Activity 6: Preparing for class speaking practice using a Wiki

Aim: Help students prepare contents for later class speaking activities

Moodle modules: Wiki (or optional, OUwiki)

Extra programs: None

Ease of setup: **

Sometimes useful preparation can be done for speaking without actually doing any speaking. In this kind of activity, students prepare content for a speaking activity that they will later do in class. The class activity could be a role-play, an interview, or a debate, for example.

The following examples show how we can set up dialog practice (Variation 1) and a debate (Variation 2). In each case, students will have time to think about what they would say in advance, and to look up words, if necessary. Also, in the dialog in Variation 1, it is only by reading the subsequent part of the dialog that the student can work out what to say. So the student will also have valuable reading practice.

We can adjust the number of students responding to the wiki by making groups with one or two...