SPEAKING SKILLS

 4 DIALOGUE WRITNG AND SPEAKING

1. Dialogue writing and speaking- Contextual Writing.

2. Speaking Skills-Role Play, Mono-Acting, pick and speak.

What are speaking skills?

The ability to speak confidently and fluently is something which children will develop during their time at school, and something that will help them throughout their life.

Speaking skills are defined as the skills which allow us to communicate effectively. They give us the ability to convey information verbally and in a way that the listener can understand.

Children will learn English speaking skills as well as speaking skills in other languages, in primary and secondary school. Learning how to develop English speaking skills is so important for ESL (English as an Additional Language.) students and EAL (ESL — English as a Second Language.) students too. It's one of the most important parts of language learning as speaking is how we tend to communicate in everyday life.

Speaking is an interactive process where information is shared, and if necessary, acted upon by the listener. So, it’s important to develop both speaking and listening skills in order to communicate effectively.

The four elements of speaking skills

Vocabulary

To develop our speaking skills, we first need to know the right words. Vocabulary development begins when we are infants, as we learn to describe the world around us and communicate our needs.

Vocabulary development is where students understand the meanings and pronunciations of words necessary for communication. When they understand what a word means, they can check what the word or sentence means. This is so important so they can keep up a conversation. If they understand what the other person is saying and they know what vocabulary to say back, they are halfway there to communicating effectively.

Grammar

You may think that grammar is something we only need for written language. But grammar includes lots of important areas for spoken language such as an understanding of tenses and the correct way to structure sentences. Grammar helps us to convey information in a way that the listener will recognise and understand.

Pronunciation

Understanding how to correctly pronounce words is another important element of speaking skills. We learn how to pronounce words by listening to those around us, such as our parents, friends and teachers. Pronunciation varies from country to country, and even city to city!

Fluency

Fluency in spoken language is something that naturally develops as children go through school, as they are using and practising speaking skills every day. Reading widely (and out loud) is a good way to improve fluency as it introduces children to new vocabulary and reinforces their knowledge of spoken language.

Fluency is the ability to hear words and understand them straight away. If they see a word written down, they can read it aloud and pronounce it properly. Ways to develop this include guiding your students to read passages out loud. You could also get your students to read aloud in front of the class. This builds their confidence and also helps them to annunciate better.

The more fluent your students are in English, the more interesting, exciting and insightful conversations they can have.

Why are speaking skills important to learn?

Speaking skills are one of the most important skills we learn, as they allow us to communicate with others and express our thoughts and feelings. Speaking skills can be separated into formal and informal speaking skills, and we use both types of speaking skills in a variety of contexts throughout life.

Informal speaking skills are important for conversations with friends and family, helping us to form emotional connections. Formal speech, on the other hand, is necessary for workplaces, in presentations or for conversations with people you don’t know. Formal language is important as it helps us to make a good impression on people and communicate politely.

As an ESL or EAL student, speaking skills are considered the most important part of learning a language. In fact, many language learners measure their performance by how well they can speak it. As most effective foreign language learning takes place through interaction, it's a skill that can be honed to really build an understanding of the language and culture of English-speaking countries.

What is your definition of role-play?

Role-play is the act of imitating the character and behavior of someone who is different from yourself, for example as a training exercise. We have to communicate with each other through role-play. transitive verb/intransitive verb.

To refer to the playing of roles generally such as in a theatre, or educational setting;

To refer to taking a role of a character or person and acting it out with a partner taking someone else's role, often involving different genres of practice;

What are types of role-play?

There are three main types of roleplay: text-based, live-action, and tabletop. Text-based roleplaying takes place online and focuses on writing. Live-action roleplaying takes place face-to-face; you interact with other people through talking, acting, and occasionally combat.

Tabletop roleplaying can be done in-person or online, and focuses mainly on verbally describing your character's actions. All three are fun, immersive, and a great way to meet new friends.

What is Roleplay example?

Role playing is defined as pretending to be someone else or pretending to be in a specific situation that you are not actually in at the time. An example of role playing is when you pretend that your friend is your boss and you have a practice conversation in which you ask for a raise.

Role Play Ideas For Students

There’s A Fly In My Soup

Role Play Topic: Ordering and eating food at a restaurant.

Description: In this role play scenario, students would use their knowledge of food vocabulary and common questions to order food in English at a restaurant. This a common role play topic for English classes with beginner learners.

To make this role play more fun, tell students that after they have ordered their food, and the food has been served, they should then act out that there is a ‘problem’ with the food.

