Teaching speaking to young learners

Objectives:

● Understand primary school children’s oral production processes and strategies

when they learn a second language.

● Evaluate and modify teaching materials to work on speaking and interacting.

Introduction
Let’s go over some key concepts developed in Module 2. Shin and Crandall (2014) describe the
characteristics of young learners. They say they are energetic and active, they are curious by nature
and love make-believe, but their attention span tends to be short. They are social and need to
understand in order to learn. Meaning is of paramount importance to them and they use language
meaningfully to construct and convey meanings.

This view of language is central to considering it a social practice, rather than an instrument or tool
completely external to human beings. When using language in society, humans communicate in
terms of written and oral texts instead of sentences and paragraphs, and their main concern is how
to put meaning across. Syntactic and lexical areas are linguistic and discursive resources people use
to convey the meanings they want to share with others.

These points are essential and crucial when designing teaching units for young learners. We need
to consider that a text should be the starting point to expose learners to language. From the
reflection on the text, its meanings and its characteristics, we focus on a certain aspect of language,
i.e. a lexical area, a structure or tense, for instance, and we provide plenty of meaningful language
practice for students in which meaning is central. We should go from accessible recognition
activities such as numbering, identifying, in which there are elements to scaffold learners’
recognition, to a bit more demanding recognition activities which may involve some production on
their part, though not of the language point in question. For instance, when working with a lexical
area, we may only show part of a picture and ask students, e.g. “Is this a pencil?” Their production
will be just “Yes” or “No”. How do we start with their oral production? This is what we will deal with
next.
What is speaking?
Kirkgöz (2019) describes speaking as “the active use of language to express meaning. Speaking
involves expressing ideas, opinions or a need to do something and establishing and maintaining
social relationships and friendships” (p.172). Considering the characteristics of the young learner,
we need to consider the following when designing speaking activities and tasks. First, there is need
for teachers to consider socially meaningful purposes. Though a common activity in young learners’
classrooms may be the physical description of a person, unless there is a clear meaningful
communicative purpose for such descriptions, young learners will find it difficult to make
connections between communication and what they are learning in the English class. The learners’
age and cognitive development is also important when designing activities. In other words, speaking
activities need to be designed considering learners’ linguistic and developmental needs.

What characteristics should speaking activities have?

Cameron (2001) asserts that two principles should underlie all activities:

“- Meaning must come first: if children do not understand the spoken language, they cannot learn
it.

- To learn discourse skills, children need both to participate in discourse and to build up knowledge
and skills for participation” (p.36).

How can teachers help students build up knowledge of discourse? Young learners should start from
the whole that is an oral text, and from there, reflect on the parts with their teacher’s guidance and
help. What teachers need to consider is the following if their aim is the development of discourse
skills in their learners:

Types of discourse

• Their organisation and components;

• The language typically used in their construction;
• An understanding of children’s developing communication skills and cognitive abilities;
• The importance of working outwards from the familiar;
• The primacy of narrative;
• The educational significance of paradigmatically organised discourse” (ibid, p.57).

How can these discourse skills be gradually developed? Cameron suggests that this can be done
by providing learners with the support they need, by designing meaningful motivating
activities which topics are close to learners, through the task structure and language practice. It is
important to point out that this language practice should not be done in isolation but based on the
meanings conveyed in the texts used for exposure. Young learners, in particular those in the first
cycle of primary school, are not aware of how Spanish –the language of instruction at school– works,
but they can definitely use it to convey the meanings they need. The same principles should apply
when we help young learners focus on language. Concepts such as ‘auxiliary’ mean little if any to
young learners. First, the concept of a linguistic auxiliary does not exist in Spanish. Second, learners
lack the metalanguage and cognitive ability to make abstractions and talk about language as an
object of study.

Kirkgöz (op.cit) agrees with these principles since she states that “speaking tasks with children
should provide plenty of support in terms of structure to enable them to use language confidently
and effectively” (p. 174).

Reflection activity 1

Analyse the following activity in terms of the principles addressed.

Describe the boy. Use He has….. and He doesn’t have…..

The cognitive demands are not high, language is simple enough and there is linguistic support for
learners. However, younger learners will naturally describe what a person looks like rather than
saying which characteristics this person does not have. This has to do with their cognitive
development. Then, there is the issue of meaningfulness. Even without knowing if learners have
had exposure to this type of text, why would they describe a person they can all see? Why would
the rest listen to the learner? What text type is it? As suggested before, they may understand what
they are asked to do, but they will not understand why they are asked to do so.
 Reflection activity 2

How is this second activity different from the first one?

Describe one of the members of the family. Don’t say which one. Give three clues. Can
your friends guess?

Use He/She has…. He/She doesn’t have…

The key point is that in this second activity, there is a need for a learner to describe and there is also
a natural need for the rest to listen.

Watch the following video, activities 1 and 3, and answer these questions:

Is language used meaningfully? How can you tell?

Top Speaking Games/ Activities! ESL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfDFfmAufY
You may have concluded that in the first activity, language is used meaningfully whereas in the
second one, it is not. In the first one, students will be focusing on meaning, on how to change a
classical story so that they should like them better. In the second case, the role play, students have
to create a dialogue but there is no real need to communicate.

It is very important to remember that speaking involves interaction, even if the

others only listen. There should be a need to communicate, which makes the activity
meaningful to learners. In this respect, the context is essential and students should
be familiar with it.

Designing speaking activities

Shin and Crandall (op.cit) suggest the following principles that teachers should bear in mind when
designing speaking activities, which, in a way, are a summary of what we have discussed:

“1. Build classroom routines in English.

