Teaching Dialogical Speech at Different Levels of Language Acquisition

Context 3: within-student dialogue – student and text

In referring to ‘within-student’ dialogue, there is an acceptance of the validity of both Vygotsky’s conception of ‘inner speech’ and Bakhtin’s work on the heterogeneity of voices [24, 126]. Even educators little versed in either set of theories may grant that it is hardly controversial to assert that learners are often required to ‘engage’ with a text, or with some other external stimulus physically divorced from the teacher. This condition and the next relate to what Andrew Wilkinson referred to as A-A communication: ie the student talking to her/himself.

Perhaps because such internal dialogue cannot be overheard, its value is often overlooked in discussions about classroom discourse [26, 23]. Indirectly, such engagement is promoted through a variety of teaching strategies and measured, post hoc, through assessments of students’ written and other more public communications. Directly, such assessments often rely on a largely intuitive feeling about classroom ‘atmosphere’; about whether or not there is a ‘good air of

concentration’. We know little about the silent processes in which students engage

in given contexts, nor about between-student differences in relation to this, though taxonomies of higher-order reading skills (for example) do exist that might prove helpful in providing some kind of starting point in the development of analytical frameworks here. There is also very little research on how the quality of this form of dialogue is promoted through the use of other forms.

Context 4: within-student dialogue – reflection and problem solving

Similarly, while most teachers may wish their students to become reflective problem-solvers, little systematic work has been done on how to promote or evaluate this within the context of the lesson or wider teaching program. The work of Robert Fisher [5, 53] and of other proponents of ‘philosophy for children’, while generally respected, has had limited policy impact today.

The work of Richard Andrews and his colleagues on the nature of argument [12, 14] has similarly been little exploited so far, despite revealing significant gaps in awareness, even among able and advanced students. Teachers are often more aware that certain students are reflective and take initiative, without having much understanding of how or why. Similarly, we may be all too aware of the conscientious and successful student who plays no part at all in the spoken life of the classroom, yet whose levels of reflection and argumentation remain extremely high.

Cultural differences seem to be significant here, too. While the received wisdom of Western education is that verbal interchange promotes learning, there is

plenty of evidence from around the world that this assumption is by no means universally shared. The reflective condition of inner dialogue also deserves, therefore, to be valued for its contribution to learning, and the oscillation of inner

and outer speech can be promoted and utilized in a variety of ways that have not yet been clearly documented or evaluated [31, 18].

Identification of four discrete but potentially symbiotic general ‘conditions’ of classroom dialogue might form the first step in the formulation of guidelines for

effective teaching that fully acknowledge its essentially dialogic nature. However, such an identification would still fall short of an account of effective teaching on two fronts: it would not define quality, and it would not consider peculiarities of classroom, personal and social contexts [23, 148].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter II

Dialogues: the Presentation Stage

2.1. Presenting dialogues: basic approaches

One of teacher’s roles is to present new material: that is, to teach the meaning of new items which the learners will need in order to extend their mastery of the language. There are different ways of doing this – through texts, activities or situations – but, whatever approach you use, the procedures must be:

1. economical: because understanding is only part of the learning process and you must not spend too much time on this stage;
2. effective: otherwise the students will not understand what they are subsequently required to practice [8, 7].

Since many course books rely heavily on texts as the framework for presenting new items in combination with previously learned material, we will look at this approach first.

The main concern in the early stages of the language programme will almost certainly be the teaching of the spoken language and for a number of reasons dialogues would seem to be best suited to this purpose:

1. they present the spoken language directly in situations in which it is most commonly used;
2. they permit and encourage the learners to practice the language in the same way;
3. they encourage active participation in the lesson.

In contrast, prose passages (narrative, descriptive, informative) appear to have none of these obvious advantages. By way of compensation, however:

1. they can be used to introduce language items which do not fit naturally into conversational-type texts [7, 9];
2. they can provide material for learners to talk about: e.g. informative texts can be used to present  interesting and educationally valuable topics;
3. they offer variety.

