Speak, Listen, and Learn: Building Speaking, Discussion, and Presentation Skills in Every Classroom

Lori A. Dunn is an ESL teacher and an event coordinator, with a
background in linguistics and education in Okanagan, B.C.

Speak, Listen, and Learn addresses the ubiquitous problem facing
teachers in the elementary grades: How can one effectively teach
students to “discuss” a topic in any depth? Many lesson plans
include the prompt to “have students discuss,” but they seldom
describe exactly how to develop those skills.

Using a constructivist perspective, the authors outline how to
encourage the development of the basic skills of communication: using
language appropriately, sharing speaking turns, initiating dialogue,
listening actively, and focusing on meaning. The role of the teacher in
these lessons is to “scaffold this learning” by modelling good
communication, asking probing questions, and providing feedback.
Ideally, by examining how they think and communicate, the students will
help build an environment of collaborative inquiry and, in turn,
actively engage each other.

Abbott and Godinho divide their lessons into four units, each of which
progresses intuitively from the previous lessons and is followed by
questions for reflection on the part of both teacher and students. Unit
1, “Tuning In,” works on developing individual and small-group
communication skills. The units that follow use those skills to help
students build their abilities in using narrative frameworks (“Tell Me
the Story”), in performing or making presentations (“So What’s
New?”), and in developing and contesting differing points of view
(“Let Me Change Your Mind”).

Speak, Listen, and Learn should prove to be a useful resource for
novice and experienced teachers alike.