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Speak, Listen, Laugh
- 1. Speak, Listen, Laugh!© F í odhna Hyland
- 2. Presentation Outline 1.Introduction 2. Contexts for Speaking and Listening Talk and Discussion Play and Games Improvised Drama Poetry and Rhyme Story 3. Working to a plan 4. Conclusion
- 3. Language Skills SpokenLanguage Writing Reading Productive Skills Speaking Listening Receptive Skills
- 4. An Integrated Approach?Speaking and listening are bound together too closely for us to practice them independently when talking happens, you need to know that someone is listening to listen properly you need to care about what has been said (Andrews, R. 2001)
- 5. Contexts for Speakingand Listening Talk and Discussion Play and Games Improvised Drama Poetry and Rhyme Story
- 6. Context 1: Talkand Discussion Language learning is social (Vygotsky, 1962) Encourages informal interaction on familiar topics Promotes fluency rather than accuracy Dialogue is encouraged through pair and group work activities
- 7. Sample Lesson StructureIntroduce topic and vocabulary to whole class. Model sentences with a student, using prompts. Introduce pair/group activity Distribute linguistic and visual prompts Monitor groups/pairs Each group presents example of learning. Extend answers with further questioning.
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- 9. Context 2: Playand Games Play is the natural medium through which the child exercises imagination in order to deal with feelings, situations and ideas outside his/her experience (Irish curriculum, 1999) The mediating role of the teacher is crucial in helping children to use imaginative play to extend and enrich their language skills.
- 10. Context 3: ImprovisedDrama Allows learners to explore situations and ideas freely Requires learners to use and experiment with language that is consistent with the role and situation Provides first-hand experiences of ‘action’ and language use which can be reviewed, discussed and extended
- 11. Context 4: Poetryand Rhyme “Children’s engagement with poetry should be governed by the ‘pleasure principle’ (Irish curriculum, 1999).
- 12. Working my RobotWhen I press this button, my robot starts to talk. When I press this button, my robot starts to walk. When I pull this lever, he starts to turn around When I pull this lever, he makes a bleeping sound When I click this little switch, his lights begin to flash. Oh! He’s falling over……. Clink! Clank! Crash!
- 13. Context 5: StoryReading aloud or shared reading can give EFL children an appreciation of the potential of language and develop their own use of language . Provides a meaningful context in which to learn new language Encourages active listening while reading Stimulates further language development in the post-reading stage
- 14. Using Multi-Sensory ApproachesMultisensory teaching is simultaneously visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile (VAKT) that potentially enhances memory and language learning. (Putnam, L.R. 1996)
- 15. Activities to developSpeaking and Listening Snakes and ladders Grammar auction Information gap activity Talk about… Show and tell DLTA Retell a story using puppets/picture cards Pass the ball Role cards/freeze frame Put them ‘on the air’ Barrier game Sound stories Sentence maker Yes/No hat game Sentence Bingo Gramminoes The desert island
- 16. Working to a P lan !
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- 19. References Andrews, R.(2001) Teaching and Learning English, p13. Open University, (1991) in Edwards, V., Speaking and Listening in Multilingual Classrooms, Reading and language Information Centre, University of Reading, p.3. Putnam, L.R. (1996) How to Become a Better Reading Teacher . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill. Irish Primary School Curriculum, (1999) English language: teacher guidelines, government publications office, Dublin.
Editor's Notes
- #2 You are an EFL primary school teacher, you are faced with yet another speaking and listening lesson. Just how do you make it more exciting for inexperienced Arabic users of English? How about bringing your lessons to life in a way that is fun, interactive and meaningful.
- #3 The presentation will will take the following format ( overhead 2) By the end of this talk, I want you to be clear on these three elements of Speaking and listening. Please ask as we go along if you don’t follow something, otherwise questions and comments will be taken at the end of the talk. In addition, everyone will be provided with a speaking and listening resource pack– as the Irish t.v. presenter Gay Byrne says, there’s one for everyone in the audience!
