Universidad de Las Américas

Facultad de Educación

Improving the Speaking Skill through a Controlled-Learning Environment for

2nd year students of Traducción Inglés-Español, at Instituto Profesional Chileno-
Norteamericano, Santiago de Chile

Moisés Antonio Bittner Godoy

 Universidad de Las Américas
Facultad de Educación

Improving the Speaking Skill through a Controlled-Learning Environment for

2nd year students of Traducción Inglés-Español, at Instituto Profesional Chileno-
Norteamericano, Santiago de Chile

Seminario de título presentado en conformidad a los requisitos

para obtener el título de Profesor de Inglés y el grado académico de Licenciado en
Educación

Profesor Guía: Marcela Lovera Ponce

Moisés Antonio Bittner Godoy

2012
To the students of Chile who are fighting for free and better education.
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Felipe Betancourt for encouraging me to resume my studies

and get my degree as an English teacher. He had to put up with two years of my

stressing and obsessing over this whole process. I am also grateful to my mother,

Luisa, and sister, Francisca. They believed in me in spite of all the difficult

moments I went through since we returned to Santiago. Thanks also to my father,

Victor, whose backing was really helpful to afford this university programme.

I would particularly like to thank professors María Villane and Gregory Lagos for all

the knowledge I got from them. Ms Villane‘s lectures on drama and poetry–

especially Shakespeare– made me love English literature. Greg‘s guidance,

friendship and experience strongly contributed to my professional and spiritual

development.

Finally, my thanks to the lecturers at UDLA for noticing all my efforts to better

myself every term during these last 2 years and for supporting me with kind words

of encouragement.

My final thoughts go to Manuel Aguilera, whose good company and generous spirit

have been the most precious things for me this year.

i
 Table of Contents

Page
Abstract 1

Resumen 2

Introduction 3

1. Objectives 5
1.1 General objectives 5
1.2 Specific Objectives 5

2. Hypothesis 6

3. Research problem 6

4. Research questions 7

5. Justification 7

6. Theoretical framework 8
6.1 Historical Background: History of Foreign Language Education 8
6.1.1 Ancient to Mediaeval period 8
6.1.2 18th century 10
6.1.3 19th-20th century 10
6.1.4 Teaching foreign language in classrooms 13
6.2 Basic concepts 16
6.2.1 Speaking 16
6.2.2 Visions of the classroom 17
6.2.2.1 The many meanings of the classroom 17
6.2.2.2 The classroom as a controlled-learning
environment 18
6.2.3 Tips for teaching speaking 18
6.2.3.1 Make sure that it is a speaking class
and not something else 18
 6.2.3.2 Exploit stories rather than issues 19
6.2.3.3 Give students useful language to use 20
6.2.3.4 Think before you correct 20
6.2.3.5 Use role-play for potentially
more sensitive topics 21
6.2.3.6 Build up the whole class discussion 21
6.2.3.7 Give them time 21
6.2.3.8 Keep it safe 22
6.2.4 Teaching speaking 23
6.2.4.1 Affective factors 23
6.2.4.2 Interaction as the key to improving
EFL learners‘ speaking abilities 23
6.2.4.3 Small Talk 24
6.2.4.4 Interactive Activities 25
6.2.4.4.1 Aural-oral activities 27
6.2.4.4.2 Visual aids in oral activities 27
6.2.4.4.3 Material-aided oral activities 29
6.2.4.4.4 Culture-related oral activities 29
6.2.5 Language Learning Strategies in
Foreign Language Learning and Teaching 31
6.2.5.1 Communication Strategies 31
6.2.5.2 Social Strategies 31
6.2.5.3 Social-affective Strategies 32
6.2.6 Types of Interaction 32
6.2.6.1 Telling Tales/Stories/Jokes 33
6.2.6.2 Cultural Charades 34
6.2.6.3 Word Association 34
6.2.6.4 Pass the question 35
6.2.6.5 Memory Momentum 35
6.2.6.6 Holiday Fun 36
 6.2.7 Assessing Listening and Speaking Skills 37
6.2.7.1 Oral Communication and Listening: definition 38
6.2.7.2 Speaking Skills: assessment 39
6.2.7.3 Listening Skills: assessment 40
6.2.7.4 Assessment Instruments: selection or design? 42
6.3 Cognitive Implications: Motivating Students to Speak English 43
6.3.1 Making speaking English relevant :
The Importance of English 43
6.3.2 All aspects of speaking need to be included in lessons 44
6.3.2.1 Speaking means listening too 44
6.3.2.2 Progress and evaluation 44
6.3.3 Classroom atmosphere and freedom to speak
in the target language 45
6.3.3.1 Encourage students to participate 45
6.3.3.2 Allow students some autonomy and choice 45
6.3.3.3 Avoid making them feel inhibited or overly
self-conscious 46
6.3.4 Presenting Language Orally: Presentation techniques
that really work 46
6.3.4.1 Dialogue building 46
6.3.5 Pair and groupwork that works 47
6.3.5.1 Pair and groupwork: advantages 48
6.3.5.2 Other advantages to pair and groupwork 49

7. Methodological Framework 50
7.1 Data collection 51
7.2 Setting 51
7.3 Participants 53
7.4 Pre-intervention stage 54
7.4.1 Questionnaires 54
7.4.1.1 Presentation of questionnaires results 55
7.4.1.2 Analysis of questionnaires results 57
 7.4.2 Pre-test 58
7.4.2.1 Presentation of pre-test results 59
7.4.2.2 Analysis of pre-test results 60
7.5 Intervention stage 60
7.6 Post-intervention stage 62
7.6.1 Post-test 62
7.6.1.1 Presentation of post-test results 63
7.6.1.2 Analysis of post-test results 64
7.7 Pre-test/Post-test contrast 65
7.7.1 Students‘ scores 66

8. Conclusions
Bibliography
Linkography
Appendices
1 Questionnaire nº 15 ‗Students‘ interests‘
2 Questionnaire nº 4 ‗How we like to learn English‘
3 Pre-test
4 Rubric (Oral Assessment Criteria Form)
5 Oral Performance Evaluation Sheet
6 Lesson Plan 01
6.1 Unit 12 ‗Food‘ (p.82)
6.2 Unit 12 ‗Food (p.83)
7 Lesson Plan 02
7.1 Unit 12 ‗Food‘ (p.84)
7.2 Unit 12 ‗Food‘ (p.85)
8 Lesson Plan 03
8.1 Unit 12 ‗Food‘ (p.86)
8.2 Unit 12 ‗Food‘ (p.87)
9 Post-test
10 Working Plan
Abstract

The aim of the following project is to improve one of the essential skills of the

interactive aspect of the English language, and the last one to be developed, the

speaking skill, which tends to be deficiently assessed in many schools of Chile

according to what the researcher has been able to observe.

In order to develop the target students‘ speaking skill, the researcher shall rely on

different resources and methodologies that will help improve the environment

inside the classroom using imagery, relevant authentic materials and multimedia

technology, so as to favour the development of the target students‘ speaking skill.

It is important to make clear that when we speak of improving the environment or

atmosphere inside the classroom, we refer not only to class arrangement, but also

to classroom interaction (groupwork and pairwork), and the use of social-affective

strategies. Classroom management is also a relevant aspect to be taken into

account. Establishing a set of rules in the teaching space will prevent disruptive

behaviour.

1
Resumen

El propósito del siguiente proyecto es mejorar una de las habilidades esenciales

del aspecto interactivo del idioma inglés, y la última en ser desarrollada, la

habilidad del habla, la cual tiende a ser evaluada deficientemente en muchas

escuelas de Chile de acuerdo a lo que el investigador ha sido capaz de observar.

Con la intención de desarrollar la habilidad del habla de los estudiantes, el

investigador contará con diferentes recursos y metodologías que ayudarán a

mejorar el ambiente en la sala de clases usando imágenes, materiales auténticos

actualizados y tecnología multimedia para favorecer el desarrollo de la habilidad

oral de los alumnos.

Es importante aclarar que cuando nos referimos a mejorar el ambiente o la

atmósfera en el aula, no sólo nos referimos a la disposición del mobiliario, sino

también a la interacción de los alumnos (trabajo grupal y en pares), y al uso de

estrategias socio-afectivas. El manejo de clases es también un aspecto relevante

a ser tomado en cuenta. Establecer un conjunto de reglas en el lugar de

enseñanza evitará comportamientos disruptivos.

2
Introduction

This project originated in the autumn term of year 2004, when my former

classmates from Universidad de Los Lagos (ULA, for short) in Osorno and I had to

get immersed in the educational system. That is how we all were assigned to

different schools, which was in fact, a characteristic of our programme. Each term

we had to overcome a different stage in our teacher training. So, based on field-

note taking gathered through observation, during approximately a month, I noticed

the low level of performance in English concerning the speaking skill in the schools

observed. That is how the idea of improving students‘ speaking ability emerged.

So, in order to validate this assumption, I applied a survey. We were all working in

different schools, but when comparing our filed-note taking and surveys –we

applied similar surveys at the schools– we concluded the following: our students

were in fact having problems in the development of the speaking skill. The results

of the surveys reflected that this was mainly due to the environment inside the

classroom when developing speaking activities, essentially anxiety, lack of interest

and a teacher-centred approach.

After a long recess period from my undergraduate studies, I resumed them in 2011

at Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA, for short) in Santiago. I reformulated my

project and added fresh information to both the theoretical and methodological

frameworks so as to be able to apply the project here in Santiago in a new setting

during my final teacher training. This new place is the Instituto Profesional Chileno

Norteamericano, a tertiary education institution, which provides students with

vocational and technical bilingual training in order to enter the labour market.
3
One of the classes I teach corresponds to Year 2 of Traducción Inglés-Español

(TIE, for short). These students are constantly exposed to the English language

and master higher linguistic abilities in an intermediate level. Therefore, I am going

to focus on polishing the language they already produce by making use of the

morphosyntactic and lexico-semantic aspects presented in the coursebook they

use in class, Innovations Intermediate, a Course in Natural English (Dellar and

Walkley, 2004) complementing it with extra written and audiovisual material and

assessing them by following a student-centred communicative approach.

4
1. Objectives

1.1 General Objective

To determine the role of a controlled-learning environment in the improvement of

the speaking skill by enhancing target students‘ performance through the use of

appropriate classroom arrangement, interaction and management in second- year

students of a Traducción Inglés-Español class from Instituto Profesional Chileno-

Norteamericano located in Santiago de Chile.

