Writing Task Speaking Lesson 3

8/4/2019 Writing Task Speaking Lesson 3

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In this lesson the different stages in the procedure of aspeaking lesson were explained as well as the importance ofthe different components included in each of these stages.

The main elements in a speaking lesson are the conversationmodels, these are effective ways to provide speaking practiceand teach language functions, they are valuable at all levelsbecause present language in the context of social interaction.An effective conversation model is practical, students need to

feel that a conversation model has practical value, that itcontains useful, functional language they will be able to use inother situation.Needs to be memorable, needs to be relatively short, thelonger, the more forgettable it becomes.Needs to contain memorable chunks of social language.Needs to be transferable, allowing students transfer newlanguage to his or her own life and needs. If we help studentsextend their conversation with their own ideas, conversation

model provide students with their first steps toward freeproduction

The starting point in a speaking lesson is the introduction of theconversation model, this stage is useful to make studentsunderstand the model by activating their schema and engagingthem in the topic, to build students awareness of pronunciationas they listen carefully noticing key features of Englishpronunciation, improving their ability to imitate these later,and to make the model language memorable as studentsbecome familiar with its context and listening to it severaltimes before practice. This stage serves also as warm up forthe students loosen their tongues and become accustomed tothe sounds of the language they are going to producing.

Some examples of techniques to introduce conversationmodels were explained in this lesson, one can be by telling a

story identifying the speakers, the situation, the event, the


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setting and the reason to speak about it. Another technique isusing the photos or art available within the conversation modelto ask questions about them and pre-teach vocabulary, or wecan bring to class own photos or using simple drawings on the

board to provide context, and eliciting responses from theclass. Depending of our students level, we can ask about theconversation using what, when, who, where, and why questionsto make sure students understand the context of theconversation. We can also ask students to personalize themodel by sharing their own related experiences.

In order to successfully communicate, what students speak

must be understood, and this has to be with pronunciationskills, the simplest and most effective way to acquire it, isthrough imitation, by giving students opportunities to listen andimitate conversation models, we can focus on accuracy,practicing accent, intonation and the lesson target language.this way they will be able to reproduce the suprasegmentalaspects of English pronunciation; word stress, sentence stress,intonation and linking, key to comprehensibility in English.

Besides the previous mentioned advantage of imitation thereare other benefits in it, one is that helps students to rememberthe model, another is that students gain confidence withspeaking, reducing the anxiety that creating new soundsproduces, through the use of choral drills and group role-playwe provide a safety environment to practice, providing themwith visual cues including pictures, gestures, and bodymovements to help them remember the model.

Substitution drills can be use to develop automaticity, which isthe ability to automatic or spontaneously language changes bymanipulating vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation. This canbe prompted by giving oral cues which force students tocarefully listen, or using visual cues, pictures, physicalmovements, or gestures. Substitution drills must be kept shortand simple, too much listen-and-repeat can be boring, but drillpractice remains as an important part of language acquisition,especially in the early stages of a lesson, with limited use andwhen made meaningful.


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Once group practice is achieved, pair practice take place, whichprovides a more realistic context for conversation, allowingindividual to try remembering the model by his or her own andto practice correct pronunciation, while teacher observes and

notes how successfully students are producing the model, todetermine whether students are ready or not to go beyondmemorization to manipulation and changing the model, whichis the final goal.

Conversation in pairs give students a context for realcommunication, but it should include interactive listening to getthe practice they need for succeed

Information gap activities encourage students to communicatewith each other in order to close a "gap" in the information theypossess, this technique emphasizes the importance of realcommunication in the learning process. One challenge of thispractice is to keep away the missing information to eachstudent, to force them to listen in order to achieve the task,this can be solved by arranger their seats in different manners,or by using physical object like a folder t prevent they easilycan see the information each of them have.

And finally we arrive to the last stage of the speaking lessonand the reason why the previous stages were performed, theextent and personalize the conversation model by assigning acommunicative task where students need to speak using theirown information.

My opinion is that each of the stages including in a speakinglesson have their own importance, starting from theintroduction which are meant to introduce a specificcommunicative function, to present new grammar structureand vocabulary in a situational and communicative context,and offer good pronunciation models, as well as the practicestage which allows students to get familiar, and confident withthe conversation model and develop automaticity and ability tochange the model, monitoring and reinforce them through thisprocess. The success on each of the stages, in somewayguarantee to achieve the intended goal of a speaking lesson,students being able to really communicate in the targetlanguage.


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Basically the approach used in my teaching practice, followsthe sequence of stages described in this lesson, I use games,songs, chants, find someone who, picture dictation, find the

differences, guessing games etc, according with my studentsage and level, but all these activities could be included in thecontrolled practice stage.

All the stages through my speaking lessons offer good results,these are observed when the most of my students can use theconversation models by their own, but there are somestudents, that keep reluctant to speak, this can be addressed tomultiple factors, shyness, different culture expectations, like

thinking that remain in silent is the right way to behave in aclassroom, or the volume of his or her voice is kept to theminimum, so I respect their silent period and give them time,without stop encouraging them to practice.

The most difficult stage of a speaking lesson is controlledpractice, some students are neglected to practice in choraldrills or group role-play, being unable to reproduce theconversation model when is time to have pair practice, the

reason could be lack of involvement since the introductionstage, I should need take special care of these students, makethem participate since the beginning and analyze my voicevolume and speed speech, to choose the best introductiontechnique according with the context of the conversationmodel, maybe increase the period of time having controlledpractice and monitoring closely these specific students.

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Writing Task Speaking Lesson 3