- #4 Language learning embodies listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. All 4 skills are related. Traditionally in EFL classrooms, children were to be seen and not heard and therefore EFL classrooms were teacher-centred and focused more on reading and writing. However, in the act of communicating, all 4 skills are important. Oral language, central to all literacy development is a critical foundation upon which reading and writing are built. Glazer(1989), Strickland (1991) and Teale and Sulzby (1989) have all discussed the critical importance of oral language as it relates to beginning reading and writing. A traditional perspective about literacy learning was to see reading and writing as discrete subjects isolated from the world of oral language and to teach them as if they had no relationship to listening and speaking. This presentation will address 2 of those skills – speaking and listening fundamental to the language learning process. (Highlight speaking and listening) Receptive does not imply passive. The listener has to decode the message, the speaker encodes the message in appropriate language. Both language users are actively involved in the process of interpreting and negotiating meanings. Receptiveness to language is an essential part of the child’s mastery of language and involves developing an appreciation of the speaker-listener relationship, learning to listen attentively and respond to verbal and non-verbal cues that enhance meaning. Second or foreign language learners usually understand more than they can say and therefore may respond non-verbally to begin with. There is a tendency to think that ‘doing listening’ is listening to a cassette that comes with a coursebook. Authentic listening may include listening to classroom instructions, listening to a story. The teacher’s face, gestures and body language will help them understand. Give the students a reason to listen. The teacher interacts with the children while they listen, which is after all how we listen in real life. Additional (integration with reading and writing) Oral comprehension, fluency, grammar and vocabulary knowledge are extremely complex processes that take place in oral language and transfer to reading and writing. Let children listen to language which is a little above their current level. Meaning can be made clear using pictures, mime and body language.
- #5 Speaking and listening skills are often seen as separate. However, according to Wilkinson et al, an integrated whole language approach involves the development of speaking and listening as intimately connected rather than individual mechanistic and separate activities. Therefore, the context in which speaking and listening takes place are crucially important to its development. Although some activities presuppose their own time allocation, much oral language activity can be accomplished by integration. For the purposes of this presentation, I will therefore be presenting speaking and listening as a unit.
- #6 What are the principle contexts that provide an opportunity for the acquisition of speaking and listening skills in an EFL context?
- #7 Why is it important to provide opportunities to simply talk? Talk and discussion of course features in all other contexts. In learning to initiate and sustain conversations, children need to develop an understanding of their role as speakers and listeners. They need to have practice in listening attentively, taking turns to speak, making appropriate responses and comments. Traditional classrooms focused on students listening to the teacher. However, Vygotsky (1962) posits that students construct meaning through participation and social interaction. Try to make ‘speaking aloud’ a familiar experience for children. Providing opportunities for different types of talking – together, one-to-one, small groups, as a class, formally, informally. However, according to the Open university (1991) “all classroom talk needs very careful planning to achieve the best results”. From my experience, talk and discussion needs to be focused on a particular topic, using a particular language focus, especially for EFL learners e.g. I went… Otherwise, the quality of the talk may be questionable with students lacking knowledge of interactive language such as questioning. Also, the management of talk and discussion is challenging, keeping students on task.
- #8 The teacher may use the following procedure to extend students’ talk and help focus on both fluency and accuracy. Audience activity - Emirates Choosing topics that are meaningful and culturally appropriate may increase motivation.
- #9 The problem facing teachers is that many parents and administrators still need written evidence of classroom time well-spent and think there has been no ‘work’ in a lesson if neither reading nor writing has featured. Raise the status of ‘talk’ in your school by having a ‘speak week’. Integrate with New Parade topics. Speak week is an opportunity to increase the profile of speaking and listening throughout the school. Activities may include theme song, assembly, activities such as treasure hunt, puppet show, 20 questions; visitors to the school, school trips can give opportunities to speak, puppet show, show and tell, circle games.
- #10 Children have an enormous capacity for finding and making fun. Sometimes, it has to be said, they choose the most inconvenient moments to indulge it! EFL children, because of their limited language experience and the particular stage of their conceptual development, can understand the real world only partially. In play, they create a make-believe world in which they can choose and control the characters, circumstances and events, and through which they try to understand the world. This make-believe world provides the stimulus through which they learn to represent things symbolically and where they can use language to explore their reactions to experiences and ideas. The teacher needs to interact with individual children during play and games, support collaborative talk and challenge their language levels. She needs to guide them towards appropriate form s of language and develop their sense of language awareness, to the point where they can choose independently the language best suited to a particular situation (moving from controlled language to free language usage). She can do this by asking questions, prompting new directions, suggesting possibilities, encouraging discussion. Learning Centers info
- #11 Improvised Drama provides different and often highly motivational contexts for extending language in a foreign language. It is a powerful vehicle for guiding the growth of oral language. According to Glazer & Searfoss, 1988, drama provides children with a way to discover themselves, learn how to deal with new and unusual experiences, and learn how to solve problems. What’s more, performance increases confidence in children to speak and express ideas/new language in the foreign language. It challenges them to find appropriate vocabulary to represent, respond, express, interpret and make judgements. Children can take part in real and fictional social encounters simultaneously. There are many ways in which children’s oral language skills can be enhanced through performance. The range of language and the purposes for which it is used will vary with the particular situation being explored. However, the freedom to ‘make mistakes’ encourages children to be comfortable and less self-conscious and it shows them that their talk is valued. An example role play is to encourage children to use language in social functions such as greetings. Learners share, perform, display new increments of language competence. The teacher validates, rewards, accepts, publicly acknowledges and commends new increments of skill, monitors and records, e.g. present on T.V., perform in groups. Children are placed in a position where ideas can be investigated and where they have to use language to communicate in an interesting way. It s hapes their responses. Progression in improvisation involves children becoming increasingly aware of a range of ways of acting out, in order to create, explore and communicate ideas about situations, characters, ideas and emotions. They can consider an alternative course of action and innovate on structure. They have to make choices, consider problems, develop and sustain an idea, explore feelings, arrive at and justify decisions. An intense engagement with the characters and situations in which a particular language focus is learned. Without this, it would be fruitless from a learning point of view. Set up a drama corner, containing materials and costumes to foster role play such as doctors, nurses, dentist and patient, fast food operator, supermarket employee – be that character.
