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[Bro D]

Am now in my second week teaching 1st and 2nd year speaking and listening. So far have been able to keep classes pretty engaging and have certainly been able to provide plenty of listening and vocabularly exercises to the students. The problem I have however is fitting activities into the class where students can speak. There are two things that make this difficult, the first is that there are around 50 students in the class and the second is that we're always stuck in a language lab - you know the sort: divided, booth-style desks.

I'm thinking team activities are probably the way to go: divide the class into groups of 7 or 8 and give them some kind of problem-solving activity. I guess I would make the exercise scored and tell them that points would be deducted from a team if I hear them speaking Chinese.

As for the desk/space issue should I give the class the instructions then take them all outside?

Maybe I've answered my own question to some extent but I'm still a bit hazy on the details. Anyone with a similar experience please share some of your techniques. Some suggestions for team speaking activities would also be great.

Thanks, Bro D

[saint57]

[Bro D]

That still leaves the unanswered question as to how I can get 50 students to speak within the space of two 40 minute periods. If I wasn't doing anything else but speaking activities that would only leave approximately 90 seconds for each student to practise their speaking with me. Of course the reality is that other activities, explanations, tech difficulties etc will reduce that time even further.

The students are already quite literate, speaking ability is probably their key weakness, that's why I worry about how to factor it in.

[7969]

take them outside to sit on the grass, give them a discussion topic with 4-5 questions, ask them to discuss the questions in groups of 4-6, walk around and monitor each group for a few minutes, engage in conversation with them for that time, then move on to the next. near the end of the class, summarize and give your opinion on the questions. works well for me. no matter what you do, there will always be a few non participants, you'll be extremely lucky if you can get ALL students to participate.

being outside allows for free movement, and the students actually enjoy it, as will u, unless its too hot or too cold.

[Steppenwolf]

[brsmith15]

I had to take over such a uni class from a clown from NYC that had the kids reading Plato and Aristotle aloud and then testing them on the stuff. Got canned.

I teach business stuff, but this was so different for me that I had a ball. Probably spent 10-12 hours of prep for every 1-1/2 hr class. I've always revered the teachers of the English language because it's so complex and often silly. Takes much greater skill than teaching, say, accounting. My dog, a computer or a robot could teach accounting. (And what do I teach now, you may ask? Yup! Accounting!)

Anyway, I gave them "homework." For one class they had to give a small oral report: Who I would invite for dinner and why? This could be a real or fictional character. They were phenomenally creative, probably because they could enjoy themselves.

I also gave my choice -- Sherlock Holmes.

Next: The world's greatest invention and why. (I told them mine was "the switch" because without it, computers wouldn't work.)

Greatest moment in history.
Greatest person alive today.
The day the earth stood still. (No, not the old movie.)
My most wonderful day.
If I could change one thing in the world, it would be................

And on and on into the night

Be creative and, above all, have fun!

[hesterprynne]

you can find the link- the british council has pages of speaking exercises

[Bro D]

Sounds like breaking into groups outside is probably the way to go. I guess now it's just finding interesting topics to discuss. "Who would you invite to dinner" is always a classic. I suppose I'll come up with a few related questions that can be discussed as a group and put this task in the second period. That way we can do some fairly standard (boring) tasks for the first period and finish on a high note.

[dajiang]

i got similar classes, as im sure lots of the readers here have.

usually im forced to break the class up in groups of about 6 or 8, getting about 6 students in one group. then we can do problem solving things like you said above, or some other kinds of opinion giving/debating activities.

It's hard to get them all in motion, specially cuz they just sit there all day listening passively to their other teachers, and suddenly they cant sleep anymore (literally, or they get a piece of chalk thrown at their heads) and have to participate for a class they don't even get tested for (even if you can -- or want to -- test them, they know it's not going to matter in their final exams anyway), which means it's pretty much futile anyway.

so youre relying on those few in each class that are 'good' at English, or like what you're doing, to carry the lesson. Now most kids like the lessons, perhaps just because it's just a break from the monotony, but it's easy to become anonymous in a crowd of 50. so people just don't open their mouths, and let others take the heat from the teacher.

