Secondary English

Unit 3:
Helping your students to speak English

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
Learning outcomes .......................................................................................... 3
1 Give your students something to talk about .................................................. 4
2 Give your students the language they need ................................................ 10
3 Dont correct your students all of the time ................................................... 16
4 Summary .................................................................................................... 22
What next? .......................................................................................................... 22

5 Resources ................................................................................................... 23
Resource 1: Traditional stories ............................................................................ 23
Resource 2: Excerpt from textbook...................................................................... 23
Resource 3: Develop your own English ............................................................... 25
Resource 4: Further reading ................................................................................ 26

References .................................................................................................... 27
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 28

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated, the content of this unit is
made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Introduction
Many teachers find that their students can read and write quite well in English,
but that they have problems when they need to speak in English. Being able
to speak English well is a skill that will benefit students in life outside and
beyond school. It may help them to:

access higher education, and possibly studies or research abroad

get a better job in India, or work abroad
communicate with people from other countries and carry out
international business
engage with English as an associate official language in India, used for
inter-state commerce and communication
become part of an English-speaking culture and develop selfconfidence and self-worth.

However, many students do not get opportunities to speak the language in

their local environments, and the English class may be the only place where
they can practise speaking English. It is therefore important for you to provide
opportunities for your students to speak English in the classroom. In TDU 2,
English in the classroom, some examples were suggested. Students can:

use English to ask general questions about a lesson such as: What
does this word mean?
repeat words and dialogue after a teacher as a whole class (choral
repetition)
work in pairs and dictate some sentences from the textbook to each
other.

Pause for thought

The simple activities above get students speaking some English, but there are
many other activities that teachers can do. Look at the list below. Which
speaking activities are easier for students to do in the classroom? Which
speaking activities are more difficult?

Reciting sentences or poems.

Discussing a topic or a question; for example, Are wars a good way to end
conflict?, What kind of presents do you like to buy? or Do you think it is
right to kill an animal to save a human life?.
Practising formulaic phrases and expressions; for example, different
expressions to wish somebody good luck.
Telling a story; for example, a traditional story; or retelling a story that they
have just read in a textbook.
Describing an event or something that a student has experienced; for
example, a day at a fair, or a time when the student was scared.
Doing an interview or a survey; for example, asking classmates about their
likes and dislikes.

Describing a picture.
Role plays; for example, one student plays the role of a client looking for
accommodation; another plays the role of an accommodation agent.
Giving a presentation.

Some of the speaking activities above are easier for students in the
classroom; for example, practising formulaic phrases and expressions, or any
activity where the student is reading text aloud or repeating it. They may have
problems pronouncing the words, but the language is provided. They dont
have to think about the words they need to use, or the grammar.
Some activities are more difficult in the classroom, such as telling stories or
having discussions. In these kinds of activities, much of the language is not
provided for students. They have to think about what they are going to say,
the words and the grammar that they are going to use, and what the correct
pronunciation is. It can be very difficult to think about all of this, and many
students find it difficult to speak in English. They lack confidence.
Despite this, it is important for teachers to include all kinds of speaking
activities in their classes. This includes activities where language is provided,
such as reading aloud and repetition, and also activities where students have
to think of the language themselves, such as telling stories and discussions.
They can only develop their speaking skills if they have the opportunities to
practise and it is up to teachers to provide these.
Teachers can help their students to develop confidence when speaking
English and make speaking English easier for them by:

giving them something to talk about

giving them the language they need
not correcting mistakes all of the time.

If you use these techniques in your classroom, your students will be able to
speak English more confidently, and this may benefit them in both their school
studies and professional lives.

Learning outcomes
After studying this unit, you should be able to:

explain the importance of including speaking activities in the classroom

prepare simple speaking activities that your class would like to talk
about
prepare students for activities such as telling a story
explain the role of mistakes in speaking
give feedback to students after a speaking activity.

1 Give your students something to talk

about
As you have read, many students find it difficult to speak in English. There are
many ways that you can motivate your students and get them to speak the
language. One way is to try to make sure that the topics are interesting. If
students know something about the topic and have something to say, then
they are more likely to speak.