- #12 For EFL children, hearing poetry, rhymes and songs is an intrinsic element of their language experience and one that is a source of joy and fulfillment. The strong rhythmic and rhyming character makes it attractive to young children and makes it suitable for class and group recitation. Very often there is an element of repetition and this especially appeals to EFL children’s retention of vocabulary, expressions and punctuation, develops their attention to sound qualities. As they grow older, they can be introduced to a wider variety of poetry, e.g. humorous, narrative, lyrics. The choice of poem will depend on curricular topic being covered. They can discuss poem, new words, individual sounds. Develops listening skills. Children often sing a song or say a chant or rhyme all together. However, when they are familiar with the rhymes, songs, and chants, they can perform them by singing or saying different parts in groups. Whenever possible, try to combine speaking and listening with actions. TPR, a method developed by Asher (1977) adds body movement to the acquisition of structures and vocabulary. When reciting rhymes, emphasize the rhyming words. Hesitate as you reach the end of a line with a rhyming word and ask the children to fill in the missing word, e.g. Hickory, Dickory, Dock. The mouse ran up the …. Clapping/percussion instruments may be used to emphasize rhyming words.
- #14 Oral language skills can be expanded and further developed through reading aloud and sharing stories. Listening to stories is an excellent vehicle for expanding oral language patterns, for extending thinking skills and for building vocabulary (Eller et al 1990) Responding to stories may include activities such as describing characters, behaviours and events; sequencing events; reflecting upon emotions and behaviours; explaining cause-effect relationships, predict outcomes, project wishes in relation to characters. Activities in the post-reading stage include retelling the story using puppets, acting out the story using props, book talk. Example story – The Pied Piper (while listening activity in resource pack – listen and draw) Example Story: The Hungry Caterpillar (Post activity) Children listen to the story. After reading, children are chosen to come to the front of the class and are given a picture which describes part of the life cycle of the butterfly. The rest of the class put the children/pictures in order, from the egg to the caterpillar to the butterfly. Then they give a sentence for each.
- #15 There are many approaches to teaching speaking and listening. One that has the potential to enhance children’s language abilities immensely, by engaging and exciting them about learning is a multi-sensory approach. Research has shown that learning that provides endless fun and enjoyment has invariably a positive effect on children’s retention abilities (James, F. & Kerr, A. 1998). By catching and holding sustained interest, visually attractive and tactile resources such as story sacks and feely bags providing children with concrete reinforcement of the target language, e.g. name/describe the object, retell/dramatize the events of the story using puppets and other materials such as scenery that are provided in the bag. By providing a meaningful context in which to learn, story sacks encourage both active listening and participation in reading. All supporting materials included in the story sack are designed to stimulate further language development. This in turn enhances comprehension, vocabulary, phonic, rhyming and decoding skills (Griffiths, N. 2000). Story sacks bring the characters to life and allow children to interact with the book on a higher level (Griffiths, N. 2000). Their eyes are seeing what their ears are hearing what their tongues are saying what their hands are feeling. Through voice, eye, gesture and touch, the children are drawn into the story. Children especially love to use their sense of touch. Because story sacks include soft toys, props and puppets, children get to examine the characters ‘in person’. This kinesthetic - tactile reinforcement tends to not only increase knowledge of characters, plot and sequence of the story but can improve their language skills when challenged to talk about character, plot and setting. The use of accompanying interactive resources such as games can further enhance foreign language learners language skills.
