Module 3.3.

Speaking and Writing

In this module, we will look at the two productive skills: speaking and writing.

At the end of this module you will:

 understand some of the problems students experience when speaking

 be able to teach speaking skills
 be able to identify problems associated with successful writing
 be able to train students in the skills needed for effective writing
Lesson 1. Speaking (Part 1)
Introduction
Oral communication is a two-way process involving a speaker and a listener, yet it is
useful to look at ways of teaching and learning speaking as separate from those of
listening. As language teachers, one of our tasks is to equip our learners with the skills
needed for effective oral communication by providing opportunities for the situational
practice of speaking skills.

Speaking Problems
Students have various problems with speaking skills. These may be due to one's
previous learning experience emphasising the structural basis of the language with little
or no communicative methodology employed and therefore little realistic oral language
practice of the language having been done.
Poor spoken phonological ability (ie pronunciation, stress, rhythm, intonation) can cause
one to mispronounce sounds, leading to poor comprehension on the part of the listener.
If someone fails to understand what you're saying, you’ll soon give up and stay quiet.
Another problem is demotivation due to overcorrection. This has to do with the old
argument of fluency versus accuracy. For a communicative approach the priority is
successful communication, and if a message spoken has been correctly understood,
errors of syntax or tense should be regarded as being of minor concern. To repeatedly
correct a student attempting oral communication would simply silence him/her. Students
often prefer not to speak rather than to make mistakes. Bear in mind also that they need
to learn to talk in phrases and ‘paragraphs’ so if they keep stopping after one or two
words because you have corrected them, they will never get a feel for the overall
‘shape’ of a sentence or phrase.
Think of the phrase: ‘I’d like to enquire about the trip to the British Museum’. It has
stress and intonation, and if the student has had practice getting the whole phrase out
without stopping, then they are more likely to get to the end when they actually have to
use it! (Perhaps with a different ending: the trip to France/outing to the theatre/trains to
Manchester etc). If you interrupt them in the middle with a minor correction, they may
not be able to finish after that.

How to teach speaking skills. Activities in a

Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) lesson.
If your lesson is to target speaking skills, you can use the PPP procedure in the
following way.

1. Setting the scene/warm up

First of all, you need to set the scene. This is absolutely essential. Expecting students to
speak ‘cold’ on any topic is just not fair. They will not be mentally prepared or enthused
enough to do their best. You must make sure that the students have the background to
the task.
If the class is to practise the language of invitation, for example, tell them about a party
you are planning and ask them what you need to do to make sure people come.
Students will recognise the need for the functional language you are set to introduce.

2. Presentation
After the scene has been set, you need to present or elicit the language appropriate to
the particular task you wish to carry out. Forms such as
'I'd like to invite you to ....'
and
'would you like to come to .....'
can be given as they are now in context. This is the time in the lesson when you could
use a model dialogue, written or even better recorded, to drill students on the key
language of invitations.

3. Controlled Practice
During the next, controlled practice stage, give students the opportunity to practise the
structures involved, ie by choral and individual drilling, doing exercises, then by guided
pairwork, ie with short dialogues or role plays using prompts you have prepared.
You could build from the model dialogue in a number of ways including taking short
phrases for choral repetition and doing short substitution practice:
I’d like to invite you to dinner.
My party: I’d like to invite you to my party.
The theatre: I’d like to invite you to the theatre.
and so on
4. Production (Free practice)
Finally it’s the production stage. At the controlled practice stage, accuracy of stress,
rhythm and pronunciation were important, but now that the students are involved in
producing language in a freer environment, fluency is important. Teacher input here
should be minimal, with errors monitored but not necessarily corrected. The teacher has
guided the class to this stage and must now encourage and support the learners as
they complete their task. The aim for them is to communicate effectively using language
practised during the lesson.
There are several activities generally employed by teachers to achieve results at this
stage of the lesson:
1. Games - eg Bingo (number, phonology, spelling), Hangman, Monopoly.
2. Role plays - with role cards and prompts prepared in advance, giving the students a
clear role.
3. Information gap activities
These demand that students exchange information to complete a task or solve a
problem.
For example, pairs have two street plans with 5 different buildings on their plans. Face
to face, they ask for the location of those buildings they do not have, and give details to
their partner of those which they do.
4. Opinion gap activities
These are controversial texts, pictures or statements to promote debates, discussions
and arguments between partners or groups.
Eg Marriage is an outdated institution.
A class can be split into an even number of groups, eg 2 for and 2 against, to prepare
their side of the issue. New groups would then be formed with one student from each of
the four original groups, to debate the issue using ideas prepared beforehand.
5. Collaborative problem-solving activities
Sometimes students can be given the same information and must discuss a solution to
a problem.
The well known ‘desert island debate’ in which students in groups choose ‘5 things from
a list that they would take to a desert island and why’ falls into this category.

