November 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 3
Talking and Listening   

EL Study Guide

Naomi Thiers

The importance of speaking and listening skills is expressly elevated in the Common Core State Standards. In addition, major companies list "good communicator" as one of the top 10 attributes they seek in employees. But as author Erik Palmer puts it, "We do expect students to learn to speak—but we don't teach them how"—and the same might be said for the skill of listening. This issue shares concrete ideas on "teaching them how."

Taking on Speaking Skills

Erik Palmer ("Now Presenting,") writes about how poorly most students speak, even when presenting formally. He insists classroom teachers must take on this problem, too.

• Palmer makes a provocative claim: "Everything you do in your class would improve if students spoke better." Brainstorm a list of all the activities, assignments, atmospherics, and even formative assessments that might go better in your class if students spoke more clearly and compellingly.
• Because most teachers already assign oral activities, improving oral skills doesn't have to be an add-on, Palmer says. Teachers just need to be attentive to–and willing to evaluate—how students speak. Think of three activities you do in your classroom or school that require students to speak. How could you make good speaking part of the expectation for these activities?

For school leaders: A big reason we don't teach speaking, Palmer claims, is that most schools and districts have no people or resources to help teachers learn to teach speaking skills. Is this true in your district?

Ask around a little: Are there teachers in your school(s) who have taught speaking skills—perhaps as an elective or as debate coaches or even with Toastmasters clubs—who might lead a workshop on this for colleagues?

Taking Off the Training Wheels on Discussion

Paula McAvoy and Diana Hess, ("Debates and Conversations—From the Ground Up,") have observed class discussions in secondary classrooms for years. They write that although there's a lot of "student talk" on controversial issues in classrooms, it mostly flows through the teacher—with a teacher posing the questions and "pushing back" on students' answers—rather than between students. Teacher-directed discussion is a good scaffold when students are learning to have civil discussions. But, these authors say, "Too many teachers never remove this scaffold. If one aim of democratic education is to prepare students to deliberate together about political issues, then the teachers are keeping the training wheels on" (p. 50).

• Do you agree that preparing students to deliberate together is an aim of democratic education?
• Have a critical friend observe a few discussions in your class and note how much students talk to you compared with how much they talk together. Are you keeping the training wheels on for students?
• What obstacles prevent you from letting students talk among themselves? Make a plan for how you might get past one of those obstacles.
• Getting students who lack confidence to speak regularly and carry their weight in a group is one of the chief problems in class discussions. In "Fostering English Learners' Confidence," Rhonda Bondie, Laurie Gaughran, and Akane Zusho describe several routines they teach teachers to use to get all students talking regularly and taking part in discussions, even those with very new English.
• Consider two of the seven tips these authors share for helping students gain confidence as they use these routines: Make sure each student takes a turn to "report out" on the group discussion ("use pressure to increase focus"), and set rules that foster confidence. Try using one of these strategies in a class that involves many shy students or ELLs.

Letting Students Take the Lead

McAvoy and Hess, Alexis Wiggins ("Spinning the Web,"), and Elizabeth A. City ("Talking to Learn,") all stress the need to eventually have students facilitate class discussions. Wiggins goes so far as to sit at the back of the room without making eye contact as students conduct a group discussion. She makes this student facilitation work by introducing—and practicing—a set discussion routine and using a rubric that shows what students need to make happen within a good discussion (focus on one speaker at a time, try to resolve big questions, encourage shy students, and so on).

• Try letting a group of students run a group discussion, first practicing a simple routine and talking about the items on one of Wiggins's sample rubrics. Debrief with your students on how well they met each item on the rubric—and what they might change. Report to the group on how this foray went.

Copyright © 2014 by ASCD