Speaking and Listening Opportunities for Beginning ESL: Phone Instruction with Worksheets

Not being able to teach in-person is a task that one year ago wasn’t even on our radars.  Remote instruction and learning definitely have their challenges.  But when you really think about it, teaching has always had its challenges, this one is merely new.  Remote learning and instruction by telephone automatically lends itself to several rich opportunities for speaking and listening.  Using this mode of instruction provides unique learning opportunities to the student that may not be readily available in the traditional classroom setting, and it can be achieved by utilizing the same worksheets already used in class.

Rationale

The telephone, or What’s App/FaceTime, is a logical place to practice speaking and listening.  Phone communication relies exclusively on acute listening skills to take information in and speaking skills to relay information.  This is an opportunity to fine tune skills without the distractions of classmates and other visual cues.

Learning on the telephone with worksheets allows the student to feel comfortable in their new class setting.  Using familiar material allows the learner to settle into a more intense learning experience with text they are accustomed to seeing.  Also, many students view worksheets as “school” and know that they have entered class mode.

Using Worksheets

Worksheets are a great way to practice everyday questions and answers that the students will likely encounter.  Most worksheets will present opportunities to practice most WH- questions, countless Y/N questions, among others.  Put simply, one worksheet can provide substantial listening and speaking opportunities to most levels.

Make It an Instructional Routine

Make speaking and listening for specific purposes a routine in every telephone lesson.  What is great about practicing Q & A is that it can be used regardless of the content.  Even very simple worksheets have opportunities for speaking and listening practice. You can use worksheets as opportunities to practice directionality, describe what learners see and demonstrate understanding of text on the page.