SPEAKING IN THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT

At the end of this lesson students should be able to:

 Define what speaking in the classroom is

 Outline different types of speaking skills in the classroom.
 Describe different types of speaking skills situations.
 Explain how to structure the speech in the mind.
 Discuss conversation as speaking skill.
 Describe key skills of the conversation in the classroom.
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 SPEAKING IN THE CLASSROOM

Speaking is to converse or to express one’s thoughts or

feelings in spoken language.

Speaking is often implied conveying information.

It may be from informal remark to a scholarly presentation

to formal address.

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 THREE TYPES OF SPEAKING SITUATIONS

Interactive speaking situation

Partial interactive speaking situation
Non-interactive speaking situation

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 INTERACTIVE SPEAKING SITUATION

Interactive speaking situations include face to face

conversations and telephone calls in which we are ultimately
listening and speaking and in which we have a chance to ask
for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our
conversation partner.

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 PARTIAL INTERACTIVE SPEAKING SITUATION
Partial interactive speaking situation refers to giving a speech to
live audience where the convention is that the audience does not
interrupt the speech.
The speaker nevertheless can see the audience and judge from
the expressions on their faces and body language whether or not
he or she is being understood.

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 NON INTERACTIVE SPEAKING SITUATION

Few speaking situations may be totally non-interactive, such

as when recording a speech for a radio broadcast.
In all the above explained conditions speaking is always a
headache for most of the people.
Although the few of speaking in common studies shows that
the ability to speak can be enhanced by improving speaking
skills.

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 WHAT TO DO BEFORE SPEAKING

Be an active listener

Key ingredient towards making you a person who can think

on the spot and respond intelligently is to be an active
listener.
This means listening carefully and giving full attention to the
words, tone, emotion, and logic behind what the other one is
saying.

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 WHAT TO DO BEFORE SPEAKING

Be a quick organizer of thought

All of us have the ability to think fast.

The trick is to adopt some frameworks or models to structure
new information into something coherent that we can
respond with.
One can break down issues or ideas into past, present and
future.

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Structure your speech in your mind
These are useful frameworks to organize ideas and thoughts
quickly.
The basic structure of any speech involves:
- Opening
- Body
Conclusion
It’s very useful in delivering speeches and especially for
speaking in situation such as table topics during meetings or
other times when called upon to say some words.

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Structure your speech in your mind
Thinking before speaking is important for us to add value in
terms of communicating our thoughts, ideas and feelings.
We can touch lives through deeds and we can touch lives
through speech.

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 SPEAKING SKILLS

There various speaking skills

• Be prepared and practice

• Know your audience
• Pay attention to the kiss principle

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Be prepared and practice

•Be prepared

• The more you know what you want to say, the better you will get at it.
• First, brainstorm the topic of your speech and research it, if you need
to.
• Write down all the points you want to make and then organize them
into an outline.
• Then practice your speech out loud at least 3 to 5 times.

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Know your audience

• The better you know you audience or listeners the easier it will be to
connect to them as you speak.
• When you are able to make that connection you will hold their
attention.

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Pay attention to the kiss principle

• When you are speaking do not beat around the bush or try
to impress with complex metaphors.
• Stories, however, can be a powerful public speaking tool,
especially when they contain at least a hint of humor.
• But again keep them short and on point.
• Shorter messages leave more impression.
• They are also easier audience to remember.

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 CONVERSATION SKILLS AS SPEAKING SKILLS

• Conversation skills are something we take for granted.

• We engage in conversations seamlessly and without second
thought.
• We do not need to remind ourselves to comment when
someone is telling us a story or what appropriate body
language looks like when engaging in small talk with a
classmate or co-worker.
• It is second nature. All of those social skill rules related to
having a conversation are engrained in our head.
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 CONVERSATIONS AS SPEAKING SKILLS

• We know the correct volume to talk, we know to ask

reciprocal questions, and we know how to switch topics
appropriately.
• We are lucky. However for some of our learners with
autism – navigating the dangerous minefield of engaging in a
conversation is about as terrifying as a Monday morning
without coffee. Keeping track of all of these rules is
overwhelming to say the least.
• Some of the learners do not pick up these rules naturally –
they need to be directly taught. 16
 KEY SKILLS OF THE CONVERSATION
Commenting during conversation
• Commenting is essential because it lets others know that
you are listening to them.
• It lets them know you are engaged and you are paying
attention.
• People like to talk to people who pay attention to them.
• We want our students to be people that others want to talk
to.

