Earlier this month, we hosted a live conversation with ELT experts Ben Goldstein, Ceri Jones, Kathryn O’Dell, Mark Ibbotson, and Leslie Hendra. Here are each of their top tips for teaching speaking.
Many students measure their progress in language learning through their confidence and ability to speak spontaneously when faced with situations in the ‘real world’. In order to give students the best chance of success in developing their speaking, we need to create safe speaking environments – but what does this mean?
In an evening of conversation at a Cambridge college, we caught up with our ELT teaching experts to get their top tips for creating a safe environment when teaching English speaking.
Ben Goldstein: Champion conversation in the classroom
“You don’t have to stick to prescribed speaking tasks. Allow time for more chat, informal conversation and incidental learning, students will feel safer in such an environment.”
Ceri Jones: Speak through scaffolding
“Encourage learners to build on each other’s development in order to get the right words out by, working through various phrases until they crack it. And when do they do, celebrate these moments of breakthrough.”
Kathryn O’Dell: Make speaking activities felt and not forced
“If students feel like talking, they’re going to speak. Create a balance between spontaneous activities and time for preparation, all supported by interesting and relevant topics that they’ll naturally want to talk about.”
Leslie Hendra: Get them absorbed in the task, not the talking
“Pair and group work helps to normalise the sound of talking in the classroom so students don’t feel focused on. Before you know it, they’re throwing themselves into activities and talking without even knowing it, not worried about how they sound to their peers or teachers.”
Mark Ibbotson: Maintain a calm, relaxed and judgement free atmosphere
“Create a relaxed friendly atmosphere and remind learners that the class is a no judgement zone. Simply reminding students of this relaxes them and encourages compassion in the classroom.”
For more tips and conversation on teaching speaking best practices, watch the full recording below.
Philip Kerr will also be sharing his own tips and ideas for managing speaking practice in the classroom in next week’s webinar: Time for Speaking.
These insights have been used in the development of our new American English course Evolve. Please visit the Evolve web hub for more information and resources.