Speaking: The oral transmission of information or ideas.
Step 0: I speak clearly to someone I know
Outcomes
To achieve Step 0, learners will be able to speak clearly to someone that they know - perhaps to ask a question, talk about something they are familiar with, or give an answer to a question.
This is the first step of speaking in the Skills Builder Universal Framework, and starts with a focus on speaking clearly so that others can understand the words that are being said.
Learners need to be able to:
Understand what speaking means
Know how to speak clearly
Introduction
Speaking is how we communicate using speech, and is also called talking. We form words using our mouths and add sound to them using our lungs.
We speak for several reasons:
To share information, an opinion or view
Express our feelings; to ask for something
Learn about others and build relationships
To give instructions and to encourage others.
Skill Starter
Pirate Partners
In pairs, learners take turns to complete the activity. One gives the following instruction and the other listens and follows it. They then swap to complete the other role:
Climb the rigging - pretend to climb by raising and lowering one hand and alternate foot at a time as quickly as possible
Scrub the deck - pretend to mop the floor
Captain's coming - stand and salute
Man the lifeboats - sit on the floor and pretend to row
Dig for treasure - pretend to dig
Seagulls - flap your wings like a bird and fly around
10 mins
Paired activity
Active
Teach & Apply
Speaking clearly means that someone else can understand what we are saying. If we don’t, then we might not be understood.
Some ways of making sure we speak clearly are:
Thinking about what you want to say before you start speaking
Make sure you have the attention of the listener
Look at them and speak loudly enough so that they can hear
Speak slowly so that they can follow what you are saying
Do not try to say too much all in one go
Optional Activity
Catch a Category
In pairs, learners start by standing 30cm apart facing one another. They must throw and catch a tennis ball to each other; each time the ball is successfully transferred, the catcher must take one step backwards.
Each time the ball is thrown, the thrower must say a word that fits a category e.g. colours, sports stars, sports brands etc. (categories can be decided upon during the explanation at the start). Once a pair runs out of words that fit the category, they start again 30cm apart and move on to the next category.
20 mins
Paired activity
Active
Reflection & Assessment
Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.
This step lends itself to regular reinforcement – particularly by asking learners to talk about their ideas or thoughts on something to a friend before talking about it in a bigger group.
Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.
It is also possible to observe this step easily in the context of normal interactions within sessions.
Ask these reflective questions:
What is speaking?
Why do we speak to each other?
How do we know if we are speaking clearly?