1.2 Specific Objectives

a. To identify and reinforce the target students‘ speaking abilities.

b. To determine the importance of classroom interaction and cooperative work

on target students‘ oral production.

c. To verify the effect of the direct instruction period on target students‘

(presumable and desirable) improvement of their speaking skills.

5
2. Hypothesis

If target students are exposed to a controlled-learning environment taking into

account varied classroom interaction (groupwork and pairwork) communicative

activities and social-affective strategies, they improve their speaking skills

significantly.

3. Research problem

The problems detected in the setting chosen by the researcher are very similar to

those found in a secondary school class concerning three main areas.

First of all, the students show a certain degree of anxiety when it comes to produce

oral language in front of the class. They feel embarrassed of making mistakes and

prefer to be guided by their teacher rather than being proactive.

Second, the students tend to work in isolation rather than cooperatively. This is

mainly due to the undergraduate studies they are embarked on. As translators-to-

be, they are trained to put their emphasis on written production rather than on oral

production, so in the end, they avoid creating networks with their fellow classmates

by working in class on their own.

Third, most of the students are in their late teens/early twenties, so they still tend to

behave as if they were at school, forgetting sometimes they are young adults.
6
4. Research questions

a. How much can target students improve their English speaking skill under

good environmental learning conditions using communicative activities

and social-affective strategies?

b. How much can classroom arrangement, classroom interaction

(groupwork and pairwork) and classroom management affect the

improvement of target students‘ speaking skill?

5. Justification

The main reason why the researcher wanted to carry out a project focused on

speaking was because of personal interests and likes. I have always felt at ease

when it comes to producing oral language. Furthermore, thanks to my experience

as a TA (Teaching Assistant) at ULA and UDLA and as a form teacher at different

schools and language institutes, I have become proficient at it. Moreover, since

Phonetics, Phonology and Intonation were part of my core courses at my former

university, I knew that I had found my life‘s passion. Therefore, I am really

interested in taking advantage of my knowledge to use the simple and complex

features of oral communication to help my students to improve their performance

when communicating in English, combined with classroom management

techniques and strategies.

7
6. Theoretical Framework

Introduction

The following chapter will deal with the notional aspects that were used to support

the present research work. These aspects have been taken from different sources

in order to provide a pluralistic approach to TEFL. The theoretical framework

particularly pertains to the development of the speaking skill, types of classroom

interaction, the use of social-affective strategies and appropriate classroom

management to encourage EFL students to improve their abilities to communicate

effectively in English through a controlled-learning environment based on the

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT, for short), aka Communicative

Approach.

6.1 Historical Background: History of Foreign Language Education

6.1.1 Ancient to Mediaeval period

Although the need to learn foreign languages is almost as old as human history

itself, the origins of modern language education are in the study and teaching

of Latin in the 17thcentury. Latin had for many centuries been the dominant

language of education, commerce, religion, and government in much of the

Western world, but it was displaced by French, Italian, and English by the end of

8
the 16th century. John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) was one of many people who

tried to reverse this trend. He composed a complete course for learning Latin,

covering the entire school curriculum, culminating in his Opera Didactica Omnia,

(1657).

In this work, Comenius also outlined his theory of language acquisition. He is one

of the first theorists to write systematically about how languages are learnt and

about pedagogical methodology for language acquisition. He held that language

acquisition must be allied with sensation and experience. Teaching must be oral.

The schoolroom should have models of things, and failing that, pictures of them.

As a result, he also published the world's first illustrated children's book, Orbis

Sensualium Pictus (The Visible World in Pictures, 1658). The study of Latin

diminished from the study of a living language to be used in the real world to a

subject in the school curriculum. Such decline brought about a new justification for

its study. It was then claimed that its study developed intellectual abilities, and the

study of Latin grammar became an end in and for itself.

‗Grammar schools‘ from the 16th to 18th centuries focused on teaching the

grammatical aspects of Classical Latin. Advanced students continued grammar

study with the addition of rhetoric.

9
6.1.2 18thcentury

The study of modern languages did not become part of the curriculum of European

schools until the 18th century. Based on the purely academic study of Latin,

students of modern languages did much of the same exercises, studying

grammatical rules and translating abstract sentences. Oral work was minimal, and

students were instead required to memorise grammatical rules and apply these to

decode written texts in the target language. This tradition-inspired method became

known as the 'Grammar-Translation Method' (Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001:

3-4)

6.1.3 19th-20th century

Innovation in foreign language teaching began in the 19 th century and became very

rapid in the 20th century. It led to a number of different and sometimes conflicting

methods, each trying to be a major improvement over the previous or

contemporary methods. The earliest applied linguists included Jean Manesca

(1778?-1838), Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorff (1803-1865), Henry Sweet (1845-

1912), Otto Jespersen (1860-1943), and Harold Palmer (1877-1949). They worked

on setting language teaching principles and approaches based on linguistic and

psychological theories, but they left many of the specific practical details for others

to devise.

10
Those looking at the history of foreign-language education in the 20th century and

the methods of teaching (such as those related below) might be tempted to think

that it is a history of failure. Very few students in US universities who have a

foreign language as a major manage to reach something called ‗minimum

professional proficiency‘. Even the ‗reading knowledge‘ required for a PhD degree

is comparable only to what second-year language students read and only very few

researchers who are native English speakers can read and assess information

written in languages other than English. Even a number of famous linguists are

monolingual.(Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001: 5)

However, anecdotal evidence for successful second or foreign language learning is

easy to find, leading to a discrepancy between these cases and the failure of most

language programs, which helps make the research of second language

acquisition emotionally charged. Older methods and approaches such as the

Grammar-Translation Method or the Direct Method are dismissed and even

ridiculed as newer methods and approaches are invented and promoted as the

only and complete solution to the problem of the high failure rates of foreign

language students.(Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001: 6)

Most books on language teaching list the various methods that have been used in

the past, often ending with the author's new method. These new methods are

usually presented as coming only from the author's mind, as the authors generally

give no credence to what was done before and do not explain how it relates to the

new method. For example, descriptive linguists seem to claim unhesitatingly that

11
there were no scientifically based language teaching methods before their work

(which led to the Audio-Lingual Method developed for the US Army in World War

II). However, there is significant evidence to the contrary. It is also often inferred or

even stated that older methods were completely ineffective or have died out

completely when even the oldest methods are still used (e.g. the Berlitz version of

the Direct Method). One reason for this situation is that proponents of new

methods have been so sure that their ideas are so new and so correct that they

could not conceive that the older ones have enough validity to cause controversy.

This was in turn caused by emphasis on new scientific advances, which has

tended to blind researchers to precedents in older work.(Richards, Rodgers,

Theodore, 2001)

There have been two major branches in the field of language learning; the

empirical and theoretical ones, and these have almost completely separate

histories, with each gaining ground over the other at one point in time or another.

Examples of researchers on the empiricist side are Jesperson, Palmer,

and Leonard Bloomfield, who promote mimicry and memorisation with pattern

drills. These methods follow from the basic empiricist position that language

acquisition basically results from habits formed by conditioning and drilling. In its

most extreme form, language learning is seen as basically the same as any other

learning in any other species, human language being essentially the same as

communication behaviours seen in other species.(Richards, Rodgers, Theodore,

2001)

12
On the theoretical side are, for example, Francois Gouin, M.D. Berlitz, and Elime

de Sauzé, (early 20th century) whose rationalist theories of language acquisition

dovetail with linguistic work done by Noam Chomsky and others. These have led to

a wider variety of teaching methods ranging from the Grammar-Translation Method

to Gouin's ‗Series Method‘ to the Direct Methods of Berlitz and de Sauzé. With

these methods, students generate original and meaningful sentences to gain a

functional knowledge of the rules of grammar. This follows from the rationalist

position that man is born to think and that language use is a uniquely human trait

impossible in other species. Given that human languages share many common

traits, the idea is that humans share a universal grammar which is built into our

brain structure. This allows us to create sentences that we have never heard

before but that can still be immediately understood by anyone who understands the

specific language being spoken. The rivalry of the two camps is intense, with little

communication or cooperation between them. (Richards, Rodgers, Theodore,

2001)

6.1.4 Teaching foreign language in classrooms

Language education may take place as a general school subject or in a

specialised language school. There are many methods of teaching languages.

Some have fallen into relative obscurity and others are widely used; still others

have a small following, but offer useful insights.

13
While sometimes confused, the terms ‗approach‘, ‗method‘ and ‗technique‘ are

hierarchical concepts.(Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001)

An approach is a set of assumptions about the nature of language and language

learning, but does not involve procedure or provide any details about how such

assumptions should translate into the classroom setting. Such can be related

to second language acquisition theory.

There are three principal ‗approaches‘:

a. The structural view treats language as a system of structurally related

elements to code meaning (e.g. grammar).

b. The functional view sees language as a vehicle to express or accomplish

a certain function, such as requesting something.

c. The interactive view sees language as a vehicle for the creation and

maintenance of social relations, focusing on patterns of moves, acts,

negotiation and interaction found in conversational exchanges. This

approach has been fairly dominant since the 1980s.

(Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001)

14
A method is a plan for presenting the language material to be learnt and should be

based upon a selected approach. In order for an approach to be translated into a

method, an instructional system must be designed considering the objectives of the

teaching/learning, how the content is to be selected and organised, the types of

tasks to be performed, the roles of students and the roles of teachers. (Richards,

Rodgers, Theodore, 2001)

a. Examples of structural methods are Grammar-Translation and the Audio-

Lingual Method.

b. Examples of functional methods include the Oral Approach / Situational

Language Teaching.

c. Examples of interactive methods include the Direct Method, the Series

Method, Communicative Language Teaching, Language Immersion,

the Silent Way, Suggestopaedia, the Natural Approach, Total Physical

Response, Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS,

for short) and Dogme Language Teaching.

A technique (or strategy) is a very specific, concrete stratagem or trick designed to

accomplish an immediate objective. Such are derived from the controlling method,

and less directly, from the approach. (Richards, Rodgers, Theodore, 2001)

15
6.2 Basic concepts

6.2.1 Speaking

Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode. It is, like the other skills, more

complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words.

If we observe, we shall notice that that there are three kinds of speaking situations

in which we find ourselves. To this respect, Orwig (1999) identifies three types.

a. Interactive speaking situations, which include face-to-face conversations and

telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which

we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our

conversation partner.

b. Some speaking situations are partially interactive, such as when giving a speech

to a 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.

c. Some few speaking situations may be totally non-interactive, such as when

recording a speech for a radio broadcast. (Orwig, 1999)

16
6.2.2 Visions of the classroom

6.2.2.1 The many meanings of the classroom

According to Tudor (2001), "The classroom is a social as well as a pedagogical

reality. Thus, while the official role of the classroom is pedagogical, the way in

which this role is understood and defined is influenced by a variety of social

agents". In other words, it is not only the academic staff within the educational

institution the ones responsible to provide instruction, values and principles, but it

is also the role of parents, the community and the government to be part of the way

teaching and learning is conducted.