Tips for Effective Speaking Lessons

Remember that language is about communication. The language teacher is aiming to
teach the student to communicate effectively in the four main skills. To enable students
 to effectively communicate orally, they need to be provided with as much opportunity as
possible to use the language. With regards to speaking, this means not limiting it to
specific speaking slots, but providing opportunities to speak throughout the lessons
whatever the focus of the lesson (eg reading or writing etc). This means allowing
students to express themselves at all times.
Here are a few things to think about when setting up speaking activities.

 Pick a topic that everyone can access and enjoy discussing or practising. Perhaps ask
the students for something they are interested in or feel strongly about.
 Avoid students always interacting with the same students. It is easy to fall into the trap
of always pairing students with the person they are sitting next to (ie always the same
person). Students should be given the opportunity to interact with as many people as
possible.
 Remember to L.T.T.T. (limit teacher talk time), and avoid completely teacher-centred
lessons where the teacher does most of the talking, and the majority of the interactions
are teacher - student. Make full use of pair work and groupwork to increase student -
student interactions. The teacher should be the facilitator, not the director.
 Make sure that everyone knows exactly what they are doing before you begin or you will
have to go round to ten different pairs re-explaining the task! This is best done by
modeling and also by clear instructions.
 Remember the importance of fluency practice; give students the opportunity to use the
language flexibly without being hindered by constant correction. Errors can be observed
and fed back to the class anonymously at the end of the exercise. If students are
constantly corrected, their flow of speech will be interrupted, and their confidence will
suffer.
 Remember to try to simulate real life situations as far as possible to make the
interactions realistic and purposeful. With role-play exercises, use props to increase
authenticity, eg menus for restaurant role plays, holiday brochures for planning a
holiday role play etc.
 Allow for student thinking time. If students are asked to carry out role plays, give them
time to think and plan, but don’t let them write down complete dialogues - this is
speaking, and not writing practice.
 Don’t forget what it is like to be in the students’ shoes as a language learner – it can be
both difficult and frustrating, and it is easy to lose confidence and motivation. Therefore,
both praise and encouragement cannot be overused in the EFL classroom!
 To develop the skill of being able to continue with what you are saying, even when you
have forgotten or do not know a word, word games can be used. An invaluable tool is to
teach students how to describe objects or concepts. There will always be times when
students will not know a word. If at those times the student is able to elicit the word from
someone else without too many circumlocutions, they will be able to communicate much
more effectively. However, if students do not know how to describe words, they will be
both frustrated and handicapped. Therefore, we should teach such phrases as, ‘It’s a bit
like . . .’, ‘It’s a kind of . . .’, ‘You use it to . . .’, ‘You use it when . . .’, ‘It’s the stuff you
use to . . .’ etc. Word games like Taboo, What’s My Line etc are both fun and useful in
the EFL classroom.
Self-check 1
Self-check 1
Do any of the points above remind you of your own experiences of language learning?
How did you deal with them?
Self-check 2
Self-check 2
Which of the above activities would you use at
a. lower levels?
b. advanced levels?
Self-check 3
Self-check 3
1. Look at Practical Problem No 1. Can you give a rule to help your students
distinguish between the different pronunciations of the ending?
2. Write a short passage incorporating at least 10 of the verbs from Practical Problem
No 1 which you could record and play to your class.
3. Write an exercise for students to do in pairs, based on your passage, to give
practice in the above pronunciation.
 Lesson 2. Writing (Part 1)
We have said that to read successfully, training must be given - the same applies to
writing, a skill closely linked with reading and often the one learners find most difficult to
acquire. This may be because
a. writing requires organisational skills and careful thought: planning first, then checking
and rewriting. This makes spontaneity somewhat difficult.
b. it is usually regarded as a solitary activity.
c. teachers often assume that students know how to organise and develop written work,
if only in their first language, but this is often untrue. Just try writing one of the tasks you
ask your students to do!