Pause for thought

Which topics do you think your students like to talk about? Write them down.
Look at the list of topics you have written. Are these topics in the textbooks
that you use to teach English?
Here are some topics from the NCERT textbooks for English. Read the topics
and make note of the ones that you think your class would enjoy talking
about. Discuss the list with a colleague if you can.
Accidents

Fairs and festivals

Monsoons

Animals (pets, wild

animals, desert
animals)

Faith

Prejudice

Friendship and family relationships

Quarrels

Beauty

Fears

Success and
hard work

Boring or household
chores

Flying
Traditional
stories

Flying kites
Childhood
Climbing Everest

Heroes and heroines (for example,

Einstein, Anne Frank, Nelson
Mandela)

Travel and trips

Historical events

Vanity

Hobbies

Wedding
ceremonies

Tsunami

Courage
Diaries
Different places in
India

Homes
Work and jobs

Disability

Homework

Dreams and ambitions Memory and forgetting things

Education and school

You and your colleagues may disagree about your choices, but it is likely that
some topics appeal more to secondary students than others.
In this part of the unit you will read a case study about a teacher who wants to
get his students speaking as much English as possible. He decides to make
the topic that he has to teach from the textbook easier for them to talk about.
The case study is followed by an activity that you can try in the classroom,
and a further activity related to groupwork.

Case Study 1: Mr Rangan relates the textbook topic to his

students lives
I teach English to Class VIII. I know its important for my students to practise
speaking, and I am trying to get them to speak more English in class, but
sometimes its difficult and they dont have much to say. For instance, one
chapter of the textbook had a passage called Bepin Choudhurys Lapse of
Memory (NCERT, 2006). This was followed by questions, which I asked my
students to discuss in English in pairs:
1. The author describes Bepin Babu as a serious and hardworking man.
What evidence can you find in the story to support this?
2. Why did Bepin Babu change his mind about meeting Chunilal? What
was the result of this meeting?
3. Bepin Babu lost consciousness at Hudroo Falls. What do you think was
the reason for this?
4. How do you think Bepin Babu reacted when he found out that Chunilal
had tricked him?
Then I walked around the room and listened to some pairs. The students read
the questions aloud, but they couldnt answer them very well. Some students
read out some sentences from the text, but many students said nothing at all.
After the class, I discussed this with a colleague from school.

Description
This illustration shows two teachers talking to each other. From the first, there
is a speech bubble which says Why do you think my students didn't speak in
English? The other teacher replies, I suppose there are many reasons. But
these questions are not very interesting. Maybe the students are not very
interested in talking about this topic.
End of description.
I decided to make the questions more interesting for the next chapter. This
chapter has a passage called The Summit Within (NCERT, 2006). The
passage is about Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia who was a member of the first
successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest in 1965. The text describes the
climbers feelings about reaching the summit of Everest. I know that my
students do not know much about H.P.S. Ahluwalia or mountain climbing, and
that the event happened a long time ago. But I know that my students are
interested in sport, and enjoy talking about it.
I tried a different activity with my class. I asked them to say the names of their
favourite sporting heroes. Then I wrote some sentences on the board and I
asked them to complete them:

Description

This is an illustration of a board with four sentences written on it. The

sentences are The greatest sports person of India is , Their greatest
achievement is , Their recent record is and I also like this person
because
End of description.
I told students to complete the sentences individually, and then to compare
their sentences in groups of four or five. As they discussed, I walked around
the room and I listened to one or two groups. Some of the groups were very
animated and disagreed about the choices. I noticed that some students were
using their home languages at times, and some were mixing English and their
home languages. Where this was the case, I encouraged them to use English,
and helped them if they needed any words or phrases. I also know that they
may use their home languages at times when they are motivated to speak,
but I decided that this did not matter so much as long as they were speaking
some English, and as long as they were motivated.
After three or four minutes I stopped the activity and I asked three or four
groups to say who the greatest sports person of India is. I then asked them to
name some sports heroes of the past, but they could only name one or two. I
asked if students had heard of Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia. They hadnt, so I
asked if they could guess what sport he was famous for. The students
guessed a few sports, and then I asked them to open their books at Chapter
5. They immediately saw that he was famous for mountain climbing.
Now, whenever I think that a topic in the textbook is difficult for students to
talk about, I try to relate it to their lives and interests. This helps them to speak
in English more and to be more interested in the textbook too.