It is also stated that the classroom is a complex and controversial concept because

it can have different meanings depending on the various actors who have a

determined interest in what takes place within it. (Tudor, 2001:104)

As said by Van Lier in Tudor (2001:104), ‗The classroom is not a world in itself.

The participants (teachers and learners) arrive at the event with certain ideas as to

what is a ‗proper‘ lesson, and in their actions and interactions they will struggle to

implement these ideas‘. Therefore, there are certain expectations and demands

that need to be fulfilled in order to reach a consensus on the way the classroom

'turns out'.

17
6.2.2.2 The classroom as a controlled-learning environment

The most traditional vision of the language is that of a controlled-learning

environment, especially a place where students can work under the supervision in

guidance of a trained teacher. This vision needs to fulfil a certain number of

assumptions. The first one has to do with a clear plan of what will be done. The

second deals with clearly structured teaching materials and learning activities. The

third one has to do with the teacher who is responsible of the plan, which includes

the manipulation of methodological procedures. (Tudor, 2001:104)

The purpose of a controlled-learning environment is to enable students to learn

language by creation of conditions in which the language learning can be

undertaken in a structured manner. Here methodology is the means by which the

learning plan is carried out. (Tudor, 2001:104)

6.2.3 Tips for teaching speaking

6.2.3.1 Make sure that it is a speaking class and not something else

If the goal of your topical class is for students to speak about the topic, do not give

them a two-page newspaper article to read about it first. If you want to use a

written prompt, a short paragraph summary, sentence or even a headline will do. A

picture stuck onto the whiteboard, can also work.

18
Another way to lead into a topical speaking class is to ask the students some

questions about the topic with an aim of getting them to explain it to you first. In this

case, lead in by asking a more factual-seeking question, e.g. Can anyone explain

what happened in yesterday’s election? rather than an opinion-seeking question

So, what did you think of yesterday’s election? The former is more likely to produce

results, and get people talking. The latter can come later. (Clandfield and

Thornbury, 2004)

6.2.3.2 Exploit stories rather than issues

When introducing a hot topic, it is easier for a class to engage with – and talk about

– a specific story rather than simply talk generally about an issue in the abstract.

Rather than, say, asking them to ‗talk about domestic violence‘ (something that

even native speakers would be hard-pushed to do ‗could‘), it‘s easier if you

introduce a case story – a specific instance of domestic violence, for example.

Reconstructing this story and then summarize its causes and effects will lead more

naturally into a discussion of the issue in general, rather than starting the other way

round. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004).

19
6.2.3.3 Give students useful language to use

In discussions, students should have access to formulaic phrases to help develop

the conversation. These include phrases to voice agreement (absolutely, I couldn’t

agree more…), disagreement (I don’t agree, not at all), give an opinion (if you ask

me, in my opinion…) and express a reservation (yes, but… Sure, but…I take your

point but…) about a topic. These types of phrases can be on role cards, on the

board, or better yet, on posters about the room. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004)

6.2.3.4 Think before you correct

Discussing topical, possibly sensitive themes can often lead to slips in students

talk. Do not correct students who are in ‗full flow‘. It might be a better idea to

discreetly note down the error for future correction, if at all. Should the error have

caused a breakdown in communication, attempt to repair it. Phrases to help repair

include I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean, I didn’t get that; what do you mean

by X? Repair phrases such as those are not Judgmental, whereas overt error

correction can be. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004)

20
6.2.3.5 Use role-play for potentially more sensitive topics

Role-plays are another way of getting students to talk more freely about a sensitive

topic as they can ‗hide‘ behind the role. Prepare role cards for the students, which

not only give them their role, but ideas on what to say. (Clandfield and Thornbury,

2004)

6.2.3.6 Build up the whole class discussion

A pyramid discussion is one where students first discuss something in pairs, then

in fours, then eights, and so on. One way of doing this is to ask each group to try to

achieve consensus on a certain point. Another way is to prepare a series of

questions about the topic that each group must attempt to answer. When you come

to the final group discussion, students will have had a couple of ‗dry runs‘ at it first

in pairs and smaller groups. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004)

6.2.3.7 Give them time

Very hot topics can boil over, that is the interest in the topics is such that learners

may become frustrated by their inability to express themselves unreal time. Give

them time in advance to marshal their thoughts. Ask them to spend five minutes,

individually and silently, making notes about things they would like to say. They

21
can use this time to access vocabulary in a dictionary. You can be available to

provide language help if asked. Or stop the discussion at a strategic point, and ask

them to ‗collect their thoughts‘. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004)

6.2.3.8 Keep it safe

Set some ground rules for the discussion so as to avoid it becoming too emotive or

personal. For example, try to ensure that everyone can see and hear you when

you speak (in a big class this may mean standing up).

 Only one person can speak at the time.

 Ask permission to speak.

 Use people‘s names (not she/you said… but Marta said…)

 If in doubt, ask people to clarify what you meant.

 Don‘t pretend that you speak for everyone: use ‗I‘ rather than ‗we‘.

 Avoid generalisations of the type ‗everyone knows that…‘

Speak in English, unless given permission by the group to speak in your own

language. (Clandfield and Thornbury, 2004)

22
6.2.4 Teaching Speaking

6.2.4.1 Affective Factors

'The affective side of the learner is probably one of the most important influences

on language learning success or failure‘ (Oxford, 1990: 140). The affective factors

related to L2 or foreign language learning are emotions, self-esteem, empathy,

anxiety, attitude and motivation. L2 or foreign language learning is a complex task

that is susceptible to human anxiety, which associated with feeling of uneasiness,

frustration, self-doubt, and apprehension. Speaking a foreign language in public,

especially in front of native speakers, is often anxiety provoking. Sometimes

extreme anxiety occurs when EFL learners become tongue-tied or lost for words in

an unexpected situation, which often leads to discouragement and a general sense

of failure. (Richards and Renandya, 2003: 206-210)

6.2.4.2 Interaction as the key to improving EFL learners’ speaking abilities

The functions of spoken language are interactional and transactional. The primary

intention of the former is to maintain social relationships, whereas of the latter is to

convey information and ideas. In fact much of our daily communication remains

interactional. Being able to interact in a language is essential. Therefore language

instructors should provide learners with opportunities for meaningful

communication behaviour about relevant topics by using learner-learner interaction

23
as the key to teaching language for communication because ‗communication

derives essentially from interaction‘. (Rivers, 1987: 13)

Communication in the classroom is embedded in meaning-focused activity. This

requires teachers to tailor their instruction carefully to the needs of the learners and

teach them how to listen to others, how to talk to others, and how to negotiate

meaning in a shared context. Out of interaction, learners will learn how to

communicate verbally and non-verbally as their language store and language skill

develop. Consequently, the give-and-take exchanges of messages will enable

them to create discourse that conveys intentions in real- life communication.

6.2.4.3 Small Talk

The ability to get along with people in society may correlate somewhat with how

well a person can engage in brief, casual conversation with others or in an

exchange of pleasantries. Talk of the weather, rush hour traffic, holidays, sports

events and so on may seem meaningless, but such talk functions to create a sense

of social communion among peers or other people. So at the initial stage, EFL

learners should develop skills in short, interactional exchanges in which they are

required to make only one or two utterances at a time. (Richards, Renandya, 2003:

208)

24
For example:

1. A: I hate rush hour traffic.

2. B: Me too

3. C: Boy, the weather is lousy today.

4. D: Yeah. I hope it will stop raining.

As learners get more experience they will be able to use some of the simple

exchanges and know how to open conversations.

6.2.4.4 Interactive Activities

Since most EFL learners learn the target language in their own culture, practice is

available only in the classroom. So, a key factor in L2 or foreign language

development is the opportunity given to learners to speak in the language-

promoting interaction. Teachers must arouse in the learners a willingness and

need or reason to speak.

A possible way of stimulating students to talk might be to provide them with

extensive exposure to authentic language through audiovisual stimuli and with

opportunities to use the language. (Richards, Renandya, 2003: 209)

In designing activities, teachers should consider all the skills conjointly as they

interact with each other in natural behaviour, for in real life as in the classroom,

25
most tasks of any complexity involve more than one macro skill. (Nunan 1989)

Effective interactive activities should be manipulative, meaningful, and

communicative, involving learners in using English for a variety of communicative

purposes. Specifically, they should

a. be based on authentic or naturalistic source materials;

b. enable learners to manipulate and practice specific features of language;

c. allow learners to rehearse, in class, communicative skills they need in the real

world; and

d. activate psycholinguistic processes of learning.

(Richards, Renandya, 2003: 209)

Based on these criteria, the following activities appear to be particularly relevant to

eliciting spoken language production. They provide learners with opportunities to

learn from auditory and visual experiences, which enable them to develop flexibility

in their learning styles and also demonstrate the optimal use of different learning

strategies and behaviours for different tasks. (Richards, Renandya, 2003: 209)

26
6.2.4.4.1 Aural- oral activities

With careful selection and preparation, aural materials such as news reports on the

radio will be fine-tuned to a level accessible to particular groups of learners. These

materials can be used in some productive activities as background or as input for

interaction. In practice, students are directed to listen to taped dialogues or short

passages and afterwards to act them out in different ways. One example that might

be used is jigsaw listening. A story is recorded into several segments on an

audiocassette tape. Teachers either have each student listen to a different

segment or divide the class into small groups and make each group responsible for

one segment. After each student/group has listened to a segment, students are

provided with a worksheet of comprehension questions based on the story. Then,

students work together in groups on an information gap activity. They negotiate the

meaning of the story and answer questions, which motivates students to speak.

(Richards, Jack; Renandya, Willy, 2003: 209)

6.2.4.4.2 Visual aids in oral activities

Because of the lack of opportunity in foreign language settings to interact with

native speakers, the need for exposure to many kinds of scenes, situations, and

accents as well as voices is particularly critical. This need can be met by

audiovisual materials such as appropriate films, videotapes, and soap operas.

They can provide ‗a) the motivation achieved by basing lessons on attractively

informative content material; b) the exposure to a varied range of authentic speech,

27
with different registers, accents, intonation, rhythms, and stresses; and c) language

used in the context of real situations, which adds relevance and interest to the

learning process‘ (Carrasquillo, 1994:140). While watching, students can observe

what levels of formality are appropriate or inappropriate on given occasions.

