6.

STUDENTS AND SPEAKING

If we give students a suitable topic and task and the atmosphere in the class is
relaxed, we can get them speaking fairly easily. But there are times when we
choose the wrong topic or perhaps the class mix is undesirable and we find it hard
to get the students motivated.

Here are a number of points to remember when conducting speaking activities:

6.1 Building students’ confidence

 Many students are shy or don’t feel comfortable speaking in front of the class; they
should be allowed to ‘find their feet’ in their own time. Nominating them to speak will
only stress them more and will be counter-productive, so they should be
encouraged to speak more in pairs or groups.
 Many students (especially adults) are frightened of making mistakes in front of their
peers; they should be encouraged and any mistakes they do make should not be
highlighted too much by the teacher.