It's not responsible to teach spoken English to a group of 50 kids once a week because it is not possible. but, not everyone has the luxury of being in a private language college or a school with small class sizes, so we make do. i see it as cultural exchange, and i set a goal for each class. a modest one, but a goald at least (like, when Im finished they will at least remember these 4 words).

I teach for those who want to learn. there is no other way anyway. If there are people in my class that want to learn, they get all the opportunities to do so. But in the end its their responsibility, not mine. Group work suits itself very well for that, cuz there's usually someone in a group that wants to learn and participate. the others do it in their own chinese ways, something thats next to impossible to stop them from doing.

Anyway, classics like the balloon debate, trip to mars debate, and even the 'crazy debate' are always cool to do, and the kids love it. I posted some info on large classes that i found useful on my humble weblog: http://eslmaniac.web-log.nl/ feel free to have a look. some of it is from british council.

seeya,
Dajiang

[7969]

[grwit]

Yep I'm in the same boat! To many students and not enough time to listen to them all speaking!

This activity has worked well for me in most of my classes. I call it "Story Building"

Divide students into groups (5 or 6 per group is best)
Ask one group at a time stand up, preferably in a straight line.
Give them an opening sentence to a story eg "I was late for work and my car wouldn't start..." "Early on sunday morning I was woken by a loud knock at the door..." "The sun was shining and the children were playing games on the sea shore..." *Give a different sentence to each group*
Then ask one student in the group to continue the story for 1 minute. Use a stop watch to time them. At the end of 1 minute ask the next student to continue and so on until the whole group has added to the story.

It does take time but it is fun and interesting. It also helps their listening, comprehension, and speaking skills. As well as developing their imagination which is something that many chinese students need to work on. You will notice the good students from the poor students in this game.

50 students = 50 minutes + a little extra time between groups to give them the opening sentence.

The remembering game.
Sitting outside in a circle works best!
1st student "I went to the shop and bought a basketball"
2nd student "I went to the shop and bought a basketball and a shirt"
3rd "i went to the shop and bought a bball, a shirt and a MP3 player"
4th "I went to the shop and bought a bball, a shirt, a MP3 player, and a dog" and so on around the circle.
Restart the game when a student cannot remember the list of things they bought.

I hope these activities help you.

[grwit]

reading my own post I just realised something!

I wrote "a MP3 player" but we actually say AN MP3 player.

Why do we use 'an' instead of 'a'? An is used when the next word starts with a vowel so why use it when followed by 'MP3'?

I have also heard them say in movies "he has an RPG" (rocket propelled grenade launcher)

Then the opposite of that... we say a UN official or a US soldier etc. Why use 'a' instead of 'an' in these instances?

Can anyone explain this?

[The_Prodiigy]

Hey OP.

Debates work well at this level.
Divide into four groups. Six or seven in each group is optimal numbers.
On the board write a couple of stimulating debate topics.

Having lot of money VS Having lot of friends
Being a student VS Being a teacher

In groups they prepare their presentation. Allow 15-25 minutes for this and cirulate around the class.

Tell the class there will be one person from each group give a speech on the benefits of their topic. Then the second group will, give their speech. In second part initiate a head-to-head debate. Same topics, different group members.

You can then be the judge of which groups performs best, which is most persuasive and engaging.

As an alternative select three judges prior to splitting into groups and choose these students to be the judge. They have to listen, make notes and individually reach a decision and give a critique. You have ultimate power if you feel the judges have not been fair.

If there are more students initiate a three-way debate.

Communism VS Capitalism VS Anarchy
Having lot of money VS Having lot of friends VS Having good health

Also, in a subsequent lesson I have referred back to the debates we had and then introduce NEGATIVE debates - essentially students convince the class which situation is WORSE (or WORST) :-

Being bitten by a vampire VS Being abducted by aliens VS Being mauled by a polar bear.

Being a beggar for six months VS Being blind for six months VS Being in prison for six months


In my experience it works well for two 50-minute classes.

[The_Prodiigy]

[tw]