Given these problems, it makes sense to try to offer students help in a variety of ways,
for example:

o By giving plenty of exposure to model texts, both good models and faulty models
(clearly indicating which is which) and give checklists for student reference (ie do's and
don'ts).
o By creating a collaborative environment: using pairwork and groupwork to prepare the
ground, giving support, ideas and the chance to participate before the actual writing
begins.
o By ensuring that the writing takes place in a relaxed learning environment.
o By actually teaching organisational skills, the way to develop ideas and how to reach a
logical conclusion, through regular practice.
o By making sure that students have clear criteria to work towards - that is, they know
what you are looking for and how you are going to mark their work.

Preparing the way

Because of the range of writing tasks students may wish to complete, some basic
questions need answering before the student knows how to approach a particular piece
of writing. The first 4 things to consider are:

1. What is the purpose of this piece of writing? (eg to inform, request, apologise,
instruct, etc)
2. Who will be the reader? (eg a potential employer, a child, the general public, a
loved one, etc)
 3. What is the appropriate style and register? (eg very formal and polite, semi-
formal and respectful, friendly and informal)
4. What is the correct layout or format? (eg positioning of addresses,
complementary close, paragraphing, etc)

Teaching Writing Skills

In order to write effectively students must be assisted in developing the necessary skills.
Just because a student is able to write isolated, grammatically correct sentences, does
not necessarily mean that they will be able to organise a written composition. Through
exposure to a range of selected texts and by studying techniques and devices used to
achieve particular results, language learners begin to understand how to produce a
piece of writing.
To teach writing skills effectively, it's important to:

1. have a regular, weekly slot dedicated to writing (not the last ten minutes of a
lesson as written homework is set).
2. use a short listening to set the scene, with note-taking, group discussion (ie for /
against points) with the teacher giving guidance on contrastive devices
(however, although) or words of addition (furthermore, in addition), etc. Ideas can
then be joined and paragraphs developed on the board.
3. incorporate a short reading presented as a model. This gives students something
to pull apart and learn how to reconstruct. By focusing on tenses, linking devices,
reference words, vocabulary items etc, it gradually becomes clear how words,
sentences and paragraphs fit together to fulfil a particular task for a particular
reader in the appropriate style and register.

Product Writing and Basic Stages of a Writing Lesson

Effective writing involves much more than grammatical correctness; students need to
know how to organise a composition relevant to the genre and target audience. The
genres include narrative essays, discursive essays, report writing, formal and informal
letter writing, among others. These need to be tackled at the appropriate levels.
Whatever the genre, we can outline basic lesson stages:

1. Lead-in / Discussion
Rationale:

 To elicit learners’ knowledge (activate schemata)

 To develop predictive skills
 To stimulate interest in the topic

2. Stimulus (Model Text)

Rationale:

 To exhibit the relationship between stimulus and target text type

 To provide model text for analysis - to derive explicit organisational framework

3. Enabling activities for Main Writing Task

Rationale:

 To work on information structure and language features

 To work on text generation techniques

4. Main Writing Task

Rationale: To go through a process to generate a product similar to the model text

5. Follow-Up: Comparing texts with a partner / Improving texts

Rationale:

 To exchange texts with partners

 To evaluate own and partner’s text against a Key text
 To improve own text

This planning relies on students following a model text and producing a similar text of
their own and is often referred to as product writing. Product writing focuses on the
organisational conventions of particular text types, or genres. At the end of this module,
you will find examples of product writing lessons for different levels.

Process writing and writing sub-skills

Another approach to teaching writing is called process writing. Process writing
focuses on the skills a writer needs to complete a particular writing task. These
are writing sub-skills.
As follows are the 6 writing sub-skills, which are also the 6 consecutive stages of
a process writing lesson (after a lead-in/discussion and before a follow-up).

1. Brainstorming: making notes of all possible things to be included in the text.

2. Planning: writing a general outline of the text.
3. Drafting: writing the first version of the text.
4. Peer evaluation: giving feedback to classmates on their drafts.
5. Re-drafting: making changes to the text based on the peer feedback and the
writer's own analysis – improving the organisation and coherence, correcting
language errors.
6. Proofreading: final reading and checking for minor mistakes, such as punctuation
and spelling.

