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Hi All,

1. Informal chat
in informal chat, we normally do that when group discussion. Everybody are able to share their ideas informally, spontaneous, and sometimes not using proper grammar or choose the correct words.
2. While group presentation, they prepared, rule a bit heavy.
3. Formal debate, is prepared and rule heavy.

Dortiala.

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Module 4 - LE1 - Teaching oral interaction, activities - (Andrea Cserépné Nagy)

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Module 4 - LE1 - Teaching oral interaction, activities - (Andrea Cserépné Nagy)

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First of all, thank you for your colourful opinions!

Looking into the listed activities, I would like to say the following:
As far as Informal chat, everyday conversation is concerned, I have noticed, that, interestingly, sometimes it is more difficult for students than e.g a stimulus-to-interaction, or a role-play interaction, as they have to talk in a spontaneous manner, so do not have roles to hold on to. It requires a great deal of improvisation, which is hard for a beginner learner.
Somewhat easier is a role-play interaction, in which they have to play somebody else, so a given role and not themselves, as they do not have to talk about themselves, they can get rid of their inhibitions, and teenagers also have a tendency to imagine themselves in others' situation, so they are interested and engaged in the activity.
It is a bit different, when they have play themselves, even if in a given situation, as they tend to be a bit shy, not everybody has the courage to tell their own opinion.
Regarding discussion group formats, while talking in pairs, they have the courage to talk, and they communicate freely and a lot, but there also seems to be a lot more of a chance to make mistakes.  For example a student of mine told me after participating in a language camp, that everybody was talking a lot fluently, but with a huge amount of mistakes.
In small groups there is the danger, that the best speaker will dominate, and will tell the others what to say and do, as his leader persona surfaces. It can also be similar in the case of a more talented student, who will do everything, which the others expect from him, and they become passive. So in making these groups we have to take special care, so that the members show a similar amount of knowledge, skills, so that there is no 'outlier' in the group.
Regarding the whole class activities, we have to do everything to avoid chaos, as there is a high likelihood of that. It is of the utmost importance for the moderator to catch and hold attention, with a little humor and finesse, and you have to pay attention to several different perspectives, and make sure that every single student can contribute.
Prepared interactions require a great deal of preparation, as a presentation for instance has to be well structured as well as interesting and informative. For it to be interactive, the presenter may suggest that the audience ask question, even after certain point, and paragraphs.
In case of a formal debate, communication tools, as 'I wholeheartedly believe', or 'On the other hand' also play a great role, as they can 'lead' the debate, the party that uses them effectively can easily be the 'winner'.

Suggestion:
In case of stimulus-to-interaction, I would like to suggest that we show the student a set of pictures, and they have to talk about that, what's on it as well as what is linked to it, and they have to be able to defend their views.

I also tell my students, that before they go to bed, they should summarise their day in their own words, as in this way they can improve spontaneity.

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Module 4 - Teaching oral interaction (Anna Serri)

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Module 4 - Teaching oral interaction (Anna Serri)

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I have started class last week and already had some great occasions to try oral interactions techniques. I noticed that the youngers obviously like when the teacher adds a "playing" dimension to the task so I asked my grades 9 and 10 to randomly pick a piece of paper from 3 different baskets in which contained 1- a situation 2- a character 3- a "problem" and then proceed to role play (and, more simply, subject/verb/tense for conjugaison). For my older students (grades 11 and 12), I tried to give them an "intriguing" text with very few elements about the context, ask them to guess and wrote their hypothesis on the board. I tried not to give them a lot of hints (I bite my tongue just like Alexis says in the "spider web" discussion video) and then they started to respond to each other, to share conflicting ideas... I know it could happen partly because I am lucky enough to have small groups (3 or 4 students), but I still think if you can find a good stimulus, even a simple text that would catch their attention because it is kind of mysterious, there are good chances it will work.