Similarly, they can notice the nonverbal behaviour and types of exclamations and

fill-in expressions that are used. Also, they can pay attention to how people initiate

and sustain a conversational exchange and how they terminate an interactive

episode. Subsequent practice of dialogues, role-playing, and dramatisations will

lead to deeper learning.

Visual stimuli can be utilized in several ways as starter material for interaction.

Short pieces of films can be used to give ‗eyewitness‘ accounts. An anecdote from

a film can be used to elicit opinion-expressing activity.

Likewise, nonverbal videos can be played to have students describe what they

have viewed. While watching, students can focus on the content and imitate the

‗model's body language‘. In this way, students will be placed in a variety of

experiences with accompanying language. Gradually, they will assimilate the

verbal and nonverbal messages and communicate naturally.

6.2.4.4.3 Material-aided oral activities

Appropriate reading materials facilitated by the teacher and structured with

comprehension questions can lead to creative production in speech. Story-telling

28
can be prompted with cartoon-strips and sequences of pictures. Oral reports or

summaries can be produced from articles in newspapers or from some well-

designed textbooks (Genzel and Cummings, 1994). Similar material input such as

hotel brochures can be used for making reservations; menus can be used for

making purchases in the supermarket or for ordering in a restaurant. In fact,

language input for oral activities can be derived from a wide range of sources that

form the basis for communicative tasks of one sort or another, which will help

learners deal with real situations that they are likely to encounter in the future.

6.2.4.4.4 Culture-related oral activities

Culture plays an instrumental role in shaping speakers' communicative

competence, which is related to the appropriate use of language (e.g., how native

speakers make an apology and what kind of form the apology is to take).

Generally, appropriateness is determined by each speech community. In other

words, it is defined by the shared social and cultural conventions of a particular

group of speakers. Therefore, it is essential to recognise different sets of culturally

determined rules in communication. Just as Brown and Yule (1983:40) say, ‗a

great number of cultural assumptions which would be normally presupposed, and

not made explicit by native speakers, may need to be drawn explicitly to the

attention of speakers from other cultures.‘ Cultural learning illustrated by activities

and strengthened through physical enactment will motivate students.

29
Teachers can present situations in which there are cultural misunderstandings that

cause people to become offended, angry, and confused. Then, thought-provoking

information and questions can follow each description or anecdote for in-class

discussion. Students can be asked to analyse and determine what went wrong and

why, which will force students to think about how people in the target culture act

and perceive things and which will inevitably provide a deeper insight into that

culture. This kind of exercise can strike a healthy balance between the necessity of

teaching the target culture and validating the students' native culture, which will

gradually sharpen students' culture awareness. (Richards, Jack; Renandya, Willy,

2003: 210)

Mostly, using audiovisual stimuli brings sight, hearing, and kinaesthetic

participation into interplay, which gets students across the gulf of imagination into

the ‗real experience‘ in the first place. Meanwhile, the task-oriented activities give

students a purpose to talk. Ideally, the flexibility and adaptability of these activities

are essential if the communicative needs of learners are to be met. With the limited

time available in class, it is necessary to follow open language experiences with

more intensive structured situations, dialogues, and role-playing activities. These

will give students both the chance and confidence actually to use the language.

(Richards, Renandya, 2003: 210)

30
6.2.5 Language Learning Strategies in Foreign Language Learning and

Teaching

6.2.5.1 Communication Strategies

They are less directly related to language learning since their focus is on the

process of participating in a conversation and getting meaning across or clarifying

what the speaker intended. Communication strategies are used by speakers when

faced with some difficulty due to the fact that their communication ends outrun their

communication means or when confronted with misunderstanding by a co-speaker.

(Hismanoglu, 2004)

6.2.5.2 Social Strategies

Social strategies are those activities learners engage in which afford them

opportunities to be exposed to and practise their knowledge. Although these

strategies provide exposure to the target language, they contribute indirectly to

learning since they do not lead directly to the obtaining, storing, retrieving, and

using of language. (Hismanoglu, 2004)

31
6.2.5.3 Social-affective Strategies

As to the social-affective strategies, it can be stated that they are related with

social-mediating activity and transacting with others. Cooperation and question for

clarification are the main social-affective strategies. (Hismanoglu, 2004)

6.2.6 Types of Interaction

―Point out that many different types of interaction are possible in the class: there

are various ways in which the teacher can talk to students, students to the teacher,

and students to each other‖. (Doff, 2002:275)

Activities and kinds of interaction:

a. Drills: a mixture of teacher to class (modelling), and student(s) to student(s)

(pairwork and groupwork).

b. Question/answer practice: Teacher to student, then students to student (public

pairs), then simultaneous pairwork.

c. Answering questions on a text: Teacher asking students in turn, or students

working together in pairs and teacher going through answers afterwards.

32
d. Role-play: Two students in front of the class, or student working in pairs.

e. Guessing Games: Students asking the teacher questions, or asking one

student at the front, or students working in pairs.

f. Correcting written exercises: Teacher with the whole class, or students

working in pairs (correcting each other‘s work). (Doff, 2002:275)

However, the researcher thinks that there are other more communicative and

meaningful activities that can be carried out because the best way to teach

students English is to not only get them physically involved within the lesson, but

also to create the illusion that they are simply playing games; and rather than focus

on individual development, it is also a very good idea to promote class interaction

as far as possible. Some activities might be:

6.2.6.1 Telling Tales/Stories/Jokes: (Two students in front of the class, or

student working in pairs)

The teacher arranges three separate bags at the front of the class, and puts slips

of paper in each of them. The first bag should hold the name of a person, the

second the name of a place, and the third should contain an action. For example,

‗The Queen‘, ‗Beach‘, ‗Skipping‘. The teacher asks students to select one slip of

paper from each bag, and then write a short story that includes all three elements.

This can be as fictitious as they wish, so long as it makes grammatical sense. One

33
by one, the teacher asks students to read out their short paragraph to the class.

The more random the words on the cards are the better, as humour and comedy

are perhaps the most prolific teaching tools in existence. (Doff, 2002:275)

6.2.6.2 Cultural Charades: (One student at the front talking to the whole

class)

Before the lesson, the teacher fastens cards under the students‘ desks or seats.

When the class begins, s/he asks students to read the word that is on their card,

but to keep it secret. The teacher puts the name of each student into a hat, and

picks out a name at random. When called out, the student must come to the front

of the class and try to describe the object on his/her card. When the class correctly

guesses the right answer, the teacher writes the word on the board. The process

continues until every student has had his or her turn. (Doff, 2002:275)

6.2.6.3 Word Association: (Groupwork)

The teacher arranges the seats or desks in the classroom into one wide ring. S/He

decides on a topic, and begins with just one word. One by one goes around the

circle in an anticlockwise direction and asks the students to say another English

word that they think links to the previous word. (e.g. If the teacher begins with ‗hot‘,

the next word might be ‗cold‘, and then ‗ice‘, ‗snow‘, ‗sleigh‘, and so forth). If a

34
student hesitate for too long or calls out a word that does not really fit with the

previous utterance, the teacher will ask him/her to move out of the circle. The

person on the immediate right will then begin an entirely new topic with a word of

his/her choosing. The process continues until there is just one winner left. (Doff,

2002:275)

6.2.6.4 Pass the question: (Teacher with the whole class)

The teacher arranges the desks or chairs into a rough circle and stands in the

centre with a small ball in his/her hand. Asks a question, and then passes the ball

to a student at random (for example, ‗what is two plus two?‘, or ‗what is the capital

of England?‘). if the student knows the correct answer, s/he should pass the ball

back to the teacher as s/he answers. If s/he doesn‘t know, s/he must call out ‗sorry,

I don‘t know‘, or similar, and throw the ball to one of his/her classmates. If the

second student knows the answer, s/he returns the ball to the teacher, if not, s/he

passes it on again. The process continues until getting the correct answer, and

then begins again with a new topic. It is good to repeat questions that the students

have struggled with at a later stage in the game. (Doff, 2002:275)

6.2.6.5 Memory Momentum: (Teacher with the whole class)

The teacher prepares a tray of objects at the front of the class—the more items,

the better. The teacher asks the class to file around the table for a short amount of

35
time, covers up the objects, and asks the students to sit back down again. The

class should then write down the English names of as many objects as they can

remember, and then call out the objects so that the teacher can write them on the

board. When the list is complete, the teacher asks the students to tell him/her a bit

more about what they can remember, for example, ‗what was the banana near to?‘,

‗what was at the back of the table?‘, or ‗what was in the middle of the table?‘ (In the

event that the students cannot remember, simply uncover the objects in order to

enable further learning). (Doff, 2002:275)

6.2.6.6 Holiday Fun: (One student at the front talking to the whole class)

The teacher tells the class to pretend that they are going on a holiday or a field trip,

and asks them to bring in one small item or object that they would need to take

with them. The teacher uses a large suitcase as a prop, and puts it on a desk at

the front of the classroom. The teacher asks the students to come to the front of

the class one by one and describe what they have brought, and explain why they

have brought it. The teacher should try to get the students to be as specific as

possible, for example, if a student has chosen to bring a t-shirt, the teacher should

ask him/her what colour it is, and what the logo says, etc. When all of the objects

are ‗packed‘ in the suitcase, the teacher can develop the idea further still, by asking

the class what they have forgotten to pack. As they call out the items, the teacher

writes the words down on the board—toothpaste, camera, sandals—and then gets

them to group the similar objects together. (Doff, 2002:275)

36
6.2.7 Assessing Listening and Speaking Skills

Even though many students have mastered basic listening and speaking skills,

some students are much more effective in their oral communication than others.

And those who are more effective communicators experience more success in

school and in other areas of their lives. The skills that can make the difference

between minimal and effective communication can be taught, practised, and

improved.

The method used for assessing oral communication skills depends on the purpose

of the assessment. A method that is appropriate for giving feedback to students

who are learning a new skill is not appropriate for evaluating students at the end of

a course. However, any assessment method should adhere to the measurement

principles of reliability, validity, and fairness. The instrument must be accurate and

consistent, it must represent the abilities we wish to measure, and it must operate

in the same way with a wide range of students. The concerns of measurement, as

they relate to oral communication, are highlighted below. Detailed discussions of

speaking and listening assessment may be found in Powers (1984), Rubin and

Mead (1984), and Stiggins (1981).

Some recommended assessment instruments to assess students‘ progress

providing valid feedback are checklists, appreciation scales/tables and rubrics.

