TESOL/Guided listening and speaking
Students learning English as a second language should have plenty of opportunities to practice using English with message-focused activities. The focus is not on the form of the language but on communicating a message.
What is it?[edit | edit source]
A popular technique is called "What is it?". It has basically the following steps:
- The teacher describes something to the students. For example, the teacher says:
"It is flat. It is used in the kitchen. It is made of wood or plastic. You use it for cutting."
- The students respond with "cutting board" or just by pointing to a picture of a cutting board.
- Roles are switched and the students describe something to the teacher.
- Students work in pairs and one student describes something to another who must identify it.
Listening grids[edit | edit source]
Another popular activity, appropriate for many levels, is "listening grids."
One student gives some information, for example about which sports they like. The other students have a grid in which they check off boxes with the possible answers. For example, one student, let's say Alex, says:
"Noisy people bother me. People who are late bother me. Bad drivers bother me. People who often complain don't bother me."
The other students check off a grid like this:
| Name | Noisy people | People who are late | Bad drivers | People who complain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pat | ||||
| Terry | ||||
| Jane |
Surveys[edit | edit source]
Surveys are very similar but are different in that students ask each other questions rather than students presenting to the whole class without being questioned.
Interviews[edit | edit source]
Interviews are similar to surveys but involve more freedom concerning which questions are asked, although the interviewer should have a specific topic with specific types of questions. For example, an interviewer may ask about the other student's life with questions like these:
- Where were you born?
- Where did you go to school?
- Did you go to university?
- What did you study?
- Who did you work for?
Games[edit | edit source]
Quizzes[edit | edit source]
If the teacher gives points for answers, a simple quiz can become a game and become more engaging to the students. For example, if the students have a picture like the one below in their books, the teacher asks everyone, clearly indicating the picture, "What's his name?", and the first person to answer "Steve" gets a point.
Job: Artist
Favorite food: pizza
Tic-tac-toe[edit | edit source]
Students work with in pairs with one board. Each square has a picture, and to take a square, the student must name the picture.
Bingo[edit | edit source]
Each student has a bingo board with vocabulary or pictures. The teacher calls items.