TWT webinar: Language Skills 2.0: Speaking

Webinar Presentation

Speech production takes place in real time and it’s spontaneous. The planning of one idea may overlap with the production of the previous one, and it’s influenced by it. The speaking process requiring knowledge of the phonological system of the language, prosodic awareness, active vocabulary usage and grammar understanding, combined with self-monitoring, stress and anxiety turns out to be a very difficult and demanding process for a language learner.

While in class your learners have a chance to speak and to receive your feedback, your guidance and support… limited by your session timeframe. How to extend the time limits of the student talking time in your classes?

You can expand the time boundaries by introducing some of the speaking activities via free Web 2.0 tools. If you ask your learners to record themselves, they can listen to what they’ve said afterwards. It gives them a chance to fully concentrate on their language production. Digital audio recording is also an excellent opportunity to collect the portfolio of speaking samples. Voice recording is not a new concept in language teaching or public speaking, but with today’s variety of online tools it’s just the matter of two clicks.

In case of the asynchronous speaking the spontaneity of the life conversation is partially lost, but this strategy can add a reflective dimension to their learning. Besides, asynchronous speaking opportunities can open a whole range of activities that are useful for language learners on their way to autonomy.

Asynchronous speaking practice through using different web 2.0 tools is much more than just talking to a microphone. It’s a way to extend your feedback beyond time limits of your online session or your classroom walls and to teach your learners how to identify areas for improvement. By introducing different types of activities you can encourage peer-to-peer conversations outside the class. And last but not least, when you challenge yourself and introduce a new online tool to your learners, you expand their digital fluency. Who knows maybe your learner will suggest using this tool for some project and will impress a potential employer at a job interview?