Many students find learning words like "noun", "Present Perfect", "prediction" and "indirect question" difficult and wonder if these kinds of words that are not part of day to day conversation are worth learning. The answer is -sometimes. There are good and bad reasons for introducing words like these into class, and it is possible for a teacher to use them too much, too little or just the right amount. If you think one of the "good reasons" below are true for your class and your school, then you should probably trust your teacher and learn the words whenever they come up. If more of the "bad reasons" below are true, however, you might want to ask your teacher some questions or think about changing classes.
Good reasons for making students learn English grammar words
1. To explain grammar just in English
Many teachers and students believe that doing a class just in English is a good way of increasing the amount of speaking and listening in class and of teaching students to think in English without translating. For grammar explanation, sometimes the easiest way of explaining something without using other languages is through grammar terminology like "adverb" or "passive voice"
2. To show connections between different grammar points
The quickest way of showing the similarities and differences between the "Present Continuous tense" and the "Past continuous tense" is through using their names, which clearly show that both are Continuous forms (= end with -ing) and that one uses the present of "to be" (am/ is/ are) and the other uses the past (was/ were).
3. To save time
Although it is possible to explain grammar without using words like "verb" and "adjective", it is usually quicker with these words.
4. To make the explanation more accurate
Although a teacher could explain the meaning of "will" with easy words like "future changes" or "tarot cards", the more general and true explanation needs the more difficult word "prediction".
5. So you can use English dictionaries and grammar books
If you learn words like "article" and "conjunction" in English, this will make it easier for you to understand grammar books and dictionaries that are written just in English, and to find the right word or grammar point to study. The reason for using books that don't have your own language in them include trying to stop translating in your head, using books that your teacher recommends, having a wider range of good quality books to choose from, and preparing to study in an English speaking country.
6. To prepare you for study elsewhere
If you are going to study outside your own country it is likely that someone will want to correct your English or ask you questions about your own language. These are much easier to talk about if you know grammar words in English.
7. To help you in tests
Although it is usually possible to answer a grammar test's questions by looking at examples, it is much quicker and easier if you can understand instructions like "fill each gap with the Present Perfect Simple or Continuous"
8. So you can explain the grammar to your classmates
One good way of teaching grammar is to ask the students what they think first, as this gives the students more speaking and checks what they already know. If you want to join in such discussions in English you will need to know grammar words.
9. So you can talk about grammar in English in pairs
This is another good way of students actively working out the grammar for themselves and practicing their speaking in which knowing grammar words will make using English easier.
10. So you know what you've been studying
If you know words like "adverbs of frequency" and "prepositions of position" in English, you will easily be able to understand from the contents page and unit headings of your textbook which language point you are studying and why.
11. So you can ask your teacher questions
It is much easier and clearer to ask "Why does that noun end with -tion?" than "Why does that word end with -tion?"
12. So you can tell your teacher what language you need
If you can tell your teacher "I need more practice of the Past Continuous" or "I always get the phrasal verb questions wrong in the test" in English, this will help the teacher plan a class that is more useful for you.
Bad reasons for making students learn English grammar words
1. Because the teacher doesn't know any other way to explain grammar
Using grammar words is usually the quickest and most accurate way of explaining grammar, but it is not the only one. A good teacher will explain the same grammar point in many different ways, some of which have simpler language. If you don't understand the grammar words your teacher is using and then the teacher uses more grammar words when they explain another way, you could try asking the school for a translation of all the grammar words you will hear in class or just ask your teacher "Can you explain that another way?"
2. Because they are secretly trying to teach you the grammar of your own language
In many school systems people learn more about grammar in their foreign language classes than they do when studying their own language, but English grammar should still be explained in the best way for that class rather than to help with another language. If your teacher or school system does this, the only solution is to study English in a different way elsewhere as well.
source:http://www.usingenglish.com
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Tampilkan postingan dengan label Study. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Study. Tampilkan semua postingan
Selasa, 03 Agustus 2010
Why does my teacher make me read silently?
