The Language Teacher
01 - 2001
Timed Conversation: Speak, Speak, and Speak Again!
Brad Deacon
Nanzan University
QUICK GUIDE
Key Words: Speaking
Learner English Level: All levels
Learner Maturity Level: University to Adult
Preparation Time: Five minutes
Activity Time: 5 to 30 minutes or more
Getting Japanese university students to speak in English is often challenging. In search of an activity that could hold student interest, develop their conversation skills, and give both teacher and student a sense of accomplishment, Timed Conversation was developed. Timed Conversation involves pairs of students speaking about a pre-determined topic for a specific time limit. It can be used for warming up a class or more fully as a main conversation activity to be extended over a period of many weeks. Either way it is a class favorite and will help your students develop their fluency and ability to communicate in longer sustained dialogues in English.
Components
Following are the main steps of Timed Conversation: set-up, timed practice, and follow-up.
Set-up
Organizing the students into pairs beforehand helps the activity run more smoothly, breaks up cliques, and invites students to make new friends. In my system, the students speak first with a partner close by, then a partner sitting behind, next a partner across from them who is sitting behind, and later a partner some distance across the room.
In journals, students write down what percent of "Only English" they would like to speak, to make them more responsible for their own learning and that of their classmates.
Next, I introduce and give students opportunities to practice new language expressions (e.g., "How are you doing today?", "____ and yourself?"), which moves the activity beyond mere "chat." One of my students, Yoshihiro, agrees when he says, "I can remember today's useful English and I can use it!" Over time students learn various discourse skills, including openers, closers, turn taking, and turn giving.
When using Timed Conversation as a warm-up I take topics (e.g., their weekend or hobbies) from a student-generated list from early in the year. In other classes where it serves as a main activity I use topics from textbooks.
Timed practice (3-4 rounds)
Initially, Timed Conversation is held for one minute, increasing to four or five minutes by the end of the school year. The time is increased as students become more interested, able, and comfortable using English. I use a timer such as a stopwatch as a signal to let the students know when to stop their conversations.
Follow-up
It is important in Timed Conversation to provide students with frequent opportunities both to practice freely and to receive input which will assist them in improving their conversation skills. Thus, we work on short language exercises between each conversation. Students then write new language from examples on the board. Students begin a new conversation with a new partner with the goal of building greater fluency.
The teacher needs to carefully plan each component of Timed Conversation, including topics, language to be practiced, feedback, partner dynamics, and other components. Having these things in place helps to free the teacher's attention to be more aware of individual learning and to make adjustments.
Adjustments
Simply altering the learning environment is one useful adjustment the teacher can make to increase student involvement. For instance, I might ask students to stand rather than sit. Putting pairs at some distance from each other gets students to speak more loudly and often leads to more active participation. Using upbeat background music is another way to change the environment. Students enjoy the music and feel it prevents their voices from "sticking out" too much.
I also shift emphasis within the four language skills to refocus my learners' energy. For example, instead of speaking, students focus on writing new questions they want to ask their partners about the topic of the day.
Conclusion
I will review some of the many rewards and challenges I have found in teaching Timed Conversation. I will also highlight a list of suggestions for use.
Rewards
In my experience, students become more actively engaged in Timed Conversation over the course of the semester. They learn to sound increasingly more native-like as they acquire more conversation expressions and other useful language each week. Consequently, it is professionally gratifying to see their growth and hear students such as Kumiko say: "I can speak English better than before and I like English more."
Also, since the students are clear about what to do and are actively on task, I am free to assume a number of roles, such as observing and gathering feedback or joining the conversations. Ultimately, the class becomes a pleasant English social meeting venue for us all.
Challenges
Timed Conversation would lose its freshness and students would quickly lose interest if it were conducted in exactly the same manner each time. Thus, I vary the components, language, and other aspects to sustain student interest and participation.
Suggestions
For those who are ready to implement Timed Conversation in their classes, I would like to highlight a few suggestions. These are not quick fixes for success, but lessons learned over time that allow the activity to run more smoothly and effectively. Use a simple timer and decide if you want to provide background music. Invite students to suggest music and bring their own tapes. Pairing the students off at the beginning of each class and asking them to write speaking target percentages helps them to get focused and ready for Timed Conversation. In the first lesson, I suggest introducing simple conversation beginnings and endings to give common starting and finishing points. Then provide variations and lots of other useful language expressions weekly. Use Timed Conversation repeatedly and with lots of topics. Finally, the time should be incrementally increased to coincide with your students' abilities. Remember to join in the fun!
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