Supplementary activities for helping primary pupils improve their sp

Memory check  Aims: To help learners remember vocabulary and structure to speak out inclass  Organization: Groups  Time allowed: 10 minutes  Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Ani

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A INTRODUCTION

I Reasons for choosing the topic

Currently, the English language has become popular all over the world,many countries use it as a first language and people use it as a second language incommunication In Vietnam, English is seen as a major foreign language today

At Nghe An Continuing Education Centre, English is not only taught forlanguage specialized students but also for young learners of all levels

I have recently applied a number of methods and techniques into teachingEnglish in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning English as aForeign Language Communicative method has proved their superiority as throughcommunicative activities more language are used and students’ initiatives andactive involvement are developed It can be said that communicative approach isdesigned to change the traditional way of presenting and practising language and ithelps to shift the teacher-led classroom culture to the students-centred classroomatmosphere

Supplementary activities have widely used in my context (training teachers

of English at Nghe An Continuing Education Centre) with the acceptance,eagerness and enthusiasm by teachers and students It, however, is the onerequiring much knowledge and preparation as well as physical conditions, and italso requires teachers’ commitment and patience

I have been trying to put some of those into practice I have been adaptingand designing ourselves a repertoire of communicative activities which have beenused and from which students have benefited

I would like, in this paper, to introduce these supplementary activities toyou all - teachers of English in a view of sharing experience and seeking forcommon thoughts to makes a change, however small it is, in teaching and learningEnglish though it is hard work really The games and activities have been used forteaching speaking skill and developing language skills and I shall not categorisethem as some of them can be used for all about mentioned purposes Some ofactivities I have adapted from other resources, and others I have designed myself Speaking skill courses have been successfully organised at Nghe Ancontinuing Education Centre over the last four years A great deal of younglearners have been taking part in and quite many of them have made improvement

in speaking

To improve the students’ effectiveness of learning English and have a goodresult in teaching public speaking at Nghe An continuing Education Centre, I havefollowed a number of steps to be able to generate enthusiasm in speaking Oncethey have gained, know how to make presentation, they will find speaking skilleasier

1

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Above all, for teachers, the facilitators will help them be active, creative,feel responsible not only does he teach, moderate, but also inspire young learners.

In this paper, I would like to give some ideas about how to help teach speakingskill effectivelly to help our children feel easier and more confident during theirstudy The paper is divided into three parts:

A. Introduction

B. Content

C. Conclusion and recommendation

II Scope of the Study

In this writing, I’d like to share my suggestions that I have gathered in myduring preparing lessons, on using different kinds of games and communicativeactivities as inputs to help our young learners practise and develop English publicspeaking skill

The significances of this study were expected to provide some advantagesfor English teaching and learning process The significances of this study are:

1. For young learners as the subjects of the study, it was expected that theywould take the advantages of the study They could learn how to improvetheir skills of public speaking

2. For the teachers at Nghe An Continuing Education Centre, it was expectedthat the teachers could improve their technique of speaking interestingly andeffectively so that the pupils would enjoy the study

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B CONTENT

I Literature Review

1 The Importance of Public Speaking

If you ask most people, they'll probably say they don't like speaking skill They may even admit to being afraid of it, since fear of speaking is a verycommon fear Or they may just be shy or introverted For those reasons, manypeople avoid speaking if they can If you're one of those people who avoidspeaking, you're missing out

Over the years, speaking skillhas played a major role in education,government, and business Words have the power to inform, persuade, educate, andeven entertain And the spoken word can be even more powerful than the writtenword in the hands of the right speaker

Whether you're a small business owner, a student, or just someone who'spassionate about something - you'll benefit if you improve your speaking skills,both personally and professionally Some benefits to speaking skill include:

• Improves confidence

• Better research skills

• Stronger deductive skills

• Ability to advocate for causes

Speaking skill is especially important for businesses since they've got a need toget their message before potential customers and market their business Salespeople and executives alike are often expected to have good speaking skills Tolearn more about some of the benefits of speaking, review the following article:

