[etni] Encouraging English Speech in Class
- From: Aharon Family <aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:04:49 +0200
Hi Avraham,
Unfortunately, telling children that they need to do something isn't always
effective. Bringing in native speakers closer to their age - volunteers,
overseas students, etc. is excellent since they can usually find common
interests to discuss - music, sports, etc.
I would suggest instead of pairs, divide the class into groups of 3-5 and
at the end invite all groups to perform. No need to use pupils as spies -
the teacher should move between the groups and remind them to speak English
while offering to help them prepare their skits.
Here are some other suggestions:
1. Raps - Sentences chanted in rhythm allow the entire class to speak
together clearly, giving everyone speaking practice and helping them
memorize language chunks. Afterwards it will be much easier for pupils to
remember and use these sentences in context.
2. Group drama activities - When the entire class is involved the teacher
hears everyone.
3. Games - I've given several workshops on games that encourage pupils to
speak. You can find some ideas on my website or by looking through handouts
of previous ETAI conferences.
Good luck and have fun!
Kara Aharon, English is Fun
Yerucham, Israel
08-6589425, 052-3903306
aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.englishfun.net
Original message:
>
> Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:51:29 +0200
> Subject: [etni] Encouraging English Speech in Class
> From: Avraham Roos <avrahamroos@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi All,
> My students (studying to become English teachers) asked me for practical
> tips on how to encourage use of spoken English in class. They complain
> that
> whenever an oral task (e.g. pairwork) is given, their pupils quickly
> switch
> over to doing the task in Hebrew. I gave them the following guidelines but
> would be interested to get some additional ideas.
>
> 1. First and foremost make sure your pupils understand that only by
> practicing oral English use, will they become proficient in it. They need
> to understand that they use the target language not because *you *demand
> it
> but because *they *need it.
>
> 2. Bring in native speakers. I have experience with volunteers (elderly
> ladies, etc.) who were willing to come half an hour a week to chat with
> pupils. At the beginning I would leave the topic open to their choice but
> I
> found that giving the native speaker/ pupil pair a page with a guided task
> or topic to talk about works much better. In cases where I could not find
> volunteers, I "volunteered" native speaker pupils from other classes to
> sit
> with my students once in a while (especially as preparation for oral
> bagrut).
>
> 3. In pairwork you could introduce a third pupil as monitor. His/ her task
> is to tally how much Hebrew is used to complete the task. I personally do
> not like this "spy" task so much but it does work. I have heard of
> teachers
> who use the "divide and conquer" technique: Split up the class in groups,
> create a competitive atmosphere with points and prizes. Take off points
> for
> Hebrew use and have groups tell on each other if they hear use of Hebrew
> in
> other groups. Not really my cup of tea but it seems to work.
>
> 4. Tell pupils that at the end of the activity you will invite one pair
> in
> front of the class to reenact their pair activity. They should therefore
> see the pair activity as a practice run for their "performance".
>
> Who has some additional creative ideas?
>
> Avraham Roos
>
> --
> "When one teaches, two learn"
> Robert Heinlein (American science-fiction writer,1907-1988)
>
>
>
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