Editorial
This article was first published in Modern English Teacher Vol 13 No. 4 , October 2004

Organising Free Speaking

Simon Mumford, Turkey

Simon Mumford teaches EAP at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. He has written on using stories, visuals, drilling, reading aloud, listening and is especially interested in the creative teaching of grammar.
E-mail: simon.mumford@ieu.edu.tr

Menu

Introduction
Speaking grid
Royal banquet
Round the table
Favourite topics
Odd person out
Three against one
Mental block
Long and short conversations
Contolled conversations
Card pairs
Conclusion

Introduction

Teachers often feel the need for pair and small group work, especially after long periods of concentration. These kinds of activities are often popular with students too, as they give them the chance to use the language they have learnt in a fairly relaxed way. Unforunately such conversations can dry up after a couple of minutes as students run out of things to say. However, with organisation, activities in which students have quite a lot of freedom to say what they like can be extended without loss of momentum. Here are some techniques for making free speaking more interesting by varying topics, partners and interaction patterns.

Speaking grid

Draw a grid and write the names of half the class on the vertical axis and the other half on the horizonal. Number the boxes as shown on the example below: write 1 in the diagonal line from top left to bottom right, and in the diagonal row beneath this write 2. The box in the top right hand corner should also be a 2. The next line under the 2s and the two boxes next to the 2 in the top right hand corner are all 3, and so on until all the boxes are numbered (see example below). Tell the students that each box represents one minute’s conversation, so according to the grid, for the first minute Ahmet will talk to Suzanne, then to Ali for the second minute, and Maria for the third, etc. while at the same time Lucy speaks to Ali, then to Maria, then to John. Students change partners when you give the signal. If you like you can have a separate subject for each number: eg 1 cars, 2 holidays, 3 parents, etc.

Royal banquet

Tell the students to imagine that they are at a banquet given by a king and queen. Seat the class as if they were at a long table, with the king and queen at the top. Students should speak to their partners across the table. Explain that the king and queen want all their guests to talk about the same subject as them, at the same time. So the pair closest to the king and queen will listen carefully, making sure that their conversations are on the same subjects. The pair next to those will be listening for any topic change, and adjust their conversation accordingly, and so the change of topics will progress down the table. Listening should be done at the same time as speaking, as the king and queen will think that people aren’t enjoying themselves if the conversation dries up! The king and queen can chose their own topics, or they can be given a list by the teacher.

Round the table

Seat students in groups of eight or ten, around two tables, end to end if possible. They are seated in pairs opposite each other, with the two people at either end being one of the pairs. Each person speaks to their partner opposite them, including the pair at the ends, who of course have to shout above the others to make themselves heard. Every minute or so clap your hands as a signal for all students (including those at the ends) to move round one place to their right and talk to their new partners. Warning! This can be a very noisy activity.

Favourite topics

Write five different subjects for discussion on the board, e.g. ‘holidays, fishing, cooking, computers, football.’ Students write them down in order of interest. Now number the the corners of the room 1,2,3,4 and the centre of the room for the fifth position. Designate a part of the room for each subject, e.g. ‘corner 1 football, corner 2 holidays, etc.’ Students talk about the subjects as follows: they go to the first part of the room which represents their first choice and speak about it with others who have chosen the same subject for five minutes. When the teacher gives the signal, they go to another part of the room and talk about their second choice for four minutes, then their third for three, their fourth for two and finally their last choice for just one minute.

Odd person out

Divide the class into odd numbered groups, say five. They form pairs, with an ‘odd person out’, who stand up and holds a piece of paper with an ‘X’ on it. His/her job is to listen to the others while they talk about a given subject. When he/she hears a mistake,he/she gives the paper to the student who made it and takes his/her place sitting down. The person who made the mistake is now the ‘odd person out’. Alternatively s/he can have a piece of paper with common words related to the subject under discussion, eg for families: ‘My, she, mother, cousin, lives, married, children, years old’ etc. When s/he hears a word listed s/he can change places with the person who said it, giving the list to the new ‘odd person out’.

Three against one

Put students in groups of four. Three are ‘questioners’, who compete to ask personal questions at the same time to the fourth person, who is the ‘answerer’. The person answering must try to control the flow of questions with phrases like I’ll answer that in a minute. Just a moment. Can you wait one second? Sorry, I’m speaking to (name) at the moment. Write these phrases on the board first and practise them, then let the students take turns in answering.

Mental block

Here is a more complicated activity, perhaps for higher level students. Write down the names of all the English tenses the students know on the board. Each student chooses one and writes it down. Explain that each person should imagine they have a ‘mental block’ about their chosen tense, i.e. they cannot use or understand it. Students mingle, form pairs and ask each other questions in different tenses. Whenever someone ask them a question in their ‘blocked’ tense, they say Sorry, I don’t understand, and then go and speak to someone else. If this does not happen after going through all the tenses, it means the two have the same block and they can form a pair. As the activity progresses, students will find themselves in pairs. Pairs can speak to other students/pairs and form larger groups. At the end all students should be in groups of with the same mental block. Note: students can prepare questions in advance.

Long and short conversations

This is a mingling activity that works best with larger classes of 15+. Write up on the board some expressions for ending conversations e.g. I’m sorry, I have to go. Gosh, I’m late, is that the time? and some expressions for prolonging them e.g. Just a minute, let me tell you about... Before you go, have I told you...? Practise these and then ask each student to write down a number between 5-15.Then explain that this is the number of people they must talk to in the next ten minutes, and they should aim to finish talking to the last person at the end of that time. Those who have a high number will want to finish conversations quickly and move on, while those with low numbers will want to continue conversations as long as possible. Encourage those who want to prolong conversations to be persistent!

Contolled conversations

Put students in groups of five. Four should sit facing each other, while the fifth stands up. This standing student is the controller who dictates the subjects, the organisation of the speaking and even the way in which students should speak. S/he can give instructions every minute or so, such as Talk about the weather/your weekend/politics, Speak to the person next to you/opposite you /diagonally opposite you, Speak in a quiet/loud voice/ politely/in a friendly way. Students take it in turns to be the controller.

Card pairs

This works best with class numbers divisible by four, so it may be better to let some students opt out if they want. Give out one playing card per student. Make sure there is an equal number of black and red cards, and an equal number of 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, etc. For example, with a class of twenty, use the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s of each suit. Tell the students to mingle and find their partners by looking at people’s cards, and talk together until they are told to find a new partner, according to your instructions, which you give every minute or so. Instructions are as follows:

• Any black card with any red card.
• Any 2 with any 3, any 4 with any 5, and all the sixes together.
• Pairs of the same colours and numbers, eg red twos, together.
• Pairs of the same number but different colours.
• Any black even number with any red odd number and any red even number with any black odd number.
• Any 2 with any 2, any 4 with any 6, any 3 with any 4.
• Those with even numbers form groups of three and those with odd numbers form pairs.

Conclusion

Activities like these help students to speak to other students and avoid the embarrassment and boredom of having to speak to only one other person for a prolonged period with no particular topic. Also they provide practise in real life skills such as speaking to more than one person at the same time, and listening while speaking. Many also give the opportunity to get up and move around, which can be a welcome break from sitting down all day!

Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.