How to help students use better grammar for speaking

Productive skills such as writing and speaking require the use of good grammar. Many times students don’t see the point of learning grammar when it comes to speaking. They don’t consider learning grammar as something they should do to improve their speaking level. And of course, that’s just horribly wrong. However, we need to generate an environment of trust in which our students see the aim of learning and understanding grammar. So, in today’s post we’ll tell you the five steps that students can take to use better grammar for speaking.

How can we teachers help students use grammar better for speaking?

Here’s our step-by-step approach:

STEP #1 CHOOSE A TOPIC THAT YOUR STUDENTS MIGHT LIKE

FOOD is always a good topic. In fact, it’s a topic you can use with any level. If food is your topic, practising the present simple tense and introducing food-related vocabulary will surely be the aim.

STEP #2 DECIDE WHICH GRAMMAR POINT YOU WANT TO TEACH

This will obviously vary from level to level. In this guide you will find ideas as to what you could do with each level. We have also included the type of activity you can do, right after we have set the aims.

STEP #3 INTRODUCE THE GRAMMAR BY ASKING QUESTIONS

This part of the lesson could be your warmer. Ask your students some questions in which you show the grammar you want them to use. Remember that if you are teaching grammar for speaking it’s because you want them to start using it in a conversation. So one of the aims of your lesson should also be asserting opinions. So for example if you start asking your students about their favourite food, you can agree or disagree with their choice and then keep moving on to different questions in which you can model the answer by stating your opinion, like that your students will see how to develop conversations. After this first round you can also ask them follow up questions, which usually makes the conversation much more meaningful and natural. For example: where can I get the best pizza in town?

STEP #4 CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY THAT HELPS THEM SPEAK THE GRAMMAR YOU HAVE SHOWN THEM

You can check more activities and aims for students in this great article. This article will help students practise grammar to improve their speaking through activities and will help you set some meaningful aims.

STEP #5 GIVE YOUR STUDENTS EVEN MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTISE

Help students work individually, in groups, in pairs and always help them focus on the grammar you want them to use in each speaking situation.

STEP #6 PROVIDE MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK

Interrupting students while they are speaking usually has very little effect as to correction and is quite negative for the flow of the class. If you can, record student interventions and provide feedback during your next class. Not on the specific errors made by a certain student, but by having compiled the errors and showing them how to correct them. Another very useful technique we use is the traffic light feedback form in which you will take notes while students are speaking. You will need to have a small grid made for each student and you can take notes on the type and level of mistake for each student.

Red mistakes are serious mistakes

Yellow mistakes are medium mistakes

Green is when the student uses grammar or vocabulary correctly

Once you have noted down the mistakes your students make while they have been speaking, you can then give that card to the student to complete for homework. He/She can give it back to you on the next class and you can check if the student understood the mistakes you noted down. Here’s an example for a B1 student, which needs to yet make his/her own corrections. You can make these cards online or on paper. But, you need to make sure your students have access to these cards so they can make their own corrections.

So now that you know how to have a great speaking class to practise grammar, go ahead and try it. If you feel you need some extra help, don’t hesitate to contact us info@gogetterenglish.com. We will be glad to help you.

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