1. To make you read faster
Reading out loud slows down your reading speed. If you usually read out loud you will start reading out the words in your head even when you are reading silently and so reduce your reading speed all the time to the speed when you are reading out loud.
2. To improve understanding
Because half of your brain is concentrating on pronunciation when you read out loud, you comprehension is much less than when you are reading silently.The same is true when listening to other people reading out loud.
3. To really concentrate on pronunciation
In the same way as point 2 above, if half your brain is thinking about the meaning of a text then you won't be able to put your full effort into your pronunciation. Also, it is impossible to concentrate fully for the length of an entire text, so it is much better to concentrate on one or two sentences and practice them over and over in different ways.
4. To help you ignore words you don't need
When you are reading out loud you have to think about and pronounce every word in the text, but there are many words you don't need to be able to pronounce and/ or understand, such as people's names and place names. When you are reading silently, you can just skip past anything that you think is too difficult or not important, and then go back to it later if you need to.
5. To allow you to reread
If you are reading out loud, once you have read a word or sentence with the right pronunciation it is normal to move onto the next part. If it was an important and difficult to understand part, though, it can be worthwhile to read it once or twice more. This is much easier and quicker when you are reading silently.
6. To help you read whole words at once
When you are reading out loud it is normal to read each word from the first letter to the last in the way it is pronounced, but it is possible to read faster by looking at a whole word or even groups of words at the same time and then moving onto the next section.
7. To move quickly to the information you need
In the same way as point 6 above, reading out loud means reading each sentence in order. With most comprehension questions in exams and textbooks, it is much quicker and easier to read the question and then quickly skim and scan until you reach the part of the text where that information is. You can then read that part slowly and carefully, and as many times as you like.
8. To involve all the students
It is very difficult to concentrate when another person is reading out loud, and even if you are listening carefully it is not good listening comprehension practice as, unlike real life, you have the text in front of you to read too.
9. To give a good model
Other students are not usually a good model of pronunciation and speaking at natural speed, so listening to them read out loud is not likely to improve your pronunciation and listening skills.
10. To help with exam practice
You cannot read out loud in an English language exam like FCE or TOEFL, so you should stop all reading out loud if you want to take one of these exams.
11. To stop you moving your lips
Some people who have done most of their reading out loud move their lips as if they are speaking even when reading silently. This slows down your reading speed and can be embarrassing if people see you!
12. To allow choral drilling
It is impossible for a whole class to read a long text out together, so if the teacher wants the whole class to loudly practice their pronunciation it will have to be with something shorter such as a dialogue.
13. To help your confidence
Reading out loud well is a very difficult task that even some native speakers can not do in a way that people would want to listen to. Reading silently and doing pronunciation with shorter passages makes both skills easier and more enjoyable.
14. To help your listening comprehension
Texts and people you will need to listen to will be much faster than you reading a text out loud, so reading silently and quickly is actually better practice for real life listening comprehension than reading out loud is.
15. To give realistic pronunciation practice
Written language and spoken language are very different, so a sentence from a magazine is not good practise for the linking, weak forms etc that are found in natural speech.
16. To give effective pronunciation practice
Many students who can pronounce well when reading out loud find that their pronunciation is much worse when speaking freely, which suggests that reading out loud is not a good way of improving pronunciation. Activities like minimal pairs, shadow reading etc are much quicker ways of improving your pronunciation during normal communication.
17. To concentrate pronunciation on one thing at a time
A reading passage might have examples of every single sound in English and every example of how sounds change in fast speech. It is obviously not possible to learn all these in one lesson, so for pronunciation practice it is much better to use carefully selected words and sentences with lots of examples of the pronunciation point you are practicing that day.
18. To give a variety of reading tasks
Many fun and useful reading tasks like jigsaw readings (when different people read different texts and then compare their answers) and reading races are not possible if people read out loud.
19. To give a variety of pronunciation tasks
With the time your teacher saves by not using reading out loud, it is possible to do lots of fun and useful pronunciation tasks such as phonemic symbols, crosswords and identifying sentences when they are hummed without words.
source :http://www.usingenglish.com Read More......
