Home > Programs > Real Speaking
As an alternative to the rotating-teacher and course book nature of the Graduated ESL classes, the 8-week Real Speaking program is available for students of higher level ability and focuses entirely on speaking ability through a continuous combination of grammar, pronunciation, everyday situations and news & media in theme-based lessons for the morning with one teacher. As an extension of this class, another theme-based lesson is offered in the afternoon hours with a second teacher with more focus on current events and news-related vocabulary.Course content is designed such that students are exposed to lesson points and skills used by native speakers in conversation that are not commonly found in regular ESL classes or texts. Students are challenged through this mixture to use the time to speak and utilize the presented language and structure as much as possible during the four hours.
Morning ClassStudents learn an integrated mix of Grammar, Speaking & Vocabulary, Listening and Pronunciation lessons within one context. Topics and lesson are from various resources and include original material, but touch on each of those skills predominantly in each section. Student talking time is maximized in terms of practice activities. Beyond an occasional video or audio clip, media is not central to this program.
- Topics covered are: Language Learning, Hospitals & Symptoms, Shopping, Money, Lying & Scams, Relationships, Regrets, Television, In the Office, Cultural Differences, Transportation, Linguistics by Region & Age, Humour
- Vocabulary is taken from direct relationship to the topic.
- Speaking skills: asking for & giving opinions, supporting opinions, guessing and the future and past, avoiding commitment, conversation verbs, understanding other cultures, expressing surprise, shock and stunned, interjections, sarcasm
- Pronunciation skills: can vs can’t, natural stress in sentences, forced stress in sentences, the phonetic alphabet (IPACAC), vowel sounds, /θ/ and /ð/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, clusters and cluster reductions, /f/ and /v/, /p/ and /b/, 3 /t/ sounds, /r/ and /l/
- Grammar skills: perfect modals, phrasal verbs, conditionals, indirect quotes, noun clauses, demonstratives
Afternoon ClassThe afternoon class is segmented from the morning class in terms of context and skill base. Teachers use discussion-inducing topics with a focus on useful idiomatic expressions and spoken grammar, like use of adjective clauses, tag questions, etc. Media like television, movies, newspaper, Internet and radio are used more frequently to demonstrate the lesson point. Therefore, some content is variable depending on current events, teacher & student interest and available media.
- Suggested topics include: Current events, Same-sex vs Coed Schools, Racism & Stereotypes, Healthcare, Disasters & Emergencies, Stress, Celebrations, Gender Roles & Sexuality, Immigration, Music, Movies & Entertainment, Violence, Obesity, Environment, Tipping, Smoking, Eating Disorders, Fashion, Piercings & Tattoos, Irony, etc.
- Suggested Resources for Media: newpapers, magazines, youtube.com, FRIENDS, 17 People from Toronto, Freedom Writers, Supersize Me, Family Guy, the Simpsons, Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, Survivor, other TV programs, News & Media tapes (many of these DVDs are available from Tyson)
Real Speaking: Sample Weekly Schedule|
08:45 - 12:30 |
Continuous theme-based lessons |
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Lunch Break |
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1:30 - 3:40 |
Continuous theme-based lesson centralized around current news |