Activity 1: Try in the classroom: relating a textbook topic to

your students lives
In the case study, the teacher tried to provide opportunities for his students to
speak in English. He knew that some of the topics in the textbook were
difficult for students, so he tried to make them more interesting and easier to
talk about by relating them to the students lives. You can try this technique in
your classroom. Follow these steps:
1. What is the next topic in your textbook? Is it one that your students would
enjoy talking about?
2. If it is, write down some sentences about the topic that they can complete.
For example, if the topic is wedding ceremonies, you could write
sentences such as:

The last wedding I went to was

A good wedding should have
The best food at a wedding is

3. If the topic is more difficult for them to talk about, then you need to think
more about the sentences. For example, if the topic is about a hero that
your students dont know, then you could write some statements such as:

My hero is
I like this person because
This persons greatest achievement is

4. In class, write the statements on the board, and ask your students to
complete them. Give them a time limit of three or four minutes for this.
5. Organise your class into groups of four or five, and tell them to compare
their sentences. Allow five minutes for this task.
6. As they share their sentences, walk around the room and give help
students who need it. Encourage everyone to use English where possible,
but remember that this activity is to make students feel more confident.

Pause for thought

After trying this activity in class, think about the following questions:

How did the activity go?

Was it easy to think of sentences for students to complete?
Did everyone work well in groups?
How much English and home language did they use?
How can you encourage them to use more English?
Can you think of other topics that your students would like to talk about?

Why not ask your students which topics they would like to talk about? You
could show them the list of topics you read earlier, and ask them to vote for
the topics that interest them.

Activity 2: Groupwork
Read what one teacher thinks about the activity in Case Study 1:

Description

This is an illustration of a thought bubble, which reads I think my students

would find this activity interesting but I have never used groupwork before,
and I am not sure how to do it. What should I do?
End of description.
Write down some advice that you would give to this teacher and then
compare it with the advice discussed below. Add your notes to the list.
Discussion

Description
This is an illustration of four speech bubbles, which read Make sure students
understand what they need to do before they start working in groups. You
must give clear instructions., Set up the groups quickly for example, the
students in one row can turn around to face the students behind them to make
a group of four or five. If you do this regularly, students will get used to it, and
they will make groups very efficiently. Or maybe they could work outside?, All
the students in the group need to be close enough to hear the other members
when they speak and see what they have written, if necessary. and Walk
around the room when students are working in groups, and help where
necessary. You wont be able to listen to every group, so try to listen to
different groups each time.
End of description.
End of discussion.

2 Give your students the language they

need
Students may find speaking in English difficult for many reasons. One of these
reasons is that they may not know anything about the topic, or may not be
interested in talking about it. Another reason is that they may not have the
language they need to speak.

Pause for thought

Imagine that your students have the following task: Talk about a time when
you were scared.
They may be interested in this topic, and may enjoy hearing their classmates
stories. However, it is quite difficult to tell a story even in your home
language. Most students would need some support for this kind of activity.
They would need help with both the grammar and vocabulary. What could you
do to help? Write down your ideas and compare them with the list below. Add
any ideas that you missed to your own list.
Teachers could help students with language using any of the following
techniques:

Tell everyone about a day when you were scared. You could prepare
the story in advance. Keep the account short, and tell the story slowly.
Use grammar and vocabulary that students might use in their accounts.
Write some useful phrases and sentences on the board, for example:
One day, I was , I heard/saw , It was a , I felt very
scared/afraid/frightened and so on. You can prepare these words
and phrases before the class. Lower level students could just complete
the sentences, as in Case Study 1.
Ask a few students to give some examples of when they were scared
they could do this in their home language if necessary. You could write
some of the key words on the board in English as they talk.
Remind them that they need to use the past tense, and quickly revise
some common past tenses.
Remind them of words and phrases that are useful when telling a story
such as sequencers (first, next, then).
Give your class some time to think about and note down the words and
phrases they will need. Note that it is useful to give students time to
think about the event too they may need some time to think of a time
when they were scared.

In this part of the unit, you will read about a group of students who are
practising telling a story in English. As you read Case Study 2, think about
how the teacher supports them, and helps them with language. This is
followed by an analysis, and then an activity that you can try in the classroom.

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Case Study 2: Mrs Vaasanthi helps her students to tell a

story
I teach English in an Indian language medium school, and I do a lot of
speaking activities in my class. Let me tell you about an activity I did recently
with Class XIII.
We were studying Chapter 2 from the NCERT Class VIII textbook, Honeydew,
which had a traditional story about an ant and a cricket. My students know
many different folk tales about animals, so I thought that they could learn to
tell one in English. I decided to use one of my daughters favourite stories: the
Panchantra tale called The Snake and the Crows. [See Resource 1 for a
simple version of this story.]
I began the story by showing my class pictures of three animals: a snake, a
crow and a fox. I found the pictures in my daughters story book.