Reading out loud slows down your reading speed. If you usually read out loud you will start reading out the words in your head even when you are reading silently and so reduce your reading speed all the time to the speed when you are reading out loud.
2. To improve understanding
Because half of your brain is concentrating on pronunciation when you read out loud, you comprehension is much less than when you are reading silently.The same is true when listening to other people reading out loud.
3. To really concentrate on pronunciation
In the same way as point 2 above, if half your brain is thinking about the meaning of a text then you won't be able to put your full effort into your pronunciation. Also, it is impossible to concentrate fully for the length of an entire text, so it is much better to concentrate on one or two sentences and practice them over and over in different ways.
4. To help you ignore words you don't need
When you are reading out loud you have to think about and pronounce every word in the text, but there are many words you don't need to be able to pronounce and/ or understand, such as people's names and place names. When you are reading silently, you can just skip past anything that you think is too difficult or not important, and then go back to it later if you need to.
5. To allow you to reread
If you are reading out loud, once you have read a word or sentence with the right pronunciation it is normal to move onto the next part. If it was an important and difficult to understand part, though, it can be worthwhile to read it once or twice more. This is much easier and quicker when you are reading silently.
6. To help you read whole words at once
When you are reading out loud it is normal to read each word from the first letter to the last in the way it is pronounced, but it is possible to read faster by looking at a whole word or even groups of words at the same time and then moving onto the next section.
7. To move quickly to the information you need
In the same way as point 6 above, reading out loud means reading each sentence in order. With most comprehension questions in exams and textbooks, it is much quicker and easier to read the question and then quickly skim and scan until you reach the part of the text where that information is. You can then read that part slowly and carefully, and as many times as you like.
8. To involve all the students
It is very difficult to concentrate when another person is reading out loud, and even if you are listening carefully it is not good listening comprehension practice as, unlike real life, you have the text in front of you to read too.
9. To give a good model
Other students are not usually a good model of pronunciation and speaking at natural speed, so listening to them read out loud is not likely to improve your pronunciation and listening skills.
10. To help with exam practice
You cannot read out loud in an English language exam like FCE or TOEFL, so you should stop all reading out loud if you want to take one of these exams.
11. To stop you moving your lips
Some people who have done most of their reading out loud move their lips as if they are speaking even when reading silently. This slows down your reading speed and can be embarrassing if people see you!
12. To allow choral drilling
It is impossible for a whole class to read a long text out together, so if the teacher wants the whole class to loudly practice their pronunciation it will have to be with something shorter such as a dialogue.
13. To help your confidence
Reading out loud well is a very difficult task that even some native speakers can not do in a way that people would want to listen to. Reading silently and doing pronunciation with shorter passages makes both skills easier and more enjoyable.
14. To help your listening comprehension
Texts and people you will need to listen to will be much faster than you reading a text out loud, so reading silently and quickly is actually better practice for real life listening comprehension than reading out loud is.
15. To give realistic pronunciation practice
Written language and spoken language are very different, so a sentence from a magazine is not good practise for the linking, weak forms etc that are found in natural speech.
16. To give effective pronunciation practice
Many students who can pronounce well when reading out loud find that their pronunciation is much worse when speaking freely, which suggests that reading out loud is not a good way of improving pronunciation. Activities like minimal pairs, shadow reading etc are much quicker ways of improving your pronunciation during normal communication.
17. To concentrate pronunciation on one thing at a time
A reading passage might have examples of every single sound in English and every example of how sounds change in fast speech. It is obviously not possible to learn all these in one lesson, so for pronunciation practice it is much better to use carefully selected words and sentences with lots of examples of the pronunciation point you are practicing that day.
18. To give a variety of reading tasks
Many fun and useful reading tasks like jigsaw readings (when different people read different texts and then compare their answers) and reading races are not possible if people read out loud.
19. To give a variety of pronunciation tasks
With the time your teacher saves by not using reading out loud, it is possible to do lots of fun and useful pronunciation tasks such as phonemic symbols, crosswords and identifying sentences when they are hummed without words.
source :http://www.usingenglish.com Read More......
