Speaking Time Teacher’s Guide

 Book Titles Covered in this Guide:

Speaking Time 2 (with MP3 CD)

Speaking Time 3 (with MP3 CD)

 Target Audience:
Speaking Time 1 is designed to start with the third grade of elementary school. Speaking Time 2
and Speaking Time 3 correspond with the fourth and fifth grades respectively. Each book is
anticipated to last up to one academic year, and is for in-class and/or homework use.

 Overview:
Speaking Time is a three-level series designed for young, beginner to low-level intermediate
students. The activities presented in each unit of the books help students expand their basic
speaking skills through guided vocabulary and grammar practice. Additional listening and pair-
work activities provide opportunities for students to hear spoken models and practice their own
oral skills in communicative situations. The thematically-based content of each unit guides
students toward creating oral presentations of personal experiences and opinions that can be
shared with the class. The goal of the Speaking Time series is to improve the oral skills of
students through engaging and beneficial practice.

The content of Speaking Time covers a wide range of theme-based topics over twenty units per
book. Each unit contains four pages of linked language practice based on a given modeled
speech at the start of every unit. An accompanying audio CD provides native-speaker modeling
for nearly all of the sections in the book.

Fluent, natural-sounding speech on topics that can be personalized by the individual student is
the primary aim of Speaking Time. Such speech is a common requirement in oral examinations.
Each consecutive level of Speaking Time involves an increasing length of spoken sentences. The
students will gain confidence through the continual speaking-led demands in a supported
practice environment. At every stage, the students and teachers are fully guided in terms of
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expected output. The books therefore require minimal demand and minimal supplementary
material on the part of the teachers.

Each unit of Speaking Time is broken up into sections. Each section provides clear instruction on
how to progress through the material. However, it is always beneficial to reinforce the language
material through further practice and extension of activities. Below are some suggestions on
how to make the most of each section.

 The Sections:

Previewing
Even before the students have started practicing the given language material in each section,
the students can be asked for their ideas about what each unit might be about.

Taking Unit 1 of Speaking Time 1--I Like Summer--as an example, students can be asked to
brainstorm lexical items that they might associate with summer.

The pictures on the first page can also be used as a warm-up to generate vocabulary and ideas.

Modeled Speech
A target printed speech model is presented at the start of each unit. This Modeled Speech is
also recorded on the audio CD. Allow the students to listen to the audio track more than once
to gain familiarity with the rhythm of the speech as well as the content. They can also be
encouraged to mentally rehearse the speech internally as they listen along.

Allow the students an opportunity to listen and repeat aloud, following the audio recording.
Some students might be selected to stand up and read along aloud to the audio recording as a
supported presentation.

Another adaptation, as the students gain more confidence, is that the teacher can vary how the
Modeled Speech is read. For example, the teacher could read alternating lines and the students
fill in the other lines. One student could read the first line, two more students join in with the
second line, three more students join in at the third line, and so on.

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The teacher can always return to playing the Modeled Speech track at any point in the class.
This can be useful if a break has been taken during one unit, or before the students complete
their Speaking Practice sections at the end of each unit.

Practice
Each Practice section allows for the practice of a key sentence in the Modeled Speech section.
Due to level considerations, not all the Modeled Speech sentences are covered in the Practice
sections. Generally, the most usefully practical sentences have been selected for the Practice
content.

Section A:
As a warm-up, students can be asked to identify the pictures. Further follow-up questions can
be used to elicit latent language material. For example, if the picture is of some flowers, the
students can be asked, “What are they?” “What color are they?” “Do you like flowers?” “Can
you point to some flowers (in the classroom)?” This could also be useful to practice
distinguishing between singular and plural forms, for example. If the picture refers to a
sensation, such as feeling cold, students can, as another example, mime feeling cold, saying
“Brrr. I’m cold.”

