Speaking has top priority in most language courses … but how do you get your learners talking? To answer this question, Urs Kalberer starts by looking at the different types of speaking, as seen in the diagram below.
Monologues are extended turns of speech without interruption, as used in storytelling, descriptions or presentations. But unlike dialogues, you don’t have a partner – you are all by yourself.
I follow the principle “step by step” – moving from easy to more difficult tasks. Start with drills and reading aloud, i.e. let your students echo what they hear (you shout/whisper a sentence) or use a recording from your materials. Add more sentences and let the learners repeat longer passages. When you use recordings from your course book, students can read along in their books. This way they can focus on the rhythm and pronunciation. After several turns, they can try to speak at the same time and speed as in the recording. In the end, they will be able to recite a passage even without the text or the soundtrack. Reduce the group size steadily from whole class to group to pair to individuals.
Postcard partworks
Cut up different postcards or photos into three or four parts and hand them out to the students. Each student describes their piece in one or two sentences. The others listen and find out if the description matches their own one. Repeat by adding more details. Then students group and compare if their combined parts add up to the original image.
Another way of using pictures is ordering them according to a listening text. Students keep retelling the story by looking at the pictures while you continue to reduce the size of the group. You can also group your class according to the combined parts of a photo.
Picture dictation
In a picture dictation, students work in groups. One student describes a simple illustration from a colouring book (don’t take a colour photograph as it has too many details) while the others are drawing what they hear. Don’t allow the drawers to sneak even a quick look over to their colleagues’ papers. Compare and discuss the results. Variation: Record a description on WhatsApp and send it to a partner who draws it.
Tic Tac Toe
Tic Tac Toe is played in pairs. Choose a square and talk about it for 30 seconds to win it. The first one to take three squares in a line (vertically, horizontally, diagonally) is the winner. Extended monologues can be frightening for students. By repeating a monologue several times with different listeners, students will become more fluent. Start with one minute, change partners and reduce to 45 seconds, change partners again and reduce to 30 seconds. Display several similar objects (glasses, cups, shoes, …) and number them. Each student selects one item and describes it. The class notes the correct number.
Monologues can be demanding – reduce the difficulty if necessary. On the other hand they allow your learners to demonstrate just how much they can do. So celebrate the achievements accordingly.