Why does my teacher make us read difficult authentic texts? Share
While most students want to be able to read an authentic text such as a real newspaper article, even very Advanced level learners can find reading it in the limited time given in class a challenge. Some students therefore wonder why the teacher doesn't give difficult texts for homework when students have more time to read it slowly or just give easier texts. If you think your teacher should give you easier texts, you could be right! Most teaching experts agree that carefully graded texts are usually better for language learning. If you are in a special position such as needing to read articles for your work or studies, however, you might need lots of help reading properly. Reading slowly with a dictionary at home is not the best way of learning good reading skills. Even if you don't have a special reason to read in English, there are good reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class occasionally. Some of the good reasons are listed below. You can compare this list with the list of bad reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class and decide whether you think your teacher has the right balance in your class.
Good reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class
Reading skills
Using a difficult real life English text in class can be a good way of the teacher training you to use special reading skills such as ignoring the parts that are not important, guessing the meaning of words from context, skimming and scanning quickly for the important parts, reading for general understanding, and increasing reading speed. If you read the usual textbook texts for your level it is probably possible to understand it within the time limit without using any of these useful skills, so a more difficult text is useful as training in the same way as a marathon runner sometimes doing sprints.
An achievement/ motivation
Finishing a difficult text for the first time can be a great way of showing you that your English has progressed and so giving you the confidence to you move up to the next level.
A goal
Reading an authentic text can also show you how much you still have to learn in order to understand it more fully, and so push you to study harder to reach that level.
Topical texts
Some readings with difficult vocabulary can be much easier than you would think because they are about a story in the news that you know well already. These kinds of texts can also lead onto interesting classroom discussion, and make it easier for you to understand radio news on the same or similar stories.
Self-study
If your teacher can show you some sources of good English texts that interest you and he or she also teaches you how to read them in a way which makes reading easier and quicker, this should help motivate you to read English more frequently outside class.
Real life reading survival skills
If you will ever need to read real English texts for your studies, a visa application, your work, to communicate with a pen friend or to read something on the internet that is not available in your own language, you will need preparation for this by using the reading skills your teacher can show you in class.
Bad reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class
If your teacher uses a difficult authentic text sometimes for one of the good reasons above and uses that as an opportunity to teach you specific reading skills, you should put in the extra effort needed knowing that it will be good for your English study. If you still find yourself struggling with difficult texts almost every lesson though, it might be that more use of graded texts for someone your level would be better for a while. You might want to suggest this to your teacher or school management if one of the bad reasons for using authentic texts below is true for your class.
Teaching philosophy
Some teachers believe that graded texts shouldn't be used because they are an inauthentic example of language and that graded texts only teach students "textbook English" that will not be useful in real life. Most teachers and teaching experts agree, however, that graded texts are generally more useful for learning the language needed to reach the next level than authentic texts. If your teacher insists on only using authentic texts for native speakers and you feel you are not learning the skills you need to cope with those texts well enough to learn lots of language from them, you might have to think about changing class or school.
A lack of simplified texts
Especially if you need very specific English for your work or studies, it might be difficult for your teacher to find texts written for language learners that are interesting and relevant. One way in which you could help is by bringing in any self-study books you have found to be useful, or by emailing your teacher authentic texts on the topic that you found difficult to understand so they can simplify them for use in class.
Unexpected difficulty
The things that make reading a text difficult for native speakers are different from those that make reading difficult for non-native language learners, so the teacher might sometimes be shocked by how difficult you find a particular text. This shouldn't happen often though, and if it does it might be better to ask to use a textbook where the texts are already graded.
source :http://www.usingenglish.com Read More......
Good reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class
Reading skills
Using a difficult real life English text in class can be a good way of the teacher training you to use special reading skills such as ignoring the parts that are not important, guessing the meaning of words from context, skimming and scanning quickly for the important parts, reading for general understanding, and increasing reading speed. If you read the usual textbook texts for your level it is probably possible to understand it within the time limit without using any of these useful skills, so a more difficult text is useful as training in the same way as a marathon runner sometimes doing sprints.
