This site was developed to support teachers in the implementation of dedicated and focused speaking lessons.  Spoken reception and production (listening and speaking) are the most important and useful abilities for students to acquire in English, and yet there is not enough classroom time being dedicated to teaching and using these skills.

In order to promote the explicit teaching of speaking skills, the Keep Talking initiative is being offered again this year with funding for teaching hours provided by the Ministry of Education. 

How to Use this Site

• Make use of the APPROVED WORKBOOKS from the different publishers to help you plan the structure of your course and lessons. *Many schools already have copies of these workbooks, so check if you may already have a set.  If not, they can be ordered directly from the publishers.

• Determine the needs and skill levels of your classes and individual students.  What can they do adequately, well, barely, not at all?

• Review the "CAN-DOs" in the CURRICULUM to see where your students are and what you want to accomplish this year.  Review the oral bagrut requirements. Decide on your objectives based on these guidelines.

• Go through the content of this site to see which activities are appropriate for your students' skill and maturity levels and to get new ideas for engaging your students in speaking.

• Read the information and tips for success, as well as the practical guidelines and procedures for successful speaking lessons, provided on this site and the external sites linked here.

• For more specific guidance and "ready-made" lessons, see videos and ppt presentations of workshops, demonstrations, broadcasts of speaking lessons (from COVID era), and explanations of bagrut requirements.

• Plan on trying out at least 3 or 4 new ideas with your classes.  Be willing to step out of your own comfort zone a bit.

• Aim for a variety of activities over the course of your program, but also establish routines with varied content within familiar activities that the students enjoy the most.

• Use pair and group work as much as possible.

• Use the activities you can find here to create speaking "habits".

• Provide encouragement and positive feedback.

• Provide a means of self-assessment for students to monitor their own progress and successes.

IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOUR STUDENTS FEEL 100% RELAXED, SUPPORTED AND SUCCESSFUL! Otherwise, they will not speak.