- #16 How can we strengthen the development of speaking and listening in an EFL context? Some of the above activities focus on accuracy, while others focus on fluency – it depends on the objective of the individual lesson. Resource pack includes the following example activities to bring your classroom alive: Contexts for speaking and listening: (table here) Talk and Discussion – example activity – Talk about.. My holidays, what I like to eat, favourite character; news time, information gap activity; describe the character/picture using adjectives/object in terms of characteristics, functions, colour, shape, material, size; interview a famous character/person and students devise questions in groups - teacher gives cue words, responding to simple instructions, using puppets, describe a process; giving directions, debates, presentations – speak aloud about a given topic, interviewing people (older children); spot the difference, put them ‘on the air’ – interview an interesting person, partner about her holiday, talk about a piece of personal news, say a poem, sing a song, report an event or local news. Prepared in advance and recorded, performed at assembly; ask and answer ‘wh’ questions, give reasons for answers; speak in short sentences. Sentence maker – choose words to make a sentence; what would you do if…? What’s wrong cards; Yes/No hat game - Each child is give a card with the name of an object or famous person. In turns, each child wears the hat and asks questions about the object/person. The other children can answer either ‘Yes’ or No’. Play and Games – grammar auction, I spy, plasticine, learning centers, sorting and categorizing materials, pass the ball – when music stops, child with ball answers a question or talks about a picture. Questionnaire of likes and dislikes – topic is food. Barrier games – a physical barrier is placed between pairs of children, who then have to describe a picture, ask questions about an object or tell their partner how to arrange objects. Desert island game – groups are given a list of objects, food or books, and they must agree on six which they would have with them. Twenty questions – a child takes on a role, e.g. a lawyer, a fire-fighter, then other children ask up to 20 questions, for which the answer can only be ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to discover their identity. Musical chairs – when music stops, answer a question. Board games/card games. Sentence Bingo: when a sentence is called out, call Bingo. Each word is separate. Gramminoes – words must fit grammatically and logically. Story – retell the story/chosen scene using puppets from a storysack and make the story come alive. Pair story telling. Based on a phraze/sentence from shared reading, the teacher and children compose a new story. Children can add some ’organic vocabulary’. Children can retell the story in pairs. After a minute, the teacher shouts ‘change’ and the listener becomes the speaker to continue the tale. Questions and answers: From a questions box, one child picks and asks a question about the story e.g. investigate the fox who ate the gingerbread man. The other children respond. A variation of this is where one child can be a t.v. reporter asking questions based on an incident in the story. Other children are in the audience. Children sequence picture cards, words, sentences. Put the story in order. In oral response, children recall the story in sequence, each adding on one sentence. This develops memory, comprehension. Recall certain events. Choose a series of actions/incidents from the story and ask the children to chart them on a timeline as a way of retelling the story in order, e.g. the chores for the yellow chicken to get ready for the party. Audio-tapes: Aural Response. Tapes are enjoyable, they reinforce story structures/new language. If published tapes are not available, teachers make audiotapes of predictable stories. Children can go to the listening centre and listen to stories etc for pleasure or ones made by themselves. Some big book packages contain one enlarged copy of a predictable book, several small copies and a tape. The teacher can record the children reading fro KTV2 – using a microphone and T.V. box. Summarixe the story in your own words – older children. Change the ending. You are in the story. Sound stories – record a suitable story/poem/rhyme and add sound effects or children listen to story read aloud and add sound effects for particular characters or children retell story using sound effects. 4. Improvised Drama: Role cards – recreate characters, events and emotions; Dialogues – teacher provides a situation, e.g. complaint at the hairdresser; shopkeeper and customer. Freeze frame/flashback of a scene from a story ( dramatize), e.g. when the bears came back and found Goldilocks in their house. Children become the demonstrators. Hot-seating - have a court room scenario where particular characters are put in the dock and have to explain their actions ()With older children, they can work in pairs with whiteboards to generate their questions. Conscience (two lines facing each other, one child in role in middle, class voices character’s thoughts, acting as his/her conscience. The child in role listens and then makes a decision, e.g. fox who ate the gingerbread man. Forum theatre – small group act out a scen while others watch. Comment on characters. Telephone conversations – pairs improvising a dialogue between two characters at a problematic moment (story/real life scenario, e.g. restaurant service). Role on the wall – one character selected from story and outline drawn on large sheet of paper, space around outline to be filled with comments on character. Meeting – teacher chairs meeting about event. Paired improvisation – pairs begin a dialogue in character Teaching in role Visualization – e.g. we’re traveling in our spaceship Argue the case – express conflicts of opinion Listen to the sounds – create a sound card, e.g. a storm at sea – waves crashing, rain, seagulls, screaming, thunder, a boat creaking 5. Poetry and Rhyme – ten little gentlemen/working my robot through which an awareness of sounds may be fostered. Clapping to syllabic rhythms, songs. Ask children to paint a picture of their favourite nursery rhyme and make a big book of them. Play a nursery rhyme cassette while doing writing work. Many nursery rhymes can be used for drama sessions. Ask a group of children to say a particular nursery rhyme, e.g. Humpty Dumpty, while other children enact the story. Display a nursery rhyme. Change the rhyme and create a new version– innovate on structure, e.g. Humpty Dumpty sat on a mat, Humpty Dumpty killed a rat and illustrate. Invent a story behind the poem. Retell the poem from another viewpoint. Alternative endings. Composing poems. There are different types of poems – Haiky: 5, 7, 5 syllables; ABAB poem (4, 3, 4, 3 words); shape poems; ballads.