An achievement/ motivation
Finishing a difficult text for the first time can be a great way of showing you that your English has progressed and so giving you the confidence to you move up to the next level.
A goal
Reading an authentic text can also show you how much you still have to learn in order to understand it more fully, and so push you to study harder to reach that level.
Topical texts
Some readings with difficult vocabulary can be much easier than you would think because they are about a story in the news that you know well already. These kinds of texts can also lead onto interesting classroom discussion, and make it easier for you to understand radio news on the same or similar stories.
Self-study
If your teacher can show you some sources of good English texts that interest you and he or she also teaches you how to read them in a way which makes reading easier and quicker, this should help motivate you to read English more frequently outside class.
Real life reading survival skills
If you will ever need to read real English texts for your studies, a visa application, your work, to communicate with a pen friend or to read something on the internet that is not available in your own language, you will need preparation for this by using the reading skills your teacher can show you in class.
Bad reasons for using difficult authentic texts in class
If your teacher uses a difficult authentic text sometimes for one of the good reasons above and uses that as an opportunity to teach you specific reading skills, you should put in the extra effort needed knowing that it will be good for your English study. If you still find yourself struggling with difficult texts almost every lesson though, it might be that more use of graded texts for someone your level would be better for a while. You might want to suggest this to your teacher or school management if one of the bad reasons for using authentic texts below is true for your class.
Teaching philosophy
Some teachers believe that graded texts shouldn't be used because they are an inauthentic example of language and that graded texts only teach students "textbook English" that will not be useful in real life. Most teachers and teaching experts agree, however, that graded texts are generally more useful for learning the language needed to reach the next level than authentic texts. If your teacher insists on only using authentic texts for native speakers and you feel you are not learning the skills you need to cope with those texts well enough to learn lots of language from them, you might have to think about changing class or school.
A lack of simplified texts
Especially if you need very specific English for your work or studies, it might be difficult for your teacher to find texts written for language learners that are interesting and relevant. One way in which you could help is by bringing in any self-study books you have found to be useful, or by emailing your teacher authentic texts on the topic that you found difficult to understand so they can simplify them for use in class.
Unexpected difficulty
The things that make reading a text difficult for native speakers are different from those that make reading difficult for non-native language learners, so the teacher might sometimes be shocked by how difficult you find a particular text. This shouldn't happen often though, and if it does it might be better to ask to use a textbook where the texts are already graded.
source :http://www.usingenglish.com Read More......
Why does my teacher skip exercises in the textbook?
Students often come into English class expecting to work through their textbook in order without missing anything out- maybe because they have paid a lot for the book and expect to get their money's worth and/ or because they trust books more than individual teachers. Most teachers, however, see working through the book one exercise after another as the sign of a bad and lazy teacher. This disagreement is understandable as there are good and bad reasons for skipping exercises in a textbook, and as you will see below sometimes the good and bad reasons are very similar.
Good reasons for skipping a textbook exercise
Too easy
Textbooks are usually made for a range of students with slightly different levels, strengths and weaknesses, first languages, language learning backgrounds etc. That being the case, it is inevitable that some exercises will be too easy for a particular class and so will just use up time that could be used more productively to learn some new language or do some more challenging practice or skills work in order to get up to the next level.
Too difficult
For the same reasons as above, some exercises might take too long, teach language that is not useful to get to the next level or tire you out before you try to tackle the main language point of the day.
Complicated instructions
Some exercises are difficult in a different way, and take so much time and mental effort to understand exactly what you are meant to do that you can't concentrate on the language you are supposed to be learning.
Repetition
The language and skills practiced in the exercise might be too similar to the presentation stage of the lesson, the homework, or the last lesson. This would make doing that exercise less useful than looking at the same language in a different way or tackling something new.
Wrong
The information in the exercise could be just wrong- either in the explanations of the grammar, in information about an EFL exam, or in stereotypes about a nationality or other group of people.