They also provide incidental reading practice, which is now accepted as an important goal, even in the early stages of language course.

For these reasons, therefore, we can expect most course books to offer a judicious combination of both types of text. Teacher’s task is to make the best use of them according to the needs of the learners [15, 23].

These criteria are intended to help teacher evaluate the dialogues in his or her tuition. They may also serve as guidelines if we want to write supplementary material of your own.

1. The language should be relevant. That is, the main items (grammatical or functional) should be ones that will really help to build up the learners’ ability to communicate.
2. The language should be appropriate. That is, the language should use forms which are typical of the spoken language (e.g. contracted forms, short form answers, hesitation markers, etc.).
3. The situations should be realistic and relevant. That is, the dialogue should create the impression that the speakers are real people in the world, using language for a purpose, not simply exemplifying bits of language. The situations and characters must of course relate to the needs and age of the learners. Children and adolescents are more likely to be motivated by an ‘adventure’ – type situation, while adult learners are more likely to value ‘survival’ – type situations such as travel, shopping, looking for accommodation, etc.
4. The structural or functional items should be limited. The dialogue is not a suitable vehicle for teaching a lot of vocabulary. Additional items can be worked in at the practice stage [17, 152].
5. The dialogue should not be too long. A convenient length is about 8-10 exchanges (though obviously much will depend on the situation).
6. The dialogue should be interesting. The students are more likely to learn from a dialogue than some excitement or human interest in it. It is helpful too if the dialogue has some action in it, so that it can be dramatized, not simply said aloud [3, 68].

Although the dialogue is an effective device for contextualizing new items of language, especially if it is accompanied, at least in the early stages of the language program, by a visual sequence that illustrates the main events in the situation, it is unlikely that the students will understand it completely even after they have listened to it two or three times [6, 12]. A good deal of course depends on which new items are being introduced and how many, and how well the context helps to convey their meaning. Without some prior introduction to new language, most students are likely to have only a general idea of what the dialogue is about. While some teachers are satisfied with this on the grounds that meaning is best apprehended in terms of wholes, others think it is wasteful and would prefer their students to have a more complete understanding from the outset. Since, then, this is an area where there is some disagreement, we need to discuss two important problems [5, 14].

The first question is whether we should we ‘pre-teach’ new language in the text. That is, should we extract items (grammatical or lexical) from the text, teach their meaning (e.g. through translation or in situations and get the learners to practice this language) before we let them listen to the dialogue? The argument in favour of this is that, unless we do some pre-teaching of this kind, the students will not understand the dialogue. The argument against is that the students always end up by understanding; that they should be given the opportunity to guess the meaning of new language and that this in fact is one of the strategies they will need to acquire. It might also be argued that, at least of the early stages, the students will probably be mentally translating the dialogue as they are listening [14, 12].

It must be acknowledged that there are occasions when it helps to prepare the students for listening by pre-teaching an item which is likely to prevent them from understanding the dialogue as a whole. In practice, however, even near-beginner students accept a global approach which requires them to try to work out the meaning for themselves, especially if they know, because they are familiar with your procedures, that they will be given several opportunities to hear the dialogue; that they can use the visual sequence to help interpret the dialogue; that they will see the text in due course and, finally, that you will explain any difficulties which remain at the end. As a general rule, we should look at each dialogue on its own merits.

One more question that arises is whether we should translate the dialogue, in whole or in part, at any stage of the presentation.  Clearly it should not be necessary to translate the whole of the dialogue, or to get the students to translate it, as a way of making sure that they have understood it. Sometimes it may help to give the mother-tongue equivalent of an item (especially if the alternative is to try to teach its meaning through a procedure, such as demonstration, that would take up a lot of time) [18,103]. This may be necessary when you are clearing up any difficulties after the students have listened to the dialogue several times. Mostly, however, the mother tongue is likely to be needed, particularly in the early stages, to help set the context for the dialogue or to explain certain aspects of the situation, which in itself will help the learners to understand the dialogue better [15, 25].