The process is not necessary a linear one though and will vary depending on the writer
and the type of correspondence involved. For example, a lot less time on planning will
be spent on a simple postcard and there may only be one draft, without the revisiting /
editing phase. However, a lot more time will be spent on the planning and editing stages
when writing a formal speech.
As effective teachers we should be incorporating both the product and process
approaches to writing into our lessons.

Writing in class and for homework

Writing is a skill that is often overlooked in the classroom because of the potential
difficulties involved, but which deserves more attention in this environment.
Writing in class is a helpful exercise as it shows the teacher what the student can
produce without the support of textbooks etc, and can be monitored with the most
common mistakes dealt with on the board during the lesson.
Collaborative writing also offers a lot of benefits to students. Although the ultimate aim is
to develop the writing skills of students individually, students can support each other
and can benefit from learning from each other’s strengths. It also helps to generate
interest and enthusiasm and meaningful discussion which can then benefit the actual
writing process.
Writing is also useful for homework. When giving writing tasks as homework, however, it
is essential to prepare students thoroughly by providing them with a purpose for writing,
a target audience and a model, if appropriate. For example, the homework task
‘Describe your home’ does not give the student any guidelines on how they should
approach the task. Should they write a formal, detailed description for an advertisement,
or an informal description to a new pen-friend aiming to share personal information, or
part of a description to a twin school giving detailed information on life in their own
country?
There will be a different focus to writing skills depending on the students’ level. At the
lower levels for example, the teacher will be focussing on the linking of simple
sentences together and the correct use of basic grammar and vocabulary. At higher
levels, however, the teacher will be focussing on much more, eg conventions of formal
and informal writing, the use of synonyms, appropriate use of conjunctions etc.
Marking Written Work
Judging a piece of writing can be quite difficult for a teacher. The best way to mark a
long piece of work is using criteria. Look carefully at the types of errors your students
are making. Give credit for what has been got right and highlight points to work on.
These can be in any area of writing, for example:
GRAMMAR Don’t forget your -ed endings on verbs in your story.
WORD CHOICE Try not to use the word ‘nice’ so much.
ORGANISATION Look again at where the paragraphs should go.
CONTENT How did the boy get to the castle?
MECHANICS I can’t read this sentence, please work on your handwriting.

Make a clear difference between content (what they wrote about), form (the layout and
style) and accuracy (language correctness).
Then when you comment on the students' work, you can make clear the difference
between an accurate but rather rude letter and a very polite and sensible letter that has
a lot of mistakes.
Always make the writing something to share and show to others. Make a list of good
phrases that students use and go over them in class together. Read little bits from good
work. Stick them up on posters and put them on the wall for all to see. Whatever you do,
make the students proud of their writing so that they want to make it look beautiful next
time.
Another useful way of dealing with errors is for a sheet to be handed out with the
students’ mistakes, for example 20 sentences taken from their writing. Let them correct
the mistakes – working in pairs or in a whole-class session. It's amazing how many
mistakes students themselves are able to correct. They also seem to enjoy this
technique.
Self-check 4
Self-check 4
Why is it that students are so often loath to put pen to paper to produce a piece of
written work?
Lesson 2. Writing (Part 2)
Examples of Writing Lessons

Beginner/elementary
An informal letter giving directions
Presentation:
Use flash cards to revise basic building vocabulary (ie The Bank, Cinema, Shop etc).
Use flannelboard to present basic directions/location/language. 'On the left, on the right'
'Turn left ......
Go down Low Street ......’ choral repetition.
Highlight imperative forms
Practice 1: Oral practice. Question and answer practice. Written reinforcement for
sentences on board.
Practice 2: Pairwork (Information Gap Activity)
Pairs (A+B) have street plans with 4 buildings located on each. They must ask their
partner for directions to, and locations of, the 4 buildings they do not have, and give
details of those which they do have.
Reading (Model text): A short passage giving directions to new students in the town is
given out. Students answer 5 questions (general comprehension) and have to locate the
school on the plan given in practice 2 above.
Students check in pairs.
Focus on any new verbs/vocabulary that did not come in the earlier practice, such as
‘roundabout’ or ‘cross over’.
Free Writing Teacher tells students: "It's your birthday on Friday and you are having a
party. You have invited your class to your house. They know where the school is, but
not where you live. Write a paragraph giving directions for them to follow from the
language school/college to your house".
(NB: If students live some distance away, you may need to pre-teach
take the number four bus from ..... get off at ......, etc) A simple handout with the layout
for an informal letter makes this easier. The students simply fill in the actual body of the
letter giving directions.
 Encourage the students to draw a small map to go with the directions as this is not only
realistic but gives you a chance to check if they are accurate or not.

