Help students increase spoken fluency while also attending to accuracy with weekly grammar recordings, an assignment that measures fluency through production of grammar structures. The presenter will explain logistics, share sample prompts and student feedback, and discuss adaptations for in and out of class uses for various proficiency levels.

1. Fluency or Accuracy?
Work on Both with
Spoken Grammar
Recordings
Stephanie Hanson
Teaching Specialist
University of Minnesota English Language Program

2. Agenda
• Sentences per Minute technique
• Demo
• Logistics of assignment
• Student example and feedback
• Topic ideas

3. Sentences per Minute
• Assign topic and time limit
• Partners count sentences
• Calculate sentences per minute
• Repeat and try to increase sentences per minute
Soresi, S. (2005). SPM: A new approach to achieving fluency. Modern
English Teacher, 14 (3), 39-43.

4. Demonstration
Partner A: talk for 1 minute - What did you do yesterday?
Partner B: count past tense verbs
Partner A: talk for 1 minute, same topic
Partner B: count past tense verbs
Partner B: talk for 1 minute – What are your plans for tomorrow?
Partner A: count future tense verbs
Partner B: talk for 1 minute, same topic
Partner A: count future tense verbs

5. Logistics
• Weekly assignment
• Record on phones or computers
• Submit recordings via course website
(or email)

6. Logistics
• Submit paper for each pair of recordings
• Grading: completed or not

7. Student Sample
Future
Recording 1
Future
Recording 2

8. Student Feedback
What kinds of positive and negative comments do
you think my students shared about grammar
recordings?

9. Student Feedback
Fall 2015 Intermediate Grammar class
9 positive comments
• I think the grammar records help me because I can
practice grammar and speaking too. (x 6)
• I think it is helping my grammar skill because when I
record it, I know my mistake and Stephanie gives a
little bit feedback. (when I had a wrong thing.)
• I like the grammar recoding because I can speak
fluency and when I have mistakes in the first
recording I didn't forget that.
• I like it, because it can help me organize my
language.

10. Student Feedback
Fall 2015 Intermediate Grammar class
2 negative comments
• It helps me, but I think 2 minutes is too long
• Sometimes I don't have any word to say about
the topic, because I didn't experience a lot about
that. So I think it's helps a little.

11. Topic Ideas
In small groups, brainstorm
some prompts you can assign
students to target specific
grammar structures.

12. Questions?
Stephanie Hanson
SLHANSON@umn.edu