37
6.2.7.1 Oral Communication and Listening: definition

Defining the domain of knowledge, skills, or attitudes to be measured is at the core

of any assessment. Most people define oral communication narrowly, focusing on

speaking and listening skills separately. Traditionally, when people describe

speaking skills, they do so in a context of public speaking. Recently, however,

definitions of speaking have been expanded (Brown, 1981). One trend has been to

focus on communication activities that reflect a variety of settings: one-to-many,

small group, one-to-one, and mass media. Another approach has been to focus on

using communication to achieve specific purposes: to inform, to persuade, and to

solve problems. A third trend has been to focus on basic competencies needed for

everyday life –for example, giving directions, asking for information, or providing

basic information in an emergency situation. The latter approach has been taken in

the Speech Communication Association's guidelines for elementary and secondary

students. Many of these broader views stress that oral communication is an

interactive process in which an individual alternately takes the roles of speaker and

listener, and which includes both verbal and nonverbal components.

Listening, like reading comprehension, is usually defined as a receptive skill

comprising both a physical process and an interpretive, analytical process. (See

Lundsteen, 1979; for a discussion of listening). However, this definition is often

expanded to include critical listening skills (higher-order skills such as analysis and

synthesis) and nonverbal listening (comprehending the meaning of tone of voice,

38
facial expressions, gestures, and other nonverbal cues.) The expanded definition

of listening also emphasizes the relationship between listening and speaking.

6.2.7.2 Speaking Skills: assessment

Two methods are used for assessing speaking skills. In the Observational

Approach, the student's behaviour is observed and assessed unobtrusively. In the

structured approach, the student is asked to perform one or more specific oral

communication tasks. His or her performance on the task is then evaluated. The

task can be administered in a one-on-one setting – with the test administrator and

one student – or in a group or class setting. In either setting, students should feel

that they are communicating meaningful content to a real audience. Tasks should

focus on topics that all students can easily talk about, or, if they do not include

such a focus, students should be given an opportunity to collect information on the

topic (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead 1984, and Stiggins, 1981).

Both Observational and Structured Approaches use a variety of rating systems. A

holistic rating captures a general impression of the student's performance. A

primary trait score assesses the student's ability to achieve a specific

communication purpose -- for example, to persuade the listener to adopt a certain

point of view. Analytic scales capture the student's performance on various aspects

of communication, such as delivery, organization, content, and language. Rating

systems may describe varying degrees of competence along a scale or may

indicate the presence or absence of a characteristic.

39
A major aspect of any rating system is rater objectivity: is the rater applying the

scoring criteria accurately and consistently to all students across time? The

reliability of raters should be established during their training and checked during

administration or scoring of the assessment. If ratings are made on the spot, two

raters will be required for some administrations. If ratings are recorded for later

scoring, double scoring will be needed. (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead 1984, and

Stiggins, 1981)

6.2.7.3 Listening Skills: assessment

Listening tests typically resemble reading comprehension tests except that the

student listens to a passage instead of reading it. The student then answers

multiple-choice questions that address various levels of literal and inferential

comprehension. Important elements in all listening tests are (1) the listening

stimuli, (2) the questions, and (3) the test environment. (Powers, 1984, Rubin and

Mead 1984, and Stiggins, 1981)

The listening stimuli should represent typical oral language, and not consist of

simply the oral reading of passages designed to be written material. The material

should model the language that students might typically be expected to hear in the

classroom, in various media, or in conversations. Since listening performance is

strongly influenced by motivation and memory, the passages should be interesting

and relatively short. To ensure fairness, topics should be grounded in experience

common to all students, irrespective of gender and geographic, socioeconomic, or

40
racial/ethnic background. (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead 1984, and Stiggins,

1981)

In regard to questions, multiple-choice items should focus on the most important

aspects of the passage –not trivial details– and should measure skills from a

particular domain. Answers designated as correct should be derived from the

passage, without reliance on the student's prior knowledge or experience.

Questions and response choices should meet accepted psychometric standards

for multiple-choice questions. (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead 1984, and Stiggins,

1981)

An alternative to the multiple-choice test is a performance test that requires

students to select a picture or actually perform a task based on oral instruction. For

example, students might hear a description of several geometric figures and

choose pictures that match the description, or they might be given a map and

instructed to trace a route that is described orally. (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead

1984, and Stiggins, 1981)

The testing environment for listening assessment should be free of external

distractions. If stimuli are presented from a tape, the sound quality should be

excellent. If stimuli are presented by a test administrator, the material should be

presented clearly, with appropriate volume and rate of speaking. (Powers, 1984,

Rubin and Mead 1984, and Stiggins 1981)

41
6.2.7.4 Assessment instruments: selection or design?

Identifying an appropriate instrument depends upon the purpose for assessment

and the availability of existing instruments (Powers, 1984, Rubin and Mead 1984,

and Stiggins 1981). If the purpose is to assess a specific set of skills –for instance,

diagnosing strengths and weaknesses or assessing mastery of an objective– the

test should match those skills. If appropriate tests are not available, it makes sense

to design an assessment instrument to reflect specific needs. If the purpose is to

assess communication broadly, as in evaluating a new programme or assessing

district goals, the test should measure progress over time and, if possible, describe

that progress in terms of external norms, such as national or state norms. In this

case, it is useful to seek out a pertinent test that has undergone careful

development, validation, and norming, even if it does not exactly match the local

programme.

Several reviews of oral communication tests are available (Rubin and Mead 1984).

The Speech Communication Association has compiled a set of Resources for

Assessment in Communication, which includes standards for effective oral

communication programmes, criteria for evaluating instruments, procedures for

assessing speaking and listening, an annotated bibliography, and a list of

consultants.

42
6.3 Cognitive Implications: Motivating Students to Speak English

Motivation is an essential factor affecting learning. The weaker learners are often

those with least motivation. Their motivation is often reduced further by the sense

of failure as they find the subject difficult and make little progress. Successful

learners, on the other hand, are often those who are motivated from the beginning

and their sense of success further motivates them. It is therefore very important

that the teacher works on motivating all the students.

For many children, the main reason for studying English is that it is part of the

school syllabus. This is not very motivating as a reason in itself. Some students,

those with English-speaking family, for example, may have more positive reasons

for learning. It is up to the teacher then to try to motivate his/her students, to show

them that English is not ‘just another school subject‘ and also to show them that it

is interesting and relevant to them. It should also be remembered that enjoyment

can be a powerful motivator. (Seligson, 1997: p.16)

6.3.1 Making speaking English relevant: The importance of English

Students arenot often aware of the importance of English as an international

language. Seligson (1997) suggests that a few initial class activities can make

them to become interested and motivated. For instance to list all the pop singers

and groups they like who sing in English or have English names, and also to

choose and bring in a simple pop song or song video that they like. Another good

43
activity might be to list TV programmes they like which have the titles in English (if

they are dubbed) or are in English if they are subtitled, and the same with films,

computer games and song titles. Finally, ask students to find out if their parents

would like to speak English or if they think it is a good idea for them to learn.

6.3.2 All aspects of speaking need to be included in lessons

6.3.2.1 Speaking means listening too

Seligson (1997) puts forward that linguistically, it is impossible to separate

speaking from listening. The implication for the classroom is that students have to

do a lot of listening (to teachers, cassettes, videos and each other). The more they

do, the more their interest and desire to speak will be aroused.

6.3.2.2 Progress and evaluation

Assuming ‗passing‘ the course is important to students. Seligson (1997) claims that

it is also important to include speaking in tests or students will not be interested in

putting in the effort to learn. This is probably the most important single change. The

test is always uppermost in students‘ minds and the backwash effect of having to

pass the course means that more class time will automatically become devoted to

speaking.

44
6.3.3 Classroom atmosphere and freedom to speak in the target language

6.3.3.1 Encourage students to participate

The atmosphere in the classroom affects all teachers do, thus the ideal class is

one which is fun and lively, but also positive, disciplined and businesslike. To

achieve this, teachers need to find the right balance of friendliness, sensitivity and

approachability, mutual respect, sharing of responsibilities, co-operation, and

flexibility.

As mentioned by Seligson (1997), there is no magic formula to do that, but it is

asking students to co-operate and speak English to each other, and they need to

feel comfortable in our classes and relaxed with teachers, or speaking activities

won‘t work.

6.3.3.2 Allow students some autonomy and choice

Seligson (1997) assert that students learn best when they are involved in what they

are doing. The best way to achieve this with energetic adolescents is to allow them

some opportunity to express their ideas and characters. This involves taking risks,

for instance frequently inviting oral contributions from students and not worrying too

much if they break into L1. If students are used to being silent in class and never

allowed to talk, they certainly won‘t speak a foreign language together.

45
6.3.3.3 Avoid making them feel inhibited or overly self-conscious

Seligson (1997) also affirms that the awful peer pressure and embarrassment that

many students suffer and have suffered as sensitive teenagers when they have to

speak to the teacher, or answer a question in front of friends, while they laugh at

their mistakes. There is nothing more demotivating than a bad experience like that.

The best way to defuse these tensions is to use pair-work as often as possible so

speaking a foreign language becomes the norm, rather than an alien activity.

6.3.4 Presenting Language Orally: Presentation techniques that really work

6.3.4.1 Dialogue building

One of the best ways to introduce dialogue is by building it up on the board. It is

one of the first techniques one ever learns and it still works! (Seligson, 1997)

a. Draw two ‗talking heads‘ on the board. Then, ask the class: What are their

names? And write the best ones under the heads.

b. Write the first line of a dialogue as a prompt: What/do last night? Use a slash as

a regular system to signal that some words are missing and make sure students

know this. Try to elicit the first line in full: What did you do last night? Students can

46
usually come up with: What do you do? So elicit or teach them the past tense form

did. Drill as necessary.

c. Then focus on the answer. From the prompt out elicit/teach I went out. Drill the

question and answer between students, then move on to the next line: Where did

you go? Build up the whole dialogue, pausing after every two lines to get students

to practice the whole thing in pairs from the beginning again, one as Tom, the other

as Nicole, and then swap roles. When you reach the name of the film, ask the

students to suggest which film she saw and replace the ―???‖ on the board with the

name.

This technique works for any dialogue, whether functional (e.g. buying a train

ticket, at a hotel reception, phoning, etc.) or structural (What time do you get up in

the morning? What are you doing tonight?) because it‘s lively and fun. Students

are actively involved in the build-up and practice and it provides a memorable and

personal learning experience. (Seligson, 1997)

6.3.5 Pair and groupwork that works

For teachers either unsure of what pair and groupwork are or who remain

unconvinced of their worth. This brief introduction answers some of their questions

(Seligson, 1997).