Description
This is an illustration of a cartoon snake, crow and fox.
End of description.
I drew a tree on the board and stuck the picture of the crow at the top of the
tree, and stuck the snake at the bottom of the tree. Then I told the simple
story, asking questions along the way. Here is an example:
Me

Student
Me
Students
Me

Student

This is a story about a crow and his wife.

They lived at the top of the tree in a nest.
What was in the nest? Can you guess?
Eggs?
Yes, that's right. There were eggs in the nest.
How many eggs?
Three? Two? Six? Four?
Good! There were four eggs in the nest. Now,
there was a snake at the bottom of the tree.
What do you think the snake liked to eat?
Crows?

11

Me

Student
Me

Students
Me

Not quite! The snake liked to eat eggs, and

he wanted to eat the crows eggs. He couldnt
eat them because the crows were always
there, looking after the eggs. But soon, they
were hungry, and they left to find some food.
What did the snake do? Can you guess?
He ate the eggs!
Yes, thats right! He climbed up the tree and
he ate all of the eggs. How do you think the
crows felt?
They were sad.
Yes, they were very upset. After a few weeks,
they had more eggs.

In this simple way, by asking lots of questions and using the pictures, I told
the story to the group. Once the story was finished, I invited my students to
tell me the story again in English: one told the first line, another told the
second and so on. As they told the story, I wrote key words on the board
(crows, nest, at the top, snake, at the bottom, upset) and I also wrote
some key verbs in the past (lived, liked, wanted to eat, climbed). I
reminded everyone that we use the past tense to tell stories.
Then I put students into groups of four or five. They are used to working in
groups, as we often do this, so they got into groups quickly. Then I told
everyone to start telling the story to each other. I told them that one student
would start the story, the next would continue and so on. The groups started
to tell the story, and as they spoke, I walked around the room listening to
make sure that they understood the task and to see how they were performing
the task.
When most groups had finished telling the story, I told everyone to stop, and
asked:

Description
This is an illustration of a speech bubble, which reads Do you feel that you
could have told the story better?
End of description.
Most students agreed that they could, so I asked them to tell the story again.
This time, I asked them to choose different parts of the story, so that the
person who began the previous time would not begin this time.

12

Groups began telling the story again and as they spoke, I moved around the
room once more, listening to two or three groups. I noticed that they were
better this time. There was an improvement in the use of language, and
students could speak more quickly and confidently. They were more fluent.
They made some mistakes, of course, but I didnt interrupt them I just
listened.
When most groups were ready to finish, I told students to stop the activity,
and I told them that they were better the second time they told the story. My
students were pleased that they could tell a story together.

Activity 3: Analysing Case Study 1

What do you think about the activity that Mrs Vaasanthi did with her students?
Think about the following questions, and if possible discuss them with a
colleague. You can make notes.

The teacher used pictures in the case study. How can pictures be
useful?
It is very difficult for most students to tell a story in English without any
support. How did the teacher help her students?
They told the story to each other in groups. What is the benefit of
working in groups for this activity?
Groups told the story again. Why?

Discussion

Pictures can be a really good way to get students speaking. You can
show a picture and ask them to guess what is happening, or you can
use them to help students understand a story. In the case study, the
pictures also acted as prompts when the class was ready to tell the
story.
In the case study, the teacher and students constructed the story
together, and they listened to the teacher telling the story. The teacher
wrote key words and phrases on the board. When students told the
story in groups, less confident ones were able to use the support on
the board, and more confident members of the class were able to use
different words and phrases if they wanted.
If we ask one or two individuals from a class to tell a story, then only
those individuals get to practise speaking. If students work in groups to
tell a story, then everybody gets a chance to speak. It is important for
all students to practise speaking as much as possible. It is only by
speaking English as much and as often as possible that students can
improve.
It can be very useful for students to do a speaking activity twice
sometimes. The first time is a kind of rehearsal and allows them to
practise what they are going to say; on the second time, it will be easier
for them to use new language, and they will be more fluent and
confident.

13

End of discussion.

Activity 4: Try in the classroom: helping your students to

tell a story
In Case Study 1, the teacher told students a simple story using pictures. She
wrote key words and phrases on the board, and then asked them to retell the
story in groups. Do the following steps to try a similar activity in your
classroom:
1. Choose a story that you and your students can tell. The story could be:

A traditional story of your or your students choice. See Resource 1 for

some examples of simple traditional stories.
Events from a story or passage that they have read in class (for
example, they imagine that they are a character from a story and
describe what happened).
A local news story that has captured the interest of your class.
An event from personal experience (for example, a time when you
were scared or very happy, or a day at a fair, wedding or picnic).

