Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

I've been testing my students lately to see where they're proficient and where they need help. It turns out that most students are on par with reading, writing, listening, grammar, and pronunciation, but have distinct deficiencies with speaking.

Now I'd like to focus all of my classes mainly on speaking, but I'm coming up short on ideas. I know it's impossible to focus exclusively on speaking, since they must either listen or read to receive the speaking prompts, but I'd like to focus as much as possible on it. As of yet, my only ideas are:

1. Give a scenario (i.e. You're on a deserted island, what do you do?) and discuss it with them. This is good for small classes only.

2. After introducing new grammar or vocabulary, let the students create unique sentences using the target information.

3. Ask casual questions (i.e. What did you do this weekend?) and try to elicit as much information as possible.


This is all I've got. I know it's pathetic, but it really just occured to me this past week that I've been focusing too much on reading, writing and listening. I need to expand!

I have a wonderful book called Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language, which gives some lesson ideas for all the other skills, but really neglects speaking. I've seen many people suggest a book with a title like Teaching English to Children in Asia, but couldn't find anything like that at the bookstore in Daejeon. Does that book give activity ideas? If someone could give me the exact title, I'll try to order it online or pick it up in Seoul.

As for speaking activity ideas, anything you've tried and found successful, please share!

Thanks,
Qinella

[denverdeath]

I think this might be the book you're looking for:

http://www.longmanjapan.com/search/onlinecatalog.html?id=54

At Kyobo:

Kyobo

How about some plays or thematic role-plays?

[Qinella]

Thanks for the links. I'm gonna have to pick it up when I'm in Seoul.

About the plays, do you mean memorizing lines and simply reciting them? I think that might have a limited usefulness, how about you?

But role-plays I imagine would be more a matter of giving them an identity which they must assume. Is that what you mean? Has it been successful for you in the past?

Thanks,
Q.

(p.s. please enclose that kyobo link with url /url brackets if you don't mind. it's quite long~)

[denverdeath]

There. Hope the link is more suitable now.

Anyway, I was just making some suggestions to get the students talking some more...I'm not saying they're perfect, just something you might be able to use...and maybe something that you're already using but didn't realize. The plays could be a problem...depends on class dynamics, and more importantly, interest and desire. It's an activity that could be done over a month or maybe a three-month period. Something that could get them out of their chairs. Have them do all the planning in English, with your help and guidance. I'm talking about a real play or skit where they actually have to act things out somewhat naturally...not just alternatingly reading one line at a time like I've seen at some pathetic speech contests here. With the thematic role-plays, just get them up out of their chairs to do a small skit based upon what you were doing that week. Change the boring salesperson and one customer to some completely out-of-control year-end sale at Lotte Department Store or something. Have one student working in the shoe warehouse having orders barked at him for styles, colours, and sizes. Have two people working as clerks in the shoe department and the other ten, or whatever, students be pushy customers looking for deals. Make things a bit more realistic and add some more lingo from your own head to support and expand what's in the text. Maybe tell one of the students, on the side, that she's going to be the klepto today and have her walk out without paying. Next day, or week, extend that idea into a police station scenario, or some cops on the beat, reinforcing commands and/or directions. In any of those situations, you can work your way among the students, asking them extra questions and helping them with target vocab, pronunciation, etc. You already have lots of good ideas. I think it all depends on class dynamics. I find that they sometimes feed off of craziness and energy. I don't know what age your students are, but try to get them asking the questions and responding to them while you guide, tweak, and encourage them. Maybe set the class up in a circle and have them throw some kind of ball around to get the questions going. When a student answers the question, "What did you do on the weekend?" with "I slept on the weekend," say "Good answer Bihng-soo. Grammatically perfect, but..." and get another student to say, "You SLEPT ALL WEEKEND? I can't believe you slept for a full 48 hours. You did nothing other than sleep? You didn't eat, watch TV, play Kart-rider, or take a crap? I really don't believe it!" Make it a bit focused but crazy and try to get everyone to participate. Sometimes easier said than done.

[Qinella]

That role play sounds like a lot of fun. I'm gonna have to dream up some scenarios and put them into action, for sure.

And actually, our hagwon director recently asked us to put on a play with the students. I thought at first it might be a waste of time, but if you've found it to be helpful for speaking skills, I'll eagerly get things going.

Thanks for the suggestions.


Anyone else have an idea? This is the "job-related" forum. Let's talk about our jobs, eh?

Q.

[jacl]

The only way to teach the horrid middle school students to speak is on a casual basis. By playing cards, etc. you can trick them into improving. Reading easy level books is good, too.

[jacl]

Today was cool. I'm reading "The Christmas Carol" (although I think the correct title is "A Chirstmas Carol") today. I reread the first chapter all myself because we had a new student who missed it. Then one of my better students interrupted and said, "I think Scrooge really does have money." He missed the point that Scrooge has and makes money but he doesn't want to give any away and keeps things super cheap. That left me perplexed, but I realised something. Pretty good. I don't even have to read the book the next class because we can discuss the chapter. Just make them repeat in full sentences and get them to write things down. Have them ask questions, etc., etc.

