Classroom Research Project A work in progress......

Together we identified a problem or issue to do with our teaching ... Then we used this model when thinking about our issue....

My students can’t speak in English ! Many teachers say….. My students can’t speak in English !

How can I get my students to speak? OR ……….. How can I get my students to speak?

Well……………….. It’s true that many students find it difficult to speak in English but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to.

So how can we get our students to speak? Any ideas?

Your students are reluctant to speak in English in the lesson Your students are reluctant to speak in English in the lesson. If you want to find an answer to this problem, what would you do? In groups discuss this........

There are many ways to find an answer....... Talk to colleagues Talk to GBs/PKs/Heads of department. Research on the internet – find articles, resources, forums etc. Peer Observations. Ask a colleague to observe your class. Use the PPD or resource centre. Talk to the mentor. Talk to the students.

Speaking Activities……. * Need to be well-planned and set up. * They need a small amount of target language that the students can cope with. * The target language needs to be modelled before the activity starts. * The instructions should be short, clear and simple so the students know what you want them to do. * The students need to be able to repeat the target language again and again. * After the activity, you can do more practice of the target language together as a whole class, using your stronger students as a positive model for your weaker students.

As some of you may know from the British Council DVD on speaking activities…. If we want to help our students to speak we need to prepare speaking activities with three essential elements….. * 1) Structure * 2) Repetition * 3) Purpose

(1)Structure……. This means there is a solid base for the activity…. The students should be well-prepared before the activity and know what is expected of them. They should have a good grasp of the target language required for the activity.

(2) Repetition…… The activity gives students the chance to repeat the small amount of target language again and again. Students eventually memorize the sentence and/or question pattern in the target language and are therefore able to reproduce it.

(3) Purpose……. By giving the students a clear reason to speak they feel more motivated to do so. This makes the activity more enjoyable. The excitement of doing a motivating activity helps the students to be less shy and to feel more relaxed about speaking.

Ideally ………. Speaking activities should draw on the student’s background experience and be relevant to their lives. What other topics would be good for speaking activities with our students? Can you use a computer? Yes, I can.

A mingling activity is just one example of a way of getting our students to speak. But why do an activity like this? * It’s nice to do an activity like this sometimes as a change from the usual classroom routine. * Students like being able to get up and move around the classroom. * It gives students the chance to use the target language with their classmates rather than just with their teacher. * Weak and strong students can work with/help each other. * Students are usually engaged in a task like this. * It’s FUN!!!

How do you feel about trying this activity with your students? Oh no! I couldn’t possibly do an activity like that with my students! They would be so naughty and there might be chaos!!

Please don’t be afraid to try and do an activity like this with your students….. It really can help to get your students speaking!

Thank you ! HOORAY !