2. Before the class, find some pictures that relate to the story. This could be
a picture from a story book or the textbook; a picture from a magazine or
newspaper; or a photo of an event, such as a wedding or picnic. If it is not
possible, you could draw a picture on the board, or ask a student to draw
the picture.

3. If students dont know the story already, tell them the story simply and
slowly. You can practise telling the story before the class. Remember to
ask questions as you tell the story. If they already know the story, ask lots
more questions so that you and the students tell the story together.
4. Write useful words and phrases on the board. You can adjust the amount
that you write on the board depending on the level and ability of your
students. Students who are not used to speaking English may need more
support with language. If the story is A day at a picnic, you might write the
following phrases:

14

Description
This is an illustration of a board with several words and phrases on, which
read Last ...I went on a picnic., It was a ... day, I went with ..., We ate ...,
We drank ..., I felt ... because ..., week, Saturday ..., sunny, rainy ...,
friends, mother, sister, grandparents ..., rice, fish, mangoes ..., milk ... and
happy ...
End of description
5. Put students into groups and ask them to take it in turns to tell their stories.
Remember that groups are speaking at the same time.
6. Move around the room as students tell the stories. Listen to some groups.
Make sure that you listen to different students each time you do a
speaking activity, and listen to ones from the back of the room as well as
the front.
7. When most groups have finished telling their stories, end the activity.
8. If you have time, students could tell their stories again.

Pause for thought

After trying this activity with your students, think about the following questions:

How easy was it to choose and tell the initial story?

Did the words and phrases help the students to tell their stories?
How did they work in groups? Did it go well?
Did everyone have the opportunity to speak in English?
What would you do differently next time?

15

3 Dont correct your students all of the

time
So far in this unit, you have learned about techniques that teachers can use to
get their students speaking more in English: relating topics to students lives
and providing language support. These techniques help students to be more
motivated about speaking, and to speak more confidently in English, but this
does not mean that they will not make mistakes when they speak. Learning to
speak another language takes time, and it is very likely that most of your
students will make mistakes when they speak in English. These might relate
to vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation.
In Case Study 2, you read about a teacher who did a storytelling activity in
groups with her students. Did you notice that the teacher said the following?

Description
This is an illustration of a speech bubble, which reads They made some
mistakes of course, but I didn't interrupt them, I just listened.
End of description

Pause for thought

Why do you think the teacher didnt correct her students when they were
doing the speaking activity? Write your ideas down, and if you can, discuss
them with a colleague.
There are times when it is useful to correct students mistakes, for example
when they are practising a specific grammar point or the pronunciation of
vocabulary or sentences.
If the focus of your activity or lesson is on accuracy, or using grammar,
words or pronunciation correctly, then it is a good idea to correct. However, if
the focus of your class is always on accuracy and students are corrected
every time they speak, they may become demoralised, and may decide that it
is safer not to speak at all. There is also evidence that correcting mistakes
does not help learners of a language speak more accurately. It is believed
that mistakes play a role in language learning, and when students make
mistakes, they are learning and internalising the language. Making mistakes is

16

part of the language learning process. In any case, it is not possible to correct
every mistake when students are doing speaking activities in groups.
If students are to become fluent, confident speakers of English, then they
need to practise English and make mistakes. Classes need to include some
activities in which they can speak without being interrupted.

Pause for thought

So what can teachers do when students make mistakes as they are doing a
speaking activity in groups? Write down your ideas, and if you can, discuss
them with a colleague.
Read Case Study 3, in which a teacher describes how he deals with mistakes
made in activities designed to encourage fluency. This is followed by an
activity that you can try in your classroom.

Case Study 3: Mrs Elam deals with mistakes made in a

speaking activity
Let me tell you about a speaking activity that I did with my Class X students.
We had just been studying the passage Tea from Assam from Chapter 7 of
the NCERT Class X textbook First Flight [see Resource 2]. Students had
discussed a lot of information about tea: its popularity around the world; the
best tea and how to make it; the history of growing and drinking it; and
legends surrounding the drink.
Now I asked the class to imagine that they wanted to buy some tea, and I
asked them what phrases they might use and wrote them on the board.

