his/her task, he/she spins the bottle and you get a new �victim �. It goes on like that, till everyone has taken a turn. In the end tell them it wasn �t just for fun. Tell them they each get to vote 3 times, and then ask them to vote on the most interesting and complete answer in the group - write the votes on the board and present the winner with his/her reward - the bottle of drink they �ve been watching the whole day. I did it with my sts on a hot day, and the guy who got the juice was a hero for the whole week. They spoke rather well, because it �s a game so they relax.
Another thing I like to do is to put on a movie or a clip, but kill the sound completely. Before watching, we decide who would play which cahracter, and then they synchronize the movie. They are allowed to watch it before doing it, but the point is not to repeat the original movie phrases, but to be creative. Some of my sts suggested I let them do this, and it turned out to be fantastic - some of them even used accents, so we had American, Scottish, British, bad (on purpose) English, etc... It was great, because they relaxed. |
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
Kohaku
|
anitarobi I really love your suggestions!! I never thought of playing games in that way with my students. It has been an ongoing goal to get them to relax and enjoy speaking English. I feel as though they have almost become discouraged. I surely don �t want them to become this way.
I appreciate both of these ideas and feel that it will be an interesting and exciting introduction to my new lessons!!!
|
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
anitarobi
|
|
I �m glad you like our advice. Hope it inspires you enough not to give up. Teenagers can be very... opinionated - whatever you do, booooooooooring! But it �s mostly just a pose! I love this part with the bottle, because I control the game (the cards are mine, so if I want to, I can even demand a conditional sentence, but better keep it a funny one), but they are unaware of it. They actually sort of perform for their colleagues. You �ll be surprised to hear them even correcting each other �s grammar and pronunciation. And they feel like they �re talking to each other, not the teacher. You listen and control, but you don �t take the central position. It really works!
Let us know how it went, pls! |
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
ants
|
I found that my teens also liked asking each other questions rather than me asking the questions. The group I had also liked playing running dictation and my preposition game as I was standing and just watching and they were in total control of the game.
I played loud, funky music ( which you might not be able to do ) and they had to really concentrate on what the other student was saying!!
I also use MES small flashcards to prompt speaking too.
And as Anita as said....it �s that age and they �re super sensitive or not into doing anything that might show them up as silly, etc. It �s a tricky age but with some fun and motivation, they should start speaking English.
Whatever happens don �t give up. Keep trying anything and everything until something works...because when it does...you �ll be in for a wonderful surprise!!!
Good luck!!
Fiona.
|
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
Ivona
|
|
I �ve been trying to find a thread where another member asked for help re speaking and getting the ss to speak, but i can �t find it. The member obviously did not enter the keywords that would help me find it easily, and of course i can �t remember the title or the member who started the topic.
Anyway, picture association story worked well every time i used it. But it �s good with smaller groups. You deal the FCs (whichever you have) so that each student has 4-5 cards in his/her hand. You can join, too. One of the students places a card on the desk and begins a story. He/She must mention the word that is shown in the card. The next student continues the story using another card, and so on.
e.g. St.1 has BOAT - COOK - MONKEY - DOCTOR ...
St.2 has TREE - BICYCLE - EYE - WRITE ...
Student 1: Last summer me and my family went to the seaside and had a great time. One day, we decided to take a BOAT ride to a nearby island.
Student 2: As we reached the shore, my brother suggested exploring the island. There was no sign of any people, not even animals. But there were these weird TREES, the type of trees i had never seen before ...
Tips:
1) The example i gave is the one you should strive to get from your students, but you will not get it the first time. What they usually do is say that it is too difficult, that they have lousy cards, that it �s impossible to make up the story. They see it like this: BOAT - TREE, but should see it like this: BOAT - ....................... - TREE. Your help will be needed in the first round, because their minds will probably not be used to making up stories and letting their imagination run away with them.
2) Make them repeat what was said previously. At first with all the details, but as the story progresses, they can repeat only the important details. I also make them paraphrase the sentences, add a few details, etc, like: Last summer was like no other. Me and my family went to the seaside and had the time of our lives.
3) Try to have the characters in the story have dialogues, or just speaking. Make the students change their voice as they do that. e.g. As we reached the shore, my brother said: "Why don�t we get off the boat and see what�s on it?"
|
19 Aug 2009
|
|
|
JudyHalevi
|
|
Funny! I just came from a class, where I used question flashcards that I downloaded this morning. The cards were in the middle of the table and in turn each one took one and had to ask someone else the question on the card. It was a lot of fun. Just have to find the right game for them.
from Israel.
Judy |
19 Aug 2009
|
|
1
2
Next >
|
I also would love to try conversation cards. Anything that will get them talking more than me
I had a bad experience last week when one of my students refused to do the dialogue so I had her stay after class for 5 minutes to try. Still she refused!!! I actually have not heard her or her partner �s voice before!!! They don �t want to work with the dialogue. They aren �t the only ones.