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Input session

Teaching speaking

A loop input: you do the tasks first, the way your students would, before the framework gets its name. The productive skills shape.

Warm-up Discuss

Before we start, think about your own experience as a learner or teacher.

DiscussWhat makes a speaking activity in class actually work well?
DiscussWhat kills a speaking activity and makes students go quiet?

Keep your ideas in mind; we'll come back to them.

sorting
Free speaking or controlled speaking? Sort the features

Put each feature under the correct heading: does it describe a free (fluency) speaking task, or a controlled (accuracy) speaking task?

reading
What makes a fluency task work? Read and discuss

Read the principles below. Do they match what you said in the warm-up?

  • Students make free choices over the language they use, from their whole language store.
  • The activity is purposeful and meaningful, with a real communicative aim: a task that has to be completed.
  • Curiosity is aroused: students want to know what their partner has to say (e.g. an information gap).
  • The activity has a clear context, set up by the teacher before it begins.
  • Students are clear about their role in the activity.
  • The activity is interactive; everyone gets a chance to speak.
  • The teacher monitors performance during the activity.
  • There is feedback on the overall performance of the task.
  • There is a correction slot at the end of the activity.

Which of these do you already build into your speaking lessons? Which do you sometimes forget?

staging
Put the stages in order Order, then reveal

Below are the stages of a free speaking activity, in random order. Click each stage, in the order you think it happens, from first to last.

This is the productive skills shape

What you just ordered is a full staging sequence for teaching speaking. It maps onto a five-part lesson shape; the next section looks at it properly.

the framework
The productive skills shape The framework

This shape works for speaking or writing lessons. Main aim: to practise oral/written fluency in relation to ___ (topic). Stages are chosen as necessary; not every lesson needs all five.

Lead-inActivates students' existing knowledge of the topic; generates interest in the topic/theme.
Preparing to speak/writeGenerates and provides ideas; gives students a chance to brainstorm, prepare notes, and think about what they'll say. May involve reading/listening to a model of the task.
Useful languageProvides and clarifies language students may find useful. This is not target language. It is there to help them, not something they must use.
Speaking/writing taskDevelops oral fluency through a speaking task; develops writing skills through a writing task.
Feedback / error correctionQuick feedback on content, results, and outcomes; then deals with generic errors.

It might be necessary to add a pre-teaching stage before this lesson shape, if students lack essential vocabulary.

matching
Common speaking problems Match and discuss

Match each problem students have with speaking to the best classroom solution.

production
Plan a speaking lesson Apply the framework

In pairs, choose a topic and plan the five stages using the productive skills shape. Keep it brief; a sentence or two per stage is enough.

Share your stage plan with another pair. Would their lead-in genuinely prepare students for their task?

wrap-up
Key takeaways
  • Free (fluency) speaking and controlled (accuracy) speaking need different staging and different teacher roles.
  • A good fluency task is purposeful, has a clear context, and gives every student a chance to speak.
  • "Useful language" helps students; it is never target language they must use.
  • Feedback on a speaking task covers content first, then generic errors.
  • Not every stage of the productive skills shape is needed every time; choose as necessary.

Sources. The shape and the staging task are made up for this session. The fluency principles follow Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching (Macmillan).