Need advice on teaching oral English

Con Knudtson · Post by **Con Knudtson** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 2:48 pm

I teach at a private school. My older primary students, 9 to 11 years old, have a Chinese teacher to drill to written English; I'm there to teach them oral English. Their conversation skills are atrocious.
Here's my problem: The textbook, English 900, provides sentences and dialogue, but no activities whatsoever. I have to supply ALL the ideas. Sometimes I can think of something, but when I can't I have to resort to making them repeat and chant the lines in the book.

The book is dull, and so are my classes.

This can't go on. I tell them stories every class, but this just isn't enough. I need activities that force them to USE English, not just recite like parrots.

Any ideas? I'm letting my students down here.

dona · Post by **dona** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 12:20 am

Ever play the game "Guess Who". Its a kind of board game where the players (only 2 ) have to guess who their opponent has. They have to ask eachother questions. Does he have blue eyes? Is he bald? Is it a woman? This works well as one activity.

I've also tried things like I give the students instructions on drawing or manipulating a picture in some way. Maybe I will give them a picture of a house and I will tell them how many windows to put on it, the color it should be, etc... Then I will switch places with a student and they will be teacher and they will give instruction.