ACTIVITIES FOR SPEAKING

The best speech is creative. However, teacher must help students progress through several steps. First, the teacher presents new language to the students. Then the students must practice the new language in a controlled way. Finally, students can try to use the language they have learned in free or creative speech. This is called language exploitation.
Below are two different types of activities, one to help students practice what they have learned and the other to help them exploit what they have practiced in communication. Whenever possible, the students should have the opportunity to work in pairs or small groups.

Example activities for Speaking Practice:

1. Repetition. The teacher can read a dialogue to the class or play a tape. The class, together or individuals, can repeat what they hear. This kind of activity is very safe for the students and is good to spend a short time on. But it becomes boring quickly so it should not be over used.]
2. Prompted sentences. Teachers can give students the beginning of a sentence which the students can complete.
Examples: This is your ……….. (hand, head, finger, shoulder, etc)
That is …………….. (her hand, his nose, my ear, etc)
3. Single-word substitutions. The teacher speaks a sentence to the students and also says a cue word for them to replace a word in the sentence.
Example: Teacher: I’m going to eat.
Students: I’m going to eat.
Teacher: sleep
Students: I’m going to sleep.
Teacher: study
Students: I’m going to study
4. Multiple-position substitutions. The teacher gives sentence to the students and says a cue word for them to replace a word in a modified sentence. This is like the previous exercise but the words will be used in different parts of the sentence.
Example: Teacher: I like to eat bananas.
Students: I like to eat bananas.
Teacher: Apples
Students: I like to eat apples.
Teacher: Hate
Students: I hate to eat apples.
Teacher: John
Students: John hates to eat apples.
..etc.
5. Transformation Exercises. The teacher gives a sentence to students along in a brief instruction which forces the students to communicate with other form.
Example: Teacher: I study English.
Students: I study English.
Teacher: Yesterday.
Students: I studied English yesterday.
Teacher: Tomorrow.
Students: I will study English tomorrow.
Teacher: Now
Students: I am studying English now.
6. Chaining. In this kind of exercise, students are given a simple dialogue in which they practice a given pattern.
Example: Minh: Hi. I’m Minh
Mai: Hello. Minh. I’m Mai.
Nam: Hello, Mai. I’m Nam.
7. Dialogue practice. In a dialogue, there are usually two or three speakers. After presenting the dialogue to the class, the teacher assigns different students to speak the different pans. After the students have practiced and understood the dialogue, they can practice again, using information of their own.
8. Dialogue creation. Students can be, given the beginning lines in a dialogue and instructed to finish the dialogue creatively.
9. Songs. Students can study and learn to sing songs to practice their speaking.
10. Tongue Twisters and Other Pronunciation Exercises.



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