Productive Skills: Speaking

Question 1

What does the term ‘information gap’ mean?

Answer 1

We typically communicate when one of us has information that another does not have - this lack of information is called ‘information gap’.

Question 2

What is the aim of communicative activity in class?

Answer 2

The aim is to get learners use the language they are learning to interact in realistic and meaningful ways, usually involving exchanges of information or opinion.

Question 3

How does the ‘Pyramid discussion’ work?

Answer 3

1. Introduce a problem (should be able to bring up simple discussions)
2. individual reflection - learners each decide what they think might be a solution
3. make pairs - those now discuss and come to an agreement or compromise
4. combine the pairs to make fours - again, they need to reach an argument
5. join each four with another four or - in smaller classes - with all the others
6. when the whole class comes together, see if you can reach one class solution

Question 4

An interactive way for speaking practice and also for pracitce of specific language items are so-called ‘role plays’. How do they work?

Answer 4

In role plays, learners are usually given some information about a ‘role’ (eg a person or a job title). These are often printed on ‘role cards’. After a little preparation time, the learners meet up with other students to act out small scenes using their own ideas, as well as any ideas and informatoin from the role cards.

Question 5

What is the difference between a ‘role play’ and a ‘real play’?

Answer 5

In the cas of ‘real play’, situations and one or more of the characters are drawn not from cards, but form a participant’s own life and world. Typically, one of the learners plays himself/herself, but in a context other than the classroom.

Question 6

What does the term ‘scaffolding’ mean in terms of language learning?

Answer 6

Scaffolding refers to the way a competent language speaker helps a less competent one to communicate by both encouraging and providing possible elements of the conversation.

Question 7

Name three scaffolding techniques!

Answer 7

Concisely asking for clarification of unclear information, eg repeating an unclear word

Asking brief questions that encourage the speaker to extend the story.

Giving the correct pronunciation of words in replies without drawing any particular attention to it.

Question 8

What does the word ‘genre’ mean?

Answer 8

A genre is a variety of speech (or writing) that you would expect to find in a particular place, with particular people, in a particular context, to achieve a particular result, using a particular channel.