47
6.3.5.1 Pair and groupwork: advantages

a. It greatly increases the amount of time students can talk in class, especially

in larger classes. In fact, it‘s the best way to maximise class time.

b. It also improves the quality of talking, allowing for more of the features of

natural speech: hesitation, mixed structures, unfinished sentences, etc.

c. It encourages a more communal classroom atmosphere and helps to

individualize language learning and teaching. Changing groupings enables a

variety of learning experiences for students. They can learn from each other

and teachers are freer to help individuals, thus producing a better affective

classroom climate.

d. Classroom dynamics and atmosphere improves dramatically if students are

asked to work together in situations where, in other school subjects, they

would normally be expected to work alone, e.g. writing answers to

exercises. However, groupwork is now becoming a more common practice

in many other schools subjects too. Especially where project work is being

introduced.(Seligson, 1997)

48
6.3.5.2 Other advantages to pair and groupwork

Compared with traditional methods, it makes classes much more active and

enjoyable for students, so it is more likely to motivate them to want to learn. In

terms of preparation, once one has learnt a range of techniques and built up a

bank of activities, pictures, role cards, etc. it ultimately saves time and can make

life much easier.

In class, instead of doing most of the talking, constantly having to lead and control

everything students do. One has more opportunity to listen to them to see how they

are progressing, to respond to them as individuals and establish a different, more

adult relationship with them.

49
7. Methodological Framework

Introduction

This project is a quasi-experimental research project, so quantitative and

qualitative methodologies will be used. The variables identified are: X1, which is

the dependent variable, and Y1, which is the independent variable.

The independent variable is supposed to be manipulated and carefully controlled.

The collection of data will be carried out in the first instance by a pre-test, and later

by a post-test that will be applied to students. In addition, field notes on my own

lesson plans will be analysed. A rotation system will facilitate the field note taking.

These tests are intended to identify the students‘ level of speaking skills both at the

beginning of the intervention period and by the end of it. Each student will pick up

six pieces of paper with a different number each one –with questions ranging from

the easiest to the most difficult– and according to the number on each piece of

paper, the student will have to answer what he/she is being asked.

Variables:

X= Student's low development of the speaking skill.

Y= Exposition to an improved controlled-learning environment inside the classroom

using varied classroom interaction (groupwork and pairwork) communicative

activities and social-affective strategies in order to develop students‘ speaking skill.

50
7.1 Data collection

Two questionnaires were applied to the students taken from the book ‗The Mixed

Ability Class‘. The first one called ‗Students’ Interests’ was used to find out about

students‘ strengths and interests. The second one called ‗How we like to learn

English’ was used to find out about students‘ attitudes to different ways of learning.

Other instruments to collect information during the intervention period will be direct

observation and assignments.

7.2 Setting

The research was carried out at Instituto Profesional Chileno Norteamericano

located in 1467 Moneda street, Santiago de Chile. The building is separated into

three sections. The first section holds the administrative area. The second section

holds the library on the ground floor and the cafeteria on the first floor. The third

section is a seven-storey building with 7 classrooms per floor.

Instituto Profesional Chileno Norteamericano (IPCHN, for short) is a higher

educational institution acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, by decree No.

117, whose mission is to provide opportunities for vocational and technical training

to enable graduates integrate effectively and productively to the workplace,

developing their capacity to generate, innovate and communicate information in

English and Spanish.

51
IPCHN was created by the Chilean-North American Institute, a prestigious

comprehensive institution with vast experience on EFL/ESL, and with over 70

years of history contributing to the training of bilingual professionals in the country.

Mission

IPCHN‘s mission is to provide opportunities for vocational and technical training to

enable students to integrate effectively and productively to the modern workplace.

They prepare youth and adults through programmes of academic excellence,

developing their capacity to generate, innovate and communicate information in

English and Spanish.

Vision

IPCHN is a higher education institution recognised for providing helpful teaching

and learning opportunities for people to achieve educational, professional and

personal goals, and develop interest in local, regional, national and international

reality.

Principles

a. Commitment: IPCHN is permanently connected to the community through

collaborative practices, clear communication and valuing differences.

52
b. Innovation: IPCHN supports the entrepreneurial spirit that creates and opens

new opportunities.

c. Respect: IPCHN values tolerance and it is its obligation to treat all people with

dignity, fairness and civility.

d. Excellence: IPCHN promotes the teaching and learning experiences of quality

that prepare people for life, work and assume leadership positions.

e. Integrity: IPCHN is committed to applying the highest academic, professional

and personal standards.

7.3 Participants

The class in which the intervention was done corresponds to Year 2 of Traducción

Inglés-Español (TIE, for short). The students come from different socioeconomic

backgrounds. One of the students comes from Palestine and presents a visual

disability, but he is one of the top students of the class. There are 25 students (9

males and 16 females). The students‘ ages range from 19 to 20 years old.

53
7.4 Pre-intervention stage

The pre-intervention stage was carried out on classroom 63 during the first and

second weeks of October. Two pictorial questionnaires and a 30-question oral pre-

test were applied to the students. Only half of the class was present the first week,

therefore, the rest of the students were asked to answer the questionnaires and the

oral pre-test the following week.

7.4.1 Questionnaires

Questionnaire nº1, called Students’ interests, evaluated what the students‘

strengths and interests were. They had to write a number (1-4) next to 20 different

topics (e.g. fashion, history, technology, the environment, cookery, etc). Besides,

they were free to write down 3 more topics they were interested in at the bottom of

the page. (See Appendix 1).

Questionnaire nº2, called How we like to learn English, evaluated students‘

attitudes to different ways of learning. They had to write yes, no or sometimes

under 16 different ways of learning English. What is more, they were free to write

and draw three more things that they always, sometimes o did not like doing to

learn English. (See Appendix 2)

54
7.4.1.1 Presentation of questionnaires results

Bar chart number 1: Questionnaire nº1 ‘Students’ interests’

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
How people live in…

Explorers and…
Mathematics

Inventions
Wild animals
Pets

The environment

Geography
Science
Cities in the world
Technology

Fashion

Football
Kings and Queens
Cookery

Famous people
History

Sport
Stars and planets
Pop music

1 very interested 2 quite interested 3 not very interested 4 not at all interested

Bar chart number 1 illustrates the 20 topics that students were asked to number

according to their preferences (1 to 4). How people live in different countries and

Pets were the topics that attracted most students‘ interest (12 each). Mathematics

and Kings and Queens were the topics that drew less students‘ attention (13 each).

The students had also the option to write down 3 more topics they were interested

in, some of them were: gym, art, love/romance, types of food, languages,

biographies, films, books and video games.

55
Bar chart number 2: Questionnaire nº2 ‗How we like to learn English’

25

20

15

10
Yes
5 No
Sometimes
0

Bar chart number 2 shows the 16 ways to learn English that students preferred.

They were asked to write yes, no or sometimes. Practising pronunciation, hearing

new words and listening to the teacher were the ways that most students answered

yes to (24, 22 and 20, respectively). Acting, doing projects and alone were the

ways that students answered no to (12, 8 and 8, correspondingly). Doing tests,

reading books and doing grammar exercises in the book were the ways that

students answered sometimes to (13, 12 and 10, in that order).

The students had also the option to write and draw three more things that they

always, sometimes o did not like doing to learn English. Some of them were:

listening to music, travelling/commuting, shopping and playing games.

56
7.4.1.2 Analysis of questionnaire results

Bar chart number 1 demonstrates that students‘ 5 top interests are very connected

to their age group (19-21 years old) and the degree they are studying, English-

Spanish Translation. Young adults are inclined to talk about everyday topics (pets,

technology, and cookery). Furthermore, studying a foreign language always

awakens one‘s interest in knowing more about other cultures (how people live in

different countries and cities in the world). The 5 least interesting topics for

students were connected to topics that were not appealing to them (maths, kings

and queens, football, science, and geography).

Bar chart number 2 demonstrates that students prefer to learn English as a foreign

language through oral activities such as practising pronunciation, hearing new

words and listening to the teacher which makes obvious their interest in improving

their oral skills, but also their dependence on a lecturer who provides a real model

to follow and corrects them. The less engaging ways were acting, doing projects

and alone, which reflects the students‘ dislike to carrying out activities on their own.

The ways to learn English they sometimes felt inclined to were related to more

traditional learning methods such as doing tests, reading books and doing

grammar exercises.

57
7.4.2 Pre-test

The pre-test consisted of 30 questions divided into 3 levels (elementary,

intermediate and advanced). They students had to take the pre-test in pairs. Each

student had to pick up six pieces of paper with a different number each one and

according to the number on each piece of paper, the student had to answer what

he/she was being asked. (See Appendix 3)

The students were given a rubric illustrating the 5 aspects to be assessed in the

pre-test and the score for each one (5 to 1) totalling 25 (very good) and 5 (very

poor) beforehand. (See Appendix 4).

Furthermore, the students were shown the oral performance evaluation sheet that

the teacher was going to use to assess them. (See Appendix 5)

58
7.4.2.1 Presentation of pre-test results

Graph number 1: Pre-test

Pre-test Scores
Very good Good Fair Poor Very poor

0%

8%
16%

40%
36%

Graph number 1 illustrates the percentage of success achieved by students after

taking the pre-test. Two students obtained between 25 points (the highest score)

and 22 points, representing 8% (very good); ten students obtained between 22 and

18 points, representing 40% (good); nine students obtained between 18 and 13

points, representing 36% (fair); four students obtained between 13 and 8 points,

representing 16% (poor); finally, no student obtained between 8 and 5 points;

representing 0% (very poor).

59
7.4.2.1 Analysis of pre-test results

Graph number 1 shows that more than half of the students‘ oral performance

(52%) is fair (36%) or poor (16%). The other half of the students‘ oral performance

(40%) is good (38.4%) or very good (8%). This result proves that a pedagogical

intervention is needed in this class to help weaker students achieve better results

when expressing themselves orally in English and to put them into another step,

closer to the stronger students of the class.

7.5 Intervention stage

The intervention period was conducted during the 2 nd and 3rd weeks of October.

The teacher prepared three lesson plans based on unit 12 ‗Food‘ from the

coursebook Innovations Intermediate (pp. 82-87). (See appendices 6, 7 and 8)

The 1st lesson was observed by Professor María Cecilia Bunster who sat in on the

teacher‘s lesson for 1 hour. There were 20 students out of 26 that day. The three

main stages of the lesson (presentation, practice, production) were clearly outlined.

