Twelve reasons why it’s beneficial for lower intermediate to upperintermediate(“independent,” CEFR B1-B2) ESL students

to engage in speaking activities at the beginning of a class

by Douglas Beall, M.Ed. (TESL), Saint Mary’s University Language Centre

  1. Students frequently come to class tired and/or distracted by their electronic devices.Speaking to another person helps them wake up and concentrate on English and makes them more alert and ready to participateduring the later, more teacher-guidedpart of the lesson and benefit from it.If there is a vocabulary component integrated into the speaking activity, the acquisition of new skills has already begun.
  2. Speaking before (and during) class gives students valuable and needed speaking practice to help them integrate everything they have been learning and to speak with more ease. (Students often do not get as much opportunity to speak English outside of class as we might think. A survey of one my intermediate classes of 12 students revealed that only one was staying in a homestay, only 4 out of 12 reported speaking more than 15 minutes of English between my classes with them, and the ones who said they did also qualified their answers by saying that they had done so only 3-4 times per week.)
  3. Especially on Monday, but also every other day, an extended time has passed since most students have spoken English. They have been using their own language much more. Speaking at the beginning of class helps them to warm up their “English brain connections” and makes them better able to think in English and to listen to and respond to the teacher (see the connectionist explanation of language acquisition and brain imaging studies of language use).
  4. Students are often living in a different country than their own and taking classes with students they don’t know well from diverse countries and cultures. It is easy to feel isolated and afraid to speak. Even when coming from the same country, students’dialects, social class, customs, etc. may be different and they may not initially feel at ease with each other. Speaking to classmates in English helps students to learn more about each other, to become more relaxed with each other on a personal level, and to make friends who can later become compatible partners in other class activities.Speaking together releases a lot of energy previously bound up by fear and hesitation.
  5. Having the opportunity to interact with students from other cultures and hear their opinions on various topics helps students to develop greater intercultural awareness, to become more international in outlook, and to learn to be more accommodating of cultural differences.These are important aims for teachers and students of an internationally spoken language such as English.
  6. Speaking activities frequently lead to smiling, laughing and enjoyment, creating a more positive atmosphere in the classroom and a more positive attitude towards the value of English. This atmosphere and attitude will carry over to and affect the teacher-ledparts of the lesson that follow. Numerous studies have shown the value of positive affect in language acquisition.
  7. Speaking regularly each morning creates a culture of communication in the class. If students have just been interacting and expressing opinions on a personal level, then asking them to give their opinions about genetically modified foods or other complex topics becomes less of a leap and is less daunting for them. A culture of communication and interaction in a classroom also encourages every member of the class to contribute their ideas to class and group discussions.
  8. Creating an interactive, relaxing, and joyful environment at the beginning of class creates more motivation for students who are more socially, as opposed to academically, inclined. Students look forward to class because it’s a chance to talk to their new friends.
  9. Speaking every day with classmates creates a sense of cohesion in the group and a sense of belonging. Students feel more secure, acknowledged, and accepted.
  10. Some students may be married, pregnant, or have young children. Taking their children to school or accommodating a sick or upset child can make them late for class. Other students report a late bus, mis-setting their alarm clock, etc. or just come late sometimes. Starting a class with speaking activities provides a learning context that late students can more easily join in with. If a teacher-led academic subject was being introduced at the beginning of class, these students’ late entrance into the classroom would be more disruptive.
  11. We need not be overly concerned that students will make mistakes when they speak with each other. Of course they will make mistakes because they are learners and making mistakes is part of learning.Intermediate students need to create an “interlanguage” that they will later refine as they continue. If we do not allow them to build this step and discourage them from speaking before their English is impeccable, then we do them a disservice. Thinking that they will develop bad habits if we allow them to speak more freely does not accord with the most accepted modern theories of language learning (see Chomsky’s critique of behaviourism; universal grammar theory and subsequent developments; and the role of interlanguage in a learner’s acquisition of a second language).
  12. The effect of even one class adapting a culture of communication will begin to affect the rest of a school, encouraging more hallway conversation in English, more intercultural friendships, more communicative social activities, more school spirit, etc., which can only benefit an institution’s reputation and prosperity.