Unpopular
The teacher might have already tried that exercise with one or more classes and found that it was not popular with the students.
Better for homework
As speaking, pronunciation and the explanation of difficult grammar are best done in the classroom, to make time for these it is sometimes necessary to use a textbook exercise for homework instead of/ as well as the workbook.
Timing
There might be time restrictions that make it better to skip an exercise, for example in order to fit the language into one class without stopping an exercise halfway through, or due to not having time to keep up with the syllabus and/ or finish the textbook before the end of the course.
Sticking to the syllabus
It might be that the syllabus for the course is different from the contents of the textbook.
Changes
The language, the information a text is talking about and/ or the format of an English language exam might have changed since the book was written.
Bad staging
It might be that there is nothing wrong with the exercise but that using it stops the other stages of the lesson running smoothly together.
Bad reasons for skipping a textbook exercise
One bad question
There might be just one question in the textbook exercise that is incorrect or does not tie in with the grammar explanation on the same page. In that case, if students are especially keen on using the textbook the teacher should be able to find other ways of adapting the exercise rather than just skipping the whole thing every time.
Can't simplify
Another adaptation that can sometimes be a better approach than making students worried by skipping textbook exercises is to make the exercise easier by, for example, giving the answers mixed up. Most teachers should be able to do this, so if they always tell you that the reason for skipping an exercise is its difficulty, you might want to ask the school managers whether another approach is possible.
Oversimplified grammar explanation
Sometimes when the exercise doesn't tie in with the grammar explanation, it is because the teacher has oversimplified the language and the explanation does not cover all the situations in the book. Just as often, though, it is because the book has not simplified the language enough. If nothing in the grammar explanation is new to you but you have difficulties when you try the missed out exercise at home you might want to ask your teacher whether there are any exceptions to the rule they gave. Read More......
Good reasons for skipping a textbook exercise
Too easy
Textbooks are usually made for a range of students with slightly different levels, strengths and weaknesses, first languages, language learning backgrounds etc. That being the case, it is inevitable that some exercises will be too easy for a particular class and so will just use up time that could be used more productively to learn some new language or do some more challenging practice or skills work in order to get up to the next level.
Too difficult
For the same reasons as above, some exercises might take too long, teach language that is not useful to get to the next level or tire you out before you try to tackle the main language point of the day.
Complicated instructions
Some exercises are difficult in a different way, and take so much time and mental effort to understand exactly what you are meant to do that you can't concentrate on the language you are supposed to be learning.
Repetition
The language and skills practiced in the exercise might be too similar to the presentation stage of the lesson, the homework, or the last lesson. This would make doing that exercise less useful than looking at the same language in a different way or tackling something new.
Wrong
The information in the exercise could be just wrong- either in the explanations of the grammar, in information about an EFL exam, or in stereotypes about a nationality or other group of people.
Unpopular
The teacher might have already tried that exercise with one or more classes and found that it was not popular with the students.
Better for homework
As speaking, pronunciation and the explanation of difficult grammar are best done in the classroom, to make time for these it is sometimes necessary to use a textbook exercise for homework instead of/ as well as the workbook.
Timing
There might be time restrictions that make it better to skip an exercise, for example in order to fit the language into one class without stopping an exercise halfway through, or due to not having time to keep up with the syllabus and/ or finish the textbook before the end of the course.
Sticking to the syllabus
It might be that the syllabus for the course is different from the contents of the textbook.
Changes
The language, the information a text is talking about and/ or the format of an English language exam might have changed since the book was written.
Bad staging
It might be that there is nothing wrong with the exercise but that using it stops the other stages of the lesson running smoothly together.
Bad reasons for skipping a textbook exercise
One bad question
There might be just one question in the textbook exercise that is incorrect or does not tie in with the grammar explanation on the same page. In that case, if students are especially keen on using the textbook the teacher should be able to find other ways of adapting the exercise rather than just skipping the whole thing every time.