This lesson was focused on listening and speaking. The teacher started the lesson

using the language strip at the top of the first page. Then, he used some pictures

asking for the students‘ opinions and next he played a recording to for the students

to verify their answers. The pace of the lesson flowed steadily with almost no

interruptions, except by two students who kept on talking and doodling. The

60
teacher then approached them and asked them some questions to keep them busy

and interested in the topic. Finally, the teacher clarified some doubts from students

and gave them a handout to complete as homework. (See appendices 6, 6.1 and

6.2)

The 2nd lesson was focused on reading and speaking. There were 24 students out

of 26 in the classroom. The teacher began the lesson by checking the handout

given as homework previously. Then, he began the lesson by introducing some

vocabulary for food-related problems. Next, the students had to read and listen to

an article about one of the problems formerly discussed. The students were asked

to discuss some questions, and carry out the following activities. Finally, the

teacher clarified any doubts that could have arisen and asked the students to bring

their favourite menu for next class. No disruptive behaviour was noticed during this

lesson. (See Appendixes 7, 7.1 and 7.2)

The 3rd lesson was focused on listening and speaking. There were 20 students out

of 26. The teacher started the lesson by checking the menus that were asked on

the previous lesson. After that, he carries out a listening activity in which the

students have to get some specific information. The rest of the activities are used

to reinforce grammatical and pronunciation aspects. Finally, the teacher clarifies

any doubts and reminds the students to work on their workbooks to deepen the

contents learnt throughout the whole unit. The students participated actively during

the lesson. (See Appendixes 8, 8.1 and 8.2)

61
7.6 Post-intervention stage

The post-intervention stage was carried out on classroom 63 during the last week

of October. A 30-question oral post-test was applied to the students. The whole

class was present that week.

7.6.1 Post-test

The post-test consisted of 30 questions divided into 3 levels elementary,

intermediate and advanced). They students had to take the post-test in pairs. Each

student had to pick up six pieces of paper with a different number each one and

according to the number on each piece of paper, the student had to answer what

he/she was being asked. (See Appendix 9)

The students were given a rubric illustrating the 5 aspects to be assessed in the

post-test and the score for each one (5 to 1) totalling 25 (very good) and 5 (very

poor) beforehand. (See Appendix 4).

Furthermore, the students were shown the oral performance evaluation sheet that

the teacher was going to use to assess them. (See Appendix 5)

62
7.6.1.1 Presentation of post-test results

Graph number 2: Post-test

Post-test Scores
Very good Good Fair Poor Very poor

0%

8%
16%

16%

60%

Graph number 2 shows the percentage of success achieved by students after

taking the post-test. Two students obtained between 25 points (the highest score)

and 22 points, representing 8% (very good); fifteen students obtained between 22

and 18 points, representing 60% (good); four students obtained between 18 and 13

points, representing 16% (fair); four students obtained between 13 and 8 points,

representing 16% (poor); finally, no student obtained between 8 and 5 points;

representing 0% (very poor).

63
7.6.1.2 Analysis of post-test results

Graph number 2 shows that almost a third of the students‘ oral performance (32%)

is fair (16%) or poor (16%). The number of students with a fair performance

decreased from 36% to 16%. The number of students with a good performance

increased from 40% to 60%. This means an improvement of 20% of the students‘

oral performance. The students with a very good performance remained the same.

This final result proves that a pedagogical intervention helped weaker students (not

the weakest ones though) achieve better results when expressing themselves

orally in English.

64
 0
5
10
15
20
25
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Student 6
Student 7
Student 8
Student 9
Student 10
Student 11
7.7. Pre-Test/Post-Test contrast

Student 12
Student 13
Student 14
Student 15
Student 16
Student 17
Student 18
Student 19
Student 20
Student 21
Student 22
Student 23
Student 24
Student 25

65
Pre-test
Post-test
7.7.1 Students’ scores

Nº Nº STUDENTS’ NAMES PRE-TEST SCORE POST-TEST SCORE

20 22
1 1 Abu-Nassar Kanfar, Emad
13 15
2 2 Cabello Mella, Martín Alonso
18 20
3 3 Caldera Vargas, Luis Cristóbal
15 17
4 4 Córdova Tamayo, Camila Andrea
25 25
5 5 Espinoza Riveros, Ana Paula
16 18
6 6 Fuentes Salas, Abigail Jennifer
15 17
7 7 Gelves Alvarado, Catalina Paz
8 10
8 8 González Barra, Daniela Edith
25 25
9 9 González Gaete, Florencia Carolina
22 22
10 10 Gutierrez Acevedo, María José
22 22
11 11 Herrera Gacitúa, David Eduardo
8 9
12 12 Herrera Arancibia, Maryan Carolina
21 22
13 13 Hidalgo Ferrada, María Alejandra
16 18
14 14 Ibáñez Almuna, Rosario Isabel
9 11
15 15 Latin Opazo, Angélica Nelly
13 15
16 16 Lira Rojas, Camila Jesús
9 11
17 17 Luco Durán, Jair Joram
15 18
18 18 Maripangui Molina, Alan Andrés
21 22
19 19 Martínez Briones, María Fernanda
19 21
20 20 Rojas Vidal, Ignacio Patricio
19 21
21 21 Salazar Gutierrez, Miguel Ángel
16 18
22 22 Salazar Espinoza, Andrea Elizabeth
15 17
23 23 Sereño Lara, Deyanira
18 20
24 24 Soto Torres Adrián
22 22
25 25 Valdebenito Escobar, Amparito Soledad

66
9. Conclusions

The abilities to listen critically and to express oneself clearly and effectively

contribute to a student's success in school and later in life. Teachers concerned

with developing the speaking and listening communication skills of their students

need methods for assessing their students' progress. These techniques range from

observation and questioning to standardised-testing. However, even the most

informal methods should embrace the measurement principles of reliability, validity,

and fairness. The methods used should be appropriate to the purpose of the

assessment and make use of the best instruments and procedures available.

After a whole month of teaching intervention conducted to improve the speaking

skill through a controlled-learning environment, the results have been quite

positive. My students improved their morphosyntactic and lexico-semantic

understanding. They have expressed their gratitude for the all the knowledge they

have acquired. All this gives me an enormous sense of well-being and a great

feeling of reward, making me feel proud of the profession I have chosen for life.
Bibliography

Brown, G., and G. Yule. (1983). Teaching the spoken language: An approach

based on the analysis of conversational English. New York: Cambridge University

Press.

Carrasquillo, A. L. (1994). Teaching English as a second language: A resource

guide. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.

Doff, Adrian. (2002). Teach English, a Training course for teachers. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Genzel, R. B. and M. G. Cummings. (1994). Culturally Speaking. Boston, MA:

Heinle and Heinle Publishers.

Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What every teacher should

Know. New York: Newbury House Publishers.

Richards, J.; Renandya, W. (2003). Methodology in Language Teaching.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Richards, Jack C.; Rodgers, Theodore S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in

Language Teaching. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Rivers, W. M. (1987). Interactive language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Seligson, Paul. (1997). Helping Students to Speak. London: Richmond Publishing.

Tice, Julie. (2004). The Mixed Ability Class. London: Richmond Publishing.

Tudor, Ian. (2001). The Dynamics of the Language Classroom. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Linkography

Clandfield, Lindsay; Thornbury, Scott. (2004). ‗Speaking Practice: Hot Tips.‘

MacMillan Publishers Ltd.

Available online at: http://www.onestopenglish.com/tefl_skills/speaking_tipsa.htm

Hismanoglu, Murat. Hacettepe University. Ankara, Turkey. (2004). ‗Language

Learning Strategies in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching.‘

Available online at: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Hismanoglu-Strategies.html

Mead, Nancy A.; Rubin, Donald L. (1985). ‗Assessing Listening and Speaking

Skills. ‘ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills Urbana IL.

Available online at: http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-923/speaking.htm

Orwig Carol J. (1999). Guidelines for a Language and Culture Learning Program

Available online at:

http://www.sil.org/LinguaLinks/languagelearning/OtherResources/GudlnsFrALngg

ndCltrLrnngPrgrm/SpeakingSkill.htm
Sheehy Skeffington, Catherine. ‗Getting teenagers talking.‘British Council,

Barcelona.

Available online at:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/speak/teen_speak.shtml

―Getting teenagers talking‖

Available online at

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/getting-teenagers-talking

Language education. (2012). Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.

Available online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_education

For further information

Brown, Kenneth L. TEACHING, SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS IN THE

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL. Boston, MA: Massachusetts
Department of Education, 1981. ED 234 440.

Lundsteen, Sara W. LISTENING: ITS IMPACT ON READING AND THE OTHER

LANGUAGE ARTS. Revised ed. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of
English and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, 1979.
ED 169 537.

Powers, Donald E. CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPING MEASURES OF

SPEAKING AND LISTENING. New York: College Entrance Examination Board,
1984.

Rubin, Don. L., and Mead, Nancy A. LARGE SCALE ASSESSMENT OF ORAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12.
Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association and the ERIC Clearinghouse
on Reading and Communication Skills, 1984. ED 245 293.

Speech Communication Association. RESOURCES FOR ASSESSMENT IN

COMMUNICATION. Annandale, VA.: Speech Communication Association, 1984.
SCA Guidelines: ESSENTIAL SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS FOR
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (6th GRADE LEVEL). Annandale, VA.:
Speech Communication Association. (Pamphlet, 1984).

SCA Guidelines: SPEAKING AND LISTENING COMPETENCIES FOR HIGH

SCHOOL GRADUATES. Annandale, VA.: Speech Communication Association.
(Pamphlet, 1984).

Stiggins, Richard J., ed. PERSPECTIVES ON THE ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKING

AND LISTENING SKILLS FOR THE 1980s. Portland, OR: Clearinghouse for
Applied Performance Testing, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 1981.
ED 210 748.
APPENDIXES
APPENDIX 1

Taken from: Tice, Julie. (2004). The Mixed Ability Class. London: Richmond
Publishing. (p. 91)
APPENDIX 2

Taken from: Tice, Julie. (2004). The Mixed Ability Class. London: Richmond
Publishing. (p. 81)
APPENDIX 3

PRE-TEST
Elementary Level Questions
1) Where are you from?
2) What do you do? Do you like it? Why?
3) Where were you born? When?
4) Who do you live with?
5) What are your parents‘ names?
6) Have you got any brothers or sisters?
7) Have you got any pet? What kind of?
8) Have you ever been abroad? Where?
9) What time do you usually get up in the morning?
10) What time do you usually go to bed at night?

Intermediate Level Questions

11) Where did you study before entering this institute?
12) Would you like to become famous all over the world? Why?
13) Do you like watching TV? Why?
14) Do you like reading books? Why?
15) Who is the person you admire the most in your life? Why?
16) What was your favourite subject at school? Why?
17) What would you do if you were rich?
18) What would you like to do after getting your degree?
19) What country would you like to visit in the future? Why?

