Topic > Overview of Conversation Strategies in Teaching

IndexWhat is conversation?Strategy #. 1: formulaic languageStrategy n. 2: prosodic featuresStrategy no. 3: shiftsStrategy n. 4: request and give clarificationsStrategy n. 5: Ask questions and make commentsStrategy #5 6: watch without soundStrategy n. 7: Changing the subject My experience teaching young students has confirmed that speaking plays a fundamental role in the language classroom. Although most activities aim to provide good speaking opportunities, in reality some explicit teaching of speaking occurs. An interview recently conducted with international students from eight different countries (China, Morocco, Spain, India, Haiti, Jordan, Iraq and France) showed that their main goal when taking English lessons is to speak fluently, correctly and with safety; they also added that they encounter many difficulties with this skill when they want to make and respond to presentations/conversations because they lack strategies or do not know how to speak as they express themselves. Unfortunately, these students fail horribly when they have to speak to native speakers. Central to this fact is that my students fail, for example, to take turns, ask for clarification and repetition, and also to communicate well in formal situations while maintaining good use of prosodic features, body language, and repair. Therefore, a choice of this skill was perceived based on this data to help them improve their conversation strategies and teach them to speak better. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay What is Conversation? To better understand conversation strategies, we need to understand what the word “conversation” means. In a conversation, we usually have two or more members who are part of a collective activity where they communicate interactively using nonverbal cues and linguistic patterns. Strategy no. 1: stereotyped language According to Wray (2002), stereotyped language is a linguistic term related to standard verbal form of expressions without authenticity of meaning that incorporate attitudinal implications and connected to a pragmatically communicative context. Stereotypical speech fosters a large percentage of native speakers' authentic speech. This includes pause fillers, such as “Like,” “Er,” or “Uhm,” and some conversational formulas, such as “Are you kidding,” “Excuse me?” or “Wait a minute.” Strategy no. 2: Prosodic features Prosodic features, also known as suprasegmental phonology, are features that emerge when the sounds of connected speech are put together. A significant component of prosodic features in English is intonation. This is an agreed upon term as it is used to describe the change in pitch, tempo, volume and rhythm. These characteristics are also part of intonation, stress and rhythm. The weak and strong syllables in English relate strongly to the volume which is also mentioned in the increased prominence of the nuclear syllables. In some conversations, loudness is linked to other effects such as anger, which can also be noticed in prolonged speech. Strategy no. 3: Turns Conversational success is measured by knowing how speakers take, hold, and abandon turns in a conversation. The first characteristic to clarify is taking control. In a formal conversation, such as a speech or debate, the norm does not accept one-sided conversations. However, in an informal conversation, in which one conversant speaks at a time, there is an absolute absence of.