- #17 You need few resources to promote speaking and listening in your classroom. Is this how you feel when you think of planning? What do you see as the constraints on encouraging speaking and listening in your school? Planning is vital but useless unless user friendly. I don’t want to transform your planning. Instead, I want to give practical recommendations for incorporating speaking and listening opportunities into your busy schedules. Each activity is to have a clear, narrow language focus, e.g. It is/it isn’t. it may be integrated with your curriculum e.g. New Parade Series. Can you successfully target numerous objectives with second language children? Speaking and listening opportunities will involve both formal and informal interaction and can be developed over a week, month or even term. Establish a daily routine. If you have students for only one class, try to incorporate ideas over a period of time. Calling the register at beginning of the day – I went to … yesterday; revise previous day’s language. EFL children need to encounter the language more than once. News time - in pairs – encouraging spontaneity of speech. Make a class television from a cardboard box. If they are difficult to understand/mumbling, say to turn up the sound. It can also be used to interview a child about a holiday, retell an event in sequence. Past tense revised. Circle time - show and tell - I like…; my favourite animal is…; I went to the shop and bought…; I went to the zoo and saw… and then the next person repeats the statement and adds an item(listening/memory game) I spy…; develop phrazes or sentences about themselves. The phrazes must contain as many words that begin with the same letter as the child’s names as possible, e.g. Tiny Tahera was terribly terrified by ten terrific tigers (older children). Formulaic language/chunks gives EFL children a structure to grab onto. Giving instructions, Simon says, how to play a game, rhymes and poems. Transition activities – producing lots of beginnings in your lessons, e.g. listen and do, Simon says; lining up for playtime, ask all the children with brown shoes come first; say a poem/recite a rhyme (The Hidden Curriculum). Talk partners - changed every month to allow children to work with different students. Rearrange your classroom seating, if possible. Integration with reading: e.g. post-shared reading stage at end of day – retell story, answer focus questions Integration with writing – describe/talk about what you have written Games time/learning centres at end of day, e.g. telephones, listening centre with headphones, class library, games. morning/afternoon activity rotated throughout the week (Show example clock). Speaking and listening displays inside classroom and outside – changed monthly/weekly. Special events – speak week (song, assembly, activities such as treasure hunt, puppet show, 20 questions; visitors to the school, school trips can give opportunities to speak, assembly Have a class talking puppet as a new class member. Taking turns in speaking – all students want your attention. Listening is more difficult than speaking. Give incentives for speaking in English, e.g. speaking certificates – speaker of the week (chart when caught speaking using adjectives) Pause, prompt, praise technique Allow children to use language in a variety of social groupings (change partners) and contexts. Consider group sizes, personalities of class, classroom layout, mixed ability? Use visual and linguistic prompts, peer modelling.
- #19 First conclusion: In conclusion, the aim of this presentation was to underly the general contexts for promoting speaking and listening in a foreign language setting, along with providing examples of activities in each context. Let me leave you with this final thought - Learning to speak and listen with confidence in a foreign language is the job of a lifetime. EFL children who are exposed to a variety of contexts begin their oral language careers early. Attitudes towards the spoken language are undergoing dramatic changes with the realization that speaking and listening play a vital role in learning. What better way is there to enhance children’s English language abilities in a Foreign language classroom than through a variety of stimulating contexts that are fun and interactive . Use them to increase children’s interest, involvement and language skills. Let me leave you with this story. Story: A mother mouse was trying to teach here offspring the ways of the world when she found herself, and her family, face-to-face with a great big cat. Her children were terrified. But the mother remained calm and started barking like a dog. The cat heard the barking, turned tail, and took off. The mother mouse turned to her little ones and said, “Now you see, that’s the importance of speaking a second language.” Questions and comments will now be taken. Explain the resource pack. Now we are going to play a game . While I play music, a box will be passed around. When the music stops, whoever has the box must say one message they learned today.