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Reciprocal questions in a conversation

• It is generally considered rude when someone asks you

how you are and you do not ask them back.
• People take that as a lack of interest.
• When a friend gets asked a question, he/she would ask it
back because she/she is interested in their friend’s response.

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Reciprocal questions in a conversation

• It is generally considered rude when someone asks you

how you are and you do not ask them back.
• People take that as a lack of interest.
• When a friend gets asked a question, he/she would ask it
back because she/she is interested in their friend’s response.

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Staying on the Topic

• Nobody wants to spend all day talking about one topic.

• We need our learners to be flexible and be willing to talk
about topics that are not their favourite.
• That means staying on topic and not diverting it.

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Initiating conversations

• Some people could be great conversationalists once they

get on a roll when someone starts chatting to them.
• But what about beginning a conversation on their own?
• It would be a boring world if we sat around all day waiting
for others to talk to us.
• Learners should appropriately and effectively initiate their
own conversations.

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 Initiating discussions
• Refer to questions you distributed. Start the discussion by asking one of
the study questions you assigned or by asking group members which of the
questions they found most challenging.
• Make a list of key points. Identify and list the important points from the
reading and use these as a starting point for discussion.
• Use a partner activity. Ask students to come to the discussion with 3 or 4
questions prepared. Start the discussion by having students pair off and
alternate asking and answering their questions.
• Use a brainstorming activity. Ask students to contribute ideas related to
the discussion topic (no matter how bizarre or farfetched) and write all
ideas on the board. After a set period of time or when students have run
out of ideas, critically evaluate all the ideas or categorize themes.

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 Initiating discussions
• Pose an opening question and give learners a few minutes to record an
answer. The process of writing down their answers will enable students to
generate new ideas as well as questions. After they have finished writing, ask
for volunteers or call on students to share their ideas. This activity also gives
quieter students the opportunity to prepare answers they can share with the
group.
• Divide learners into small groups to discuss a specific question or issue. Be
sure to assign explicit questions and guidelines and give the groups a time
limit to complete the exercise. Also ask them to select a recorder and/or a
reporter who will report back to the entire discussion group.
• Pose a controversial issue and organize an informal debate. Group the
students according to the pro or con position they take and ask the groups to
formulate 2-3 arguments or examples to support their position. Write each
group's statements on the board and use these as a starting point for
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discussion.
Maintaining discussions
• Keep the discussion focused. Have a clear agenda for the discussion and list
questions/issues on the board to inform and remind everyone of where the
discussion is heading. Brief interim summaries are also helpful as long as they
don't interfere with the flow of the discussion. If the discussion gets off track,
stop and bring the discussion back to the key issues.
• Repeat the key point of all comments or questions for the rest of the class,
using your microphone if possible. For instance: "Jennifer just asked..."
• Take notes. Be sure to jot down key points that emerge from the discussion
and use these for summarizing the session. You might also assign a different
group member each week the specific role of recording and summarizing the
progression of the discussion.

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Maintaining discussions
• Be alert for signs that the discussion is deteriorating. Indications that the
discussion is breaking down include: subgroups engaging in private
conversations, members not listening to each other and trying to force their
ideas, excessive "nit-picking," and lack of participation. Changing the pace by
introducing a new activity or question can jump-start the discussion.
• If students are having trouble communicating, avoid making remarks such
as: “Slow down,” “Take a breath,” or “Relax.” This will not be helpful and may
be interpreted as demeaning. Avoid finishing the person’s sentences, or
guessing what is being said. This can increase their feelings of self-
consciousness.

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Maintaining discussions
• Prevent the discussion from deteriorating into a heated argument. Remind
students of the ground rules for discussion: they need to practice active
listening, remain open-minded, and focus on ideas and content rather than on
people and personal issues. Defuse arguments with a calm remark and bring
the discussion back on track.
• Bring closure to the discussion. Announce that the discussion is ending and
ask the group if there are any final comments or questions before you pull the
ideas together. Your closing remarks should show the students how the
discussion progressed, emphasizing 2-3 key points and tying the ideas into the
overall theme of the discussion. Also be sure to acknowledge the insightful
comments students have made. Providing closure to the discussion is critical
for ensuring that group members leave feeling satisfied that they accomplished
something.
• Remember that not all students are comfortable with extended direct eye
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contact.