This document discusses strategies for developing speaking skills in language classes through various classroom activities and the use of online tools. It outlines challenges like large class sizes and limited time, and provides solutions like using small group work, interactive activities, and online resources. Some suggested activities include flashcard games, interviews, surveys, picture descriptions, problem-solving tasks, role plays, and discussions. The goal is to use a communicative approach to help learners become competent speakers through guided practice and communicative output.

1. Communicative
Approach
Speaking Activities
Joanne Chen
Presentation
Part II

2. In this session
1. Why is it important to develop speaking skills in our class?
2. Class activities promote speaking
3. Design speaking activities with online tools

3. Why is it important to
develop speaking skills?
• L2 learners regard speaking as the most important skill they can
acquire, and they (or their friends/family) assess their progress
in terms of their accomplishments in speaking skills.

4. Challenges & Solutions
Challenges Solutions Technology
1. Large classes Use small Group work; develop
tasks suited to large classes
Using ppt, video, podcast and other
presentation tools in class
2. Multi-level, multi-
background learners
Use small group work; interactive
activities; study skill training
Post lesson videos, class materials
and online resources
3. Class time-frame, limited
class time
Rotation; pair work activities Using blackboard to host videos/
review games, practice, and
assignments
4. Working Adults, busy
students
Small group; In class practicing
activities
Providing online learning resources.
Extra one-on-one tutoring service.
5. Difficulty in Chinese
language
Break down large lesson to small
activities
Help students to build their study
skills
Using online tools for more listening
and speaking practice and providing
more task-based activities

5. Use an Integrated Activities Approach
can help learners develop speaking competence

7. Classroom
• Teacher or Facilitating
• Instructor or Mentoring
• Student or Learner
• Learning is a social networking environment.

8. Guided Practice
and
Communicative output

9. The Goal
• To Use the Communicative Approach to have
learners become communicatively competent

10. Flashcards Activities
• Small group (2 students)
a. Match Vocabulary / Pinyin / meaning
b. Speaking cards – translation, drills practice
c. Sentence matching card – reading characters, sentence
patterns /drills
d. Task cards: Situational conversation
e. Benefits: Have to speak. Study skills. Review. Easy for
instructor to supervise.

11. Interview Activities
• Small Group ( 3-4 students) or walk around the class
• Worksheet
• Asking questions using a worksheet
• Benefits: Drill and vocabulary practice
• Ex:谁，什么，在哪儿，有没有，会不会
Name 你的老师是谁？ 你在哪儿学中文？ 你有没有中文书？ 你会不会说日文？
1
2
3
4

12. Star Interview.2
• Interview a star ( group of 2-4)
• Worksheet
• Drills and vocabulary practice
• For example: Yao Ming meets Yo-yo Ma
• Student A has Yao’s information. And the B has a worksheet
to ask.
• B has Ma’s information, and A interview B.

13. Survey Activity
• Worksheet
• Students walk around the class and ask questions
until they fill out all the information on the worksheet
• Drill and vocabulary practice.
• Ex: 去过， 吃过，喝过，看过，用过..
名字 去过中国 用过毛笔 喝过烧仙草 吃过臭豆腐
1
2
3

14. Circle Talk/ Long Table Talk
• After structured practices, give students free speaking time or give
them a different task
• Students walk around a circle or long table
• Teacher control the time (30seconds- 1minute) with a bell

15. PPT Games
• PPT: Jeopardy
• A:____________ B: 不行！
• PPT: Wheel of Fortune
• PPT: Puzzle / Guessing game
• PPT: Mouse Mischief Game
• PPT: iSpring game
• Individual or small group mouse game
Studystack.com

16. Use Authentic Materials
• Phone number
• Birthday
• License plate number
• Weather report
• Population
• Price guessing game:
Activities with numbers

17. Bingo Games
• Bingo Games
• Use daily objects to practice pinyin and the four tones
• Goal: Build up vocabulary
• Food items / Animals / School objects
• Fruits / sports / colors /body parts
• Practice: /有没有/要不要/谁/
http://www.toolsforeducators.com/bingo/

18. Comic Stripes
• Small group of 2-3 students.
• Using Comic strip and dialog worksheet to create short dialogue
http://www.mes-english.com/worksheets/comicstripmaker.php

19. Find the Difference
Small group activities: A/B ask each other until they both have
the same objects in both rooms.
Teachers can easily create a situation picture by creating a comic stripe from:
A B

20. Picture Describing Activities
他们在说什么？这个女的为什么不高兴？她要做什么？
这个女的在问什么？这个男的说什么？他们在哪里？

21. Problem solving Speaking Activities
他的女朋友為甚麼
生氣了?
?
怎么办？

22. Information Gap Activities
• Students Working in pairs
• Student A has the information student B does not have and they
will share their information by asking each other.
• Weather, restaurant menu, airplane/train timetable, person’s
schedule, etc.
• Target grammar: 几点/ 什么时候/ 什么时间/ 多久了
北京到上海 广州到南京 香港到广州 西安到上海 成都到长沙
起飞时间
降落时间

23. Communicative Output
Activities

24. Communicative output activities
• Role play
• Drama
• YouTube Video project
• Discussions and presentation
• Photo story / story telling
• Cartoon story
• Lesson recording assignments
• Culture report / oral report

25. Discussions
• Communicative output activities
• Small Groups activity
• First, instructor will give students input, both topical information and
language forms.
• Topics selection: Vacation, movie, food, school, recycling, life style,
should we buy a new car…etc.
• Set a goal or outcome. Individual report or group reports.

26. Oral Presentation in class
• Advantages
• Good Practice for the learners
• Disadvantages:
Time consuming