Description

17

This is an illustration on a board on which five phrases are written, which read
Which is the best tea?, I find it difficult to sleep. Do you have any tea that
can help me?, Do you have anything that goes with this tea?, How much is
...? and That's very expensive! Have you got any cheaper tea?
End of description
Then I organised my students into pairs and told them to imagine that they
owned a tea shop. I told them to imagine what they sold in the shop and to
write a menu with prices. I gave them around five minutes to do this. I then
asked them what phrases they might use to sell their items and wrote them on
the board.

Description
This is an illustration on a board on which five phrases are written, which read
Which tea would you like?, How much money do you have?, I would like to
recommend this tea. It is very good for the health. It is from the second flush.,
Would you like anything else? and These cakes would go very nicely with
this tea.
End of description
Finally, I put two pairs together to make groups of four. I gave them these
instructions:

18

Description
This is an illustration of a speech bubble, which reads One pair in the group
owns a tea shop, and the other two are customers. The tea shop owners must
show their menu to the customers. The customers have 100 rupees to spend
they must spend all of the money. Customers buy as much as you can for
the best price! Shop owners sell as much as you can for the best price!
End of description
I told the groups to begin, and they began playing the roles of shop owners
and customers.

Description
This is a photograph of a teacher listening to her students carry out a role play
as a group.
End of description
It wasnt possible for me to listen to all of the groups in that time, so I
concentrated on three groups. I always make sure that I focus on different
groups of students each time we do a speaking activity in class. As they
spoke, I listened and made a note of mistakes that they were making. I didnt
19

note down every mistake, of course, but I noted down mistakes that were
common. I also noted down some good phrases that students were using.
After four minutes or so, I told everyone to swap roles that is, the shop
owners were now customers and vice versa. This time they were really getting
into the roles and were making some good bargains!
When they had finished, I looked at my notes, and told the class things that
they had done well, and gave some examples of good language use. Then I
copied ten of the sentences with mistakes on the board. I chose mistakes
which many of the students made, and I was careful not to say who made the
mistakes, as that could be humiliating. Here are some examples of the
sentences with mistakes:

Description
This is an illustration of a board, which reads That is much expensive! I don't
have money! and But this tea is so good for you health.
End of description.
I then said:

Description
This is an illustration of a speech bubble, which reads Here are some of the
sentences I heard. These sentences have mistakes. Can you write down the
sentences correctly?
End of description

20

I gave everyone five minutes to write the sentences correctly, and then I
asked them for the correct versions. As they read out the correct versions, I
corrected the sentences on the board. I believe that this is a useful activity to
do because it helps students think about their mistakes and grammar, and it
also helps them to see that we are correcting their mistakes when they do
speaking activities.
The notes I make when students are speaking are also useful for me in
keeping records for CCE (see TDU 13, Assessment for learning and TDU 14,
Assessment 2). After speaking activities, I make notes about the students I
listen to, and it helps me to see their progress and assess them.

Activity 5: Try in the classroom: dealing with mistakes after

a speaking activity
In Case Study 3, students do a speaking activity in groups. They play the
roles of shop owner and customer. This kind of activity is called a role play. As
they act out the roles, the teacher listens to some groups and notes down
some common, typical mistakes. You can use this technique when your
students are doing any speaking activity. Follow these steps:
1. The next time your students carry out a speaking activity in groups,
focus on one or two groups. Make sure you choose different groups
and students each time.
2. Write down common and typical mistakes in your notebook (remember
that you can write down positive things too, such as phrases that are
used very well).
3. After the activity, write no more than ten of the sentences with mistakes
on the board.
4. Tell students that the sentences have mistakes but dont tell them what
the mistakes are. Remember not to tell students who made the
mistakes as this can be humiliating for them.
5. Give your students some time to think about and correct the mistakes
individually.
6. Ask students to correct the mistakes on the board. Make sure you
correct the versions written on the board.
7. Always make sure you tell your class what they did well too.

Pause for thought

After trying this activity with your students, think about the following questions:

Was it easy to note down common and typical mistakes?

Were your students able to spot and correct the mistakes by themselves?

Continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE)

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Description
CCE logo.
End of description
This technique is useful for focusing on mistakes and grammar. Your notes
are also useful for CCE. You can use them as records about students
performance in speaking. Make notes about different students each time they
do a speaking activity. Remember that students respond to positive feedback
too.
Reward them for using English in the classroom. You could create a chart that
lists all your students names. Each time one of your students speaks some
English in class, you could add a star next to their name.

