Public speaking: Comparison speech preparation with "would you rather..." gambits

In today's seminar class, this semester's theme being public speaking, we began a new section on comparison speeches. The goal is for everyone to make a speech comparing two things that are important to him or her.

Since today's class was a preparation class, we did impromptu speeches on topics that began with the question, "Would you rather..." I translated a list of these gambits that are listed here into English and used them with some modifications to make them applicable to my students. For example, "Would you rather have a one-year supply of chocolate or a lifetime supply of potatoes," I changed potatoes to rice.

The students enjoyed it, and are now ready to prepare topics for comparison.

When Less Might Be More: Improptu vs. Planned Conversation

Recorded student conversations today. They had been working on conversations for several weeks, and they have finally put themselves in front of a video camera and spoken to each other.

The objectives were to :
1.) build student confidence in their ability to speak English;
2.) activate vocabulary and grammar ability so that students can speak about themselves, their interests and those of one other;
3.) encourage collaborative language learning.

The suggested theme was, "Tell me about yourself." Students were asked to choose a partner. The teachers gave them a suggested pattern for the conversation: (Greeting, Small talk, Topics, Farewell), gambits for initiating a conversation (for example offering your name and then a statement about the state of your current condition, and leave taking strategies.

After the pair was finished with their conversation, they had an interview with the teacher, where they were asked to share information about their experience with the recording, ideas about the class in general, and then to talk about their English Log 2.0's.

The exit inverviews were all very similar, with most students saying that they were nervous. A few said that they enjoyed it.

My conclusion after this experience, though, is that rather than prepare for this kind of event for some weeks, the objectives stated above may be better achieved by providing less time for perparation and more time in conversation.

In the next cycle, I will provide less time for preparation, and focus their attention more on communicating.

Advanced English Class: A Better Way curriculum

My first experience with a class of near-native English speakers was about 24 years ago. It was similar to the group that I have now, a group of professionals who use English for their work, who want a place to exercise their linguistic muscles, but who want to do little else with it in terms of serious development.

The question I ask week after week is, "What do I do," and "What do they want"? I am little better off in answering either of those questions now than I was 24 years ago.

Then last week there was a problem. One of the participants became frustrated with one of the others' pedantic questions and comments and blew up at him. It didn't come to blows, but it emphasized to me that everyone is there for slightly different reasons, and that not all of their needs are being met.

This is a group class, so I am now struggling to find a way to insure that all of their needs are met. My overall conclusion is that they should have more autonomy than they do now to choose and discuss topics that are of interest to them.

These are how I plan to structure future classes, starting tonight.

• I will give them the task of deciding what topics are covered for the 6-week period. (I have done that in previous sessions, but with limited success, mostly because the proposed topics did not include learning-specific options. For example I gave them lists that included topics such as music or food, but which did not include options such as TOEIC preparation, or learning strategies.)
• I will include learning-specific options in the list, including TOEIC preparation, learning strategies, public speaking, and Internet options for learning. 
• Finally I plan to give them their own time for asking questions to me or other learners about the topic at hand. Depending on the number of students, I could imagine giving each learner 5 minutes to ask, comment on, or just express themselves on topics that interest them.

Advanced learners attend classes for a variety of reasons, and the teacher's role in these settings is to provide the space for each one to express her/his needs and fulfill them for him/herself.