Hello everybody,

I'm starting a set of posts on teaching speaking unplugged. I'll be sharing my experience of teaching short modular courses on Speaking and issues I've faced so far.

The other day I had a speaking class with B1 students. The aims of the lesson were to prepare a short presentation in small groups and practise noticing skills. The focus was on planning, rehearsing and reflection stages. After planning and drafting their talks, the learners filmed the rehearsal of their presentations. Then they analysed the presentation skills and the language using video material. After that they proofread and edited their talks and made the final presentation to the rest of the class.

The students were very excited by the task and a new tool. At the reflection stage they said that video helped them to understand how well they can present things, to analyse their body language and the way they build up a rapport with the audience. We also realised that it is more challenging for them to anlyse the language. They are used to using the language as a tool and a means of communication, which is very good. They are mainly focused on what is being said rather than the language itself. However, they understand that being able to notice the language they use and to compare it with the target language can help them to speak better.

So they decided that they need to watch the material at least two times. For the first time they pay attention to presenting skills and reflect on them. The second time they focus on vocabulary and grammar. It's better to make pauses every time they notice something to discuss or some points will definitely be missed out. At first my students found it a bit difficult and I assisted them by pausing the video every time I wanted to draw their attention to some language aspect.

IThe class was very encouraging. I'll surely keep experimenting with it. I'd be happy to hear from someone who uses camcorders in class. What are your favourite activities? Do you have any ideas on how to help students to become better at noticing?

BTW, I tried using mobile phones for video recording but the sound was very low. It's a shame, it could be so handy.