Teach english new edition r

language-learning contract 
in which both teacher and students say what they expect and 
what is unacceptable. If the students have had a hand in deciding what the rules should 
be (if they have some agency in the decisions - see page 
2 1
), they are m uch more likely to 
recognise problem behaviour when it occurs and, as a result, stop doing it when they are 
rem inded of their original decisions.
What if students don’t want to talk?
Many teachers have come across students who don’t seem to want to talk in class. Sometimes 
this may have to do with the students’ own characters. Sometimes it is because there are 
other students who dom inate and may even intimidate. Sometimes it is because students 
are simply not used to talking freely in a classroom setting. Perhaps they suffer from a fear 
of making mistakes and therefore ‘losing face’ in front of the teacher and their colleagues.
Whatever the reason, it makes no sense to try forcing such students to talk. It will 
probably only make them more reluctant to speak. There are other m uch better things to 
try.
Use pairwork
Pairwork (and groupwork) will help to provoke quiet students into talking. W hen they are 
with one or perhaps two or three other students, they are not under so m uch pressure as 
they are when asked to speak in front of the whole class.
A llow them to speak in a controlled way at firs t
Asking quiet students for instant fluency will probably be unsuccessful. It is better to do it 
in stages. For example, the teacher can dictate sentences which the students only have to fill
Chapter 
14
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in parts of before reading them out. Thus, the teacher dictates ‘One of the most beautiful 
things I have ever seen is . . and the students have to complete it for themselves. They then 
read out their sentences, e.g. ‘One of the m ost beautiful things I have ever seen is M ount 
Fuji at sunset’, etc.
In general, it may be a good idea, at first, to let students write down what they are going 
to say before they say it. And then once they have read out their sentences, the teacher or 
other students can ask them follow-up questions. Psychologically, they are more likely to 
be able to respond.
Use 'acting o u t
’ 
and reading aloud
Getting students to act out dialogues is one way of encouraging quiet students. However, 
acting out does not just mean reading aloud. The teacher has to work with the students like 
a dram a coach, working out when the voice should rise and fall, where the emphasis goes, 
what em otion the actor should try to convey. W hen the student then acts out the role, the 
teacher can be confident that it will sound good.
Use role-play
Many teachers have found that quiet students speak more freely when they are playing a 
role, when they are not having to be themselves. The use of role-cards (see page 125) allows 
students to take on a new identity, one in which they can behave in uncharacteristic ways. 
It can be very liberating.
Use recording
If teachers have time, they can tell students to record what they would like to say, outside 
the lesson. The teacher then listens to the tape and points out possible errors. The student 
now has a chance to produce a more correct version when the lesson comes round, thus 
avoiding the embarrassm ent (for them ) of making mistakes.