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A
Strategy for Effective Inter-Class Oral Communication
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An effective conversation
class involves the active participation by students to express orally and confidently what
they have in mind. However, it is not rare in many schools, that students keep quiet all
through the lesson while the teacher busily performs all by herself. Ironically, as soon
as the bell rings for the end of the conversation class, the students burst out with a
surging storm of talk in their mother tongue as if they have finally found an outlet for
their voices.
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It is difficult to
motivate the students; and what frequently happens is the teacher waits while the students
look up and down, to and fro with no sound made. In self-defense the teacher may think
that a teacher-talk class fits a conversation class better than a no-one-talks
class since at least someone is speaking.
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How should conversation
teachers handle situations like this? What can be done to change the lifeless classroom
atmosphere? Where does the crux of the problem lie?
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The following is a
suggested technique which has helped my conversation classes and may work elsewhere.
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Like a doctor examining
his patients, the teacher needs to find out what makes students so quiet and passive.
Conduct a survey and ask the students to check off those answers that apply to themselves.
For example: Why don't you join your peers in discussion or speak up?
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- I'm at a loss as to what to say.
- I'm not used to talking in class.
- I'm afraid of making errors in class.
- I'm not interested in the topic.
- Other (specify)
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Out of 25 students, 23
picked Nos. 1 and 3 as reasons for their silence. These two statements are actually
closely related. If a student has no idea what to say, s/he may lose confidence and feel
uncomfortable and make mistakes.
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I'm at a loss as to
what to say reveals the omission of an important step that the teacher should have
included: s/he hasn't gotten the students ready for the task and is asking the students to
do something beyond their reach. When someone thinks s/he is trying something impossible,
it is easy to give up.
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At this stage, students
should be prepared both in terms of ideas and language. That means they should know
basically what idea they want to convey and also how to say it.
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A teacher-guided
brainstorming session is useful for generating ideas on a given topic. For example, on the
topic, A Wonderful Dance Party, the teacher can draw a sketch on the board and jot down
information for the two boxes in Figure 1 .
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If possible the teacher
can show the students some video tapes of a dance scene or play some music to create a
similar atmosphere to achieve the same objective. After the students have worked out the
ideas and come up with appropriate language, they have "warmed up" and are ready
to fully participate.
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I'm afraid of making
errors may arise from several different causes. Ask the students to check one or more
of the following options which apply.
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- I will leave a bad impression on the teacher.
- I'm a timid person by nature and get nervous easily.
- My vocabulary is limited and my pronunciation is poor.
- My voice is not pleasant to hear.
- I have some physiological deficiencies.
- My classmates will laugh at me.
- Other (specify)
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Ninety-five percent of the
students rank choice f at the top of the list followed by choices a and b
. If we take a closer look at these three statements, we will soon realize that they are
interrelated and all arise from the psychological factor of fear. By and large, they are a
matter of self-esteem rather than related to the students' speaking competence. The
teacher will have to remove this obstacle and dispel the student's apprehension. But how?
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As the students are afraid
of making mistakes and losing or lowering their self-respect, why not have a stage called
Survival English Oral Communication (S.E.O.C.) which means functionally accepted
communication without consideration of accuracy. In other words, so long as students can
get their ideas across, they have completed the communicative process and have
"survived." Here, a carefully planned Teaching Log Record will be necessary. The
chart in Figure 2 is a sample of
such a record.
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According to the above
chart, each student will receive three scores. For column one, anyone who volunteers to
speak up and gets the audience to understand him will receive a full score of five points,
no matter how many errors he makes. On the other hand, if a student refuses to talk, he
will lose five points. On the chart, student B may speak better than student C, but
student C may score higher simply by taking the chance to talk. Here the emphasis is on
"opening your mouth" in the spirit of "practice makes perfect." This
arrangement has greatly encouraged my students to actively take part in oral discussions
and presentations. The once shy, timid students who felt "unlucky" when the
teacher called on them to do oral exercises, now have turned into students who
"complain" when they do not have enough chances to speak. When the teacher
clarifies his/her expectations at this stage, no one worries about errors. Instead, the
students busily engage themselves in the different activities.
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For a whole semester, I
didn't have one student who failed in this column because of his/her timidness or the fact
that it was difficult to use survival English.
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Edited English and refined presentation
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Since errors will not
disappear if there is no pressure to remove them, Column two of the Teaching Log
Record-Competence Communication-is relevant. At this stage, oral competence, rather than
attitude or motivation, is emphasized. Teachers will focus their attention on those
features that reflect the students' speaking ability and present level of English
proficiency. Taken into consideration are such factors as pronunciation, intonation,
fluency, tone of voice, stress, structure, choice of words and effectiveness of
communication. The purpose here is to lead to better-polished English and to avoid
"Survival-oriented English."
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A student's actual score
for oral communication comes from both active participation and oral ability. The Teaching
Log Record conveys to students the idea that they must voluntarily throw themselves into
the conversational pool and strive for effective communication.
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After the Survival English
stage, teachers should allow students to help their classmates edit and polish their
language. One speaker after another can be asked to talk on the same topic or a different
one. The point is to avoid errors and improve communicative skills.
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Teachers should make clear
to their students that the Teaching Log Record will form part of the oral-exam score. Let
students know the log scores each month. In this way, students not only compete for better
English but strive for more opportunities to speak. I've tried this strategy with a
so-called "dumb" class and I'm happy to say they are now as active as the
"most active" class I have had. They are also making rapid progress in oral
English skills. When I see the most "quiet" and "timid" students
courageously lead discussions and even organize classroom activities, I'm really
impressed. On hearing their polished English, I realize with a smile that this strategy
works.
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"I can try it at
least" is the feedback that I get from my new students. At the end of the semester,
exam results confirm the strategy's effectiveness.
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This three-step strategy
tries to bring the students' speaking potential to the maximum. I am very pleased when
they display positive self-images and their oral competence has been enhanced.'
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Dong Taiqin teaches at the Foreign Languages Department of
Shanxi University. Her experience includes teaching listening comprehension and
conversation. |
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Figure 1
Figure 2
| Teaching Log Record |
| Course/Set |
English Conversation |
| Name |
Survival English O.C. |
Speaking Competence O.C. |
Final Score |
| A |
5 |
4 |
9 |
| B |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| C |
5 |
2 |
7 |
| D |
5 |
3 |
8 |
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