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1. Getting Students to Speak Up: Classroom Atmosphere Is Key

   In: English Teaching Forum 2022, Volume 60, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   The author describes a challenge that is familiar to many language teachers: trying to get students to speak up independently, share thoughts, and participate authentically in the target language. The article includes general and specific tips for creating a comfortable, communicative classroom environment.

2. The Collaborative Scaffolding Model of Teaching Speaking

   In: English Teaching Forum 2024, Volume 62, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article, by Krishna Prasad Parajuli, describes a step-by-step activity in which students work in groups to begin, develop, and share stories they create. Teachers can also use the approach with debates, speeches, interviews, and other speaking genres as students enhance their speaking, listening, and collaborating skills.

3. Speakers and Task Type: Increasing Awareness of Factors Involved in Speech Act Production

   In: Teaching Pragmatics Format(s): Text

   The goal of this article is to increase awareness of the factors that affect the linguistic realization of speech acts in American English.

4. Authentic Video in the Beginning ESOL Classroom: Using a Full-Length Feature Film for Listening and Speaking Strategy Practice

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 1 Format(s): Text

   Using film in the classroom can be effective with beginning English learners. A full-length film offers continuous context to discuss humor, culture, and language functions, real-life communication with images and non-verbal cues, increased retention due to activating the right hemisphere of the brain, and the lowering of students’ affective filters. The authors include a lesson based on their experience teaching listening and speaking skills using the movie “What about Bob.” Assessment techniques and potential problems are considered.

5. Let's Talk about It: Strategies for Integrating Writing and Speaking in the Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2020, Volume 58, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   The authors describe a number of strategies for integrating speaking into writing-focused classes, with the goal of increasing students’ competence in both language skills.

6. Film Circles: Scaffolding Speaking for EFL Students

   In: English Teaching Forum 2012, Volume 50, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes action research that pre-service teachers conducted regarding successful communicative activities.

7. The Mystery Bag: Listening and Speaking Skills for Young Learners

   In: English Teaching Forum 2019, Volume 57, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article describes a fun guessing game that involves objects in a “mystery bag” and gives learners practice with vocabulary and with asking and answering questions.

8. A Lesson Plan Speaking (and Writing) of Sports

   In: English Teaching Forum 2005, Volume 43, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan offers several sports-related photographs and classroom activities that use the pictures for individual, pair, or group work. The activities include a sentence-combination task, structured writing questions, open-ended writing tasks, a charting task, and questions for a whole-class discussion. The author gives suggestions for making the tasks easier or more difficult for multiple levels.

9. Radio Drama for Speaking Practice

   In: English Teaching Forum 2018, Volume 56, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   Find ideas for having students create and perform original radio dramas in the classroom; the article includes tips for helping students read with emotion, use sound effects, and work collaboratively.

10. Small Talks: Daily Speaking Practice for Vocabulary and Grammar Mastery

    In: English Teaching Forum 2021, Volume 59, Number 4 Format(s): Text

    This is a step-by-step guide to helping students review recently learned vocabulary and grammar through quick, focused conversations with classmates at the beginning of class. Variations and suggestions for extending the activity are included.

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