1.15 Activities that provide controlled and freer language practice
The Communication Games series by Jill Hadfield provides controlled and freer
language practice in fun situations.
Find somebody who... is a popular activity to provide controlled and freer practice of
language. Students are given a sheet with the following:
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Copyright © Lucy Pollard 2008 All Rights Reserved
This e-book may not be reproduced in part or in full without the express written permission of the author.
Find somebody who takes the bus to work
Find somebody who always eats a big breakfast
Find somebody who likes snakes
Find somebody who plays tennis
Find somebody who lives in the suburbs
Find somebody who reads an English newspaper
Students take their sheets, stand up and move around the classroom asking
classmates “do you take the bus to work?” “Do you always eat a big breakfast?” etc.
When they find a classmate who replies “yes”, they note the name of that person next
to the question. They continue until they have the name of a student for each question.
The teacher stops the activity at an appropriate point and asks students what they
have found out about their classmates. By repeating the questions, students are
engaging in controlled practice of the question form in a communicative setting.
Depending on how students treat the answers, they can also get freer language
practice; i.e. if they choose to ask further questions of their classmates and whether
the teacher encourages this approach.
1.16 Accuracy and fluency
Accuracy and fluency usually refer to oral language work but can refer to written work
too. I will describe the differences here in the context of activities to practise speaking.
Accuracy refers to correct use of language; this is often used just after presentation of
new language. The objective is to produce correct language rather than to
communicate ideas. When the focus is accuracy, the teacher usually deals with error
correction immediately; we will look at this in further detail in Chapter 9. Typical tasks
include: repetition, drills, controlled conversations, (these terms are explained in this
chapter and in Chapter 2). These tasks are useful when introducing and practising new
language.
If the focus is fluency, the teacher allows students to express themselves freely without
interruption. The aim is to help students speak fluently and with ease. The teacher
does not correct immediately, the idea being that too much correction interferes with
the flow of conversation. In such situations, the teacher notes down errors and
comments on them after the activity. The role of the teacher in this type of activity is to
ease difficulties in communication and prompt where necessary.
Students need practice in both accuracy and fluency if they are to speak proficiently. At
low levels, there will be more focus on accuracy, simply because students don’t know
enough language for lengthy fluency work. At higher levels, the focus will be mainly,
but not entirely, on fluency.
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Copyright © Lucy Pollard 2008 All Rights Reserved
This e-book may not be reproduced in part or in full without the express written permission of the author.
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