2 What Are the Problems of Speaking English?

Even though many people routinely give speeches or presentations forwork or school, they may still experience fear at the idea of having to stand in front

of others and talk Some speakers can become debilitated by thoughts of what tosay, how to keep the audience’s interest and how to calm nerves Much of theanxiety associated with speaking can be minimized, however, if you pay attention

to overcoming the most common problems of speaking

 Lack of Confidence

If you don't have confidence in yourself, you'll risk alienating the audience.Being obviously nervous is especially problematic because “when we are nervous,

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listeners are more likely to focus on negative vocal and visual cues,” says authorCheryl Hamilton in “Essentials of Speaking.” Allowing time to prepare andpractice beforehand helps speakers gain the sense of control necessary for theaudience to trust and believe the message.

 Lack of Attention to Audience

Make sure you know the audience, or the presentation will beunsuccessful Researching their ages, culture, values and current level ofknowledge is essential to shaping the speech’s tone and content Failing to relatethe material to the audience, to maintain eye contact and to read their expressionscan negatively affect how your speech will be interpreted Explaining how thematerial benefits listeners personally and using anecdotes attracts the audience’sattention

 Lack of Organization

You can lose credibility by not spending enough time gathering andorganizing material Conducting research about the audience, topic and sources arepreliminary steps Arrange the information into an attention-getting introduction,craft a paragraph for each of the three most important points, follow them with aconclusion Attempting to speak on the fly invites disaster It's standard practice tocreate an outline or put information on note cards to refer to as you speak Thismethod helps both the speaker and audience stay on track

 Lack of Preparedness

Practice the speech in full before delivery Saying the words helps speakershear: where they are rushing words; where to improve word flow and voiceintonation; and how to project enthusiasm Using technology or other visualsbeforehand makes it possible to catch glitches that could otherwise disrupt theactual speaking event Rehearsal also improves familiarity with the material,enabling speakers to field questions and maintain credibility

 Lack of Time Management

Run through the speech to ensure it meets time requirements Manyspeakers run overtime because they have not adequately rehearsed and timed thedelivery of their material “If you are speaking for 10 minutes, rehearse for abouteight,” advise Ronald Adler and Jeanne Elmhorst in their book “Communication atWork: Principles and Practices for Business and Professions”

3 How to Become Better Speaking skill

Okay, so now that you understand the benefits of speaking, you might be alittle more interested Still, you might think it's not for you Maybe you gave aspeech once and it didn't go well Maybe you're afraid of speaking Or maybe youthink you don't have a natural ability for giving speeches

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The truth is that speaking is a skill It can be learned While some peoplemay have more natural speaking ability than others, or a more pleasing voice, orare more charismatic-anyone who can speak can learn to be a better speaker thanthey are right now It just takes some know-how and some effort.

To help you become better at speaking, we'll take a look at these four areas:

• Writing the speech

• Overcoming a fear of speaking

• Practicing the speech

• Giving the speech

4.1 Write an Effective Speech

The first thing you'll want to do is work on writing a well-organized,engaging speech Because even if you've got a great speaking voice or a great deal

of charisma, you won't give a good speech if your material isn't any good Thefollowing tutorials can help you learn to write better speeches:

4.2 Overcome the Fear of Speaking

Fear of speaking is very real and can hold you back if you let it If youdon't feel confident when giving your speech, your listeners may pick up on that,making your presentation less effective Fortunately, there are some techniquesthat'll help most people manage their fear of speaking and become more confident

First, let's tackle fear of speaking The following tutorials list sometechniques you can use to overcome a fear of speaking:

4.3 Practice the Speech

Even if you're not afraid of speaking, practicing your speech is still animportant step to having an effective speech If you're in a rush, you may betempted to skip practicing your speech to save time While skipping practice mayseem like a good idea, it's really not

By practicing your speech not only do you improve your speaking skills,but you also increase your familiarity with the presentation—making it more likelythat your speech will go smoothly This tutorial includes a handy checklist to helpyou practice your speech (and other tips):

4.4 Give the Speech

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Now that you've written a good speech, feel more confident about speaking,and have practiced—you're ready to actually give the speech There are some tipsand tricks you can use on the day of your speech to make it go more smoothly,though Remember, you're giving a presentation before a live audience at a specificplace and time So, you've got some concerns about the speaking venue that thosewho give online presentations don't have to worry about Some common concernsfor speakers include:

• Will the audience be able the hear me?