Can't simplify
Another adaptation that can sometimes be a better approach than making students worried by skipping textbook exercises is to make the exercise easier by, for example, giving the answers mixed up. Most teachers should be able to do this, so if they always tell you that the reason for skipping an exercise is its difficulty, you might want to ask the school managers whether another approach is possible.
Oversimplified grammar explanation
Sometimes when the exercise doesn't tie in with the grammar explanation, it is because the teacher has oversimplified the language and the explanation does not cover all the situations in the book. Just as often, though, it is because the book has not simplified the language enough. If nothing in the grammar explanation is new to you but you have difficulties when you try the missed out exercise at home you might want to ask your teacher whether there are any exceptions to the rule they gave. Read More......
Why does my teacher make us work in pairs?
The two biggest disagreements between teachers and students all over the world on how it is best to study English in class are about the amount of error correction and the amount of pairwork. Although there are exceptions, students usually want more correction and less pairwork- and teachers want to opposite. There are arguments on both sides, but most teaching experts agree that pairwork is a good thing if used at the right time in the right way. Some of the good reasons for using pairwork in class are given below. Not all teachers use pairwork in the right way all the time, though, and it might be that your doubts about pairwork were prompted by a teacher who was not using pairwork in the right way and for the right reasons. Bad reasons for using pairwork that could make you doubt its usefulness are given at the bottom of this article.
Good reasons for using pairwork in an English class
- More speaking time
If 15 students speak in turn in a 30 minute class, that equals 2 minutes of speaking each- and for shy students it might work out as just one minute of speaking or less. If students work in pairs for the whole class, they could theoretically speak for as much as 15 minutes each, and certainly no one could speak as little as 1 minute.
- Speaking skills
There are certain speaking skills that happen much more naturally and more often in pairs than in large groups, such as interrupting each other, using tag questions etc. to invite the other person to speak, and asking people for confirmation and clarification of what they said. In general, if you are going to be speaking English one to one in real life the best practice for it is one to one speaking in class, which usually means pairwork.
- Cutting down on embarrassment
In a whole class speaking activity, not only do you have the stress of everyone listening to you but there is also usually silence while you are thinking of what you are going to say. In pairwork, the background noise of other pairs speaking to each other can make you much less embarrassed about speaking out.
- Fun
Working in pairs allows the teacher to use more games, and therefore increases the students' motivation and concentration.
- Individual attention
Although some students think that being asked to work in pairs is a sign of the teacher being lazy or of avoiding talking to the students, in fact the teacher can sometimes ask the whole class to work in pairs so he or she can talk to or listen to one student at a time without everyone else noticing.
- Error correction
If one person is talking in front of the whole class and the teacher writes something in a notebook, everyone will know that the person speaking has made a mistake and will know whose mistake it is in the following error correction stage. People working in pairs means that the teacher can more easily hear people's mistakes and correct them later without embarrassing anyone.
- Fluency
According to research, students who speak out in front of the class improve their accuracy but lose fluency, and the opposite is true of speaking in pairs. If you need to improve your fluency, this is usually best done with pairwork speaking activities.
- Exam practice
Some speaking exams, such as the FCE and CAE, include speaking in pairs. The most efficient way to practice exams that are just one to one speaking with the examiner is also usually to do it in pairs. This is usually done with one student pretending to be the examiner.
- Classroom dynamics
Speaking to your classmates individually will help you to get to know them better- and so make the atmosphere in class nicer and the communication between you in all classroom activities more natural.
1. A break
Although teachers are human and need a break from speaking sometimes, a good teacher will actually be busy all the time when you are doing pairwork- listening for errors, cleaning the board, rewinding the tape etc. If you see your teacher just standing around during pairwork, it is usually okay to call them over to your pair to ask for help or to join in the conversation.
2. Habit
Most English teachers are taught that they must use pairwork in class, and like anyone in their jobs they sometimes get into a routine and don't think too carefully about whether it is the best response to every situation. In small classes, for example, pairwork might not lead to much more speaking time and so might not be needed so often. If you usually happily accept pairwork, the teacher will be more likely to listen if you occasionally ask if you can work as a whole class instead. Read More......
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