Author: Deb Bullock | Published on 1 October 2023
Question: My learners don’t practise speaking English outside class. What can I do?
Answer: Use real-life situations in class.
Many learners only use English inside the classroom. However, in the future, they may need to speak English in real-life situations, e.g. for study or work. To prepare your learners, there are many real-life classroom situations that you can use to give them practice in real-life speaking.
Example classroom situations
- Saying sorry for being late, misbehaving, etc.
- Discussing problems and giving advice, e.g. “I don’t have a pen.” “You could borrow one.” etc.
- Offering to help and saying thank you, e.g. “Can I help you?” “Thanks a lot.”
- Asking for help, e.g. “This is difficult. Can you help me?”
- Making suggestions, e.g. “Let’s plan the story first.”
There are lots of opportunities to practise real-life speaking in your classroom!
What situations in your classroom can you use to practise real-life speaking?