• Does the venue have the equipment I need?

• Are there enough seats for all of my listeners?

5 Why developing the confidence of speaking skill is so important for children

The idea of speaking is understandably daunting, having to win over abunch of strangers so it’s no wonder why most people stay away from it However,the unfortunate thing for those individuals is that they miss out on the one skill thatcan positively change the direction of their journey and impact their successimmensely, from securing a job or investors, to increasing sales and building brandawareness

There are just countless reasons why you should consider thiscommunication technique and get into speaking but here are my top 3:

 Winning over the crowd

Sspeaking is a great opportunity to win over a crowd Look at it this way, thecrowd you’re speaking to are in fact your potential clients It’s almost a make orbreak moment You have the chance to pretty much sell yourself Introduce yourself

to the crowd so they can get to know you, build some sort of trust and credibilitywith them Being able to persuade your audience that you are worth the investmentand they should trust you by telling your personal story Public speaking is a great

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avenue for this to happen, they see you live in action and you are able to create adeeper connection with your audience by applying story-telling secrets, tonality andmore It provides the chance to express to a crowd why a particular product,service, idea or even yourself would be beneficial to them as well as allowing you

to put potential customers at rest by touching on any enquiries or concerns theymight have You pretty much have the power to directly influence people to buyyour product or service

 To Motivate people

Great public speakers have the ability to push people to either dosomething, stop something, reach a goal or drop bad habits Platforms for publicspeaking makes room for this Being able to encourage your crowd to take an actionthrough testimonials or live figures of how your personal framework or techniquehas change your life and the life of your clients Seeing is believing, publicspeaking therefore is your chance to show your audience that making the specifiedchange or action in their lives is the right move to make As a public speaker, youneed to convey how passionate and driven you are, inspiring them to be driven intheir own personal endeavours also

 To inform

I believe that public speaking is one of the best ways to get your messageacross Whilst other communication methods like social media marketing, ads andemail campaigns is effective, there’s no doubt that physical and personalcommunication is far more impactful in getting a message out there to a largeaudience This is why public speaking is a game changer It allows you to informpeople of who you are and/or what you are doing on a more personal and directlevel It is an opportunity for you to spark new interests and make people who had

no idea who the hell you are wonder how they survived their whole life without youthus far

II English Speaking classes at Nghe An Continuing EducationCentre

A brief overview of Public speaking courses

Running more than 15 classes so far with different learners of mixedability and competency, a great deal of lessons and experiences have been drawnout, which are crucial for our next tutoring I have made an investigation into thematter and found that the regular mode of training and handbook activities did notseem to bring good performances to our learners Thus, I have put these initiativesafterwards on public speaking and through all class above, I am quite confidentthat these have brought a good return

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III Supplementary activities as inputs for English speaking classes

1 Definition of input in second language learning

Input refers to the exposure learners have to authentic language in use.This can be from various sources, including the teacher, other learners, theenvironment around the learners and keeping them in our brain Input can becompared to intake, which is input then taken in and internalized by the learner so

it can be applied

Input learning consists of:

• Memorize vocabularies

• Study grammar rules

• Take online lessons

• Read English books

• Watch movies, dramas, online video clips

• Listen to audio files and podcasts

• The brain produces sentences based on the sentences it has seen or heard(input) So the way to improve is to feed your brain with a lot of input -correct and understandable sentences (written or spoken) Before you canstart speaking and writing in a foreign language, your brain must get enoughcorrect sentences in that language

2 Typical games and activities applied for English speaking skill

2.1 Memory check

 Aims: To help learners remember vocabulary and structure to speak out inclass

 Organization: Groups

 Time allowed: 10 minutes

 Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Rooms, Objects

 Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file

 Procedure:

