TEACHING

SPEAKING
I D A L I S A LV A R E Z - P E R K I N S , U . S . P C V
RO N I E L . M AC A L D O, M A L L
Here is a list of
statements with an
“Agree-Disagree”
continuum below
each. Put a cross
on the continuum
for each statement
to indicate how far
you agree or
disagree with it.
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
THE NATURE OF THE ORAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

Tell whether each of the following is psychological noise or
physical noise.
__________ 1. Loud talking and laughter of children in the corridor.
__________ 2. A feeling of resentment towards the other person.
__________ 3. The blaring stereo music.
__________ 4. Lack of interest on the part of the receiver.
__________ 5. The tooting of horns of passing vehicles.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
• Mispronunciations
• Lack of awareness of the pronunciation of a given word in
the different varieties of English.
• Different meanings attached to a word
• Psychological factors
• Delivery of the message
• Situation or setting
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
WHY?
WHY SHOULD WE USE THE
C O M M U N I C AT I V E A P P R O A C H ? W H AT A R E
T H E P R I N C I P L E S ? W H AT D O E S T H E
R E S E A R C H S H OW ?

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

PROBLEMS WITH
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
1. Inhibition
2. Nothing to say
3. Low or uneven participation
4. L1 use in classes where all, or a number of,
the students share the same L1

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

CHARACTERISTICS OF A
SUCCESSFUL SPEAKING ACTIVITY
1. Students talk a lot
2. Participation is even.
3. Motivation is high.
4. Language is appropriate.
5. The teacher monitors and models.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

PRINCIPLES OF THE
COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
1. Language teaching should be based on how language is used in the real
world.
2. There is less use of memorization, drills, repetition, and using perfect
grammar. Instead, the purpose is to promote communicative ability, so
the emphasis is on the expression of ideas and desires.
3. Classroom activities are set up to be as authentic as possible, and a
variety of activities are used. Activities should replicate what is actually said
in the real world, not the classroom.
4. Students talk a lot. The students should be doing most of the work!

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

HOW?
W H AT A T E A C H E R C A N D O T O H E L P
S O LV E S O M E O F T H E P R O B L E M S :

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

WHAT A TEACHER CAN DO TO HELP
SOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS:
•Use group work.
•Base the activity on easy language.
•Make a careful choice of topic and task to
stimulate interest.
•Give some instruction or training in discussion skills.
•Keep students speaking the target language.
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
DESCRIBING PICTURES
• Each group has a picture which all its members can see.
They have two minutes to say as many sentences as they
can to describe it. A secretary marks a tick on a piece of
paper representing each sentence. At the end of the two
minutes, groups report how many ticks they have. They
then repeat the exercise with the second picture, trying to
get more ticks than the first time.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
PICTURE DIFFERENCES
• Students are in pairs. Each has a different picture
(either A or B). Without showing the other his
picture, a student tries to find out the difference
between the two pictures. For example, he says,
“The girl in your picture is short and fat, but the one
in my picture is tall and thin.”
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
THINGS IN COMMON
• Students sit in pairs, choosing someone they do not
know very well as their partner. They converse to
find out things that they have in common. At the
end, they share their findings with the whole class.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities

PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITY
• Students are presented with a situation which poses
a problem to which they meet to find a solution.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
CONSENSUS-SEEKING ACTIVITY
• Students are given an important issue for discussion.
They first state their own views and stand on the
issue. Then they try to convince each other to arrive
at just one stand on the matter.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
MORAL DILEMMA ISSUES
• Students are presented with a situation where they
have to make a decision based on their principles
and values.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Discussion Activities
HUMANISTIC ACTIVITIES
• These are usually “getting-to-know each other
better activities with a dual purpose: linguistic as
well as affective. The former gives practice on a
grammar point/problem while the latter aims to
establish a warm, supportive, non-threatening
climate in the classroom.
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Language Games
RELAYING AND CARRYING OUT
INSTRUCTIONS
• Students give each other instructions. The success of
this activity depends on the correct giving and
interpreting of instructions.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Language Games
STORY CONSTRUCTION GAME
• The students are divided into groups and each
group is given one picture to study. The groups are
then disbanded and one student per group is placed
with representatives from the other groups to form
a new team. They describe the picture they saw in
their previous groups to come up with a story.
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Student-centered interaction modes
DYADIC OR PAIR WORK
• The students are asked to pair off and interact with
each other as they carry out the task assigned to
them.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Student-centered interaction modes
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (SGD)
• The students are divided into groups and work as a
group on a given task. The smaller the size of the
group the

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
- Student-centered interaction modes
DIALOGUES
PLAYS
SIMULATION
ROLE PLAY

