Conversation ppt2nogrammar

Talk Your Head Off: Strategies for designing an Effective and Engaging ESL Conversation Class

Presenter:

Ryan Brux, English Language Fellow BNC – El Cultural – Tarapoto, Peru

Goals and Objectives:To describe the importance of teaching speaking in the

communicative classroom

To discuss the importance of planning for a conversation class

To discuss ways to integrate vocabulary in authentic speaking situations

To learn how to develop extension activities that are project-based, communicative, and support language acquisition goals.

To use this information to create a lesson plan for conversation purposes

Consider This:

•Speaking in a second language or foreign language has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills (Bailey and Savage 1994)

•Many language learners regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing a language. These learners define fluency as the ability to converse with others. They regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire, and they assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in spoken communication.

From The National Capital Language Resource Center

Instruction Matters!!In the communicative model of language teaching, instructors help their students by providing authentic practice that prepares students for real-life communication situations.

“By failing to prepare, you are __________.” -Benjamin

Franklin

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” -Benjamin

Franklin

It’s all about planning your lesson!

Planning…

Creating an effective plan involves:▫ setting realistic goals, ▫deciding how to incorporate course

textbooks and other required materials ▫developing activities that promote learning.▫Determining how to assess student learning

Plan with the end in mind.

Before You Begin

▫What topic(s) will you talk about?

▫What kinds of questions will you ask?

▫What special vocabulary will students need?

▫What kinds of activities will be used to further support instruction?

For teachers using ESL/EFL books, much of this information is already available to you. Use it to help

you begin planning.

Level Unit Unit Title Theme/Topic

Questions/Conversation Starters

Vocabulary

Suggested Extension Activities Materials/Notes

Step One…Identify Your Focus

•Identify the▫Level (Beginner)▫Unit # (10)▫Unit Title (Travel)▫Theme/Topic (Travelling/Experiences)

**Focusing on the topic of study and will help you determine level-appropriate questions/situations to present to students.

LevelBeginner

Unit10

Unit TitleTravels

Theme/TopicTravel/Experience

Questions/Conversation Starters

Vocabulary Preview/Review


Step 3: Develop your Questions

Remember! You want your students to speak naturally. Develop questions/prompts that are topic-based and interesting.

Question: Where have you travelled?Answer: I have travelled to Japan and

India…

Question: Tell me about your best vacation.Student: My best vacation was to India….

Considerations when choosing questions

Choose questions which support language development

Choose questions that relate to student lives. Draw on prior background knowledge.

Choose questions (10-12??) that cover various aspects of the topic.

Choose questions that increase in complexity and allow for increased talk (Why? How?)

Beware of questions that might be too personal or offensive (politics, religion, etc.)

Help!!! I Can’t Think of Any Questions to Ask My Students!!!

ITESLJ.ORG/QUESTIONS/

ITESLJ.org

•Provides an exhaustive list of questions/situations for ESL conversation

•Free to use. No username or password needed.

Conversation QuestionsTravel

• Have you ever been abroad?• Where have you been?• Are you planning on going anywhere for your next vacation?

▫ If so, where?▫ Who with?▫ How long will you stay?

• Are you afraid of going abroad alone?• Could you live in another country for the rest of your life?• Describe the most interesting person you met on one of your

travels.• What was your best trip.• What was your worst trip.• Did your class in high school go on a trip together?

▫ If so, where did you go?▫ How long did you stay?▫ How did you get there?

• Do you have a driver's license?• Do you like to travel with children? Why or why not?• Do you like to travel with your mother? Why or why not?• Do you prefer summer vacations or winter vacations?• Do you prefer to travel alone or in a group? Why?• Do you prefer to travel by train, bus, plane or ship?• Do you prefer traveling by car or by plane?• Have you ever been in a difficult situation while traveling?• Have you ever been on an airplane?

▫ How many times?▫ What airlines have you flown with?

• Have you ever been to a foreign country?• Have you ever gotten lost while traveling? If so, tell about it.• Have you ever hitchhiked? If so, how many times?• Have you ever taken a package tour?

LevelBeginner

Unit10

Unit TitleTravels


Questions/Conversation Starters• Where have you traveled to? • What is the best vacation you have ever had?• What is the worst vacation you have ever been on? Describe it.• Have you ever gotten lost while travelling? What happened? How did you solve the problem?• Have you ever taken a package tour? What was included?• What are some places in your country which people must visit? Are there any places people shouldn’t visit?

Why? • Have you ever bought a souvenir? What was it? Why do you think people buy souvenirs?• What languages can you speak? Do you think it is important to be able to speak more than one language?

Vocabulary


Step 4: Choosing VocabularyAfter you have developed your questions, you can

begin to extract the vocabulary. Know what words might give students trouble. YOU KNOW YOUR STUDENTS BEST!