4 Summary
Learning to speak in another language is difficult and it requires confidence. In
this unit, you have considered three ways that you can make it easier for
students: by giving them interesting topics to talk about (that relate to their
lives); by giving them the language they need for speaking activities; and by
using an alternative way to correct students mistakes when speaking in
English.
What three key things have you learnt in this unit?
You have had the opportunity to try some techniques out in the classroom:

Which techniques have worked well with your students?

Which activities did not work so well?
Can you make any changes to make them work better?
Which activities will you continue to use?

What next?
If you would like to develop your own speaking skills, see Resource 3. See
Resource 4 for links to further reading.
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5 Resources
Resource 1: Traditional stories
The Snake and the Crows
There were two crows that had a nest at the top of a Banyan tree. A snake
lived at the bottom of the tree. The crows had four eggs in the nest, and didnt
want to leave the nest. They were afraid that the snake would eat the eggs.
Eventually, they were hungry and flew from the nest to find food.
While they were away, the snake climbed the tree and ate the eggs. The
crows were very sad.
A few weeks later, they had four more eggs in their nest. They were afraid to
leave the nest so they stayed there as long as they could. Eventually, they
needed to leave to look for food. One again, the snake climbed the tree and
ate the eggs. The crows were very upset.
They talked to a fox who gave them a cunning plan. The crows flew to the
Kings castle and stole the princesss favourite necklace. They flew past the
guards, showing the necklace. The guards chased the crows towards the tree.
The crows dropped the necklace onto the snake. The guards killed the snake
and got the necklace. Now the snake was dead the crows could have some
babies.

Resource 2: Excerpt from textbook

Excerpt from NCERT Class X textbook, First Flight (Chapter 7)

Tea from Assam

Pranjol, a youngster from Assam, is Rajvirs classmate at school in Delhi.
Pranjols father is the manager of a tea-garden in Upper Assam and Pranjol
has invited Rajvir to visit his home during the summer vacation.
CHAI-GARAM garam-chai, a vendor called out in a high-pitched voice. He
came up to their window and asked, Chai, saab?
Give us two cups, Pranjol said.
They sipped the steaming hot liquid. Almost everyone in their compartment
was drinking tea too.
Do you know that over eighty crore cups of tea are drunk every day
throughout the world? Rajvir said.

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Whew! exclaimed Pranjol. Tea really is very popular.

The train pulled out of the station. Pranjol buried his nose in his detective
book again. Rajvir too was an ardent fan of detective stories, but at the
moment he was keener on looking at the beautiful scenery. It was green,
green everywhere. Rajvir had never seen so much greenery before. Then the
soft green paddy fields gave way to tea bushes.
It was a magnificent view. Against the backdrop of densely wooded hills a sea
of tea bushes stretched as far as the eye could see. Dwarfing the tiny tea
plants were tall sturdy shade-trees and amidst the orderly rows of bushes
busily moved doll-like figures. In the distance was an ugly building with smoke
billowing out of tall chimneys.
Hey, a tea garden! Rajvir cried excitedly. Pranjol, who had been born and
brought up ona plantation, didnt share Rajvirs excitement.
Oh, this is tea country now, he said. Assam has the largest concentration of
plantations in the world.
You will see enough gardens to last you a lifetime!
I have been reading as much as I could about tea, Rajvir said. No one really
knows who discovered tea but there are many legends.
What legends?
Well, theres the one about the Chinese emperor who always boiled water
before drinking it. One day a few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell
into the water giving it a delicious flavour. It is said they were tea leaves.
Tell me another! scoffed Pranjol.
We have an Indian legend too. Bodhidharma, an ancient Buddhist ascetic,
cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during meditations. Ten tea plants
grew out of the eyelids. The leaves of these plants when put in hot water and
drunk banished sleep.
Tea was first drunk in China, Rajvir added, as far back as 2700 BC! In fact
words such as tea, chai and chini are from Chinese. Tea came to Europe
only in the sixteenth century and was drunk more as medicine than as
beverage.
The train clattered into Mariani junction. The boys collected their luggage and
pushed their way to the crowded platform. Pranjols parents were waiting for
them. Soon they were driving towards Dhekiabari, the tea-garden managed
by Pranjols father. An hour later the car veered sharply off the main road.
They crossed a cattle-bridge and entered Dhekiabari Tea Estate.

