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Speech Classes, Anyone?
by Lynda Smith Pinto-Torres
Kendall
Do you shy away from teaching speech classes even though they would fit into your schedule beautifully? Are you, perhaps, worried about assessing and substantiating oral production?
It’s much easier (you say) to evaluate Arasleysis’ progress in any of the other areas (grammar, writing and reading). Just give enough homework, quizzes, tests, paragraphs, and voilŕ – you’ll have a grade to show her. If she’s dissatisfied, whip out examples of her writing (full of your corrections and suggestions), and a few tests she never collected to prove that she hasn’t met course objectives. (You’ve probably kept one or two examples of her work, just in case.)
Exactly! I’ll have objective tools for evaluating her performance in those areas. But how will I corroborate her speaking and listening skills if I can’t depend on written evidence?
True, there’s no way of getting around a certain amount of subjectivity implicit in oral assessment. When you listen to someone playing a musical instrument, you know from those first notes what kind of performance you’re in for. Speech is no different.
Should I give sound recognition tests, you know, minimal pairs like it and eat, and have Arasleysis circle the sound she hears?
You can liven up many a class with a bit of group practice recognizing and producing English phonemes. I’m sure you know the routine: First, write both words on the board. Number them 1 and 2. Tell students to listen. You say the words and ask students to identify the word by number. Then turn your back and do the same thing, not letting them see your lips. Finally have individual students say the words for the rest of the class to identify (by number). But as a test in which the class must circle the word they hear? How do you know for sure that Arasleysis isn’t just showing her visual ability?
Are dictations a good evaluative tool?
They (like minimal pairs) are wonderful for class practice, but I don’t use them as a form of testing. If Arasleysis doesn’t understand, she will probably panic, look around the room frantically and say “What? What? What?” making it impossible for others to hear. (Or maybe she’ll slump way down in her chair and strain to see her neighbor’s paper.) You’ll know that she has difficulty comprehending, but how can you prove that the mistakes on her dictation arise from that problem and not from an orthographic one?
What about homework? Isn’t homework, of necessity, in writing?
I know speech teachers who never give written assignments. They believe that writing has no place in a speech class. I disagree. If I may again use the analogy of music, there are people who play “by ear” and those who play “by note.” The result will be the same – they will produce music. Why not let Arasleysis write in preparation for the next day’s class? In class, however, encourage her to minimize her dependence on writing and develop greater confidence in the oral exercises, and grade her on speech activities, not on her written homework.
If written homework, dictations and sound recognition tests aren’t reliable assessment tools, what about short speeches?
From what I hear my fellow speech teachers and their students saying, this is a popular way to test students. Arasleysis, clad in flowing checked skirt and wide-sleeved white blouse, enters the classroom carrying a tray of flan that she (or her grandmother) made. When her classmates finally calm down, she, red-cheeked, head bowed, stands in front of the room and mumbles her prepared speech (written by her teenage Honor Roll daughter). Everyone applauds and you smile into your grade book wondering what to write. Her pronunciation was appalling, the vocabulary way beyond “I am a student,” but you give her a passing grade, perhaps even higher, moved by compassion (and the delicious flan sitting on your desk!). Three weeks and five pounds later, all of your students love you, but has their speech improved?
How about having students perform skits with one another?
This is lots of fun! You can even add more drama by dimming the lights and coaching from the sidelines. You pair up Arasleysis with uninhibited Edmundo (in hopes of boosting her confidence), and give them ten minutes to modify a dialog from the textbook, one designed to allow each student to say approximately the same number of words. They stand. After rotating Arasleysis’ stiff body towards the class, you take a seat (or move to the sidelines) and say, “Go ahead.” She begins the dialog. “Hello.” Edmundo says something under his breath (in Spanish) just loud enough for his classmates to hear. They roar with laughter. You strain to hear Arasleysis’ next sentence, but it is lost in the hubbub. In less than thirty seconds their performance is over, and you are looking at your grade book. You heard Arasleysis produce three words! What grade will you give her?
What about using tape recorders as an assessment tool?
Wonderful! One of my colleagues has had great success using this system. Her students record their voices on homework assignments and tests. She can listen to them whenever and wherever she wishes, taking as much time as she needs, following up with individual student conferences in her office. The tapes provide the physical evidence so often lacking in speech classes. This is the ideal method if you are teaching only one or two classes, but if you have six classes of 25 to 30 students, the backseat of your car won’t be available for the doggies’ next trip to the vet.
Some students have told me they’d like to have more conversation practice. I suppose speech class is the ideal place for this, but I know how hard it is to control my students when they strike up a conversation!
Yes, this can be a problem. Arasleysis remains silent, while Edmundo monopolizes class time using sloppy speech and refusing to repeat your corrections. Some students roll their eyes, others close theirs. Worse, a few strike up their own conversations unrelated to the topic under discussion and not even in English. You’ve lost them. Frustrated, you return to safer territory – the next exercise in the book.
Well, I guess I’ve been right to avoid teaching speech classes!
Oh, no! Not at all! I’ve hit upon an assessment tool which seems to be working. Let me share it with you!
Three or four times a semester, I divide the class into groups of four and have them practice vocabulary and structure from previous classes (using the textbook as a basis). Then, for one week, I test students in pairs. I’ll have them ask and answer questions, narrate simple stories, describe pictures, etc. (tailored to what we’ve been studying in class). The test usually takes ten minutes. While I am testing them, the rest of the class is free to practice in small groups, but often, at least at the beginning of the test, the students are unusually attentive, with everyone straining to hear my questions and their classmates’ answers. I seize this moment to model correct speech. I grade them on listening comprehension, pronunciation, structure (grammar), and vocabulary on a scale of 100 points. As soon as the pair of students finishes, I mark their scores (while their performance is still fresh in my mind). S# (excellent) is 25 points, S (good) is 20 points, S- (fair) is 15 points, and U (unsatisfactory) is only 10 points. My grade sheet looks something like this:
At the end of the semester, I average scores on all of the oral tests and quizzes I’ve given throughout the term and discuss grades with students during finals week. Very few of my students complain about their final grade, but if they can convince me (orally, of course) that they deserve a higher grade, I’m all ears!
So, choose speech classes. I’m even stepping aside to give you that golden opportunity. Next semester (for the first time in 25 years), I won’t have a single one! But, regardless of the skill area I’m teaching, speech activities will figure prominently. Who knows, I might even slip in an oral quiz or two to keep them on their toes!
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