Module 5: Speaking

Reading and writing are extremely important in learning a language, but the real test is speaking, where students
will have to use everything they have learned up to this point to quickly process information and speak in a
language that is not native to them. In this module, we will go into more detail about sounds and how they are
formed in the English language. We will also talk about how you can best help your students become fluent
speakers of English through reading out loud, responding to questions, and eventually speaking about their own
ideas. Once your students are able to master speaking the language, they will be well on their way to achieving
English fluency.

5.1 Sounding out words

Although we have already discussed sounds in the module on reading, here we will focus more on how to help
your students actually sound out words. We will start with a more specific overview of phonetics.

5.1.1 Phonetic symbols

As you know from our earlier module on reading, phonetics is the study of sounds and human speech. What we
did not discuss earlier, however, is that phonetics has its own language made up of all of the most common
phonemes in the English language. While your students do not need to know these phonetic symbols to be able
to read or speak, it can be helpful when you are trying to teach them how to pronounce English words. Here is
the basic rundown of phonetic symbols:

Consonants:

Symbol Examples Vowels and diphthongs:

p
Symbo pen, copy, happen
Example
b l back, baby, job
ɪ kit, bid, hymn, minute
e t tea,bed,
dress, tight, button
head, many
æd trap, bad
day, ladder, odd
ɒ lot, odd, wash
k key, clock, school
ʌ strut, mud, love, blood
ʊg foot,
get,good, putghost
giggle,
iːtʃ fleece, sea,match,
church, machine nature
eɪ face, day, break
aɪdʒ judge,
price, age,
high, trysoldier
ɔɪf choice, boy rough, photo
fat, coffee,
uː goose, two, blue, group
v view, heavy, move
əʊ goat, show, no
aʊθ mouth,
thing,now
author, path
ɪəs near, here, weary
soon, cease, sister
eə square, fair, various
ɑːSymbolstart,
Examples
feather
ɔːz thought, law, north,
zero, music, roses,war
buzz
ʊə poor, jury, cure
ʃ ship, sure, national
ɜː nurse, stir, learn, refer
əʒ about, common,
pleasure, standard
vision
ih happy, radiate,ahead
hot, whole, glorious
u you, influence, situation
ṇ m more, hammer,
suddenly, cotton sum
ḷn middle, metalfunny, sun
nice, now,
ˑ Stress mark
ŋ ring, anger, thanks, sung
L light, valley, feel
R right, wrong, sorry, arrange
5.1.3 Articulatory phonetics
j yet, use, beauty, few
When your students understand the important phonetic symbols of
w wet, one, when, queen the English language, determining how to sound out new words will
be much easier. What will also help them learn how to sound out
ʔ department, football
words is understanding how to make those sounds. Articulatory
phonetics is the study of how sounds are created, and a working
understanding of the ideas outlined in articulatory phonetics can really help your students understand the
English language. 

Understanding the anatomy of speech

So many different parts of your mouth and throat are involved in the production of speech that it can be
overwhelming to try to trace sound. Let’s make it a little less overwhelming by looking at each body part that
contributes to speech.

 Alveolar ridge: The gums just behind the upper teeth.

 Palate: The hard palate, or the roof of the mouth within the sphere of your teeth.

 Velum: The soft palate, or the roof of your mouth as it extends past the teeth, ending at the uvula.

 Uvula: The appendage that dangles in the back of your mouth before your mouth turns into your throat.

 Pharynx: The back of your throat, behind the uvula.

 Epiglottis: A flap of flesh that rests below your pharynx, at the top of your throat.

 Trachea: The windpipe, which is covered by the epiglottis.

All of these parts of your mouth and throat, including your tongue, lips, and teeth, work together to modulate
the sound waves that emanate from your throat. Without these parts, we would only be able to make a one-
toned indistinguishable noise rather than complex and recognizable speech. 

How do we make sounds?

