3. Tips for secondary school teachers
Ask open-ended questions
Help pupils respond with more detailed answers and extend their thinking.
Open questions (e.g. “How do you think…”, “Tell me about…”) can also enhance classroom discussion to demonstrate the various ways a question can be perceived, interpreted and answered.
Encourage problem solving or topic led conversations to help pupils experience using open-ended questions.
Give pupils time to think
Once a teacher has asked a question, give the individual or groups time to think about their answer.
This encourages reflection, creative thinking and allows time for pupils to answer in depth.
Incorporate tasks and activities that develop critical thinking and problem-solving to encourage extended communication amongst pupils.
Set tasks that need to be solved verbally to give learners the chance to reflect, consider and answer questions individually or in groups.
Plan activities to develop written and oral skills
Working in small groups can give pupils the opportunity to hone their debating skills , discuss and hear different opinions, delegate tasks and work as part of a team.
Encourage active listening
Teachers can help develop students’ listening skills by reading out from relevant textbooks and then setting tasks that encourage pupils to discuss and engage with the content individually or in group settings.
Better still, if students can do something interactive such as teaching a peer about what they’ve heard or learnt, they’re developing their understanding further and are more likely to remember the new information.
Use technology
From podcasts, audiobooks to apps, incorporating technological resources in the classroom can help develop communication skills.
Students can listen to podcasts and read alongside audio books to hear how podcast presenters and narrators pronounce and articulate unusual words or phrases.
If an unfamiliar word pops up during an audiobook, pause the playback in order for the class to search for the word in the dictionary.
Use visual aids
Show examples of interactive conversation skills.
At appropriate moments, pause the video and ask questions – such as:
- What message is the listener sending by shaking his head?
- What else can you tell by observing the expressions and body language of both people in the conversation?
thus providing demonstrations of effective communication.
Allow the class to reflect on their learning
Recording pupils reading selected texts or group presentations can help educators assess and evaluate communication strengths and areas for improvement.
Participants can discuss their oral performance in small groups so that they experience and get used to receiving constructive criticism.
Be spontaneous
Unexpected opportunities can arise during everyday classroom interactions.
For example, if a student asks a question about an event currently in the news in a complicated way, you might ask that they discuss further what they said, and if appropriate, encourage the wider class to join in which enables the teacher and pupils to ask clarifying questions.