- Each team look at their picture on the screen in 30 seconds or 1 minute andtry to remember it

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- In group speak out as many sentences as possible about the pictures usingstructures: “I’ve got ”, “ There is, there are on, in, under ”

- The whole team come to the board to describe their picture, saying one byone, the other team give feedback by showing the picture on the screen

- If they have correct sentences they will get ten points

- The group with more points will be the winner

 Lesson applied: “My favourite room” - Movers level

2.2 Hidden Object Game

A hidden object game (or hidden picture game) is a casual game in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a picture Hidden object games are a popular trend in casual gaming, and are comparatively

inexpensive to buy All hidden object games require you to find lists of objects within a busy scene

 Aims: To help learners think of vocabulary relating to certain topics

 Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders,Famous people

 Procedure:

- Each team looks at the hidden pictures and clues, then guess the words

- The team who speaks out the word or the picture will be the winner

 Lesson applied: “My favourite animal” - Movers level

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Example 2: lesson 11 “My house” - Starters level

Example 3: lesson 5 “My favourite animal” - Starters level

2.3 Jigsaw puzzle game

A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often oddlyshaped interlocking and tessellating pieces Each piece usually has a small part of apicture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture In somecases, more advanced types have appeared on the market, such as spherical jigsawsand puzzles showing optical illusions

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Jigsaw puzzles were originally created by painting a picture on a flat,rectangular piece of wood, and then cutting that picture into small pieces with

credited with commercializing jigsaw puzzles around 1760.[1] Jigsaw puzzles havesince come to be made primarily of cardboard

 Procedure:

- Each team looks at the hidden pictures and clues, then guess the words

- The team who speaks out the word or the picture will be the winner

 Lesson applied: “My favourite toy” - Starters level

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2.4 Memory game

Memory games are considered as one of the primary methods for ensuringthat our brains are working at their best These games have become a subject ofgreat interest to people because they are founded on sound science Memory is theability to register, store, hold and retrieve new information Memory can bedivided into some distinct sections that is, short term or working memory and longterm memory Working memory is a key aspect of how we deal with temporarilyretained information, whereas long term memory or permanent memory concernsitself with all that we can do accurately and rapidly Knowledge can be stored asepisodic memory, the form of memory that stores events in the precise order inwhich they happened

 Organization: Group

 Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sports, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders,Famous people, Subjects

 Procedure: Spread cards randomly over the playing surface, face down, untilnone overlap Players take it in turn to pick two cards of their choosing If thecards have the same rank (two sixes, for example), the player keeps the pairand plays again If not, the cards are returned to their face-down position andit's the next person's turn Play until all the cards have been matched Theplayer with the most pairs wins

 Lesson applied: “Sport” - Flyers level

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Lesson applied: “Festivals” - Movers level

2.5 Riddles

A riddle is a question, a puzzle, a phrase, or a statement devised to getunexpected or clever answers It is a folklore genre as well as rhetorical device,often having veiled or double meanings When someone uses it as a puzzle or aquestion, it could be a thought-provoking challenge for the audienceto figure it outthemselves, or it could be a funny comment intended to make the audience laugh

Some riddles show the wit of protagonists in a narrative, allowing them toescape a terrible situation by using their wit rather than their strength Often times,

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puzzling riddles tell us that we cannot answer some questions, leading to hours ofperturbed head scratching However, they open our minds to a number ofpossibilities.

 Procedure:

- Look at the questions on the slide and teams choose the best answer

- The team who gets the right answer in the shortest time will be the winner

 Lesson applied: “My favourite toy” - Starters level

Lesson applied “Subjects” - Movers level

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Lesson applied “Festival” - Movers & Flyers level

2.6 Catch phrase

 Procedure:

- Look at the picture on the slide and match the two pictures and it makes aword

- The team who gets the right answer in the shortest time will be the winner

 Lesson applied: “My favourite animal” - Flyers level

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Lesson applied “Food & drink” - Flyers level

3.3 Guessing Ga

2.7 Guessing game

A guessing game is a game in which the object is to guess some kind ofinformation, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object Many ofthe games are played co-operatively In some games some player know the answer,but cannot tell the other, instead they must help them to guess it

 Aims: To introduce learners vocabulary or information relating to certaintopics

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 Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders,Famous people.

