These are the tasks we did / talked about in the speaking workshop at the Cambridge ESOL day in London and Dublin. You can download this post as a pdf at the end – not all the activites will make sense if you weren’t there, sorry.
1. Using the screenshade / spotlight
If you use an IWB then the program that comes with it should contain either a screenshade or spotlight both of which can be used to hide a photo and encourage students to speculate.
2. Stand up, go shake hands
A ‘hidden way’ to do part one of the exam each time the students should talk about one of the topics. In the workshop we did:
Introduce yourself and…
- Talk about what you do
- Talk about where you live
- Talk about your family
- Talk about which is better, the city or the country
3. Find the Similarities
Utilises coursebook photos, practises the ‘compare’ part of the ‘picture exam’
- Open the coursebook at random
- Do not tell your partner what page you have chosen
- Using questions you and your partner need to find 3 similarities in the pictures.
4. What else can you say about?
Encouraging students to think about what to say about a picture. We did:
Choose a new picture and a new partner
Study your picture and listen for the teacher’s instructions
- Say something factual about your picture
- Say something you like/don’t like about it and why
- Say something it reminds you of
- Talk about something in your picture which is related to something in your partner’s picture
5, The True or false questions (sorry I can share the dvd clip due to copyright)
1.There are usually two candidates taking the test together.
2.There is usually one examiner.
3.The test lasts for approximately 20 minutes.
4.In Part 1 candidates should discuss the answers with each other.
5.In Part 2 the candidates are shown two colour photos with the questions written on them.
6.In Part 3 candidates take it in turns to speak.
7.In Part 4 the questions are based on the candidates’ opinions.
7. What do students need to do in an exam?
• To be able to talk about themselves
• To show knowledge about a topic
• To express opinions on a topic
• To be able to describe and compare pictures
• To take part in a communicative task i.e. role play, agreeing on a decision
Which means:
•Having to listen and answer effectively
• Having the necessary words and / or techniques if you don’t know the word
• Having the language to describe and compare pictures (for an exam)
• Knowing how to structure a monologue
• Knowing how to take turns, show interest and negotiate
8. Some student problems when it comes to speaking exams
•Students don’t stay in English
•The students don’t have the language knowledge to say what they want to say.
•Students tend to repeat the same mistakes time and again.
•The students’ lack of fluency prevents any kind of flow.
•Students don’t prepare for discussions in class.
•Students do not appear to have any opinions.
•Students quickly relapse into monologues with no real interaction.
•Some students always dominate while others rarely say a word.
•Students don’t ask questions when they don’t understand what a partner is saying.
•The students don’t appear interested in their partners or what they have to say.
9. Thunk and call outs
Speaking activities don’t have to be complicated – ‘no answer’ questions can help e.g. What colour is Saturday?
Asking for a letter then a noun beginning with that letter also creates impromptu speaking tasks – once the noun is decided get the sts to speak together on the chosen noun.
10. Changing an exam activity
What’s your ideal holiday destination and why?
What is your earliest memory?
Tell me something that went wrong for you recently.
Look at the questions and prepare your answers – BUT
2 answers should be true but one should be a lie.
Take it in turns to ask your partner the questions, try to guess which one is the lie.
11. Colouring a picture
When the book / workbook uses black and white photos turn it into a part three task, getting students to negotiate the colours.
Other ways to use the picture – make up the silliest question (helps train sts to keep talking once they have run out of obvious things to say)
Remember to look at the other senses, we tend to concentrate on ‘what can you see’ but what about hear, touch, taste and smell?
12. Utilise websites to encourage further practice, homework and autonomy
13. Be the examiner
Let the students be the examiner and think of the questions not only does this provide some variety but it helps train the students to think about the type of questions and the exam
14. Don’t forget to incorporate speaking into as many task as possible
Here I adapted a joke into a picture description and a collaborative task
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ ____ _____. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____.
_____ _____, “_____ _____ _____ _____! _____ _____ _____ _____?”
_____ _____ _____ “_____ _____. _____ _____ _____. _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____.”
_____ _____ _____ _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____. _____ _____ _____ _____, _____ _____ _____ “_____, _____ _____ ?”
FCE Result page 35
You can download the whole activity here: joke
If you want this post as pdf: Notes from the Cambridge ESOL talk