Intermediate
Writing a film review
Stage 1: Lead-in
a) Ask students to describe different types of films (ie comedy, science fiction etc).
Teacher puts on board.
b) Pairwork - students discuss 'What makes a good film'. Feedback to teacher who puts
ideas onto the board (ie plot, soundtrack, actors, photography etc.)
Stage 2: Reading (Model text)
Hand out the text of a film review with general comprehension questions (short
exercise). The questions should simply check understanding of characters, plot, etc.
Students can also identify which of the characteristics of good films raised in 1b) above
were mentioned.
Stage 3: Grammar
Elicit grammatical features of the model text.

 Structures to be used in a review = present tenses

 Sequencing = after that, then, next, etc.
 Passive voice, adjectives and adverbs.

For example:
The direction is brilliant. - It is brilliantly directed.
The photography is impressive. - It is impressively photographed.
Exercises in these three give practice in the grammatical structures commonly found in
reviews.
Stage 4: Pairwork/oral practice
Students describe a film they have recently seen or particularly enjoyed. Their partner
takes notes. All the above should be included and the following basic outline followed.

 the background to the film

 the plot
 a scene the student particularly enjoyed
 the students' feelings about it, possible recommendation
 Discussing these points together familiarises the group with the language, grammar and
organisation. If the teacher takes the opportunity to make a clear collection of notes on
the board, this will then provide a plan for paragraphing a piece of writing.
Stage 5: Free Writing
"Write a review of a film you have recently seen".
A word limit of, say, 300-400 words is good as this is realistically how much space they
would be allowed in a magazine or newspaper.
NOTES

 Before you begin this lesson you should think carefully:

What do my students need to know about how a review is written?

 You cannot teach review writing if you have not first understood yourself how one is
structured. Be careful about the type of review you choose.
 Reviews are often full of cultural references that the students will find difficult. Here is an
example:

Pygmalion
Anyone who sees this marvellous production will have to agree that the play is far
superior to Lerner and Lowe’s sugar candied musical. It’s a pleasure to see the play
that Shaw wrote and to be reminded of his serious purpose back in 1914 when the play
caused a scandal. The notion that turning a flowergirl into a lady might actually be a
disservice may pack less punch today, but still resonates in these days of the WAG and
airhead celeb.

 Avoid giving such reviews as models; opt for ones with fewer cultural references, which
your students will be able to understand.
 It's useful to prepare this lesson then either take your group to the cinema or watch a
movie together and ask them to write a review of the film you have seen together.

Advanced
Advanced students need to recognise how signals are sent to the reader in order to
guide them through how a text hangs together. Using listening passages or reading
texts, or having other students giving an oral presentation can be used to present model
texts for studying linking devices at higher levels.
Composition writing - expressing an opinion
Model text
 Nowadays it is difficult for students in Further and Higher Education to study as much
as their course tutors would like them to. Indeed, it is unusual for students to spend
anything more than a quarter of the recommended number of hours doing their
coursework. Take the case of two students from Bristol University. Because of grant
cuts and rising costs, they are forced to take low paid work, for example, bar work,
supermarket shelf-stacking and kitchen work. For this, they can be paid less than £5.00
per hour. In other words, an hour's work would earn them just enough to buy a
sandwich.
Stage 1 Students read the text and identify

 phrases which exemplify (for example, take the case of .....)

 phrases which amplify (indeed…..)
 language used for rephrasing (in other words…..)

Stage 2 Guided Writing

Once the language for certain functions has been identified, it can be practised. A
simple sentence can be given and students can be asked to amplify or exemplify
accordingly. Gradually, language can be added with different functions, for example,
presenting a balanced argument (While it may be time that . . . Despite statistics which
reveal that . . . Although one can understand concern about . . .) The language for
counterarguments, rejecting these and leading to a final conclusion gives the basics for
a composition giving one's opinion.
Stage 3 Preparation for Writing
Give students a plan
1. Topic sentence - amplify
2. Main viewpoint - amplify
- rephrase
3. Counterargument - reject it and say why
4. Conclusion - your own opinion
Stage 4 Free Writing
"All post-16 education should be free" - Give your opinion in about 100 words.