This ‘problem’ could be something as simple as “There’s a fly in my soup!” or “My food is too cold!”, but you can let your students be as imaginative as they like.

This will undoubtedly lead to some very funny role plays! Kids especially will enjoy creating funny and crazy scenarios for their role play.

Where To?

Role Play Topic: Taking A Taxi And Giving Directions

Description: In this role play one student should be the taxi driver and one or two students should be the passenger(s).

The passenger(s) will tell the taxi driver where they want to go. For example, “Take me to the hospital, please.”, “Take me to the candy shop, please.”, etc.

But, there is a problem! This is the taxi drivers first day on the job. And so he/she does not know how to get to the destination. To get to where they want to go, the passengers must give directions to the taxi driver.

To make this simple role play more fun, ask students to imagine they are in a real taxi and when the passengers give the directions, the ‘taxi’ with the students in must move around the classroom.

Kids will love giving directions as they zoom around the classroom while acting out this fun role play.

I Don’t Think So!

Role Play Topic: Debate / Disagreement

Description: In this role play students should act out an argument between two friends.

First choose a fun debate topic. Next, students should act out meeting one of their friends in the street. They begin to talk but everything one person says, the other person disagrees with.

This kind of role play is a great way to teach students how to agree and disagree in English. It is also a fantastic way to prepare students for a real class debate.

Teach Me!

Role Play Topic: Giving Instructions

Description: In this role play one student will play the ‘instructor’ and one student will play the student.

The instructor should guide the student on how to complete a task, and the student should follow the instructions and act out what the instructor is saying.

For example, the instructor could be a chef and could teach the student how to make spaghetti.

There are endless possibilities for this kind of role play and students will love having their classmates follow their instructions.

News Report

Role Play Topic: Past Tense

Description: This last role play idea is a great way to review past tense with students.

Ask students to imagine a funny / crazy thing that happened in their town and then to create a news report about it. For example, ‘There’s a rhino loose in the city!’.

Tell students to think of a headline which sums up the story and a brief description of what happened. Then, the news report can cut to someone ‘in the field’ where they can interview people on the street about what they saw.

Mono acting

Featured snippet from the web

A monodrama is a theoretical or artistic piece played by a single actor or singer usually portraying one character. To do a mono act one needs to believe in the writing. The script needs to be well written and performed to hold the attention of the audience. Students enthusiastically participated in the competition.

Mono act is a short solo play where only one person performs in a single character or multiple characters

How is mono acting done?

To do a mono act one needs to believe in the writing. The script needs to be well written and performed to hold the attention of the audience. Students enthusiastically participated in the competition. Students displayed their artistic and acting skills through an array of mono acts.

If you're a school student ,then here are some topics for you

Punishments at school

Different kinds of students during exams.

Mid break fun

Different kinds of teacher's. ( Don't point any teacher from your school) talk in general.

Famous politicians.

What is the meaning of pick and speak?

Pick and speak is the spotlight for those who voluntarily hold the mike and speak up to the topic and look up to the curious crowd. The stage was set and it was time for the speakers to highlight their perspectives on the picked topic and impress the audience.

The stage was set and it was time for the speakers to highlight their perspectives on the picked topic and impress the audience. One by one, each having their points with timer set tried their best and indeed a few did steal the audience’s heart and were rewarded with a huge round of applause. From women rights to vegetarianism, all topics were covered and the speakers did express and put forth their views to the judges and students. This event allowed the students to open up and showcase their abilities and their knowledge on various topics. It also helped them to broaden their outlook in a wide range and discover their hidden self and reveal the unknown facts.

Pick and  Speak Tips to Make You a Better Speaker

Know Your Audience

Prepare a Visually Appealing Presentation

Practice In Front of a Mirror & In Front of Others

Make Enough Rehearsals

Speak From the Heart

Use Props for Effect

Start With a Question

End With a Question

Simplify the Complex

Test the Equipment That You’ll Be Using

Make Eye Contact With Your Audience

Speak Slower Than Usual

Leave Space to Breathe

Get to Know the Stage

Ask for Feedback to Improve

Don’t Be Afraid to Repeat Yourself

Try to Memorize Your Notes

Plan Your Speech & Create a Structure

Include a Digital Version of Your Presentation

What are the topics for pick and speak?

List of Persuasive Speech Topics on Environment

How will recycling help us?

Should there be a ban on smoking in public places?

Should zoos be banned?

Should there be a ban on animal testing?

Will banning plastic bags help?

Should exotic animals be kept as pets?