Contents introduction chapter I. Personalized Learning: Language teaching strategies. Tips for language

Participate in drama, conversations, role play, discussions and debates
Understand formal and informal speech
Listen and understand different points of view
Hold the attention of the listener
How to develop English speaking skills with ESL students
Practice makes perfect when it comes to developing English speaking skills. Listening to English, understanding grammar and reading can all help slightly, but they're never going to improve English speaking skills to the extent it is possible. Your class need to actually speak. As ESL students, understanding the nature of English can be a real struggle. Students with different native languages can be at a disadvantage because of the nature of English.

Here are some helpful tips on how to develop English speaking skills:

Learn new vocabulary in phrases - although learning new words and their pronunciation is always beneficial, some words need to be learnt in phrases to be of much use when speaking in English.

For example, a cup of coffee might be more useful than just learning "coffee"

Focus on pronunciation. Although learning lots of vocabulary can boost English skills, if these words aren't pronounced correctly it can be easy to misunderstand what the student is saying. A top tip to ensure students pronounce the words they've learnt correctly could be to try some tongue twisters. For example, this PowerPoint full of tongue-twisters would be really useful to get your class practising.

Ensure they understand how English flows. With ESL students, an important focus on how to develop English speaking skills is to get them into the flow of how English is usually spoken. This is because often their native language has a very different flow. Native speakers of English link words together, often resulting in a sound disappearing, or a new sound being made. There are often some syllables stressed that wouldn't be in other languages or a different rhythm overall.
Get them to practice self-talk. This involves getting them to talk loudly in English to themselves. This could be before completing a task, such as "shall we go and grab a coffee?" to "I need to go to the gym tonight."
Encourage your students to download practice apps. This can break down difficult language into manageable chunks that can be practised on the go at regular intervals.
Improving speaking skills with EAL students
Children who are learning English as an additional language may need extra help developing their speaking skills and fluency in English. We’ve put together some ideas for assisting EAL children in learning spoken English:

Give children a language buddy. Get EAL children to work on tasks in pairs with a native speaker so they can practise their skills and pick up new vocabulary.

Create a synonym display board so children can learn new words and have a more varied vocabulary
Encourage children learning English to spend time reading out loud every day. This will help them improve their fluency and confidence with English.

What’s more, we can help children develop their speaking and listening skills through drama activities. Try out this fun improvisation activity to improve fluency and spoken language skills in a fun way.