Speaking aids

Why use speaking aids?

We often expect our learners to be in the right mood to speak without providing any prompts that might help the flow of ideas. These small prompts, or small speaking aids, become especially important when children get to the age when they want to speak more about themselves. In this article, I will give you some ideas on what little objects to use and how to use them so that learners aged 12 upwards find speaking easier and less stressful.

Post-it notes

Post-it notes are great conversation starters. Ask your learners to put information on a post-it note and get them to wear it, mingle and find out about each other. What can be written on the post-it notes?

• To practise the simple past, e.g. get them to write a name, a date and a place that is important to them. These three things should come from three different stories or events in their lives. As learners mingle, get them to ask questions to find out more about the events, using the relevant verb tenses.
• To practise, e.g. the simple present, used to, the present perfect or likes/dislikes, ask them to write five things, some true and some untrue, about themselves on the post-it notes. When learners mingle, they ask further questions to find out which are true and which are not.

Walls

Walls of your classroom can be given meanings such as:

• Agree/disagree: Ask learners to position themselves between the two walls to express their opinion on a statement, e.g. 'Playing computer games is a waste of time.' The closer they are to a wall, the more they are of that opinion. First, ask learners to share their ideas with those around them, then group learners who are far from each other together to discuss their opinions.
• Summer/winter, casual/elegant: Say names of clothes items and ask learners to position themselves between the two walls to express their opinion about the clothes, and then ask them why they are where they are.
• Like/dislike: Say names of performers, sports, types of music, etc. that are relevant in your class and ask people to comment on their position.
• I know/I don't know: Ask a question related to your topic. Ask learners standing nearer the ‘I know' wall to share what they know about the topic (Group A). Ask learners standing nearer the ‘I don't know' wall to ask further questions or make a list of things they would like to know (Group B). Then put As and Bs together. Ask Bs to give the answer to your initial question at the end.

Coloured paper

Coloured paper can be used as a metaphor that represents the choice of the learner. Here is how you do it:

• Lay a good selection of different coloured paper out on the floor or on a big table in the middle of the classroom so that all the colours are visible to the class. Call out a subject, e.g. something you like to eat. Everyone takes a colour that corresponds to something they like to eat.
• Give learners 1 to 2 minutes to talk to each other about the subject. Then, ask them to put the coloured paper back.
• Change the subject and at the same time, ask learners to change partners and find the colour that they associate with the new subject. Some possible subjects: clothes, food, a place I like, a holiday decoration in my house, a season, an animal, music, a good friend, a dream. It's better to go from concrete to more abstract subjects.

(Original idea by Karen Sekiguchi)

Small objects

Small objects such as Lego pieces, buttons, pebbles, shells, toothpicks, etc. can be used: A) to control turn-taking or B) as metaphors representing other things or people.

• To control turn-taking
  When learners discuss a topic, tell a story or describe a picture in small groups, give everybody an equal number of some small objects e.g. shells or toothpicks. Their aim is to get rid of the objects as they talk. They can get rid of the objects by putting them down if – you set it depending on their fluency level – they say a complete sentence or minimum three sentences about the subject. You can do it the other way around: give groups a pile of objects and students can pick up objects when they contribute to the conversation. Here the aim is to collect as many objects as possible.
• As metaphors
  Small objects can represent real beings, like the learner's best friend or their pet. It makes it easier and more interesting to describe people and animals this way. You can also ask the learner to focus on similarities and differences between the object and the person or animal.
  Buttons are easy and fun to transform into different imaginary people. Give out a good selection of different buttons. Get learners to choose one and imagine what kind of person it would be, what this person would like, how they would live, what their name would be, etc. Get learners to mingle and find a button friend for their button person.
• Small objects like Lego pieces can also represent periods/events in learners' lives, e.g. three holidays they have had, three terms of school or some important years. Learners choose the periods/events/years first, then they choose little objects to represent them. Pairs then share experiences.

Conclusion

Using these little, inexpensive speaking aids has the following advantages:

• Learners get prepared for talking as they are thinking about the prompt, e.g. which object to choose, what to write or where to stand. So there is thinking time with an outcome that will later help talking.
• Learners concentrate on the subject through concentrating on the prompt.
• It is easier to start talking as these prompts communicate first, so they break the ice before the learners start talking.
• They decrease anxiety as the listeners' attention shifts from the person who speaks to the prompt. Also, there is something to hold, to look at or to move around for.
• Their use often results in natural groupings, e.g. learners with the same or different opinions, interests and ways of thinking.
• Their use often triggers imagination and/or brings back memories, so it helps creative expression, personalisation and originality in speaking.
• They develop thinking skills such as forming an opinion, finding similarities and differences and using metaphors.
• They talk to and rely on different intelligences and senses.
• They are very flexible and easily adaptable to different levels, ages and teaching aims.

The ideal language department of a school would have a good selection of small objects, or small speaking aids, for teachers to use in their lessons.

Further reading

Lindstromberg, S. (ed.), 2003. Language activities for teenagers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tsai, B. & Fehér, J., 2003. Creative resources. Atlanta, GA: IAL.

First published 2008