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Annalisa Di Paolo

I like to choose a painting as visual stimulus to start some lessons. First, students come up with words related to the picture (so that everybody has a certain amount of vocabulary), then, in small groups or in pairs, they describe the scene and the feelings of the characters. Afterwards, they create a sort of story by discussing what could have happened before and what will happen afterwards. Finally, they share their opinions on the painting. Famous painting are often reinterpreted in a modern way such as Georges Seraut's Bathers at Asnières (here below). This open up our discussion further.

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Neville Gabie's version of 'Bathers at Asnieres' is called 'Freeze Frame'

The image was taken in the Olympic Park and uses construction workers from around the project with the bathers replaced by landscape gardeners, engineers, designers and security staff. The image reflects the range of tasks, diversity and skills of those delivering the venues and infrastructure ahead of the Games .

The original iconic painting was created in 1884 by French post-impressionist, Georges Seurat and is housed at The National Gallery.

John Armitt, ODA chairman said:

'The ODA's Art in the Park programme has strived to commission original and meaningful works. Neville Gabie's unique take on Seurat's 19th century masterpiece will capture both the imagination and attention of art lovers as well as all those who have worked on the Park. It is a fitting tribute to everyone who has worked so hard to ensure the project will finish on time, within budget and to an excellent standard.'

via London 2012 Press

Bathers at Asnières 1884, Georges Seurat

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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London 2012 workers recreate Bathers at Asnières // January 31st, 2012

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Neville Gabie's version of 'Bathers at Asnieres' is called 'Freeze Frame' The image was taken in the Olympic Park and uses construction workers from around the project with the bathers replaced by landscape gardeners, engineers, designers and security staff. The image reflects the range of tasks, diversity and skills of those delivering the venues and infrastructure ahead of the Games .

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Module 4: LE 1
Annalisa Di Paolo

Informal chat: it is important that students use the target language from the beginning of the lesson. This activity can be part of the daily routine and it is an ideal starter. It can be carried out in pairs/groups or as a whole class. I generally refer to something happening at school or which is relevant to students' life. Sometimes, we spend some minutes looking at online newspapers and we discuss them informally.

Discussion groups:
My students prefer discussions in smaller groups or in pairs. During a whole class discussion, some students keep a low profile and they miss the chance to talk.
Discussion groups can take place at different moments: when students brainstorm ideas about a new topic/share their opinions or, draw conclusions and reflect together. I generally ask them to discuss first in pairs/then in small groups and finally we put all the ideas together and we write them down. I want to make sure that everybody talks. So far, our discussions have been informal, but I would like to try more structured activities which imply preparation beforehand.

Formal debate: I haven't used it yet with my class. It is definitely the activity which requires a medium-term planning and a thorough preparation. I would plan it towards the end of a unit.

Students' presentations:
Students generally enjoy presenting in front of the class (even though they don't show it). I like that they are completely in charge of this activity. I ask the other students to write down a question/what they liked about the presentation/how it can be improved/a fact which surprised them. I often use it as an assessment tool to wrap up a topic. I also ask them to present something they really like (music/sport etc) without the pressure to be assessed.

Role-plays situations/role-plays roles: I like these activities because students are involved and have fun both in creating, performing and looking at the other role-plays.
I use these activities after having spent some time working on a topic. Role-plays show the students' interpretation of what they have learned so far. I don't mind about the perfect language, I usually intervene if the mistakes interfere with comprehension.