Grammar books suck, but you can use them in the conversations. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[Grimalkin]

Google 'conversation questions' and it will bring you to a site with a list of questions on different topics for tefl teaching. Put them into pairs or groups of three and let them choose the questions at random to discuss. Make sure they don't just ask and answer the questions but that they talk about them (this may sound obvious but in my experience you really have to explain this). Adopt a hands off approach, students tend to get into it more if they feel they're not being closely watched by the teacher.
Monitor unobtusively listening for patterns of mistakes and then at the end correct those mistakes on the board without specifying who made them. Make sure they write down the corrections you put on the board. You can also adapt the lists of questions or make your own tailored to your own particular needs.
Good luck.

[EFLtrainer]

[EFLtrainer]

Dang. Bunch of responses while I was writing my missive!!

Cool...

[jacl]

[jacl]

And some of these prepostions? Holly crap! They take a whole class sometimes. And they interupt the card playing, godamnit!

"Though". Yes, they know the translation in Korean. I don't know it off hand, but it's awful hard to explain it and use it. That takes planning. Ooh boy! One class on "though". Good stuff!

[ddeubel]

I sympathize with finding it hard to get Koreans to speak.....even harder to bring context into the classroom.....great / quick language acquisition always comes from learning in context and when the language is PURPOSE driven, meaning, it meets some need....

EFL trainer, you said some super things and I'd share a beer with you sometime to discuss ....especially,

Quote:

Context. Everything you are trying o communicate as an infant or toddler is laced heavily with your desire *to get your needs met.* If that's not personalized context, I don't know what is!!! Where does that come from in the classroom? Hopefully, it is clear that bringing the classroom as close as possible to meaningful contextual learning will enhance your students' acquisition process. I gave a presentation on teaching methods this week and I stressed PERSONALIZATION. We often as language instructors/teachers are told to formalize our lessons by using the 3 Ps, : prepare , practice, produce Qinella, you are having difficulty getting production, meaningful production. I always suggest moving onto a 4th P -- Personalize. Make sure all lessons have a part where they relate what is being learnt to their own lives, desires, wishes, plans, universe! I once was training teachers in Russia and watched a great lesson about telling time. The teacher had students using clocks and asking each other...BUT not once did she actually ask the students what the actual time was OR what time they got up etc........ I have many suggestions about getting kids speaking. Use picture cards to illicit conversation. In particular, I use all the Elementary,Intermediate,Advanced Communication books for pictures. I cut up the pictures and they use in groups to practice language gambits/structures and to ask questions about THEIR lives. Another important thing in my mind is to train the students, teach the students how to ask questions. This is the begining of a shared classroom. After that they can in some elementary way start teaching each other, soliciting information, language response. I also love (if the students are of a mid level), doing presentations about a topic they are interested in. I have a presentation sheet where the students only have to fill in basic info. if interested. PM me. Works like a charm... Most of all Qinella, your desire to be better, to get them speaking will win the day......teach through your model, this same hunger. Then your students will also start speaking better. Cheers DD "when one teaches, two learn"

[C.M.]

When I taught in China, it seemed both useful (and fun) to turn the class over to the students and have a Panel Discussion. Assign 3-5 students to sit at the front of the class facing the class; they are the Panel (there will be a lot of red cheeks and fanning of the face...but encourage and persist). Then open it up. Allow/encourage the students in the "audience" to ask questions of the students on the "panel" (it could be an open discussion or centered on four or five general topics). It can be fun and it gets them asking and answering questions. Take notes on how they ask questions, how they answer, what their sentence structure is like, preposition use etc and then at the end of the class, offer proper/alternate ways to ask or answer those questions. Panels can be rotated after 5-10 minutes. Lots of leeway here and geared toward High School students (also not an everyday activity) but still a good and effective way to to get them speaking.

[blunder1983]

I found simplified team building games from my office days worked really well in small groups.

Desert Island game: 2 teams of 3-5

Your ship is sinking, choose 5 items you want to take (must be able to find on a boat).

Then combine the responses, add another 5 of your own (sunscreen, beach ball etc. etc.). They choose 3 and must say what they can use it for under headings of Shelter, Food, Health, Escape.

Then have them choose what they do on the island. This adds points to each tree. At each turns start an event occurs, a ship passes by, plane flys overhead, rats eat food etc. In order to escape they need 5 points in escape and health. Its complicated initally but when its understood it gets LOADS of talk. I had one group attempt to turn to canabalism and kill the other group for "food" but I wouldnt let them

2nd one is much easier to set up: A ship is sinking, in 20mins it is gone. There are 10 survivors and only 4 spaces in the lifeboat. They must talk in English and decide who stays and goes. Penalise Korean by lowering the time limit. The best reasoning wins.

Typical survivors: Ex-con now straight, Family of three: vicar dad, shopaholic mom and young daughter, Captain who is a drunk, Nurse, Experienced sailor, old person but has the cure to aids, amazingly intelligent but disabled person + one other.

Its really interesting, I've yet to have a group selecting daughter + father, even tho I write him in as the better parent. Some psychology going on there methinks.