Sessions

Develop confidence through solo extensive speaking

Online conversation practice during emergency remote teaching was problematic due to concerns over mobile data use. This led to a pivot from pair work to solo extensive speaking. Using Google Classroom, students submitted video recordings of themselves speaking for two minutes. This pushed students beyond the one word or one sentence responses they usually produced in class. The videos were private, created a safe space for practice, and the opportunity to re-record enabled students to produce error-free speech that they were proud of. Their speech could be reviewed later, both for mistakes and to check improvement throughout the semester. This practice developed speaking confidence while pair work conversation can often produce frustration and embarrassment. This kind of practice should be done before or in parallel with pair work conversation practice.