I have been the quiet student afraid to give out my answer or state my opinion, but I realize now becoming a teacher that we need to get the oral communication in our classroom flowing and get those students who have something to say (but wont) out of their comfort shell and speaking!
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| Retrieved from Google |
There are many reasons why you might have a group of students who are shy or quiet:
- Quiet by nature: Sometimes students are just quiet. They can't help it. That's who they are and its going to take a lot for them to change that. Its not just in your classroom. They are quiet everywhere they go.
- No friends in class: Perhaps you have students in your class who are finding it a little difficult to make friends. Students who have friends to talk to generally feel more comfortable and confident in any class because they know they will always have someone to back them up. When they don’t have their friends, they don’t feel like there’s anyone there they can comfortably rely on to share with therefore they choose not to say anything at all.
- The subject: Sometimes students are stronger in some subjects or classes than others. Why is that? Well, sometimes the class isn't engaging or their learning style isn't being looked at. For me personally, I would not participate in math but I was a totally different person when it was time for French class!
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| Retrieved from Google |
- Scared of what others think: Most likely this is always the root of why students are afraid to speak. Sometimes students feel afraid to share because they feel that everyone else in the room is smarter and their opinions are "stupid". If the quiet students take a chance or “put themselves out there” by sharing, there is a huge fear they might be viewed negatively. Get the students comfortable by doing fun oral games that aren't curriculum based to create a positive classroom environment. Check out this "Lets Talk" game here
That's where us brilliant teachers come in to help those students and get them out of their comfort zone! Here are two ways that I think can improve oral communication:
Guided Discussion:
This is a great way for quiet students to come out of their shell and have a chance to speak! Get your students into groups of 4 or 5 and ask them to write an answer to a question or prompt that you have provided. In their groups have the students share their responses with one another. While one student is speaking have the other students summarize what the other has said and create new questions to help get the conversation flowing. This gives those that don't usually speak a chance to feel comfortable in a smaller setting. We have been using this method of oral communication in our Literacy Class and as a quiet student it was very easy to explain my thoughts and thinking because I felt comfortable with my partners because we were all actively listening and creating a positive classroom environment.
I found a great resource for students to see the success criteria of speaking in class where they know exactly what they need to accomplish. You can find it here. Teachers also have to learn ways in which they can promote oral communication. I have found a great article which you can read here
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| Retrieved from ASCD |
Confuse them:
When students have figured out the classroom routine, it is so easy for them to hide. Throw them off a little bit to create conversation. Write a statement on the board after you have just taught them a lesson that is completely different to what you said. When students return to the class and read the statement, sit in the back of the room and just let them talk. Most of them will be confused and start to explain why that statement is wrong because of what you taught them. By giving students something that gets them off-centre a little bit like playing a game, the confusion leads to questions, interests and ... TALKING!
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| Retrieved from Giphy |
Since I would like to become a French teacher I have found a lot of resources promoting oral communication in French Class. There is a good article on how you can do that here
I also found a game that you can play with students to produce their oral communication skills in French using dice with pictures to create an oral study! You can look at it here.
If we use all the resources and strategies that we have learned in teachers college so far and apply them to our placement, I believe that we have a strong chance to get oral communication flowing and create a positive classroom environment where conversations are always flowing and students are constantly learning from others.