Essentially, the sounds that we make are just puffs of air traveling through our throats and out of our mouths.
The sounds that these puffs of air make depend upon all the parts listed above and how they block or change
the air as it passes through. To illustrate this process, think about the sound that would be made if you blew air
through a tube. Now think of the sounds you can make if you blow air through a flute, which blocks and moves
the air in specific ways. This is pretty much how your voice works.

Making consonant sounds

The difference between consonants and vowels is that consonants are made when there is much more
obstruction to the air as it is passing through your mouth, whereas your mouth generally remains open when
pronouncing vowels. Consonant pronunciation can generally be broken down into the following categories:

 Stops: This is when you completely block the flow of air from your throat by closing your mouth at
some point during the pronunciation of the sound (p, t, k, b, d, and g).

 Nasals: In a nasal sound, you close your mouth just as you would with a stop, but the back of your
velum lowers, which allows air to flow up through your nose and out of your nostrils (m, n, ?). 

 Fricatives: In this sound, you only close your mouth part of the way so that air is forced through a
narrow passage and makes a hissing sound (F, θ, v, s, z, ?, ?, h).

 Affricates: A combination of stop and fricative sounds that are made in a similar way (tS, dZ).

 Approximants: This sound is like a fricative except that it involves less obstruction. Sometimes, you
will make these sounds by touching the tip of your tongue to the alveolar ridge, lowering it as you
release the air (l, r, j, w).

There is also such a thing as voiced consonants, which refer to consonant sounds that are accompanied
by vibrations in your throat as the air passes through.

Place of articulation

Consonant sounds can also be classified based on where in the vocal tract sound air gets obstructed, which is
known as the place of articulation. Here are the different terms for where consonant sounds are articulated:

 Bilabials: When you close or constrict your lips.

 Labiodentals: When your upper teeth and lower lip meet as you speak.

 Dentals: When you press the tip of your tongue to your upper teeth as you speak.
  Alveolars: When you press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you speak.

 Post-alveolars: When you touch the tip of your tongue to your soft palate as you speak.

 Palatals: When the body of your tongue touches your palate as you speak.          

 Velars: When the body of your tongue touches your velum as you speak.

 Glottals: When you constrict your glottis as you speak.

Making vowel sounds

While vowel sounds still rely on opening and closing the mouth, we block the airflow from our throat
significantly less when pronouncing them. Many people have difficulty explaining the difference between a
vowel and a consonant, so learning how each of them differs in pronunciation can be helpful. Generally,
different vowel sounds are made by different mouth shapes and positions of the tongue. 

5.2 Reading out loud

Reading out loud is not just a great way for your students to improve their spoken fluency; it is also a great way
to improve their overall comprehension. Let’s start off by looking at the benefits of reading out loud.

5.2.1    Why read aloud?

Increased retention: Anytime that you can access more than one sense, you are more likely to retain the
information you are consuming. This is why the most memorable lessons from school were the ones where you
did an activity that required you to get out of your seat and move around. Adding that extra wrinkle made it
more memorable. When we read out loud, we are not only reading, but we are also listening to what we read.

Increased focus: When you read to yourself, it is easy for your mind to wander and get distracted by external
forces. Reading out loud creates an atmosphere of reading and requires you to focus on every word. That does
not mean that your mind cannot wander, so you still need to keep yourself honest, but it definitely cuts down on
being distracted.

Self-correction: It is much easier to hear yourself pronouncing a word wrong when you say it out loud. When
you read a word silently, you don’t need to be able to pronounce it to identify it. Reading out loud definitely
helps you improve your speaking fluency because it ensures that you know how to pronounce the words you are
reading (or that you learn). Self-correction is also important. If you are aware enough of the rules of English
pronunciation to realize when you have made a mistake and fix it, you are operating at a high level of
understanding.

Learn and practice intonation: As you read out loud, you can begin practicing intonation, stressing the right
syllables and delivering the lines the way they were meant to be delivered. This is another indication of a deep
understanding of the intricacies of the language, since intonation is only implied and not explicitly detailed in a
piece of writing.