Look at the questions. Which words will need to be taught/reviewed in order for students to understand and talk about the topic?

How you teach vocabulary will depend on your individual teaching style. You may wish to define the words for yourself as an instructional support.

LevelBeginner

Unit10

Unit TitleTravels


Questions/Conversation Starters• Where have you traveled to? • What is the best vacation you have ever had?• What is the worst vacation you have ever been on?• Have you ever gotten lost while travelling?• Have you ever taken a package tour?• What are some places in your country which people must visit? Are there any places people shouldn’t visit?

Why?• Have you ever bought a souvenir? What was it? Why do you think people buy souvenirs?• What languages can you speak? Do you think it is important to be able to speak more than one language?

VocabularyVacation (n.) – A trip taken for pleasureTo travel (v.) – to go from one place to another, usually by some form of transportation (car, airplane, ship) Souvenir (n.) – A usually small item purchased as a reminder of a place visitedPackage tour (n.) – A planned tour in which one fee is charged for all expenses


Vocabulary ConsiderationsDo not focus all energy on vocabulary instruction –

the purpose of a speaking class is to speak!

Introduce 5-8 words that might give students difficulties.

Use speaking as a way to review previously learned vocabulary as well as a way to introduce new words.

Use new words frequently throughout the conversation lesson. Students need multiple exposures to a word to learn it well (Lawrence, 2009; Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985)

Step 5: Consider a Project-Based Learning (Extension) Activity

Project-based learning is an instructional approach to engage students in sustained, cooperative investigation (Bransford & Stein, 1993)

In Cooperative Learning… Students work together, negotiating meaning, applying their own perspectives, working on a culminating project.

Project Based Activities for Speaking: The Possibilities are Endless• Poster Presentations

• Brochures• Commercials

• Role Play• Story-Building w/ Language

Experience Approach (LEA)• Panel discussions/talk show

• Debates• Short Reading/Discussion• Create a YouTube Video

• Surveys• Short Video Clip/Discussion

• Retelling Stories• Talk-show

• Telling Stories• Radio/T.V. Interviews

• Short persuasive speeches• Audio-taped Oral Dialogue

Journals• Skits/Plays

• Structured interviews• Problem-solving simulations

• Describing a picture• Sentence expansion activities

• Jokes/Riddles• Analysis of charts, graphs,

tables

Specific Examples of Project-Based Learning (Travel)

• Watch a short clip from a tourism commercial. Have students discuss its effectiveness. As a follow-up, have students create a 30-second TV commercial, convincing people to visit their country. If possible, record these commercials.

• Have students work together to recommend the 10 most important things that someone should bring on vacation and explain the importance of each item.

LevelBeginner

Unit10

Unit TitleTravels





Suggested Extension Activities: Watch a travel commercial. Discuss. Create a 30 second travel commercial convincing people to come to your city; use superlatives

Materials/Notes30-second video clip/Art supplies/video recorder

Considerations for Project-Based Learning

•Be creative!!•Use the project to further support

language objectives.•Consider the materials needed and prepare

these in advance.•Provide clear directions. Model the

activity.•Monitor group work. Assist with any

language troubles.

LevelBeginner

Unit10

Unit TitleTravels





Suggested Extension Activities: Watch a travel commercial. Discuss. Create a 30 second travel commercial convincing people to come to your city; use superlatives

Materials/Notes 30-second video clip/Art supplies/video recorder

Considerations during Speaking

Eliminate the “ping-pong game”.

Let the questions serve as a starting guide. As the teacher, you will want to clarify student answers and ask for more information.

Students should avoid using one-word responses. Ensure that students are using the language previously taught by providing sentence prompts.

DON’T LET THE CONVERSATION DIE!!

In Summary• Speaking is one of the more difficult tasks in learning a second

language. Yet it is the task by which most students measure their success.

• Teaching an effective conversation class involves planning and commitment by the teacher.

• A good lesson plan considers language objectives, vocabulary, and different activities that will promote this language use.

• Project-Based learning is an excellent way to support speaking skills and to create a more student-centered classroom

View and print this lesson plan template athttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzCjtd-ukPh1TlloR2pFcm5EenM/edit

Additional Resources• www.iteslj.org/questions/

▫ A excellent resource for ESL/EFL conversation-based questions on a variety of issues.

• www.pbl-online.org▫ One-stop resource for project-based learning. Provides a

step-by-step guide for developing and implementing projects in the classroom

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzCjtd-ukPh1TlloR2pFcm5EenM/edit

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzCjtd-ukPh1TlloR2pFcm5EenM/edit

http://www.pbl-online.org/

Further Questions?

Ryan Brux English Language Fellow

BNC – El Cultural (Tarapoto)

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Education

Conversation ppt2nogrammar