I am teaching English in the 9th grade in a class of 21 quite homogenous pupils. As I arrived, their teacher shared with me that the pupils are quite quiet and not easily engaged in talking or interaction. This seemed to be true both in English and other subjects as well.
This blog will focus on how I tried to improve their speaking skills and boldness to speak up by helping them to engage in the classroom setting. I wanted to help them to increase their level of speaking and using the English language as well as helping them mature in taking part in interaction in school settings overall.
COMPETENCE AIMS as articulated after the 10th grade in the English subject curriculum;
- use various situations, work methods and strategies to learn English
- master vocabulary that covers a range of topics
- express himself/herself in writing and orally with some precision, fluency and coherence
ACTIVITIES:
1. THE GAME ‘ALIAS JUNIOR’
- Draw a card
- Explain without using the words on the card
- The class tries to guess the word
- Use an hourglass of two minutes
- Manage as many cards as possible before the time runs out
- I tried to use the competitive element in such a way that they focus less on themselves and feel free to play the game. The boys competed against the girls as a group and we kept the scores during the whole period. I picked out three-four pupils each time.
- As the cards present a big variety of words – both nouns and verbs alike – it may improve the ability to master a wider vocabulary.
- As the cards have both pictures and written words it is not needed to know the exact word in English to be able to explain it.
- If they don’t know what to say, they are free to skip to the next card in the pile
- At first I ended the session with this. Then they were more warmed up and easier to get going. Because it is a game, they didn’t view it the same way as another task I might had given them.
- Later I started the session with it. This made it easier for some to talk more in the session after the game, too.
- It was harder in the first class in the morning than in the sessions later in the day. They are quieter to start with – just as if they haven’t really woken up yet.
2. READING IN PAIRS
- Makes everyone talk.
- I walked around listening as they read and translated each other.
- Not as scary as they are not reading or talking in front of the class.
- Keeps everyone working – no one is just watching the others.
3. TALKING WITH THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU ABOUT A GIVEN TOPIC
- Makes everyone involved.
- I asked them loud afterwards what the other person said. Then they are not to come up with something new themselves but rather repeat what the other person said.
- At first some were uncertain about what to say, but by using this method on a regular basis, it developed and trained them in paying attention to what other pupils actually say.
4. ORAL PRESENTATION
- Have the pupils prepare and present an oral presentation for the class on a topic of their own choice. Makes them talk about something they find interesting that might engage them more.
- By giving them time to prepare in advance this helped them to think through which words they needed and what vocabulary to use.
- Encouraged them not to read from their notes, but to write down some main points that they should talk about.
- We agreed to focus on content, vocabulary, voice and body language, and when the presentations were finished, four pupils and I gave positive feedback.
- I could see how the presentations improved as the weeks went by because they learned from watching each other as well as the feedback we gave to each pupil afterwards.