The students should listen to the audio recording to gain familiarity with the content, and then
they should be asked to listen and speak to the recording. The students should then try to say
the complete sentences for pictures 1-4 without the accompaniment of the audio CD. Students
can be spot-checked to see if they are able to follow the given sentence. Teachers can ask
individuals to tell the whole class the sentence for picture 3, for example.

Then, the students should be encouraged to speak in pairs, following the guided instruction
provided at the end of that section. For example, the instruction might be to tell a partner
which season you like best. Encourage the students to vary their answers so that they can
practice the expressions more than just once. Monitor that the students are producing the
correct sentences, and correct if necessary.

Teachers can then wrap up by starting the sentence, and asking students to chorus the
sentence ending, or vice versa.

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Section B:
Section B can follow a similar teaching approach as with Section A. The general difference in
Section B is that in most units, the variable part of the sentence is longer than in Section A.
There are a few units which require “listen and circle” or “listen and write” instead.

Section C:
For most units, the students are required to listen and number the four pictures. A few units
feature “Listen and match” instead.

Again, students can be asked about the illustrations before following the instructions in the
book. Students need to then listen and number the four pictures according to what they hear
on the audio CD. As students gain more confidence, they can be involved in a speculation game
as to which picture will be the next on the audio recording. Play the audio CD more than once
to allow everyone to be confident with their answers. Then, listen again and confirm everyone’s
answers according to the answer key. Finally, students should use the model expression in pair-
work practice.

Section D: Sum-Up
Students listen to the audio CD and fill the blanks in the sentences. The sentences generally
echo those of the Modeled Speech.

The writing abilities of students may vary, so allow for difficulties in spelling out the words. If
students find spelling difficult, go back to the Modeled Speech section. The teacher can write a
few of the Modeled Speech sentences on the board, and ask the students to circle words that
you call out. This should help in word recognition. As the students progress, words written on
the board from the Modeled Speech section can be erased, and students can be asked to spell
out the blanks.

Hangman is another activity to review spelling.

The teacher can also read out the Section D sentences from the transcript in an exaggeratedly
slow speed to hint at word spelling.
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After students appear confident that they have completed the sentences, they should read
them aloud by themselves, followed by asking a few individuals to read out the sentences to
the whole class.

Section E: Stress
Students read the sentences aloud, stressing the words in red color. This should help develop
students’ appreciation of sentence and word stress as well as intonation.

More Expressions
Students have up to eight annotated pictures that they can substitute into a given key phrase.
An example of the target structure is always given for the first picture.

First check that all students can identify and read each of the pictures. Do an initial whole class
practice by reading out the start of the expression and having the students complete the
expression. Students should practice as many of these sentences as they can with a partner. For
stronger students, encourage them to come up with their own expressions that might not be in
the book. Stronger students can also be asked to vary the given sentence by converting it into
the negative, or changing it into a third-person expression. The teacher can also ask the
students to read out their expressions using, for example, an angry voice, or at a fast speed.

Speaking Practice
Part A: Students need to create a script relevant to themselves based on the Modeled Speech
that opens the unit. Students can use the expressions in the box to help them. Ideally they
should adapt the expressions to fit their own circumstances. Some variations for the first line
could be given in advance. Students can then perform their speech in front of the class.

Part B: Students need to interview a classmate with the given questions. If the students are
confident to use third person verb forms, they can relay their classmates’ answers to the rest of
the class. Stronger students can also make up extra questions.

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Homework
It is optional as to whether any of the material from the book is given as homework. It is
difficult to monitor the quality of the students’ output if they are doing sections at home
instead of doing them in the class.

Beneficial supplementary extensions might include having the students re-interview a different
person for the final Speaking Practice section at home and present it in the next lesson.

Students might also be encouraged to review the unit with the audio CD at home. Setting a
“test” of expressions the students should remember is one way to ensure that students are
spending genuine time reviewing material at home. If students are going to be reciting material,
they also need to be reminded to use the effects of intonation and stress.