Conducting speaking activities

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Conducting speaking activities

• Anson Yang
• SKH Li Fook Hing Secondary School
• 11 November 2006

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Rundown

1. Group discussion and reports
2. Sharing
3. Video clips
4. Material designs
5. Community inputs
6. The four exams

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• Discussion toilet break?
• Interesting. I also wanted to add that
• (your comments)
• Any idea there?

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(No Transcript)
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Group discussion

• Among all topics given to students, which is the
  least interesting (not most difficult) topic for
  students?
• Whenever you see your students (both in and
  outside classroom), what is the percentage that
  you are spoken to in English?
• What stock phrases did you teach students?
• What is your most interesting essence in the oral
  lesson? (talkative, lively, etc)
• What makes you a (less) capable oral teacher?
  (character, knowledge of social issues,
  pronunciation, etc.)
• What are the listening activities like at your
  school?

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Teachers

1. Well-read, lively, proficient, opinionated
2. Teacher-centered when giving instructions (5 10
   minutes)
3. To point out activity / discussion focus for
   students
4. To stress that exams are testing skills, not
   personal beliefs
5. To walk away from a student when he is speaking

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Teacher

• 6. Commonly mispronounced words secretary /
  security social / so-so common / comment
  performance / preformance used, practised,
  organized, interested, provided, effort, method
  th-sounds think, father (/f/, /d/)
• 7. To use stock phrases daily for students to
  pick up Thats an interesting point. I dont
  quite understand, could you say that again?
• 8. Let students speak up in non-oral lessons

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• Taxi?
• Get wind? (break wind??)
• Chicken feed
• Jump queue
• Open door
• Burn the midnight oil?
• An arm and a leg?
• Around the clock?

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Students

1. To prepare a notebook for useful words and
   phrases
2. A four-way discussion (avoid discussing only to
   the strong candidate)
3. To agree and comment briefly on what has been
   presented, then add own point

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Materials

1. Games
2. Current issues
3. Writing exam topics
4. Films / Ads

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Process

1. To read aloud with students all the time
2. To ask why and say I dont understand all the
   time, so that students have to elaborate. Then,
   ask the same question again, and expect a
   complete answer (the complete answer can easily
   take up 45 60 seconds)
3. To elicit common knowledge and specific opinions
   from students (for organization)

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Process

• 4. 3 4 students per group (not with neighbors)
• 5. Furniture must be moved, so that everyone sees
  each other comfortably in the group aisles
  needed
• 6. Teacher to circulate among groups avoid
  staying at one group for too long
• 7. To penalize students who speak in Chinese

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Process

• 8. To breakdown the time each student has--CE
  6-minute discussion (each student has 90 seconds
  3 turns x 30 seconds)
• 9. To have one member in each group to discuss in
  front of the class
• 10. The teacher becomes one of the discussants.

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Video

• What are some of the items seen in the video
  clips absent in your class? Why?
• What are the roles of students who are not
  discussing?
• How can you adapt similar activities in your
  class?

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Material designs

• Based on the newspaper clipping you have
  received, decide which level you want to use the
  short article for, and write one discussion
  question for TSA, CE, or UE practice.
• Discuss in your group what you intend students to
  focus on with such a question. Choose the least
  interesting topic and polish it up as a group.
  Prepare to report.

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Community inputs

1. TV programs / films
2. Newspapers
3. Speech festival (Bible / prose reading)
4. Debates
5. Drama performances
6. Inter-school practice

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The four exams
Level Presentation Discussion
1 1 minute (2 minutes)
2 1 minute 3 minutes
3 1 ½ minutes 4 minutes
4/5 2 minutes 5 6 minutes
6/7 2 minutes 8 10 minutes
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• Joint-school practice
• Mixed practice (with students at the same level
  during time-tabled lessons)
• S2 and S3 teachers S4 and S5 teachers S6 and S7
  teachers

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• Let students practice, keep instructions minimal.
  It is their time to speak up.
• Thank you