Advanced Level Questions

20) Do you want to get married in the future? Why?
21) Do you like English? Why?
22) What do you like doing in your free time? Why?
23) How would you describe yourself?
24) If you had the chance to change something at the institute, what would it be?
25) Do you like Santiago? Why?
APPENDIX 4

Rubric (Oral Assessment Criteria Form)

Aspects to be Very Good Good Average Poor Very Poor

assessed 5 4 3 2 1
Lexico-Semantic Very good Good lexis, but Limited Very low No English
lexis, but still not the most vocabulary proficiency in words
some few appropriate English words.
inappropriate words.
words.
Morpho- Almost no Few grammar Elementary Very poor No English
Syntactic grammar mistakes. grammar, grammar
mistakes. although structures and
manages some elementary
structures. mistakes.
Pronunciation Almost no Good Although the Mispronunciation No
errors pronunciation, pronunciation is of most English pronunciation
but still some not good, the words.
errors. words can be
identified by the
hearer.
Communication Ideas Well-linked Ideas make Deficiency in No language
& Improvisation understood ideas. sense. organising ideas.
immediately by Coherence. No coherence.
the hearer.
Understanding Understands Understands the Understands the The student tries The student
the questions questions, and questions trying to say something does not
quite well. answers them. to answer them despite s/he understand the
Answers them Some pauses in as well as does not questions
immediately. between. possible. understand the
Almost no questions.
pauses.

TOTAL: (25) (20) (15) (10) (5)

APPENDIX 5

ORAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SHEET

(Taken from Prof. Verónica Ormeño, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno.)

NAME: _______________________________ DATE: ___/___/___ SCORE: ________

I. LEXICO - SEMANTIC ASPECT:

5 4 3 2 1
VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR

II. MORPHO - SYNTACTIC ASPECT:

5 4 3 2 1
VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR

III. PRONUNCIATION:

5 4 3 2 1
VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR

IV. COMMUNICATION & IMPROVISATION:

5 4 3 2 1
VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR

V. UNDERSTANDING:

5 4 3 2 1
VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR VERY POOR

COMMENTS:____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
APPENDIX 6

Class: TIE 2 (Traducción Inglés-Español) - Instituto Profesional Norteamericano

Subsector: English
Time: 90 minutes
General Objective: Improve the listening and speaking skills by talking about different kinds of food and
food problems.
Content:
 Understand and use vocabulary to describe food.
 Use expressions related to food preparation.
 Understand general and specific information provided in an oral text.
Skills:
 Listening (input)
 Speaking (output)
Materials:
 Whiteboard
 Felt-tip pens (markers)
 Coursebook (Innovations Intermediate) pp.82-83
 Radio
 CD
 Handouts
Presentation (15 min):
 The teacher uses the language strip at the top of page 82 as a way to lead in to the unit.
 The students are asked to look quickly through the list and find any expressions that are true for
them.
 The teacher encourages students to choose some other expressions in the strip that look
interesting and to find out more about them.
 The students are asked to tell the teacher about the most disgusting thing they have ever eaten,
what it was, what it tasted like, where they ate it. Then they are asked about the most delicious
thing.
Practice (30 min)
 On Activity 1, the students look at the pictures (A-I) and discuss what kind of food they can see.
Next, they are asked where they think each comes from, if they have tried them and what they
were like.
 The teacher plays the recording so that the students can check their answers.
 On Activity 2, the students are asked if they can remember which expressions were used to
describe the pictures on the previous task.
Production (45 min)
 On Activity 3, the students are asked to think of five different kinds of foods from their country
and spend five minutes planning how to describe them. Next, the teacher will give each student
a handout with 18 categories and expressions to fill in and use afterwards. Then, they tell other
students as much about each food as they can.
 On Activity 4, the students are asked which national and regional cuisines they like and what
they know/think of English food, which does not have a very good reputation. Next, they are
asked to complete three texts individually and then compare their answers with a partner.
Assessment/ evaluation:
 The teacher will monitor and provide students with oral feedback.
Assignment:
 The students are asked if there is anything they did not understand from the class, so any
doubts are clarified.
 The students are given a handout on food vocabulary to complete as homework.
 The students are reminded to work on their workbooks at home in order to deepen their
understanding of food vocabulary.
Alternatives (slow students, absent students):
 Slow students and the only student with special needs (visually impaired) will be constantly
monitored by the teacher.
 The teacher will leave some material for the absent students to catch up with the contents for
the next lesson.
APPENDIX 6.1

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 82)
APPENDIX 6.2

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 83)
APPENDIX 7
Class: TIE 2 (Traducción Inglés-Español) - Instituto Profesional Norteamericano
Subsector: English
Time: 90 minutes
General Objective: Improve the reading and speaking skills by talking about different kinds of food and
food problems.

Content:
 Understand and use vocabulary for food-related problems.
 Use food collocations to express ideas.
 Understand general and specific information provided in a written text.

Skills:
 Reading/Listening (input) ‗The problem of obesity in developed countries‘
 Speaking (output)
Materials:
 Whiteboard
 Felt-tip pens (markers)
 Coursebook (Innovations Intermediate) pp.84-85
 Radio
 CD
Presentation (15 min):
 The teacher checks with the students the handout that was given on the previous lesson.
 On Activity 1, the teacher introduces some new vocabulary for food-related problems as a lead-
in to the piece of reading ‗Eat your greens!‘ Then, the students are asked to match 5
descriptions to their corresponding situations.
Practice (30 min)
 On Activity 2, the students are asked what they think the title of the article is referring to
(vegetables). Then, they are asked to guess which of the problems in Activity 1 will be
discussed.
 The students are asked to read and listen to the article and answer 3 questions as they read.
Production (45 min)
 On Activity 3, the students are asked to discuss 6 follow-up questions related to the article with a
partner or in groups.
 On Activity 4, the students will reinforce some food-related collocations by completing 8
sentences individually.
 On Activity 5 ‗It should be banned!‘, the students are given some topics to decide whether they
should be banned or not. Then, the teacher divides the students into two groups: one for
banning, the other against. The students are given 10 minutes to think about arguments in
support of their respective positions to debate the issues.
 On Activity 6, the students are asked to match some people‘s comments (1-8) saying why they
cannot eat a particular kind of food to their reasons (a-h). The teacher explains the difference
between I don’t eat vs. I can’t eat.
 On activity 7, the students are asked to talk about a menu in pairs deciding if they would not eat
any of the dishes and why.
Assessment/ evaluation:
 The teacher will monitor and provide students with oral feedback.
Assignment:
 The students are asked if there is anything they did not understand from the class, so any
doubts are clarified.
 The students are asked to bring their favourite menu for next class.
 The students are reminded to work on their workbooks at home in order to deepen their
understanding of food problems.
Alternatives (slow students, absent students):
 Slow students and the only student with special needs (visually impaired) will be constantly
monitored by the teacher.
 The teacher will leave some material for the absent students to catch up with the contents for
the next class.
APPENDIX 7.1

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 84)
APPENDIX 7.2

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 85)
APPENDIX 8

Class: TIE 2 (Traducción Inglés-Español) - Instituto Profesional Norteamericano

Subsector: English
Time: 90 minutes
General Objective: Improve the listening and speaking skills by talking about different kinds of food and
food problems.

Content:
 Understand and use expressions with should’ve.
 Practise the pronunciation of contracted forms.
 Understand general and specific information provided in an oral text.

Skills:
 Listening (input)
 Speaking (output)

Materials:
 Whiteboard
 Felt-tip pens (markers)
 Coursebook (Innovations Intermediate) pp.86-87
 Radio
 CD
Presentation (15 min):
 The teacher checks with the students the menus that were asked on the previous lesson.
 On Activity 1, the students are asked to look at the picture on page 86 and say if it reminds them
of any embarrassing situation.

Practice (30 min)

 The teacher tells the students that they are going to hear two people having a conversation at
the end of a meal and as they listen, they will have to answer 4 questions.
 On Activity 2, the teacher explains the use of should’ve + past participle.
 On Activity 3, the students are asked to work individually re-writing some sentences.

Production (45 min)

 The students are asked to practise the dialogues in pairs.
 The students are asked to complete some sentences focusing on some more food collocations
 On Activity 4, the teacher plays a recording so students get used to the way contracted forms
sound. Then, they are asked to repeat each sentence.
 On Activity 5, students are asked to read a letter and then talk about it in pairs. Finally, the
teacher asks them for their opinions on the subject of the letter.

Assessment/ evaluation:
 The teacher will monitor and provide students with oral feedback.

Assignment:
 The students are asked if there is anything they did not understand from the class, so any
doubts are clarified.
 The students are reminded to work on their workbooks at home in order to deepen their
understanding of food problems.

Alternatives (slow students, absent students):

 Slow students and the only student with special needs (visually impaired) will be constantly
monitored by the teacher.
APPENDIX 8.1

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 86)
APPENDIX 8.2

Taken from: Dellar, Hugh; Walkley, Andrew. (2004). Innovations Intermediate.

Heinle, Cengage Learning. (p. 87)
APPENDIX 9

POST-TEST
Elementary Level Questions
1) How old are you?
2) What is your address?
3) Which region is Santiago located in?
4) Who is the president of Chile?
5) What is your granny‘s name?
6) Have you got a partner (boyfriend/girlfriend)?
7) Have you got a computer?
8) Have you ever met any foreigner? Where?
9) What time do you usually have lunch?
10) What do you have for tea or supper?

Intermediate Level Questions

11) Would you like to study at any other institute/university? Why?
12) What do you do at the weekend?
13) Do you like practising sports? Why?
14) Do you like listening to music? Why?
15) What is the thing you hate the most in your life? Why?
16) What is your favourite day? Why?
17) What would you do if you were lost in a city?
18) Would you like to work or continue with your studies after graduating? Why?
19) Which Chilean city would you like to visit? Why?

Advanced Level Questions

20) Do you want to have children in the future? Why?
21) What do you think about your teachers? Why?
22) Would you like to become president of Chile? Why?
23) How would you describe your fashion style?
24) If you had the chance to change something of this country, what would it be?
25) Tell any anecdote or experience you have never forgotten.
APPENDIX 10

Working Plan
(Spring Term 2012)

September - Data collection

October - Pre-Intervention Period
- Intervention Period.
Working Plan for - Post Intervention Period
Spring Term - 2012 November - Results and analysis of data gathered.
- Editing
- Final Report
December - Viva voce