On How Thinking Shapes Speaking: Techniques to Enhance Students' Oral Discourse

Autor/inn/en	Casamassima, Myrian; Insua, Florencia
Titel	On How Thinking Shapes Speaking: Techniques to Enhance Students' Oral Discourse
Quelle	In: English Teaching Forum, 53 (2015) 2, S.21-29 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1559-663X
Schlagwörter	Second Language Instruction; Teaching Methods; Oral Language; Verbal Communication; English (Second Language); Adult Students; Interpersonal Communication; Video Technology; Story Reading; Adolescents; Foreign Countries; Persuasive Discourse; Skill Development; Language Skills; Speech Skills; Argentina + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fremdsprachenunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Oral interpretation; Mündlicher Sprachgebrauch; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Ausland; Persuasion; Persuasive Kommunikation; Kompetenzentwicklung; Qualifikationsentwicklung; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Mündliche Leistung; Sprachfertigkeit; Argentinien
Abstract	The institution at which the authors work--Asociación Ex Alumnos del Profesorado en Lenguas Vivas "Juan Ramón Fernández" (AEXALEVI)--is devoted to the teaching of foreign languages, particularly English, and it administers examinations all over Argentina. One central problem the authors identified in their work in the AEXALEVI Teachers' Centre is the compartmentalization of instruction and assessment. Virtual and face-to-face forums with instructors from Buenos Aires and other districts were held for five years, and most of these teachers reported that they generally teach the content of the syllabus as one thing, and they deal with exam training as a separate component in the course design, which is developed close to examination time and not before. However, when the teacher indulges in teaching to the test, the student does not have the chance to develop skills over time. For example, students have been observed rattling off the summary of a story, overtly learned by heart, without ever being able to answer a simple question from the examiner or interact with a peer in a communicative task. Here lies the danger of treating course and exam, and by the same token, teaching/learning and evaluation, as two separate components rather than as an integrated whole. At the Teachers' Centre, the authors designed ways to introduce changes in skill development to help students both improve their speaking ability and perform better on tests. This article describes three techniques which allow students to structure their oral discourse in meaningful ways in order to help teachers in similar contexts: (1) WWW (What You Think; What You Like; What You Do; And Other People, Too); (2) Who, Where, What, and Why, You Can Have a Try!; and (3) Now and Next, I Will Pass This Test! The authors posit that if students learn to conceive of ideas following a strategic organization reinforced by raising awareness, modeling, and anchoring of the techniques by means of rhyme, gestures, movement, and analogy, then their discourse will be framed within the structure provided and away from random oral discourse. The development of oral discourse can occur only over time and requires a consistent approach by the teacher to contextualize work in the classroom, provide opportunities for interaction, and offer assessment on the part of both the teacher and the students. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	US Department of State. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, SA-5, 2200 C Street NW 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20037. e-mail: etforum@state.gov; Web site: http://www.forum.state.gov
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01