Reading Aloud (Out Loud) in Conversational English Classes
Derek Kelly

First, I tried using the standard conversational dialogues method of teaching "Conversational English," then I tried the natural language acquisition method. Bothered by the lack of substantial success, I turned to reading aloud, both by me and the students, and have since then reaped amazing results.
The Problem Situation
According to the natural language acquisition method, Language 1 (L1) linguistic competence develops in the following natural stages:
Hearing (and listening), followed by
Speaking, followed by
Reading (matching sounds to symbols), and
Writing (matching symbols to meaning).
Presumably, those people who wish to learn a second language (L2) should, ideally, follow the natural language acquisition method by (1) actively listening to spoken (or read aloud) language (e.g., English), followed by (2) active speaking when someone is "ready." Reading and writing are high-level skills that can be developed subsequently.
What does one do, however, if L1 is Chinese and L2 (English) was learned by reading (and dictionaries) allied with massive drilling in grammar, leaving the learner able to read English silently very well, but unable to speak intelligible English?
The answer for many schools in China is to employ "native" speakers (from e.g., USA, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand) to teach "Conversational English" to their students. The idea is, supposedly, that a student will "listen" to native speakers and then eventually learn to "speak" aloud.
The methods used in "Conversational English" range from the bizarre to the mundane. The strangest method I have heard is of a "teacher" who would enter class, sit down and wait, forever if necessary, for students to open their mouths and begin speaking. Mundane methods consist of reading short dialogues (or phrases) and repeating them over and over, practicing in pairs or larger groups, until the phrases can readily be understood and used. So, just about every child (and many adults) in China can greet a foreigner with: "Hello, how are you?...I`m fine." Anything more than that, however, usually elicits a blank stare. Many textbooks use this method to "teach" a wide variety of situational dialogues, such as what to say on the phone, how to greet customers and visitors, how to respond to complaints, and the like.
Analysis
When I first came to China to teach Conversational English two years ago, this dialogic method was the one I resorted to after perusing some ESL sites. I had never studied English or any other language (I knew English and Haitian Creole, French and some Spanish, from the natural language acquisition method), knew nothing about teaching conversation, and arrived to my duties armed only with the accident of having been born a "native" English speaker.
The dialogic method worked after a fashion. At least it gave the students the illusion of learning to speak. All of my students were adult engineers who had studied English for anywhere from 10 to 15 years--but who could utter hardly an intelligible word out loud. With some practice, some elementary "conversations" took place.
During the spring break following my first semester, I researched the natural language acquisition method and adopted the strategy of reading aloud to the students (for listening) followed by some conversation on the topic of the day. This method, too, seemed to have some effect, or at least gave us the illusion of some effect, and I used it throughout the second semester.
Something, however, was amiss. While I could detect subtle improvements in pronunciation and conversation in many students, there was never any real breakthrough experience when students could engage in "real" conversations on their many interests. In L1, their interests and conversations ranged from the mundane (Do you like Chinese food?) to the abstract (global warming), but L2 conversations always seemed to remain at the relatively elementary level (food, travel, and what did you do over the weekend).
Was I expecting too much? Should I be satisfied with tiny steps towards conversational fluency? Should I be satisfied if my hosts were satisfied? If far more experienced and skilled linguists have used the methods I have mentioned with success, shouldn`t I just follow along?
If we look at the situation in China, we find that most of the students over twenty years old have studied English, mainly grammar and vocabulary, for many years but have had little exposure to spoken English (listening or interactive). Hence it makes sense, initially, for Chinese educators to seek out native speakers to help improve the spoken English and listening capabilities of their students. The case is different today for middle school and high school students many of whom have been exposed to "natural" English (through movies, songs, TV, and, of course, native English speakers hired by their schools).
Reading Aloud
For those students over twenty or so, however, who "know" their English and can read