Discussions

Honest discussions - even and perhaps especially on topics about which we disagree - can help us resist hypocrisy and arrogance.

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-Discuss

Aim of the presentation

• To inform tutors of all they ever wanted to know about the new speaking and listening qualifications based on what I can remember

• … and some• There will be activities and ideas• There will be light refreshments• There will be a musical interlude• There will be birds singing (somewhere)

Don’t panic – Be prepared• Speaking and listening is now assessed at all levels• There is no exam • We must provide a little silver trail of evidence

Functional Skills

• Level 1: take part in a discussion (familiar subject) and then take part in another discussion (unfamiliar subject)

• Level 2: Take part in an informal discussion about an unfamiliar subject and make a formal presentation about a familiar subject

• These will be assessed by tutors (new forms)• The specifications are available at

cityandguilds.com

Familiar and unfamiliar topics

Individual/group choice Tutor to introduce• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

Minimum Requirements

• Design FS speaking and listening courses with a view to using the skills in other contexts

• Challenge learners: where do you use spoken language differently? How many name tags does everyone have?

• It is not enough just to stage a discussion • The EV will want to see: planning (SOW/session plans), official

forms with detailed contents (see the examples), learner notes/questionnaires/ILPs

Speaking and listening in sessions

• Let the learners do the legwork• Challenge them to spontaneously role-play scenes chosen at

random (doctor-patient)• Use topic cards for the above• Random word debates: Respect – Discuss• Continually encourage discussion amongst the learners: peer

work and peer assessment help learners to develop independence and gain confidence

• Vocabulary building and spelling can be combined with speaking and listening; let go of old habits and allow them to manage the spelling lists

Make discussion part of all sessions

• Allow set periods of time for speech (observe)• Music reviews activity• Multi-sensory bingo• Mock calls; responding appropriately• Speaking games• Gesture, body language and mime activities• Translate transcripts into play formats, direct or

indirect speech

Speaking and Writing

• Integrate speaking exercises into the writing process• Show the group an image or photograph and ask

them all to write down brief thoughts• Each learner will reveal their thoughts in turn• Encourage constructive comments• Research online• Use the ideas as the basis of written work• Make this type of exercise a feature and vary the

format: what are your memories when you see this?

Musical prompts

• Use musical prompts/audio/old fashioned wireless recordings/snippets of DVDs or videos/You Tube… you name it

• Listen to the following TV themes• What are your earliest memories associated with

television?• Reminiscences are often a good way to engage a group• Talking books are a good resource• See the attached idea for music reviews• Smellpots

The discussion process in a nutshell

• Learner self-checks as evidence and useful to inform ILPs

• Supporting materials/handouts• Definitions of key terms• Ground rules• Sorting and grouping• Speed debating; pause to consider the rules• Jargon/register: discuss the language used by C and Gs

and ask the learners to match the criteria against their own ground rules

Staging an assessed discussion

• Recap• Display the ground rules• Provide an unfamiliar topic; such as BBC news

articles and a questionnaire (see examples) Learners to make notes (evidence)

• Reiterate the rules• They have 10-15 minutes to discuss the topic• Make a transcript (audio)

Paperwork

• Use the official forms (new versions)• Explain what was contributed supported by

examples and the notes on the questionnaire• Ask the learner to read and sign the paperwork• Compile a folder of evidence for submission• Factor the C and G standards into plans; adapt and

use the plans with different groups• don’t duplicate – communicate (share good practice)• Moodle speaking and listening zone

In conclusion

• Moodle area to be developed• Comments from the floor• Q and A