2. Use speaking activities that reflect real-life communication.

3. Use speaking activities that are developmentally appropriate.

4. Use a variety of activities to improve both accuracy and fluency.

5. Build classroom interaction by giving students plenty of opportunities to participate.

6. Keep the speaking environment active – do not correct errors explicitly.

7. Equip your YLs with negotiation strategies” (p.124-5).

When speaking activities demand interaction, Pinter (2017, p.70) presents the following
considerations that as teachers we need to bear in mind as we design activities:
Teachers may be using materials which bring speaking activities. Sometimes, there is need to adapt
them or make a few changes so that the principles discussed should be met. However, it should be
pointed out that one of the most meaningful instances of interaction in the classroom are those
between the teacher and the learners. It is therefore essential that teachers should use English in
class and that they should encourage learners to use it as well.
Assessing speaking
We have seen that we need to assess in the same way we teach. In the approach proposed, speaking
is not the means to practise language but a social practice through which we convey messages. This
should be considered when deciding on the variables we will focus on to assess learners, some of
which may be:

● Message. Can the student convey the message he/she wants?

● Context. Can the student consider the context in which the communication event takes
place?

● Fluency. Can the student use language at ease or does he/she need to ‘fish’ for words?

This last point can help us see progress in learners. When we point this out to students, i.e. show
them they do not need to stop and think of what words they need, or they use the form of the verb
that expresses what they want to say without having to stop and think about it, they will be
motivated since they can also see the progress they are making.

Speaking and the NAP

Speaking for the first cycle:

● La participación asidua en intercambios propios del contexto escolar (saludar, pedir permiso,
manifestar estados de ánimo, entre otros).

● La producción de textos orales (interacciones espontáneas, diálogos breves), acordes al

momento de escolaridad y a las condiciones de enseñanza, apoyándose en lenguaje no
verbal.

● La reproducción de rimas, canciones, adivinanzas, trabalenguas, poesías, entre otros.

● La participación en dramatizaciones, rondas infantiles, juegos y otras instancias lúdicas que

impliquen interacción oral.

Speaking for the second cycle (students starting to learn English in the second cycle)

● La participación asidua en situaciones propias del contexto escolar (saludar, solicitar

aclaraciones, pedir permiso, dar una opinión, manifestar estados de ánimo, entre otros).
 ● La participación en intercambios orales breves, a partir de disparadores, para resolver una
tarea comunicativa como, por ejemplo, solicitar y brindar información; invitar a una persona
a una celebración, a formar parte de un grupo de trabajo en el aula, a hablar sobre
actividades del tiempo libre.

● La producción asidua de descripciones y relatos breves de experiencias personales referidas,

por ejemplo, a preferencias, tiempo libre, rutinas diarias, entre otros. Esto supone:

o la contextualización de la producción oral;

o la presencia de un marco que la oriente;

o la preparación de la producción oral.

● La reproducción y producción de rimas, canciones, adivinanzas, trabalenguas, entre otros.

● La participación en dramatizaciones sencillas –que podrán incluir textos propios creados a

partir de un modelo–, juegos y otras instancias lúdicas que impliquen interacción oral.

● El inicio en el uso de estrategias de consulta y reparación de la producción como, por

ejemplo, solicitar repetición, repetir lo dicho, preguntar sobre la pronunciación de una
palabra, entre otras.

We can see how the principles addressed are reflected in the NAP.

Closing the lesson

We now invite you to watch the following video. Do you agree with the presenter’s ideas? Do you
think they are useful and applicable in your context?
 TEYL - Get Young Learners Talking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaI5HpCfcbw

Activity

Most probably, learners will make mistakes during speaking activities. Consider the
following mistakes and reflect on the following questions:

A student says On Saturday, I *plays with my friends. Then I watch TV or listen to music. In
the evening, I do my homework. I have dinner at 9, and then I go to bed.

Can we understand the student’s message and meanings although he /she makes a
mistake?

Does the student use the –s wrongly in all the cases?

Considering your reflection on the previous questions, is it OK to stop the student when
he/she says I *plays or is it better to wait till he/she finishes talking about his/her Saturday?

Why do you think so? Please, justify your answer in the light of the material you have read
in this class
Reading materials (compulsory)
Consejo Federal de Educación (2012). Núcleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios. Lenguas Extranjeras.
Educación Primaria y Secundaria. Resolución Nº 181/12: Recorrido de 4 niveles, Producción oral,
Nivel 1 y 2; recorrido de 3 niveles, Producción oral, nivel 1.

Reading materials (optional)

Carvalho, S. Motivaging Speaking Activities. British Council. Retrieved from:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-resources/teaching-primary/activities/level-
2/motivating-speaking-activities

Sally Trowbridge, S. Kids and speaking. British council. Retrieved from:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/knowing-
subject/articles/kids-and-speaking

References
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Consejo Federal de Educación (2012). Núcleos de Aprendizajes Prioritarios. Lenguas Extranjeras.

Educación Primaria y Secundaria. Resolución Nº 181/12.

Kirkgöz, Y. (2019). Fostering Young Learners’ Listening and Speaking Skills, in Garton, S. & Copland,
F. eds (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. New York:
Routledge.

Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching young language learners. Second edition Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Shin, J.K., & Crandall, J. (2014). Teaching young learners English: from theory to practice. New
York: Heinle Cengage Learning.
Créditos
Autora: María Leonor Corradi

Cómo citar este texto:

Corradi, María Leonor (2023). Clase Nro 1.: Teaching Speaking to young learners. Prácticas de producción y
reflexión en la enseñanza del inglés en el Nivel Primario. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación.

Esta obra está bajo una licencia Creative Commons

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