Let Them Speak: A Communication-Focused Approach for L2 Teachers

Description

Although the importance of developing learners’ speaking skills is recognized by second language teachers, not being guided by any particular model for teaching speaking remains a challenge for them.

When planning speaking activities, teachers need to design varied content that matches students’ interests and abilities, and increase their confidence and interest in speaking.

In this course, participants will learn to design and implement speaking activities that address students’ interests, help students increase their metacognitive awareness about L2 speaking, and self-regulate their speaking development.

They will learn strategies such as reformulation, clarification requests, and confirmation checks to facilitate feedback and will learn how modelling and contextualized real-world communications can help children enhance their L2 speaking skills.

During the course, participants will design speaking activities using cooperative rather than competitive goals to increase students’ self-confidence.

They will design assessment tools that measure the impact of their interventions and inform future planning.

Participants will learn how to use a lot of discussions and verbalize situations and actions whenever possible. They will be engaged in role plays to learn how to help students speak with less tension. 

Finally, they will develop speaking rules to apply with children and hold them accountable.

By the end of the course, participants will learn the principles for designing speaking activities, guaranteeing equal opportunities for students of different levels, and ensuring that the topics are interesting and in line with students’ abilities.

Concept by Siwar Hashwe

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Recognize language learning variables;
• Design age-appropriate speaking activities that support second language acquisition;
• Design assessment tools to measure the impact of the speaking activities and inform future interventions;
• Guide and encourage children to use language that is accurate, appropriate, and potentially rich and meaningful;
• Provide learners with feedback in the form of questions, comments, repetitions, confirmation checks, requests for clarification, and reformulations to enhance their speaking skills.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Understanding the Importance of Speaking

• Current challenges in language learning and the significance of speaking skills;
• Overview of theories in language acquisition, emphasizing speaking;
• Cognitive process in speaking.

Day 2 – Speech production model

• Producing fluent conversations: Conceptual preparation, formulation, and articulation;
• Self-monitoring: a key metacognitive process during speaking.

Day 3 – Speaking activities in the classroom

• Hands-on experience: Exploring various speaking activities;
• Designing speaking activities in pairs or small groups.

Day 4 – Speaking assessment and feedback in the language classroom

• Designing assessment tools to measure students’ performance and guide future interventions;
• Feedback strategies that enhance students’ speaking skills.

Day 5 – Reflection and best practices

• Speaking activities and assessment tools: presentation;
• Collaborative discussion on best practices and areas for improvement;
• Reflection on personal teaching practices: setting individual goals for applying new strategies in the classroom.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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