There is very little focus in our English language classrooms on giving students ‘speaking time’ in the target language. This is because of the many challenges integrating speaking activities can pose to the teacher. There is the concern of time required for getting all students to speak in one class hour. Then there is the challenge of assessing an entire group’s speaking in a single class hour. This activity will provide teachers an easy option of setting up speaking activities inside or outside the classroom. It takes advantage of student’s comfort with using technology and exploits it to develop their confidence and fluency. Aside from this, the activity promotes peer feedback and in turn provides more speaking opportunities for each student. Peer-to-peer feedback also helps students learn from each other. Other than this, when students give feedback, it helps students connect with each other as a learning community in the otherwise remote classrooms. Additionally, this activity allows the teacher and the student to evaluate the performance. It promotes self-reflection.

Type of Activity: Speaking

Aim of the Activity: To give students practice in speaking inside and outside class. To develop fluency and confidence of students. To promote the skills of evaluation and autonomous learning.

Resources Required: A smart phone/computer with internet connection. Worksheet to plan the talk. Checklist for delivering the talk. Worksheet for preparing the feedback that each student will give in their groups.

Procedure:

Before the Class:

1. Create a Flipgrid account or login to your account. Next, creates a group on Flipgrid for the class. Then create a ‘topic’ or a conversation prompt. This would be the speaking task for the students which they have to video record and share in the Flipgrid group. Finally, shares the group with class and give the students the class code or joining link to join the group.

2. For teachers who need help to get started with Flipgrid, please refer to the ‘Further Reading’ section.

During the Class:

1. If students are new to Flipgrid, it is a good idea to model in class, how students can access their Flipgrid class code or joining link, where they can find their ‘Topic’ or conversation prompt, how they can record their answer to the ‘Topic’ and how they can give their feedback.

2. Once students are familiar with how to record their responses and give feedback on Flipgrid, ask the students to refer to the ‘topic’ or discussion prompt. Lead a brainstorming session on what to include in their talk (response to the ‘topic’). Tell the students that their response should not be less than 90 seconds. Now share a soft or paper copy of the worksheet 1‘Planning your Talk’. Model a response using the worksheet. Demonstrate recording and saving the response on Flipgrid.

3. Next, give students time to plan their talk using worksheet 1,‘Planning your Talk’. Students work in groups or pairs at this stage. Once students are ready with their topic responses, share with them worksheet 2‘Delivering your Talk’. Draw their attention to voice, pace, eye-contact, appearance, fluency (avoiding repetition, filler words, long pauses and so on) and instruct them to follow the guidelines for delivering/recording their talk.

4. Instruct students to record their talk (‘topic’ responses) on Flipgrid.

5. If required repeat this exercise again with another topic until students are familiar with what they have to do.

6. Next, share worksheet 3‘Peer Feedback Form’ with the students and go over the points to keep in mind while giving feedback to each other.

7. Have students listen to and respond to other students’ recordings. and ask them to include the points listed in the worksheet 3‘Peer Feedback Form’.

8. Once this whole activity is modeled in class for the first time, the teacher can now assign new ‘topics’ to the students as homework or outside class speaking activity where students have to record their responses and record feedback to their classmates’ recordings outside the class.

9. Encourage students to go through their own recordings from earlier assignments/discussion prompts/’topics’ and assess their own confidence and fluency. A self-reflection worksheet prepared by the teacher would help students to reflect effectively.

Outside the Class:

1. Students work on the Flipgrid ‘topic’ provided by the teacher and record their responses.

2. Based on their groups, students provide feedback to their peers using the worksheet 3‘Peer Feedback Form’.

3. Students record their tasks within the given deadline.

4. The teacher monitors the Flipgrid class recordings.

5. Occasionally, the teacher makes it a point to give feedback to the students’ ‘topic’ responses on Flipgrid.

Caveats and Suggestions:

1. ‘Topics’ or discussion prompts could be based on the lesson being taught, the current reading that students are doing, or any idea or value that the lesson might be emphasizing upon. Alternatively, it could be something that students are interested in.

2. Teacher should assign to the students, a minimum number of video recordings of ‘topic’ responses every week.

3. Based on the learning objectives of the lesson being taught, the teacher could design the Rubrics for assessment. Criteria like number of posts, content, delivery (eye-contact, voice, pace, false starts, filler words).

4. It is a good idea to emphasize to the students that they must not read from the text or from the script they have prepared. It must be explained to them as this is a speaking activity to promote fluency and confidence, they must speak naturally and not read from their paper or screen (in an online class). Also, as students have an option of recording themselves several times before finally saving one, it is advisable to tell the students that they must not go for many re-takes as this will not promote natural speaking. In this regard, the teacher can specify the number of re-takes students can take.