5.2.2 Strategies for reading out loud in the classroom

There are a number of different ways that you can have your students read aloud to practice their proficiency
with the language. Some of these strategies ask students to read in front of the class, some ask the student to
read in front of a partner, and others ask the student to read out loud only for himself or herself. Each strategy
has its merits and drawbacks, but reading out loud in any form will help your students improve their overall
fluency in English.

Round robin reading: With this strategy, you make a game out of reading out loud, and students take turns
reading a certain amount of text. This is a great way to get your students comfortable with reading out loud, but
it can be difficult to motivate struggling students to read because of the stigma of reading in front of a group.
This is also a great strategy for getting everyone involved in reading together, but it can hinder students who
are stronger readers and have to wait for struggling readers to catch up.

Popcorn reading: Each student reads a certain amount of text out loud and then yells “popcorn” and picks a
new student to read. This can be a good way to make sure everyone reads because the students are going to
be better at keeping track of who has read and who hasn’t than you would be, and it frees you up to monitor
and/or provide individual attention to struggling students.  
Combat reading: This is similar to popcorn reading except the goal of the students is to catch someone who is
not paying attention. This can add a layer of fun to the activity, but be careful presenting reading as a
punishment. That is not the best way to nurture lifelong readers. 

Pick a name reading: This is the same as popcorn except instead of giving the students the power to select
the next reader you leave it to chance by using some variation of a hat filled with everyone’s name.

Touch and go reading: The teacher is in control and touches a student on the shoulder when they want them
to read.

Choral reading: The entire class, along with the teacher, read out loud together. This strategy serves a
number of different purposes. First, it helps take the stigma away from struggling readers. Second, it gives you
the opportunity to model correct pronunciations for the students that are not combative or anxiety-inducing.
Third, all students are engaged at the same time, which is a lofty goal for any teacher.

Partner up: Have your student pair up and share the reading, each taking turns reading a certain amount of
text out loud. This is a little more difficult for you to manage and monitor than the whole class reading, but it
can help students get a chance to read out loud in a less stressful situation.

Heterogeneous pairing: This is the same as the previous strategy except that you intentionally partner
struggling readers with readers who are excelling. The idea is that the excelling student can help the struggling
reader bridge the gap. Critics note that this strategy does not really help the strong student very much, as
slowing down to adjust for their partners might work against them.

Teacher modelling: The teacher reads aloud to the class to model pronunciation and fluency. This can be an
effective strategy because it helps the students see how the piece should be read as they follow along, but
make sure you are closely monitoring for engagement, as it is a type of lesson where it is easy for students to
be inattentive.

Echoing: This is similar to the previous strategy except the students echo back whatever the teacher reads,
trying to match the pronunciation, inflection, and emotion. This can be a great way to model for students while
still holding them accountable in the classroom.

Reading buddy: Students prepare individually, each with a unique text, and then read their piece to a buddy,
trying their best to read it with no mistakes. Peers can offer critiques and suggestions, and you can monitor
many students at once.

Tape recorder: Students read into a tape recorder and play it back to themselves as they follow along with the
text. There are many different things you can do with this, such as having the students try to get the perfect
recording and then turn it in or have the students swap recordings with a partner. This is a great way for your
students to get an idea of what they sound like, where they are struggling, and where they are excelling. This is
also a great way to help students get used to self-correcting. 

5.3 Responding to questions

As with many topics within this course, responding to questions is not compartmentalized to speaking,
meaning it is something that can help students gain fluency in a number of different ways, not just one. There
are a couple of different ways that we can look at this topic, and each one works on a different skill that will
help build your students’ English fluency.

5.3.1 Question and response

Here are the different ways that you can question your students and expect them to respond: 

Read a question and write a response: This is one of the more typical ways that teachers assess a student’s
reading because it is easy to assess after the fact and requires each student to do his or her own work. This
strategy helps your students work on reading and writing skills but does very little to build their speaking skills.

Listen to a question and write a response: This strategy is rarer because it requires every student to work at
the same pace, which is not always feasible in a classroom. We will talk about such strategies in the next
module when we discuss listening in much more detail. Just like the previous strategy, this strategy does not
do much to help students learn to speak English more fluently.  