Perhaps more important question which we need to concern ourselves with while working out procedures for presenting dialogues are:

1) How do we motivate the students to listen? Because, unless they listen, they will not learn anything. Ways of doing this are:

      (a) through discussion of the situation (together with related visual material) and by relating the situation to the learners themselves (their interests, environment etc.);

(b) through a pre-listening task which will involve them in the situation/topic on a personal level [26, 15].

2) How can we focus attention on key items in the dialogue? This can be done through ‘focus’ questions (which need not always be in the form of questions, of course) which will get the learners to listen out for specific bits of information in the dialogue. A task of this kind also helps to reassure the learners that they are achieving something positive, even if they do not fully understand the dialogue.

3) How can we use the dialogue to develop communicative skills? One important communicative skill that we should seek to develop is listening (and this is one important argument against pre-teaching). There will also be opportunities for talking and exchanging ideas about the situation. Finally, we must see to it that the dialogue leads on to the communicative use of the new language items [15, 24].

 

2.1.1 Ten steps of successful dialogue presentation

The following set of procedures outlines a workable approach to presenting dialogues in average classroom conditions. It need not of course be followed rigidly. Although there are certain things that the teacher will always need to do –

such as involving the students in the situation, providing reasons for listening, checking understanding (etc.) – he should look at each dialogue carefully to see what modification are needed.

Step 1. Establish the setting. We can do this with the help of the first picture. Point out or get the students to tell the teacher that the boy (Tim, with whom they are familiar) is showing something in a newspaper to his friends. There is going to be a carnival, with a talent competition and a prize of ₤100. We can explain or translate any of these items as necessary. The important thing then is to bring these ideas alive for the students e.g. by asking them what they know about carnivals (especially any famous ones), whether they have ever taken part in one (or in a talent competition) and whether they would like to. The tacher may have to use the mother tongue quite a lot at this point, but it is necessary to use English as much as possible because discussing topics like this often provides opportunities for exposing the learners to a good deal of informal language. 

Step 2. Establish a personal link with the situation. The teacher should elicit and list on the board some of the things we can do at a carnival. For example, you can sing, dance, play the guitar (and other musical instruments). This provides a way, in this case, of introducing can informally because we need it for an activity (so that in effect you are doing some pre-teaching). The teacher may ask the students to interview one another quickly about what things they can do. (This activity can be done in greater depth at the practice stage, bringing in more vocabulary.) We can also tell the students that there is going to be a class talent competition and get them to say what they can do.

Step 3. Pre-teach selected items (optional) Here we deal with any difficulties that might seriously interfere with overall understanding and enjoyment of the dialogue. Any such items in this dialogue have already been dealt with incidentally.

Step 4. Set a listening task Since singing is a key activity in the dialogue, a possible task is to ask the students to find out while they are listening who can sing, or who is going to sing at the carnival. The task can be presented in the form of a chart like the one below that has to be completed with yes or no.

	sing
Tony
Tim
Tina

 

Step 5. Ask the students to listen While they are doing this, they may follow the picture sequence but not look at the text. The teacher may let them listen to the dialogue as often as they like, and ask for the answers to the focus questions at any suitable point. Other questions can also be asked to see how much the students have understood so far. (They may also like to ask questions, too).

 Step 6. Ask the students to read silently as they listen During this phase, the teacher pauses after each section and ask some simple questions to check understanding. For example (after Section 1): Where is the talent competition? Is the Carnival today? Are there any prizes? What is the first prize? (etc.)

Step 7. Ask the students to listen and repeat The teacher asks the students to listen again (without looking at the text) and to repeat selected utterances either in chorus or individually. Most learners enjoy repeating in chorus.

Step 8. Explain any difficulties  We can do this by reading through the dialogue, drawing attention to any points (perhaps giving further examples of an item) or by asking the students to tell the teacher what difficulties they have.

Step 9. Ask the students to practice saying the dialogue Divide the learners into small groups for this. They should decide among themselves who will take which part. Carry out selective checking, but get the learners themselves to listen to and correct one another [15, 19].