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On both sides of the gravel-road were acre upon acre of tea bushes, all neatly
pruned to the same height. Groups of tea-pluckers, with bamboo baskets on
their backs, wearing plastic aprons, were plucking the newly sprouted leaves.
Pranjols father slowed down to allow a tractor, pulling a trailer-load of tea
leaves, to pass.
This is the second-flush or sprouting period, isnt it, Mr Barua? Rajvir asked.
It lasts from May to July and yields the best tea.
You seem to have done your homework before coming, Pranjols father said
in surprise.
Yes, Mr Barua, Rajvir admitted. But I hope to learn much more while Im
here.

Resource 3: Develop your own English

Here is a list of phrases that could be useful for carrying out the activities in
this unit.

Telling a story
Would you like to hear a story?
One day, many years ago, there was a
What do you think happened next?
Can you guess?
How did he/she feel? What do you think?
Now its your turn.

Correcting mistakes after a speaking activity

You spoke very well.
Look at these phrases on the board.
There are some mistakes.
What are the mistakes?
Whats wrong with this sentence?
Whats wrong with this word?

25

Does anyone know the correct word?

Can anyone write the correct sentence?
Here are some tips and links for developing your own speaking skills:

Listen to as much English as you can, for example on the radio or the
Internet.
Watch movies or TV programmes in English if you can.
Read English texts aloud to yourself. If you can, record yourself and
listen to it. Then do it again!

Practise speaking with your colleagues or anyone else who speaks English.
Perhaps you could start a local English club where you chat in English for one
hour a week?

Resource 4: Further reading

Here are some links to articles and tips for teachers of English about helping
students to speak in English:

Teaching speaking skills 1 (TeachingEnglish, 2003)

Getting teenagers talking (TeachingEnglish, 2011)
Reluctant talkers 1 (TeachingEnglish, 2009)
Reluctant talkers part 2 (TeachingEnglish, 2010)

Find many more traditional stories on these websites:

Animation stories (Jingukid, undated)

Stories for kids (Mocomi, undated)

An article about correcting mistakes in speaking activities:

Classroom management: speaking correction techniques (Mumford

and Darn, 2005)

A series by the BBC World Service about improving speaking skills:

Talk about English: better speaking (BBC Learning English, undated)

Articles and websites about storytelling:

Storytelling benefits and tips (TeachingEnglish, 2003)

Telling a story (TeachingEnglish, 2009)
Storytelling in the classroom (Story Arts, undated)
Storytelling in the EFL speaking classroom (Jianing, 2007)

26

References
BBC Learning English (undated) Talk about English: better speaking
(online). Available from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/tae_betterspeakin
g_archive.shtml (accessed 29 January 2014).
Jianing, X. (2007) Storytelling in the EFL speaking classroom (online), The
Internet TESL Journal, vol. XIII, no. 11, November. Available from:
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Jianing-Storytelling.html (accessed 29 January
2014).
Jingukid (undated) Animation stories (online). Available from:
http://jingukid.com/flash/animation-topics#.UqrX_vRdXdc (accessed 29
January 2014).
Mocomi (undated) Stories for kids (online). Available from:
http://mocomi.com/fun/stories/ (accessed 29 January 2014).
Mumford, S. and Darn, S. (2005) Classroom management: speaking
correction techniques (online), onestopenglish. Available from:
http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/classroommanagement/classroom-management-speaking-correctiontechniques/146455.article (accessed 29 January 2014).
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006a) Honeydew:
Textbook in English for Class VIII, National Council of Educational Research
and Training. Available from:
http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm (accessed 27 January
2014).
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006b) First Flight:
Textbook in English for Class X, National Council of Educational Research
and Training. Available from:
http://www.ncert.nic.in/NCERTS/textbook/textbook.htm (accessed 27 January
2014).
Story Arts (undated) Storytelling in the classroom (online). Available from:
http://www.storyarts.org/classroom/ (accessed 29 January 2014).
TeachingEnglish, http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ (accessed 29 January
2014).

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Acknowledgements
The content of this teacher development unit was developed collaboratively
and incrementally by the following educators and academics from India and
The Open University (UK) who discussed various drafts, including the
feedback from Indian and UK critical readers: Kim Ashmore and Ramanujam
Meganathan.
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated, the content of this unit is
made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
The material acknowledged below is Proprietary, used under licence and not
subject to any Creative Commons licensing.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the

following:
CCE logo: http://www.cbse.nic.in
Clip art: used with permission from Microsoft.
Resource 2: extract from Chapter 7 of First Flight: Textbook in English for
Class X (http://www.ncert.nic.in/).
Video clips and stills: thanks are extended to the heads and students in our
partner schools across India who worked with The Open University in this
production.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been
inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the
necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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