VTTN vttn Workshop Ministry of Education and Training THAI NGUYEN AUGUST 2008 DAY ONE DAY TWO DAY THREE DAY FOUR 8.00 – 9.30 1.Opening ceremony Warmer Introductions Course outline -What is speaking? 5. Controlled to free(r) speaking activities 9. Speaking activities to use in the Language Focus lesson. 13. Peer Teaching BC trainer /all trainers 9.30 – 9.50 9.50 – 11.00 2. Problems in teaching speaking and sugges ted solutions. 6. Motivation 10. Pronunciation BC trainer 14. Peer Teaching BC trainer/all trainers 11.00 – 13.30 13.30 – 15.00 3 . Classroom Experi ences DVD - observation task an d reflection 7. Demonstrations of speaking activities 11. Focus on Tieng Anh -analyse speaking lessons -adapting and exploiting lessons to take into account student ability/interest/need 15. Review Workshop evaluation Certificates Closing ceremony for final VTTN workshop 15.00-15.20 15.20 – 16.30 4. What makes a good speaking lesson? Group guideline build ing. 8. Evaluating, correcting and giving feedback to students on their speaking skills 12. Lesson Planning What is speaking? What inputs/skills/knowledge do students need in order to speak in English? inputs skills knowledge Suitable topic Knowledge: knowledge of grammar systems, knowledge of appropriate language to use, knowledge of suitable exchange patterns to use, knowledge of phonology, knowledge of topic, awareness of what your speaking partner knows and is interested in… Inputs: interesting topic, ideas and questions to respond to, teacher’s and students’ enthusiasm, personal experiences, listenings, readings, short video clips, memories etc Suggestion: Skills: ability to pronounce clearly, ability to organise and develop ideas in real time, being able to produce chunks (phrases), being able to ask for clarification, being able to check understanding . What is our aim in speaking? What is our aim in speaking? A. To say sentences without making A. To say sentences without making mistakes? mistakes? B. To communicate with others in English? B. To communicate with others in English? What is speaking? What is speaking? 1. 1. What level of quality of speaking should we What level of quality of speaking should we expect from our students? Why? expect from our students? Why? 2. 2. How is speaking different to writing? Why? How is speaking different to writing? Why? 3. 3. What roles does the teacher have in a What roles does the teacher have in a speaking lesson? Why? speaking lesson? Why? Problems in teaching speaking and suggested solutions VTTN THAI NGUYEN AUGUST 2008 Characteristics of speaking that cause Characteristics of speaking that cause our students to have problems our students to have problems • the need to operate in real time the need to operate in real time • the unpredictability of most speaking the unpredictability of most speaking events events • how information or meaning is conveyed how information or meaning is conveyed • ( structure, phonology) ( structure, phonology) • the ability to listen effectively the ability to listen effectively Problems: (See handout) Possible solutions: 1.Too much time pressure can negatively affect a speaking activity. You need to make sure that the time you set for a speaking activity is realistic and allows students thinking and planning time. Ensure the tasks are clear, focused and meaningful for the students. 2. Don’t ask students to do a speaking activity that you know won’t interest them – even if it is in the textbook! Try to personalise speaking as much as possible. This makes it real and motivates students to want to communicate. Problems: (See handout) Possible solutions: 3. How you group the students needs careful consideration. Don’t be afraid to move students around. Think about allocating roles in an activity which will give all students a role and therefore a reason to speak 4. During speaking classes, ensure that students have the opportunity to develop conversation skills/strategies as well as simply practice speaking. Set up an activity carefully so that students know the language and strategies to complete the task successfully.