5 Activities to Improve Your Students’ Speaking Skills
One of the most common challenges we face when teaching English is students’ speaking skills. It often happens that students find grammar easy, as they can memorize rules and structures. However, when it comes time to speak the language fluently and spontaneously, they face difficulties.
In this article, we share with you 5 practical activities to encourage the use of spoken English in class and also outside of it. These ideas are inspired so that students have fun while practising. The best thing is that these activities are easy to implement in the classroom and you can also encourage students to continue practising outside of class, when they have free time.
5 Activities to Encourage Students’ Speaking Skills in the Classroom or Outside of Class
Sing Songs
Singing is a great way to improve speaking skills. By singing, students learn about the pronunciation and rhythm of the language, which can help them articulate a speech or engage in conversations more naturally. By singing songs, they learn to articulate words more naturally and master the flow of the language. Additionally, by practising with music, students improve their ability to pick up and replicate the sounds of English intuitively, which helps them build confidence in using the language in everyday conversations.
Watch Series or Movies in English
While it may only be possible to watch one episode or a movie trailer in class, at home students can spend more time on this activity. Watching series or movies in English allows them to observe the mouth movements of the characters, which makes it easier to better understand the pronunciation and intonation of words. This activity also helps them become familiar with different accents and speaking styles. To further enrich the experience, you can suggest that they watch the series with English subtitles, which will allow them to learn new vocabulary while reinforcing what they already know.
Read Aloud
Another way to become fluent is by reading aloud. This will help you practice pronunciation, word stress, and intonation. And you can focus not only on educational texts, but also take advantage of articles, magazines, or books that interest students.
Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are a fun and challenging activity that can improve speech agility and pronunciation. By practising tongue twisters in pairs or groups, students can laugh at mistakes while improving their ability to articulate complex sounds. These exercises also help build confidence in public speaking, as they require concentration and quick thinking. Plus, it’s an activity that can be continued at home individually, contributing to the ongoing development of oral skills.
Video Diaries
You can ask students to record themselves in short videos speaking in English. They can talk about their day or topics of interest. This practice not only helps them improve their fluency, but also allows them to review their own progress by watching the videos and noticing areas where they can improve. Additionally, students can share the videos with their peers or in class to receive constructive feedback.
Advantages of Working on Activities to Improve Speaking
● It significantly improves the pronunciation of words, as the student is repeatedly exposed to the correct sounds.
● Improves confidence when practising spoken English.
● Development of the student’s ear, as well as improving the ability to listen and understand messages.
● Lectures improve English reasoning, avoiding the practice of translating everything.
● Speaking opens the door to enriching vocabulary, since there is a greater approach to terms and expressions that are not so common in textbooks.
● Speaking forces students to constantly improvise their responses, which improves their ability to think in English without needing to translate.
Conclusion
These are just a few examples, but there are still activities to explore, such as the adoption of technology with apps, karaoke, recorded performances, among others. Incorporating these actions in your classes or outside of them will not only make students practice their speaking more constantly, but will also reinforce their confidence in expressing themselves in English. Interactive and fun dynamics, like the ones we have seen, allow students to let go and enjoy the learning process more, thus achieving greater progress.
What other strategies have you used in your classes? Tell us in the comments, we’d love to hear about your experience!
References:
5 exercises to improve your speaking skills on your own. (n.d.). Poliglota.org. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://blog.poliglota.org/post/5-ejercicios-para-mejorar-el-speaking-por-tu-cuenta
Practicing speaking outside of class. (n.d.). Cambridgeenglish.org. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/latinamerica/learning-english/parents-and-children/your-childs-interests/practising-speaking-outside-the-classroom/
Up!, EW (2020, November 30). How to improve your speaking skills? Here are 7 tips. What’s Up! https://whatsup.es/blog/como-mejorar-el-speaking
Manso, A. (2023, August 31). Why practice English by conversation. Ringteacher. English classes by phone, English conversation with natives. https://www.ringteacher.com/blog/why-practice-english-by-conversation-2
