Teaching Speaking Skills: Strategies & Methods

Getting students to speak

Welcome, aspiring polyglots! As many of you know, speaking is one of the most difficult things to teach students. In fact, the difficulty does not change simply because you are the student. It is such a complex thing to get started, that there are entire portions of language acquisition directly referred to as the Silent Period of Language Acquisition.

The first thing you should know is that if you are studying alone, you are not alone in facing the difficulty of getting your first sentences out. There is a reason that a child's first words are so impressive. Do not underestimate the power that getting even two or three sentences put together will have on your experience. If you want to read about the Silent Period, you can see more on that here:

Understanding the Silent Period of Second Language Acquisition

Once you've understood the silent period, it is time to break free from its restraints. While there are many things you can do to develop your language skills, the development of your speaking skills are going to be entirely different. For those who are working with an entire class, there are also some classroom activities for speaking skills you should be aware of as we approach the start of the school year.