Read a question and answer verbally: This strategy helps students improve both their reading and speaking
ability. It is a great strategy to use when students are just starting off trying to speak English on their own
because the question is written in front of them and always available for reference. This is a great first step
towards speaking English without any visual cues.

Listen to a question and answer verbally: This is the ultimate test of a student’s fluency. Not only do they
have to comprehend the question as they hear it (something we will discuss in the next module on listening),
but they also have to be able to formulate a cogent response in English. If your students are able to
accomplish this task, then they are well on their way to English fluency.
5.3.2 Question-answer relationship

One of the best ways that you can help your students respond to questions verbally is by helping them
understand how to find the answers they need. This is a great skill to have no matter what language you
speak, but it is definitely something that can help a student who is struggling with a new language. According
to the question-answer relationship model, there are four levels of questions, each with different expectations
for where students should draw their responses.

1. Understanding: The answer to the question being asked is right there in the text for the student to find.
These types of questions represent a lower level of thinking but are great for getting practice in answering
orally in English. The question requires the student to look at the text for an answer, but the answer is
fairly easy, and the student can focus on how he or she is going to provide an answer in English.

2. Think, search, and find: These types of questions require a higher level of thinking because they
require students to make inferences and understand the subtext of the piece they are reading. This is a
great next step for the student who is starting to get the hang of understanding questions and is ready
for a greater challenge. With these types of questions, the student needs to balance the higher-level
comprehension skills he or she has been developing with his or her ability to verbalize a response in
English.
3. Connection: These types of questions require the student to think beyond what is in the text and make
a connection with the piece. This can be more difficult for English language learners because they
cannot rely on repeating what they see in the text. Rather, they have to synthesize what they read and
create an answer that is relevant to the piece but use their own words. Students are not only showing
high comprehension skills but also high critical thinking skills, all while making sure to verbalize their
response in a language with which they are not yet comfortable.
4. Creating new knowledge: These types of questions require the student to go completely beyond the
text and synthesize something else. These questions are related to the text, but you can answer them
without having to read it. This is a great way to get your students creating new meaning and making
use of everything they have learned so far.

5.4 Presenting new ideas

The ultimate showcase of student improvement in spoken English is to present new ideas of their own in this
new language. As students build towards fluency, using texts and responding to teacher questions are all great
ways to develop their skills, but the true test comes when they step away from source material and use what
they have learned to present new ideas. While the job of presenting these new ideas is ultimately up to them,
you can encourage and support them on their way to success. 

Continue building vocabulary: There will never be a time when any student is done learning words, and the
best way to help your students present their own unique ideas is by giving them the vocabulary toolbox they
need to express those new ideas.

Provide a low-anxiety environment: Your student will be taking a risk by sharing new ideas in a language
they are not completely fluent in, so try to take as much of the anxiety out of the situation as you can. Give
them the space to work through what they are going to say and then be encouraging when they are ready to
go. 

Give them time to practice: It might be helpful to bring back the reading strategy that we discussed earlier
and give them a recorder to record themselves and check their own progress. Once students have progressed
and are improving, it is important to give them some control over the process and take responsibility for their
performance.

Provide honest but encouraging feedback: Even outside of TESOL, simply saying “good job” is no longer
enough to encourage a student. Be specific, be honest, but be encouraging. If certain students are struggling
with something, let them know, but also tell them how it can be fixed and what needs to be done to get it better.
Students appreciate honesty as long as it is presented to them in a way that does not immediately make them
shut down and not want to try.

Listen to the student: The worst thing you can do after your student has done all that work to present a new
idea to you is not listen when they present their ideas. Of course, you would never visibly ignore the students
as they present, but it can be easy to lose focus on exactly what the students are saying. When the
presentation is over, be specific as to what you liked about the student’s idea. Show the student that you care
and that you are proud of him and her. Even if the student struggled, just getting up and taking the risk was a
big leap, so leave the critique until some time has passed.