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
TECHNIQUES FOR SPEAKING
1. Task-based Activities
2. Mingles
3. Interviews
4. Role Plays
5. Ranking
6. Stories
7. Conversations
8. Debates

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

1. TASK-BASED ACTIVITIES
• Students use English to complete a
task. They have a “job” to do.
• Often an “information gap” activity.
• Examples
– Creative Grids
– Picture Differences
– Descriptive Drawing Activity
– Back to Back

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

2. MINGLES

• What’s My Word?
• What's My Problem?
• Find Someone Who ...
• Eternal Mingle

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

3. INTERVIEWS

• Pair Interviews
• Conversation Grids
• Guessing Interviews

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

GUESSING INTERVIEWS
1. Fold a piece of paper into thirds. Make three columns.
2. Number your paper from 1 to 5. Your paper should look like this:

Question Guess Real answer

1. Music
2. Food
3. Hobbies
4. Dislikes
5. Favorite color
Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL
4. ROLE PLAYS

• Scripted Dialogue
• Advice Role Plays
• Famous Person
Interview
• Old Friend

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

OLD FRIEND
1. Find a partner.
2. Situation: You are at a party and suddenly see an old friend
that you haven’t seen since childhood. Talk to your friend and
catch up, talking to each other about your lives since the last
time you saw each other. You can be anyone you want!
3. Variations:
• Ex-colleague
• Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

5. RANKING
• Top 5/Top 10
– Best ice cream flavors
– Most fun hobbies
– Best TV shows
– Cutest Korean stars
– Best singers
• What to Bring to Manila
• Most Important to Least
Important

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

MOST IMPORTANT
TO LEAST IMPORTANT
1. You will hear five statements. Write the statements exactly the same way as you hear them.
You should think about the meaning and decide if they are important, not very
important, or totally unimportant. If they are important, write them at the top of the
page; if only slightly important, write them in the middle; and if unimportant, at the bottom
of the page.
2. Number each of the sentences you have written in the order of importance for you. Circle
your numbers.
3. Next, number the sentences again according to the order in which you think your neighbor
might have ranked them. Underline these numbers.
4. Finally, compare your “guessed order” with your neighbor’s “real order” and discuss the
reasons for your choices.
5. The teacher can post or write the sentences on the board so that students can check their
work (spelling, punctuation, correct word order, etc.).

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

MOST IMPORTANT
TO LEAST IMPORTANT
• “I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend.” Abraham Lincoln
• “Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.” Salvador Dali
• “Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.”
Albert Einstein
• “As you think, so shall you become.” Bruce Lee
• “There’s one good thing about music. When it hits you, you feel no pain.” Bob
Marley

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

6. STORIES

• Story in a Bag
• Suddenly …
• Story Cards

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

7. CONVERSATIONS

• Conversation Questions
• Playing Cards
Conversation Questions
• Expert Trains

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

8. DEBATES

•Agree/Disagree
•Four Corners
•Desert Island

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

AGREE/DISAGREE

1. Each student takes out a sheet of paper. On one side students

write “agree,” and on the other side they write “disagree.”
2. Read aloud a controversial statement, and have each student hold
up his/her paper stating whether they agree/disagree.
3. Choose one student from each side to explain his/her position
and participate in a short debate.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

FOUR CORNERS
1. Label the 4 corners of the room: Strongly Agree, Agree, Strongly
Disagree, Disagree
2. Read a statement, an issue, or a question.
3. Students take a little bit of time to make a decision (maybe 30 seconds).
4. Without any discussion, students move to the corner that best represents
their position.
5. When they get to the corner, they form groups of two or three and share
why they chose that corner.
6. The teacher randomly calls on pairs of students from each corner to identify
why they made their decision.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

DESERT ISLAND
1. Give students a piece of paper and tell them
to draw an item, any item.
2. Collect the drawings and randomly pass
them back out to different students.
3. Tell students they have been stranded on a
desert island, and only half of the class can
survive and continue to inhabit the desert
island.
4. The students’ goal is to convince the class
that they should survive. The only thing they
have is an item that was drawn a few minutes
earlier by a classmate on the piece of paper.

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL

GREAT RESOURCES
Books:
1. Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Large, Multilevel Classes by Peace Corps
2. Zero Prep: Ready-to-Go Activities for the Language Classroom by Laurel Pollard & Natalie Hess
3. Games for Language Learning by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge, & Michael Buckby
Websites:
1. eslcafe.com
2. fluentu.com
3. iteslj.org
Manuals (available in PDF):
1. 40 Icebreakers for Small Groups by Grahame Knox
2. Teaching Activities for the Communicative Classroom by Trinity College of London

Idalis Alvarez-Perkins, PCV & Ronie L. Macaldo, MALL