Higher education students who follow English-medium instruction (such as English Studies students in Poland) are special in that they use English – a foreign language (L2) - to master disciplinary content, being at the same time L2 learners expected to improve L2 competence. Developing their speaking skills can be challenging these days but technology makes it possible to extend their opportunities for systematic practice. In this post I share my experience as an academic instructor teaching a speaking-oriented course to English Studies students at a Polish unviversity. What L2 learners need to be taught. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the ability to speak in L2 is manifested in the user’s ability to perform two types of language activities: 1) spoken production (e.g. giving a presentation) and 2) spoken interaction (e.g. conversations, discussions, interviews). In order to perform these activities, L2 users draw, among others, on their knowledge of L2 grammar, vocabulary and phonology. For teachers this means that, throughout the course, these knowledge areas must be activated in regular speaking practice (encompassing spoken production AND spoken interaction). This has to be done with an eye towards the target proficiency level. How L2 speaking skills are acquired. Given that L2 speaking is a skill, its development entails three stages, as posited in the skill acquisition theory (see chapter 5 in THIS book). At the first stage, learners construct the representation of knowledge about a given skill, which means that they need information and models of target behaviour. At the second stage, through practice, their behaviour (skill) gradually changes and learners need feedback to know if their performance is accurate and what needs to be modified. At the third stage, the skill is demonstrated quickly and correctly, without much effort. How to teach L2 speaking skills. The theory of skill acquisition guides the selection of instructional strategies that support the development of L2 speaking skills. Teachers need to align course objectives with institutional requirements (target proficiency, spoken genres, topics, etc.), employ a text/genre-based approach to develop speaking skills (see chapter 10 in THIS book), and use technology to enable systematic and long-term practice. Course content should aim to familiarise students with the quality of L2 they are expected to achieve (see THIS and THIS), target genres (presentations, discussion, etc.) and provide models of the targeted spoken genres. Apart from this, students need to be provided with the activities that will allow for extended practice and feedback on performance. My course consisted of both types of speaking activities but below I focus on how I taught spoken production (self-presentations, presentations and talks) only because the development of this area may be posing a challenge now. With the use of digital tools, it is possible to develop L2 spoken production fully online. Course content. In order to help my students develop their spoken production skills in English, I developed three Moodle modules (one module per class) to familiarise my students with the genres of self-presentations, presentations and talks. In each module, I provided information about the structure of the spoken text, rhetorical moves, links to YouTube videos as models of oral performance (such as THIS one) and the activities in which the students put this information to use. Out-of-class, throughout the whole course, the students recorded and shared their talks using the SoundCloud application. Voice recording. At the beginning of the course, the students were asked to create a SoundCloud account and watch THIS tutorial to learn how to use the application. They were explained that each week they would record a podcast, that is a 3-minute talk on an instructor-assigned topic related to technology. They were also invited to listen to some podcasts, such as Nature Magazine, The Guardian, BBC, Wired, Thinking Allowed. The topics of their talks included: online relationships, communication, and respect; online safety, cybersecurity, cyberbullying; ethical and legal aspects related to creative activity online. The students were also provided with suggested resources and assessment criteria. Here is an example of a weekly assignment that I published on Moodle: Task. Your SoundCloud podcast
Submission and assessment. The students pasted links into a designated Padlet (students can also submit their work via a Moodle forum): At first, the students were given feedback by a partner who was encouraged to indicate strengths and weaknesses in the assessed talk. Next, I listened to each podcast, took notes on students’ performance and sent individual feedback via Moodle. This strategy can be adopted today to develop L2 spoken production skills fully online. Hopefully, thanks to the information and models provided, as well as technology-assisted practice and feedback, L2 higher education students will become effective speakers, just like the one in the video below :)
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