5. Additionally, it is a good idea to tell the students that they must speak clearly and loudly.

6. In order to make the process of giving feedback, systematic and to ensure everyone gets a feedback, the teacher can create groups of four students each, and instruct the students that they have to give feedback to each student’s recording in their group. This way, each student will get three feedbacks.

7. It is a good idea to plan how many speaking activity assignments they will have every week. Alternatively, the teacher could plan the number of speaking activities for every lesson.

Further Reading:

Flipgrid: https://flipgrid.com/

https://help.flipgrid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051539934-Getting-Started-Educators

Appendix 1

Student Video Recordings for Developing Fluency and Confidence

Worksheet 1: Planning your Talk

Parts of a Response/Talk

Example

Now write your lines

1.Greeting the audience

Good morning/afternoon/evening teacher /ma’am/sir and my dear friends

2. Credibility & Introduction

My name is Shivani Sagar. I am a student of class VII at the Amity International School and I would like to talk to you today about some of my findings in a study I did on Environmental pollution and how it is impacting us.

Or

I am Shivani Sagar from Class VII-A at Amity International School.

We have been invited by our teacher to describe the fight between man and machine from the lesson, ‘A Bicycle in Good Repair’.

After reading through the lesson carefully and going through the class notes/lecture of our teacher, here is my description of the fight between man and machine.

Parts of a Response/Talk

Example

Now write your lines

3. Preview of the response/talk

Example for ‘How Environmental Pollution is Impacting us’:

I shall first talk about what is meant by environmental pollution. Next, I shall talk about how it is affecting human health. Finally, I shall give some steps we can take to reduce environmental pollution.

Let’s begin by asking what is environmental pollution?

Example for ‘Describe the fight between man and machine’:

I shall first talk about why the fight took place. Next, I shall describe the fight itself. Finally, I shall give my views on how to avoid such fights.

Let’s begin by understanding why the fight took place in the first instance….

4. Body of the response/talk

(Talk about the three points identified above)

Example for ‘How Environmental Pollution is Impacting us’:

Let’s begin by asking what is environmental pollution?................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Let’s now see how it is affecting human health……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Finally, what steps can we take to reduce environmental pollution?.......................................................................................................................................................................................................

Parts of a Response/Talk

Example

Now write your lines

5. Conclusion of the response/talk

3 parts of a conclusion:

a) Signal the end of the speech (Use the phrases: In conclusion/ In summary/As we have seen….)

b) Reinforce the main idea

c) Strong closing line

Example for ‘How Environmental Pollution is Impacting us’:

a) As we have seen, environmental pollution is impacting human health in adverse and very dangerous ways.

b) Cardiovascular diseases, lung infections, mental disorders and malignancies are on the rise.

c) To quote Barry Commoner, “Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.” Let us all resolve to do our bit in reducing pollution and saving mother Earth.

Appendix 2

Student Video Recordings for Developing Fluency and Confidence

Worksheet 2: Checklist for Delivering your Talk

Voice

I am loud (as required by the environment in which I am speaking) and clear.

The audience will not have to strain themselves to understand me.

I do not mumble.

Pace/Speed

I am speaking at normal speed, neither too slow or too fast

I am not fumbling for words and I am not using too many filler words (Ums and ahs, you know, like, so, and so on).

I can vary my speed based on what emotion I have to express (fast to show excitement, urgency, joy, nervousness; slow to emphasize a point and so on).

Eye-contact

I look at everyone in the audience

I do not stare or focus only on people I know

If delivering an online talk then I look into the camera of my computer/laptop and not on the screen

When I have to refer to my notes, I do so very quickly and not read from it.

Gestures

I make gestures at appropriate times- when I have to emphasize a point or draw the attention of the audience to something, point at something or describe something.

I do not make very loud and dramatic gestures that distract the audience from the message.

I make gestures with open hands and not with fists or by pointing fingers.

When not required, I keep my hands quiet. I do not repeat a gesture because of habit.

Appearance

I look neat, tidy, pleasant and presentable. My clothes are well-fitted, clean, ironed

and decent.

My hair is well combed and are not disorderly.

My hands are clean. Nails are well cut (particularly for online talks when the camera catches every little detail).

I am careful about my facial expressions (particularly for online talks when the camera catches every little detail) and wear a smile on my face.

Appendix 3

Student Video Recordings for Developing Fluency and Confidence

Worksheet 3: Peer Feedback Form

Topic Response/ Talk Given by (Student Name) ………………………………………….

Date: ……………………………

1. Did the speaker state the topic clearly? What was the topic?

....................................................................................................................................................…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Did the speaker develop the body of topic?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. List the main points of the talk …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Was the content of the talk organized well? Was the speaker coherent?

5. Was the speaker audible and clear?

6. Was the speaker confident and composed?

7. Was the speaker’s eye-contact good?

8. List two aspects of delivery that you think was praise-worthy and commendable.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. What is the one thing the speaker can work to improve upon?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………