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INFORMAL CHAT
My students like this activity a lot and we use it to break the ice in class, it is quite spontaneous and rule light. I always use it before starting a "more serious activity" to warm up the language.
DISCUSSION GROUPS
My favourite of the three is the spider web as I like to let the students talk amongst themselves without much intervention. I usually let them talk in smaller groups about a certain topic and then we evolve to a socratic seminar with the whole group, that way we can all share the ideas we have developed in the group. This is rule light but prepared to a certain extent.
FORMAL DEBATE
I like this activities as students have to use their research hability and prepare a good presentation of the topic. In our school we have Speech and Debate as a subject so most of my students are familiar with the rules and procedures so they are usually confident even if the language is not the same one. I always try to use topics they can relate to. They love to talk about school uniforms and school food, they feel very strongly about this issues!
ROLE PLAYED INTERACTION
Paying attention to the role play role and the role play situation I would say that we use the latter more in class, it's more spontaneous and students feel more comfortable with it as they don't have to assume a specific role. Sometimes I like to have recorded evidence and I ask them to record themselves on video playing different roles, interview each other,..
STIMULUS TO INTERACTION
I think this is one of the activities we use more in class as it is preparation for the final IB assessment. Students don't usually like it much but I always try to make it a bit more fun by giving them two stimulus with the same picture but with some differences and get two students to do it and we all wait to see if they do it differently and if they spot the differences. For every topic I introduce there is a picture to describe and then we have a discussion about it.
PREPARED INTERACTION
We use this activity more in HL, again in preparation of the assessment, and students feel more confident as they have had time to prepare themselves. I usually see the topic in class so that all students have the basic information in order to be able to ask questions later. The first time they do a prepared interaction I let them have some paper support but after that they don't have any help.

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CAROL BALTAZAR
MODULE 4: LE 1

Informal Online Video Chats

Online student interactions such as “citas por video”, an activity that we do in our class where each student creates an online (school appropriate) dating profile and then students view and respond to each other’s videos.

Discussion Groups as Response to Text

We often use NewsELA articles to discuss current events and culturally relevant topics which are discussed as either small groups or whole group and driven bey students as they respond to one another’s input within the structure of a Socratic Seminar

Formal Debate on School Improvements

This is one of my favorite activities that we do each year. We explain that a local business had decided to donate funds to a project at our school. The students have to formally present why their project suggestion should be funded over other suggestions. They have to research and provide data that supports their argument. Students are always engaged and passionate about the projects they choose.

Role-play the Hiring and Interviewing process

Another one of my favorite activities; we roll play finding a job with local companies in our area. Each student starts out with a role and then has the opportunity to interview to the top levels of the company until he/she becomes part of the top executives that then have to interview the rest of the students to see who they will hire for their corporate team. It is an exciting process to watch and very authentic. There are rules mostly for format and process purposes, but often the outcomes are determined by the students, their contribution and their participation.

Prepared Interactions

Many of my students would prefer this option every time. They want to know the prompt in advance and then practice as much as possible. These activities are effective when "being prepared" doesn’t mean memorizing every sentence possible for the intended interaction. Being prepared should mean that research has been done and the student is knowledgeable enough that he/she can have a conversation about that topic. The student is then more likely to retain the information and the ability to interact when engaged in conversations related to that theme.

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CAROL BALTAZAR

MODULE 4: LE 1

Informal Chat – I believe the informal chat is successful when practiced often using prompts that not only check for learning but also encourage student engagement. The rules can be light, but I would like to think that the topic of conversation is guided by the content being taught. This is a good way to assess informal language.

Discussion groups and systems – I often use pair work as well as small group and whole group activities for discussions. The more we help our students to be familiar with one another and learn to interact, the more opportunity they will have to develop their ability to express themselves and navigate the language orally. Using systems such as socratic seminar can also provide structure for students that are more comfortable when the activity feels familiar.

Formal debate – There is definitely a place for more formal presentations and activities that require students to come well prepared. The students appreciate planned debates because they feel they get practical experience that they can transfer to everyday situations.

Role-play interactions – This type of oral activity helps students to learn practical ways of using language within meaningful context and situations. These activities have some rules based on the particular topic or theme, but it is often a very good way for our students to be creative and even think on their feet.

Prepared interactions – There are more rules that apply when doing this type of activity, but it also has its place in the process of learning a language. As students enter the workplace, there will be times when they are asked to formally present or share their expertise with others. Learning how to research a topic in order to become the expert or to at least have the required knowledge to present, defend and interact with a topic is a valuable skill.

Great activities, so many details. Thank you for sharing.
Loreto