Lomachina Victoria, gr. DS 11

Lomachina Victoria, gr. DS 11

Speech is primary to us humans, through which we keep in contact, share understanding, share culture and retain our identity. Language is a tool for socialization and speech is the common medium of communication. The development of speech skills especially conversational skills is of utmost significance in the education and the socialization process of an individual.

Conversation has always been one of the essential tools of teaching that is why I decided to choose conversation method of teaching English for the pupils of the 5^th and 6^th grade. Teaching ESL to young children is often challenging and difficult, it can be also very rewarding. Children who are mostly surrounded by a non-English speaking atmosphere, mostly in their own homes, are not often exposed to culture outside of their own. They need to talk and to experience spoken language, in order to think and learn. Further, it is believed that conversation is necessary not just for learning but also for building our thinking and imagination. Thus, teachers should pay much attention to English conversion classes, which will help pupils to practise different types of conversing.

The choice of this method was motivated by the fact that conversation is a vital aspect of language learning. Pupils often are not very good at small talk or holding a conversation in the class. Essentially, the problem is that they find the activities not interesting or because they have lack of self-confidence. In such a way I will try to approve the importance of conversation skills and will propose some practical activities that will help the pupils to speak freely and to overcome their lack of confidence and shyness.

The first activity that I would like to propose is entitled “ Phrase Ball ”.

The goal of this game is to encourage rapid-fire thought and to develop speaking without preparation. The student should organize groups of 4-5 pupils forming a circle. In the first round, group members take turns throwing the “phrase ball” - a small, soft ball - back and forth. The person who holds the ball must start a phrase.

For example: the first person says " the happy puppy ”, then he/she throws the ball to the next person, who must finish the phrase: " The happy puppy barked with excitement. ” After the pupils start a new phrase. The game continues until everybody seems comfortable speaking freely and openly. At that point, the teacher stops the game to discuss the activity: how each participant's feelings changed throughout the game and which round was easier.

Another activity that can be used during English conversation classes in entitled ”Face-to-Face Interview”

It is a very good activity that can be used at the beginning of the lesson. This is a simple interview activity where pupils work in pairs and interview each other. They can ask about the name, age, hobbies and interests, housework, study, friends, etc. After that the teacher picks some students to tell the class about their partner. This activity will takeabout 10-15 minutes.

Here’s a variation of how they can interview one another in pairs:

Ø What’s your name?

Ø When were you born?

Ø What’s your place of birth?

Ø In what country were you born?

Ø What is your nationality?

Ø What street do you live on?

Ø What is your house number?

Ø What is your father’s name?

Ø What is your mother’s name?

Ø Do you have any sisters or brothers?

Ø Do your grand parents live with you?

Ø Do you have any pets in your house?

Ø What sports can you play?

Finally I can conclude that teaching conversation skills is a very important part of second language learning. The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learner in school and success later in every phase of life. Thus, various speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a great deal to students in developing basic interactive skills. At the same time these activities make students more active in the learning process and their learning became more meaningful and fun for them.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04