 Procedure: Each player takes a card This card represents the character youropponent has to guess and the character you have to answer questions about.The player begins by asking the other players a characteristic found on on one

of his/her characters Example: “ Does your character have brown hair?”Ifthey say, “yes,” the asking player flips over all of the characters without brownhair If they say, “no,” the asking player flips over the characters that havebrown hair Through the process of elimination, players will eventually be able

to “guess” the name of the opponents character Each player gets one yes or noquestion per turn and may only guess (to win the game) once per game If aplayer successfully guesses their opponents hidden character then they win; iftheir guess is wrong then they lose

 Lesson applied: “Food & drink” - Movers level

2.8 Board Game

A board game is a game that involves counters or pieces moved or placed

on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules Games can bebased on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal that

a player aims to achieve Early board games represented a battle between two

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armies, and most current board games are still based on defeating opposing players

in terms of counters, winning position or accrual of points There are manydifferent types and styles of board games Their representation of real-lifesituations can range from having no inherent theme, as with checkers, to having aspecific theme and narrative, as with Cluedo Rules can range from the verysimple, as in Tic-tac-toe, to those describing a game universe in great detail, as inDungeons & Dragons The amount of time required to learn to play or master agame varies greatly from game to game Learning time does not necessarilycorrelate with the number or complexity of rules; some games, such as chess or

Go, have simple rulesets while possessing profound strategies

 Aims: Learners explore themselves their vocabulary and structures as well astheir friends’

 Organization: Pairs or groups

 Procedure:

- Deliver the handouts to the students

- Each student of a pair or group in turn shake a dice and ask the questions, theothers will answer

 Lesson applied: “Hobbies” - Movers level

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Lesson applied “Sports” - Flyers level

2.9 Word search

A word search is a word game that consists of the letters of words placed

in a grid, which usually has a rectangular or square shape The objective of thispuzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box The words may beplaced horizontally, vertically, or diagonally Often a list of the hidden words is

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provided, but more challenging puzzles may not provide a list Many word searchpuzzles have a theme to which all the hidden words are related such as food,animals, or colors The puzzles have, like crosswords and arrowords, become verypopular Also in common with these latter puzzles, have had complete booksand mobile applications devoted to them.

 Aims: To introduce learners vocabulary relating to certain topics

 Organization: Individuals, pairs or groups

 Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file andhandouts

 Procedure:

- Deliver the handouts to the students

- Follow the instructions in the handouts and do the task

 Lesson applied: “Food and drinks” - Movers & Flyers level

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Lesson applied “School” - Starters level

Lesson applied “Sports” - Movers & Flyers level

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3.6 Hangman

Hangman is a classic paper and pencil game The idea of the gallows may

be a little morbid, but it also adds to the excitement of the game, especially forboys Everyone wants to save the poor person from a grim fate!

TO WIN: The executioner wins if the full body is hanging from the gallows The

guesser(s) wins if they guess the word before the person is hung

 Aims: To introduce learners vocabulary relating to certain topics

 Organization: pairs or groups

 Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sports, Animals, Festivals …

 Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file andhandouts

 Procedure: Choose one person to be the executioner That person will think of aword or short phrase an mark out blanks (short lines) for each letter of each word.Separate words with either a slash, a fairly wide gap, or place words on separatelines Then another player will guess a letter If that letter is in the word(s) thenwrite the letter in everywhere it would appear, an cross out that letter in thealphabet If the letter isn't in the word then add a body part to the gallows (head,body, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg) The player will continue guessingletters until they can either solve the word (or phrase) or all six body parts are onthe gallows

 Lesson applied: “My favourite animals” - Movers & Flyers level

Tiêu đề	Supplementary Activities For Helping Primary Pupils Improve Their Speaking Skills
Trường học	Nghe An Continuing Education Centre
Chuyên ngành	English Language Teaching
Thể loại	Thesis
Thành phố	Nghe An

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