Step 10.  Get the students to dramatize or improvise the dialogue. One or two groups can be asked to do this if there is time and if they want to [15, 25].

Ask pupils to look at the three short conversations. Discuss:

- in what situation each conversation might take place in real life;

- why the person might be asking the question.

A. Imagine you hear these conversations in real life. What might the situation be?

Why is the person asking these questions?

T: What is Hanna doing?

S: She is doing her homework.

T: Can you type letters?

S: Yes, I can.

T: What is there in the room?

S: There is a table and two chairs, and a single bed.

There are of course many possible answers; the teacher should encourage students to give as many ideas as they can:

   e.g.  – Father asking mother about daughter-he has just arrived home and she is not in the room, so he wonders where she is.

– A friend calling at Hanna‘s house and asking her mother – she wants to go out with her.

– Someone being interviewed for a job (e.g. as a secretary). The interviewer needs to know because the job involves typing.

– Someone enquiring about a room which they want to rent, or someone booking a room in a hotel; they want if it is suitable.

From the discussion, we establish these main points:

1. In all the conversations, the two people are genuinely exchanging information. There is something that one person does not know and wants to find out, and that is why he or she is asking a question. We can say that the person has a ‘communicative need’.

2. Although this is not the only reason why people communicate in real life, it is one of the main reasons; very often we talk in order to tell people things they do not know, or to find things out from other people.    

B. Now ask pupils to look at the picture of the room and to imagine that it is being used for language practice in class. Imagine students in a class are asking and answering questions about a picture. What might they say? Why are they asking these questions?

Teacher can discuss what questions students might ask and answer, e.g.:

What kind of room is it? (a bedroom)

Is there a cupboard in the room? (Yes, there is)

How many chairs are there? (two)

Where’s the desk? (by the window) etc.

   If we compare this activity with the conversations in part A,  it is possible to establish these points:

-  In part B, the students are asking and answering questions, but they are not genuinely exchanging information. They are not asking the questions in order to find out anything they need to know (for example, they do not really want to know how many chairs there are, because they can see that there are two). So they do not have any ‘communicative need’ [24, 159].

- The students are using similar language to the people in the ‘real life’ conversation, but the purpose of the questions is quite different- it is simply to practice language [17, 209].

Although activities like this provide useful language practice, they are often not very interesting, because there is no real purpose in asking the questions, nor any need to listen to the answers. The activity would become more interesting if we could create a reason for asking the questions. We can do this by hiding the information, either from all the students or from some students, so that there is something why can find out. This is sometimes called an ‘information gap’ – one person has information which another does not have, so there is a need to communicate. In practice the teacher will deal with three simple kinds of ‘information gap’ activity: guessing games, information gap exercises for pair work, and activities in which students exchange personal information.

1. Demonstrate a guessing game using a picture. Use the picture or any other fairly simple picture which shows people engaged in some activity (it could be a picture from a magazine or a drawing).

a) Tell the pupils that you have a picture (but do not show it to them). In the picture there are a man, a woman and a train. They must find out exactly what the picture looks like by asking questions. You can only answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’- but you can help them by giving hints (e.g. ’You still don’t know where the train is’).

b) When they have a clear idea of the picture, they should try to draw it.

c) Finally, show them the picture. After your demonstration, discuss the activity, and compare it with the way the picture was used in Activity I:

- Hiding the picture gives students a genuine reason to ask questions: there is information they need to find out. They also have to listen carefully to the answers, so that they can draw the picture.

- Although the activity as a whole is controlled by the teacher, the students are mainly asking questions that they want to ask, not ones the teacher tell them to ask.     

2. Ask one teacher from each group to come out in turn and play the game, using the other teachers as a class.

3. If there is time, tell teachers briefly about other guessing games, and ask them to describe any they know themselves.

Some games which are widely used in English language classes:

-Famous people: One student pretends to be a famous person (alive or dead) who is known to the others. They (a try to guess who the person is, by asking questions, e.g.: