și Tehnologie „George Emil Palade” din Tîrgu Mureș Departamentul pentru Pregătirea Personalului Didactic Lucrare metodico -științifică pentru… [626819]

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Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie, Științe
și Tehnologie „George Emil Palade” din Tîrgu Mureș
Departamentul pentru Pregătirea Personalului Didactic

Lucrare metodico -științifică
pentru obținerea gradului didactic I

Coordonator științifi c:
Conferențiar univ. dr. Bianca Han

Candidat: [anonimizat]( Săcărea) Maria Raluca

2020

UNIVERSITATEA DE M EDICINĂ , FARMACIE, ȘTIINȚE ȘI TE HNOLOGIE
„GEORGE EMIL PALADE" DIN TÎRGU -MUREȘ
DEPARTAMENTUL PENTRU PREGĂTIREA PERSONALULUI DIDACTIC

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COMMUNICATIVE TEACHING: METHODS AND PRACTICES IN TEACHING
ENGLISH AT LOWER SECONDARY STUDENTS

Coordonator știi nțific:
Conferențiar univ. dr. Bianca Han

Candidat: [anonimizat](Săcărea) Maria Raluca

2020
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION :
Motivation and aims of the study
CHAPTER 1 : THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
1. 1. The process of language learning
1.1.1 English language learning for global communication
1.1.2 What makes a good learner?

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1.1.3 What a good teacher is
1.1.4 Motivation and successful learning
1.1.5 Learning styles . Incorporatin g Multiple Intelligences Theory into English classes

1.2. Overview of language skills
1.2.1 Teaching receptive skills : reading and listening
1.2.2 Teaching productive skills : writing and speaking
1.2.3 Integrating language ski lls
1.2.3.1 Reading for dev eloping communication skills
1.2.3.2 Listening and audiovisuals for enhancing communication
1.2.3.3 The effects of writing practice on improving spea king skills
1.2.4 Language levels and CEFL for speaking skills

1.3 Communicative Language Teaching(CLT)
1.3.1 The evolution of CLT
1.3.2 Current trends in CLT
1.3.3 Criteria for speaking tasks
1.3.4 Types of materials used in CLT
1.3.5 Asse ssing speaking
1.3.6 Error correction in speaking activities

CHAPTER 2 THE RESEARCH -From Theory to Practice – English conversation in the
classroom .
2.1 The needs analysis
2.2 Building a teacher -student: [anonimizat]
2.3 Establishing class rules to benefit from communicative teaching
2.4.Using rea lia for teaching speaking
2.5 Games and activitie s for developing English fluency
2.6 "Covenglish" – online teaching for developing speaking sk ills in the pandemic context
2.7 Lesson Planning
Conclusions
References
Annexes

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INTROD UCTION
Learning a foreign language is a dream come true, teaching a foreign language is a
blissful gift. From my early childhood, I wante d nothing but achieving the blessing of guiding
little beings on their paths towards speaking and loving the English language, that I have always
extremely adored. I have put my heart and mind to this great challenge , thinking that having a
communicative c ompetence and getting a language degree will enable me to perform
successfully on what I thought was the "stage of my career ", just by putting in practice what I
have thoroughly learnt during university .
From the beginning of my teaching career in 2008, I realized that graduating was just a
first step into my career and I had to undergo a long way to fulfilment . I understood , back then ,
that I had to improve the pedagogical methods I had learnt according to the students ’needs ,
develop my teaching style an d dedicate a lot of time to bein g the teacher that I imagined I would
be.

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Fortunately , teaching English was an advantage , as the subject was mostly enjoyable to
the students due to its association to the music they were listening to and the movies they w ere
watching . They have all been previously instructed that learning how to speak in English is
tremendously important as it is the l anguage used for travelling, one of the basic requirements
when applying for a job or sitting for a scholarship abroad. Therefore, most of them were active
participants as they were pretty determined.
However, t hings almost never went as planned, learners were different, what worked
with a certain grou p, was a failure with a group of the same age level. Although the planning
effort was considerable, the feedback was not the one that I was hoping for and I was striving to
find the best tasks to engage the students more and challenge them into speaking, taking control
of the language . Over the y ears, I realized before planning and using teach ing strategies I had to
start putting myself into the learner' s shoes, predict their difficulties in learning EFL, be more
patient toward their process of learning , choose wisely and appeal more to creativity in designing
extra teaching aids .
What was more , I started aiming at shaping independent and competent communicators,
rather than focusing on their correct utterances, studying in depth the productive skills,
communicative teaching strategies and designing fun and engaging activities. After all , even if
language accuracy is important, "if students are involved in meaning -focused communicative
tasks, then language learning will take care of itself” (Harmer, Jeremy; 2007, p.69 ). Oral
communication is one of the greatest aims of learning a foreign language and I have always
known that the mo re enjoyable the activities are, the better students will perform.
I have learnt a lot from the EFL training courses I attended, from my fellow colleagues ,
to whom I am most grateful for sharing their e xperience and for motivating me to shape my
teaching style. Being determ ined to focus on functions and tasks for the purpose of developing
my students fluency , my deepest need, my paper "came to life" .
My research paper focuses on developing the speakin g ski lls of lower secondary students,
highlighting the effectiveness of the Communicative Language Te aching Approach , which I
have investigated, demonstrating that making communication the focus of the classroom
upbrings complex a nd compe tent c ommunicators . The activities proposed bring cha nge in the
dynamic of the class and allow students to really make use of the language in real -life situations.
According to Jack C. Richards "While grammatical competence is an important dimmension of
language learning, i t is clearly not all that is involved in learning a language since one can master
the rules of sentence formation in a language and still not be very successful at being able to use
the language for meaningful communication. It is the latter capacity which is understood by the

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term communicative competence".(Richards , Jack; 2006, p.3) . I consider my topic meaningful,
essential , integrating outside world into the classroom, exposing students to authentic contexts in
which they can practise using the English should be on top of the liste when teaching a foreign
language. What is more, face-to-face communication is constantly losing ground, our digital
students slowly forget how real conversations take place, feeling they do not need them
anymore , as most of th eir interactions moved to the virtual environment.
The purp ose of my paper is to present methods and practices that will be
important tools for teachers in preparing stude nts for real -life communication. P roviding topics,
tasks, games and activities learners can easily identify with, activating, encouraging and
motivating them , can turn beginners into proficient language speakers .
I also want to demonstrate that in an interactive learning context, building a student –
teacher relationship plays a crucial role. Students can only succeed and celebrate
accomplishments, if they are really engaged in the active scenery of language learning, being
strongly motivated and commited.
The paper consists of two parts: Chapter 1 entitled Theoretical Foundations and Chapter
2 The Research. The first chapter consists of a series of subchapters regarding the process of
language learning, what makes a good learner and what a good teacher is. Keeping the learners
engaged requires a high degree of motivation further expl ored in the work. It also contains
relevant and useful information about types of learners , their variety of styles involved in the
process of language learning, the theory of multiple intelligences and how it can be used to
differantiate instruction in teachin g EFL effectively . There is also an overview on lan guage
skills, divided into receptive and productive skills , together with an emphasis on proper activities
and means of integrating them for the scope of accurate and fluent oral speech. In real lif e we
can rarely use language skills separately. This subchaper also includes the European language
levels chart and CEFR for speaking skills, a means of self -assessment and support when
designing school activities.
The Communicativ e Language T eaching subchapter focuses on the evolution of this
approach. along history and the current trends which are constantly undergoing changes as
today’s learners differ from a g eneration to another due to the "tydes" of changes in technology.
It bri ngs out to light wha t criteria teachers should take into account when teaching speaking and
enumerates types of materials and activities to be used for maximizing the students' results.
Students and teachers become co -learners, as teac hers have to take a step back , taking the roles
of prompter s, monitor s and feedback provider s leaving the stage to the learners . Testing
communicative activities is a challenge for us teachers, due to its subjective nature, therefore my

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paper also provides relevant recommendations on speaking ass essment . Correcting errors in
speaking activities must also be handled carefull y. Students are not always given immediate
feedback, thus one needs to provide efficient suggestions for the students’ progress .
The second chapter is the research part of the paper which is also split into subchap ters. I
consider that classroom management is highly important , especially in an interactive context,
therefore building a warm but firm relationsh ip with the students is a key starting point. Even if
students like the teacher, not establishing solid classroom rules , an "Agreement” with them , they
will push the limits as much as they can, taking advantage of the context, and result s in losing
the purpos e of the activities and games incorporated in the lessons. To imp rove students '
understanding, interest and involvement, making use of "realia" brought by the teacher or by
the student s, is undoubtedly a requirement. I have also enumerated the games and activities I
successfuly used for my research this school year a nd during my teacher carrer. Facing an
unfortunate period, due to the world -wide pandemic, I decided not to let my study that much
affected by it and continued finding new ways of developing my students’ speaking skills and
monitor their progress. Thus, th ere is a special subchapter entitled "Covenglish". Eventually, a
series of lesson -plans with the speaking activities presented come to bring more value to the
present research.
The conclusions drawn from my research paper have been presented in the last c hapter,
followed by the References , enumerating the resources which enabled me to write my thesis.
Finally, the last part of my paper is represented by Annexes , wh ich contains specific
materials and worksheets relevant for the topic explored in my thesis .
CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

1.1 THE PROCESS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING
1.1.1 English language learning for global communication
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world"(Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Learning foreign languages has always proved useful not only for personal growth but
also for brain development. Learning English is more than essential , as it is the la nguage for
global communication , so necessary in every step taken when attempting to explore the world.
Learning English gives one the opp ortunity to go beyond his or her confort zone, exploring the
world liter raly or by surfing t he internet.
The quote cited above i ntends to highlight tha t an interest in learnin g English, breaks
world limits, empowers people and provides a multitude of op portunities, opening the gate to

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experiences and professional fulfilment. Learning English involves a well -prepared teacher, but
also a wi lling and ambitious learner.

1.1.2 What makes a good learner?
At the basis of language teaching is the learners’ retention and engagement. Learning a
foreign language is a long -term process and a multitude of factors are involved in a successful
outcome. Cultural background, age, past learning exp eriences, linguistic genes, personality,
motivation, responsibility, repetition, a good memory up to building the habit of learning what
one is taught. It is a true fact that learning a foreign language depends not only on the teacher,
but mostly on the learner and hi s or her ability of learning effectively.
What makes a good learner is very hard to explain, what surely helps in the process of
learning is strong self – motivati on, a positive attitude and teacher involvement. According to
Jeremy Harmer teachers can turn their class around by their "choice of topic, activity, linguistic
content […]by their attitude to class participation, their conscientiousness, their humour and their
seriousness that they may influence students ."( Harmer, Jeremy; 2007, page 8). Therefore , how
inspiring and creative teachers’ are is strongly connected to students’ behaviour and p erception
of language learning, with empasis on accepting the teacher as a partner in learning and students’
"taking charge of their learning"( Harmer, Jeremy ; 2007 , p.9)
It is crucial to encourage students ’ autonomy through the tasks given, to offer support but
give them freedom of choice at the same time , to introduce them to the best strategies and
resources, while considering their expectations and possible shortcomings. As Jeremy Harmer
asserts, b eing engaged in the process of learning a foreign language has to do with the wilingness
to listen to what is being taught, to experiment, be an active participant, to ask questions when
feeling perplexed, without leaving meaningful information unclear, to thin k about how to learn,
by building a set of personal learning strategies. Moreover, it is important to understand that one
can only learn through making mistakes an d accepting error correction as being constructive and
fruitful, making them more conscious of their learning process and progress.

1.1.3 What a good teacher is
There is a saying according to which a good teacher is the one who teaches from the heart,
and not from the book, as such a teacher really makes a difference in a student ’s life and learning
progress. It is difficult to find a general description of what mak es a good teacher. As unique
individuals, we perceive and appreciate people and things from different perspectives . Some

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teachers genuin ely have a natural gift, some must put a lot of effort into the job of teaching and
are popular and effective, too.
A combination of experience, knowledge, intelligenc e, personality is considered when
trying to define what a good teacher is. The feeling of enjoying the subject one teaches , along
with the ability of making students feel loved, appreciated and encouraged can also add up to the
way a teacher is viewed.
Younger students consider dressing style, body characterics, even hair colour , when
speaking about why the y find their teachers en joyable. Lower secondary students, teenagers see
things differently and are more interested in personality. More than looking for a professional,
students look up to and let th emeselves guided by the teachers who do not only play a role on the
"stage ". They do not only want to see a serious and devoted person, but also ”the real”person
behind the professional. ”We have to be able to present a professional face to the students which
they find both interesting and effective.”(Harmer, Jeremy; 2007 , p. 24) but be ourselves .
Students expect to know things about their teachers and as most of them are not usually
intrusive, asking personal questions, teachers could take advantage of various tasks to satisfy the
students curiosity about the person behind the " scen e”. When I assign a project, most of the
times, I set an example , for instance I bring to class a project about myself , including personal
information, such as age, hobb ies, fields of interest, fears. This can encourage students in being
more open when wor king on the ir personal project s.
As a teacher, one can never entirely predict what happens during a lesson. That is why, a
good teacher needs to also be adaptable to any kind of unexpected situations. In addition to this,
a good teacher should also use s uch a situation to his or her own advantage and for the students’
benefit . Flexibility is expected from a professional teacher in unforseen problems such as a
power drop, tasks finished earlier by students, projects that take to o much time , or even fortuna te
situations when a student’s thought or remark can lead to remarkable conversation, Jeremy
Harmer calls these "magic moments" ( Harmer, Jeremy; 2007, p.15). They are precious because
both the students and the teacher can benefit a lot from an open convers ation .
Besides facing and managing unpredictable situations during a lesson, t eachers have to
adopt a variety of roles which should differ, according to what students are assigned to do.
Acting as a controller at all times demotivates students, as standin g in front of the class,
dictating , cannot keep students focus ed for a long time. It works well when teaching grammar
but it is ineffective in case of a project work , as a teacher needs to act as a prompter, helpin g
them with the language, giving them add itional guidance to accomplish their tasks. Sometimes

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teachers must be assessors, when testing, some other times they need to function as tutor s and
give advise or as a resource to provide language information.
Jim Scrivener in Learning Teaching , The E ssential Guide to English Language Teaching
(2005 ) claims that in order to create "a positive learning atmosphere and a positive relationshi p
with the students "(p.25), there are a set of featu res, one is born with or which can be sub jected
to improveme nt, such as : really listening to the students, showing respect, being fair, having a
good sense of humour, being patient, authentic, honest, inspiring confidence, being approachable
and authoritative without being distant, being well-organized and giving clea r positive feedback .
Scrivener(Ibid, p.25) also asserts that there are three kinds of teachers "the explainer” ,
"the involver” and "the enabler”. "The explainers” are the teacher s who "know their subject
matter very well, but have limited knowledge of te aching methodology”. Such a teacher lectures ,
explains the informa tion to the students who are not personally challenged or involved , their
usual practic e being written exercises at the end of the lecture. The second type of teacher is the
"involver" who is familiar with both the subject matter and the teaching methodology. This kind
of teacher explains but also involves the students,invests a lot of time in finding the most suitable
and engaging activities, while still controlling the class very well. " T he enabler” gives students
more autonomy in the process of learning, alt hough acting as a decision -maker , he or she can
negotiate or share decisions made when conducting a lesson. Due to proper attitude and
personality, he or she is more aware of the stud ents’ reasoning, critical thinking and empathises
with them, "creating the conditions that enable the students to lear n for themselves .(Ibid , p.25)
Thinking of my own experience as a student and at my students’ feedback regarding
teaching, I can say that learners appreciate enjoyable activities, lessons that come alive in an
environm ent where encourajement, trust and respect go hand in hand and where their opinion
and feelings matter.
Participating at a Superteach conference held in Tg -Mures during this school year, my
conclusions were reinforced. S eeing a number of students talking on stage about their concept of
" the best teacher" I kept in mind some of the statements. Students wanted to be recognised,
remembered, called by their name, encouraged, understood when facing a difficult situation or
having a bad day, involved. What was more, the way they felt in a teacher’s presence, what their
teacher thought about them and how they were treated made a huge difference to the way they
perceived school, the subjects and teachers in general.

1.1.4 Motivation for successful language learning

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Motivation plays a crucial role in learning not only languages but also any field of study.
When an individual strives to attain a purpose is the moment he is extrem ely motivated. As
knowing and using a foreign language cannot be done over -night, being a significant long
process, strong motivation is a key factor. As William Littlewood in Foreign and Second
Language Acquisition (1986, p.53) stated: "In second languag e learning as in any field of human
learning, motivation is the critical force which determine s whether a learner embarks on a task at
all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he persever es. It is a complex phenomenon
and includes many component s: the individual drive, need for achievement and success,
curiosity, desire for simulation and new experience. "
When considering motivation, methodologists and researchers have made a clear division
into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The first one comes from each individual’s internal
process, while extrinsic motivation depends on external factors.
Children learn about motivation firstly in the educational environment at very early ages,
although they understand what it implies only when their b rain development allows them to
perceive the meani ng of goals. Jeremy Harmer( 2007 ; p.98) stated that students’ motivation ”
can be influenced and is affected by the attitude of a number of people”. That is why, for primary
school beginners , motivation is first extrinsic, depending on what they are told at home, on the
teacher’s stories and promises made once embarking in the journey of learning ESL. It also
depends on the scenarios teacher creates and on the way they find themselves using the language
in different contexts such as travelling, video games or surfing the internet.
Once students understand the meaning of goals, usually in the lower secondary school,
they can relate success to motivation , and hence appeal to their self, discovering their in trinsic
motivation . Some may be eager to learn English just because they want to know the language.
Others pick up a language with ease , love English so they want to learn it to communicate well
when travelling ot conside studying abroad . Later on, learner may want to mas ter a language for
specific purposes, for getting a job.
The way society we live in perceives the importance of learning a certain language also
determines a learner to be more involved . In our country, knowing a fo reign language is a basi c
requi rement and English language in particular has a high status in the curricu lum, therefore
there is a positive attitude towards EFL learning. Moreover, the attitude of a student’s peers is
also tremendously important . If there’s a positive attitude in the classroom, students feel more
determined to get involved, if they are judgemental, have discussions showing criticisism
towards the subject and the teacher, motivation can drop : "If peers are enthusiastic about

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learning English, however, there is a mu ch greater chance that the same student may feel more
motivated to learn the subject”. (Harmer, Jeremy; 2007 ; p.99)
At the beginning of the year, whe n beginner students are first introduced to EFL or are
familiarised with the aims of the year to follow, they are very much interested as a new
beginning always brings mistery and challenges on the way.
A dedicated skillful and resourcefu l teacher can motivate students to develop thei r
speaking skills by engaging them in pair work and group work activities , emphasizing the
importance of collaborative work and the benefits of communicative activities. They can work
on drama, dialogue building or practice, ro le-plays, proje cts, interviews. I also appeal to the
method through which students teach ea ch other, after being introduced to a part of grammar for
example .They may sometimes find it more comforta ble to learn language structures from their
peers . I usually divide the groups myself, or let them take control of this decision.
All in all, motivation has to do with feelings, therefore the students -teacher relationship is
important. A helpful, caring and thoughtful teacher k eeps the students interested. Furthermore, it
deals with students seeing their own progress, as failu re can be demotivating. In addition to this,
a teacher should take into account language level when assigning learning tasks , allowing each
students to benefit in a certain way from an activity and guide him or her through improvement
when failing . Last, but not least keeping students motiva ted involves proffesional abilities,
showing the students that we are self -confident and know how to help them become competent
language speakers.

1.1.5 Learning styles. Incorporating Multiple Intelligences Theory into English classes
Romanian tea chers unfortunately have to teach large groups of students , very mixed i n level,
as they are grouped by age and not by language level . Finding out their type of personality, their
needs or their family background is extremely challenging, not to mention th at we meet twice a
week, during a school year. Discovering their learning styles, providing personal support for
each one of them, designing activities to satisfy the needs of both low levelled and students with
a higher level of English are just a few of the preocupations of EFL teachers. We all also know
that it is not about what one teaches, but about how a certain topic is taught.
Age is one of the first factors to consider when designing classroom activities. Children,
adolescents and adults learn in different ways. I will highlight only some important aspects
regarding primary school students and lower secondary students that I teach. It is well -know that
children up to 11 years old learn English easier through active play, games that keeps them
movin g and through songs. Their tasks are frequently changed, a teacher has to show flexibility

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once again and change the activity i f students start feeling bored. Their speaking and listening
skills are mostly the ones to be developed. After this age, students are more interested in activites
such as role –plays, board – games, interviews or digital games.
As my paper focuses on communicative teaching strategies and activities, lessons are
surely student -centred and learning how to make sure each student gets the most out of the
materials, has to do with understanding the way student receive and store information better.
According to Neuro -Linguis tic Programming( NLP) , as there are differences in the way
individual brain functions, some learne rs react bette r to visual stimuli or to auditory i nput while
others prefer kin aesthetic activities.
Starting from this first division, the theory of Multiple Intelligences(MI) emerged, a
concept which was introduced by p sychologist Howard Gardner in Frames of Mind . According
to Gardner (1983) human beings do not possess only a single intelligence, but a wide range of
"intelligences”. Gardner first compiled a list enumerating 7 types of intelligences : Musical –
rhythmical, Verbal -linguistic, Visual -spatial, Bodily -kinaest hetic, L ogical -mathematical,
Intrapersonal and Interpersonal. Each individual posseses all these 7 types, but one or the other
influence their evolution the most and are more present. In 1993, Gardner added anothe r type of
intelligence he called Naturalist ic Intelligence, refering to the ability of recognising and
classifying different parts of nature. According to Jeremy Harmer(2007 ), Rosie Tanner(2001)
made up a chart in which he described what kind of ac tivities would suit people with special
strenghts i n the different intelligences.
For developing speaking skills there a re a series of activities inclu ded in the chart which
can help teacher effectively create students’ learning tasks: Bodily -kinaesthetic people would
benefit more from activities which active ly engage them , such as running around the class to
search for clues, like in treasure hunts . People who have the interpersonal intelligence as one of
the dominants, prefer pair -work and group -work activiti es to give them a chance to answer and
discu ss questions, with their peers, on a ce rtain topic . As far as the intrapersonal intelligence is
concerned, such le arners prefer appealing to their inner thoughts. Engaging them in writing diary
entries, essays encourage reflection and develop their creativ ity expressing their personal
opinion s. Linguistic intelligence helps a learner do well when assigned a role in a debate on
various themes as they are able to find and solve problems and in addition to this to come up
with key solutions. In case of logical -mathematical intelligence, for those having this type of
intelligenc e as a dominant, teachers could design a task which is picture – based, asking the
learners to work in gro ups to discuss and reorder pictures and then create a story . Musical
learners resp ond well to songs incorporated in the English lesson s, so teachers can associate

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rhythm when planning a lesson, for initiating discussion or practise language skills . Naturalists
are passionated about the environment, prefer discussing issues such as pollu tion, envir onment
protection and benefit a lot from first-hand experiences in nature , if taken outside the classroom.
When thinking about the best activties to suit a spatial type of intelligence, students can make the
best out of a ” Spot the differences” type of pair -activity for example in which students are to
find differences between pictures without showing them to each other.
Waldorf educational system which starts to be more present in Tg -Mures, too, strongly
promotes the idea of reflecting upon int egrating activities based on the multiple intel ligences
theories. Attending a Waldorf conference, I got familiarised with how important it is to appeal to
each individual’s learning style during a lesson to optimize skills development and personal
growth. Student s keep focused if they identify with the activities they are engaged in.
Nowadays, students need to feel in the centre of attention , to enroll in the learning
process, as the y easily get bored if they don’t find themselves in what they are being t aught.
Thus, I always try to do a warm -up at the beginning of a lesson that usually activates students
physically and change the rythm during a lesson when I feel they cannot stay focused. For
example, in December, I came across a Christmas rap song, adapted on Queen’s rythm of "We
Will Rock You” and I used it to enhance speak ing skills and spice up the lesson arrising
students’ interest . I appeal to pictures, realia, board games, videos, music, mime, interactive
digital games to make sure I activate each dominant type of intelligence my students are
characterized by . I raise and lower my tone during a lesson to draw attention, we use clapping,
stomping and all kind o f physical movement in the desire of creating a com fortable environment
and spend unforge ttable, productive, fun time with the students . I appeal to their senses, when I
"give flavour" to my lessons by making a fruit salad or asking them to make videos with cooking
recipes . I promote exper iential learning by for instance simulating a voulcanic erruption during
cross -curricular activities. I use pair -work and group -work in each lesson without forgetting the
needs of intrapersonal self -reflectors. When the weather allows it, I change the scene of the
activities and take advantage of outdoor games and exploring the exterio r world to ari use
students’ interest in rese arching before believing others’ assertions .
However, t here have been a lot of studies a round the idea of how the Theory of Multiple
Intelligences affects the way students learn a forei gn language but consensus has not been
reached so far. Although a visual learner can remember words easier when associating a picture
to them, who can guarantee that the information is forever lasting? I believe that, as teachers, we
should incorporate activities to mee t each type of learner. Teachers are the ones who show the

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students tips and tricks for language learning, provide strategies which enable them to store and
use the language tools towards their ultimate goal, communicative competence.
No ma tter what learning strategie s an individual develops or what type of intelligence is
dominant, a general truth is that students who s tay focused and motivated on their topics or on a
subject can surely b enefit from the information provided . Motivation tog ether with attitude
create a favourable environment towards learning a foreign language thoroughly. Curious peop le
can make great learners, adding up self -confidence, the brain operate s differently, as we ar e what
we think . A good study habit is what makes a successful learner. Constantly revising, repeating,
leaving materials previously learnt aside and then coming back to them later on, after a brief
period of time , are definetely successful attitudes .

1.2 Overview of language skills
1.2.1 Teaching skills for developing communicative competence
In the process of language learning teachers should always consider what kind of
communicative element is there to be involved in the task they choose for the students. Although
some students are good at managing the system of language, the form, focusing on functions and
tasks will challenge them to use their knowledge in a commu nicative context .
When teaching skills for developing oral speech, it is extremely important to first make a
difference betw een linguistic competence and communicative competence . Jack Richards
explains the difference between the two con cepts. He renders linguistic competence as ”t he
ability we have to create accurate sentences in a language ”1, to be able to organise sentences,
have a good knowledge of grammar, while communicative competence refers to ”how we use
our knowledge of language in communication”.2 Being communicative competent implies

1 Jack C. Richards on Communicative Competence -Part 1 of 2 , by Cambridge University Press ELT, published on 21
August 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwMii_YtEOw
2 Ibid

16
knowing what utterances are communicativelly appopriate in certain situations, what proper
phrases to use, depending on both contect and the relationship between the participants. This is
why the syllabus is organized on developing communicative competence, with a focus on
functions, tasks, fluency activities. Altough we are interested in teaching students how to make
correct sentences, being accurate is important, there is a preocupation for fluency as not giving
students enough practice to use the language will not make them competent communicators.

1.2.2 Teaching receptive skills: list ening and reading
Learning and using the English language, achieving language proficiency, implies
managing four basic language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking. Reading and
listening go under the category of receptive skills as the learne rs receive an input in the process
of language learning, whereas writing and speaking represent the productive skills, as the
learners produce an output, through written or oral messages.
Although the emphasis of my paper is on learning a foreign languag e for its
communicative puroposes, I consider that an overview of language skills is relevant for my study
as all four skills are of high importance and are almost never used individually . They complete
each other, they are interdependent as one needs to l earn all four to achieve proficiency: "When
we are engaged in a conversation, we are bound to listen as well as speak, because otherwise we
could not interact with the person we are speaking to(although some people, of course, are better
listeners than oth ers!).Lecturers frequently rely on notes they have written previously, and
people listening to lectures often write notes on their own. Even reading, generally thought of as
a private activity, often provokes conversation and comment."(Harmer, Jeremy; 2007 , p.265).
Therefore skills cannot be taught in isolation.
Receptive skills are useful for language aquisition, if students understand what they read
and listen to and for this intensive practice is required. Reading develops students’ vocabulary,
creativity and imagination. Listening activities are important for learning good pronounciation
and for developing students’ abilities to engage in a conversation . Understanding the message
transmitted in the target lang uage is essential for rai sing their le vel of competence and producing
significant language. Teachers expose students to a wide range of authentic material for both
reading and listening, to familiarise students with the vocabulary and sentence structure, and in
case of the latter with the stre ss, accent and intonation .
Jeremy Harmer(2007) pins down a few stages related to teaching receptive skills, as a
guideline in the teaching practice:

17

 leading -in, that is introducing students to the theme or the topic of the text by appealing to
prediction s about the text or what they are going to hear through activating their background
knowledge on the topic discussed and fully engage them in the tasks. Students can be given
either the headline, word phrases, an introductuion to the text or a series of pi ctures.
 students should be directed comprehension tasks , to get to the surface of the written text or
audio and try to understand the general meaning of the text.
 The written text or audio is afterwards provided
 Conducting feedback ( it is advisable to e ncourage students to work together in pairs or in groups,
to go through the answers together, a support for students who do not manage to individually
complete the tasks succefully.)
 Follow up activity, directiong text -related
tasks, in which students can focus on micro
skills such as vocabulary, the content of the
written text/ audio or other details .)
 A repetition of the proce ss, to involve the
students in f urther tasks for a deep
understanding of the material.
Pre-teaching vocabulary is expected to be d one
in both reading and listening activities.

Teaching reading is extremelly important as English t exts provide a good setting for
language acquisition. EFL learners benefit a lot from stories as they are not only good models
for reading but also relev ant examples for in tiating them in English writing. In How to Teach
English (2007) , Jeremy Harmer distinguishes two types of reading: extensive, books chosen by
the students outside the classroom and intensive reading which "refers to the detailed focus on
the construction of reading texts which takes place usually(but n ot always) in classrooms."( p.99) .
It is important to mention that, in the pre -reading stage teachers should introduce a series
of unknown words and ask the students what they know about the topic or what they are
expecting to read about. Teachers should also give a time limit for reading a passage and
encourage students to try to find meaning and understand the text without focusing on each new
word, but consider the context. Teachers should mention what they require students to do: scan
or skim the text. When practising reading skills, students need to be taught how to scan the text
in search for specific information, suc h as name, location or numbers. They should also focus on Figure 1. Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of Language
Teaching, 2007, p.271

18
skimming a tex t, to get a general idea of the topic, the same as when they read a review of an
article or of a book. Reading for detailed comprehension is a further step taken in practising
reading , where understanding the text in depth is required for discoveri ng the m essage behing the
text.
Students need to be encouraged to read as much as possible and teacher s should give
them reccomendations of different titles throughout the year. There are a series of bilingual
editions students can find enjoyable to read. The English textbooks , provided by our Ministry of
Education , have a variety of authentic texts to involve students in reading taks.
Teaching listening, is also one of the top concerns as far as foreign language learners are
concerned. It is important for stud ents to understand other people in face -to-face conversations ,
starting with comprehending the teacher. Jack C. Richards highlights this idea in his work
Teaching Listening and Speaking from Theory to Practice : ”The main function of listening in the
second language learning is to facilitate understanding of spoken discourse. […] Listening can
provide input that triggers the further development of second -language proficiency.”( Richards,
Jack; 2008, p. 3)
Students should be exposed to a r ange of audio ma terials as listening is useful for
learning good pronounciation, having listening practice they can become not only b etter at
understanding , but impr ove their communication skills , too.
Just as in the case of reading activities, Jeremy Harmer identifies the differences between
intensive and extensive listening in How to Teach English (2007, p.134). On the one hand,
extensive reading refers to the listening material which students encounter outside the classroom
through internet videos, music channels the y are watching, songs they are listening to on their
favourite CDs . Although these type of listening occurs in their free time, nowadays, due to
digital textbooks students have at hand, they can access their textbook dialogues after having
listened to them in class for further practice. Teachers can also encourage them to watch their
favourite English TV series, films and shows with English subtitles or without subtitle s when
feeling confident enough about their language level.
Intensive listening on the other hand is fairly different as it takes place during English
lessons , in a formal context, when students actually work on their listening skills and study
spoken English, structures, pay attention to stress, intonation, sounds of both individual and
blended words and interjections. Beginners find it difficult to understand native speakers during
listening activities, but as time passes and more and more input is assured, they start enjoying
them and use structures they have listened to in real life conte xts, even with the intonation
provided in the authentic material. Extra practi ce can be provided as students can also benefit

19
from live listening . Teachers can read texts aloud to the class , tell stories, conduct interviews or
conversations with students or bring native speakers to class to increase language competence
and motivate students into further learning.
No matter the teacher’s choice, extensive and intensive listening material is important
”since it provides the perfect opportunities to hear v oices other than the teacher’s, enables
students to acquire good speaking habits as a result of the spoken English they absorb and helps
to improve their prono unciation .”( Harmer, Jeremy, 2007 , p.303 )
Students textbooks contain a large series of authentic dialogues, messages, stories and
other genres. However, extra materials suitable for their age and preferences are more than
welcomed. Age appropriate tasks, not beyond their level of comprehension, will once again
motivate them. Designing both interactiv e and non -interactive listening tasks boost students’
competence and confidence in the process of language learning.

1.2.3 Teaching productive skills : writing and speaking
Productive language skills, writing and speaking, refer to a learner’s ability to write and
speak in a foreign language. When engaging in EFL learning, after thorough practice, students
succed in managing the receptive skills. They may be able to read and understand a text, listen
and comprehend the teacher and the materials offer ed. What they find more difficult is to gain
confidence and start usin g the lang uage for communication , which is obviously more challenging
and demanding.
If we take a closer look we realis e that learners must be aware of various aspects at the
same time such as : the message conveyed, the accuracy of sentence structure, the suitable
vocabulary, the style and even non -verbal language in case of speaking tasks. It is of ut most
importance to engage students in writing and speaking activities as often as poss ible.
Although students take part in writing tasks in school to develop their creativity through
participating in colla borative tasks such as project work, writting poetry and stories, students
also practise their speaking skills by means of games and ac tivities built up for the purpose of
stimulating real contexts . In this way , they can, in time, do away with their feelings of anxiety,
fear of failure, judgemental issues and focus more on the way they express their thoughts freely.
Many learners find it easier to express themselves in written, not only in English, but
also in their native language. This is us ually the case of introverts who preffer laying out their
thoughts on a paper, rather than act or conversate when asked to perform in communicati ve
activit ies. Students should then first be ecouraged not be demotivated when words do not come
out of their mouth as they start speaking , or when they do not produce correct grammar

20

structures. Teachers should point out that they are expected to use the language as they can,
assuring them that they will provide support when necessary and that pracising is the only way to
successful speech.
In order to offer teachers the most useful tech niques and strategies, Jeremy Ha rmer
proposed a methodological mode l, a series of
steps to be tak en into account when teaching
productive skills as " a key factor in the success of
productive -skill tasks is the way teachers organise
them and how they respond to the students’
work” .( 2007 , p.275) The stages are as follows:
 lead-in, respon sible for introducing students to the
topic of the lesson, appealing to their previous
knowledge and exprience. For example in case of a
role play ” At the restaurant. A dissatisfied
customer” students could be asked what kind of conversat ion can usually take place when people
have dinner in a restaurant, how often they go to a restaurant and what their preferences are , why
a customer could be dissatisfied.
 setting the tasks refers to instructing the students on what they have to do; it is advisable for the
teacher to demonstrate the activity, to offer a model, asking the help of a student partner. To
make sure everything was understood, the teacher may ask students to briefly explain or repeat
the instructions.
 Monitoring the task, as the s tudents are working to solve what they were assigned, the teacher
walks around the class to give support and even provide ideas to start from if students find it
difficult to organise themselves. In case of the role play mentioned above, the teacher might ask
students to first brainstorm why a customer could be disatisfied and what their attitude could be.
 Offering task feed -back gives students concrete remarks regarding the ir performance,
encourages them, emphasises their achievements and gives suggestions .
 Repetition of the process which means to give further practise through a similar exercise and
hence
Expressing ourselves in a written form is more and more common nowadays as we live in
the era of speed and keeping thing s simple and brief seems to be one of the main concerns. We
choose short text messages, e -mails in favour of spoken discourse many of the times as making a
phone call for examples implies s pending more time interracting. This idea is reinforced by Figure 2 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of
Language Teaching, 2007, p.276

21
Scrivener: ”Beyond these new ways of co mmunicating, many people do very little writing in
day-to-day life, and a great deal of what they do write is quite short: brief notes to friends and
colleagues, answers on question forms, diary entries, postcards”. (Scrivener, Jim; 20 05, p.192)
However, I consider that there are a series of pertinent reasons why written tasks should
not be disconsidered, altough the form and content have changed over the years, in accordance
with the evolution of the digital era. Students are no longer asked to write lett ers but rather
comments, e-mails or blog entrie s. W ritten tasks give students more time to think and overthink
matters and this: ”allows them more opportunity for language processing, that is thinking about
the language -whether they are involved in study o r activation. When thinking about writing, it is
helpful to make a distinction between writing for learning and writing -for-writin g.”( Harmer,
Jeremy; 2007, p.112). Teachers might ask students to write for instance a few sentences with
new phrasal verbs pr esented to give reinforcement to students, and in case of the latter there is a
deeper purpose and that is to develop students’skills as writers, mastering words.
As far as writing is concerned, beginners start with copying, solving exercises, then mov e
on to guided writing when teachers offer text samples, plans and evolv e to the ultimate stages of
writing, process writing , in which students choose their topic and are guided, helped, encouraged
and given suggestions for good draft and organising ideas . Eventually, after students feel
confortable with and confident enough about writing tasks, writing without guidance comes to
give them even more freedom of choice, the teacher being present only at the end of the process
to mark the effort.
The teaching of writing is a challenging task for teachers and learning how to write is
demanding for students, even in their native language. When teaching lower secondary school
students, the initial focus is on giving students gener al reccomendation for their wri ting tasks
such as: brainstorming for ideas on the topic, focus ing on models given by the teacher, plan ning
the text by making notes, including the three required parts: introduction, body and conclusion,
making use of linking words, paying attention to gramm ar, lexis , layout and eventually check ing
their work before handing it in .
Creative writing is of utmost importance in teaching writing and teachers should focus on
assigning real -life writing tasks on age -appropriate topics they indentify with, but also tasks that
give students the opportunity to go beyond reality. Students could be asked to write blog entries
about favourite things, video games, places, people. They can also be challenged to write e -mails
to important people in the world or to aliens, de sign diary pages, class magazines, adds, posters,
imagine conversations between unexpected characters su ch as the moon a nd the sun, a pencil and
a book. Jeremy Harmer strongly believes that creative writing engages students in an imaginative

22
journey toward s self -discovery: ”When teachers set up imaginative writing tasks so that their
students are thoroughly engaged, those students frequently strive harder than usual to produce a
variety of correct and appropriate language than they might for most routine as signments. While
students are writing a simple poem about someone they care about, or while they are trying to
construct a narrative or tell stories of their childhood for example, they are tapping into their own
experiences.” ( 2007 ; p. 328).
Some students are less confident, find writing extremely difficult , as ideas don’t come up
so easily, they tend to believe that they do not have anything to say .Others may not feeling
creative enough in their native language and this can also be discouraging . That is why the
writing habit needs to be build in the process of learning . Besides giving them enjoyable work ”
we will want to make sure that they have enough infor mation to do what we have asked. We will
want to make sure that they hav e enough of the right language to do the task. ”( Ibid, p.328) .
Teachers give students simple structures , half sentence s, for instance , and asks them to fill them
in with their own word. Students can be asked to describe a horror film scene while creepy music
is pla yed i n the background. Therefore, they can appeal to their senses, feelings and persona l
experience, as everybody knows, nowadays, most children are into TV series and movies.
As in the case of all language skills, teaching writing also has to do with encour aging,
practising different forms and styles of writing which will enable students to become c ompetent
writers in time. Slowl y, they wi ll produce more accurate structures . Being more conscious about
their gramm atical mistakes, more coherent, they will choo se their words wise r when confident
enough, once the y are mastering the habit of writing.
Many learners , however, assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in
spoken language, in their ability to produce spe ech. Fluency is indeed the main goal when
learning EFL.
Teaching speaking is both about interacting and producing appropriate language to a
given context . Interraction is spontaneous and fast. It involves istening, interpreting , using
background experience regarding language , comprehend ing the message and responding
accordingly . One has to choose relevant lexis, accurate grammar structure, not to mention that
body language is to be closely taken into account , too. Spoken production refers to giving a talk
to an audience or to a single pe rson. Its character is not usually spontaneous as pre -planning is in
most cases required together with a deep analysis of the word choice .
If compared to wri tten text, Nunan David (2001) , pointed out in Designing tasks for the
communicative classrooms that: ”spoken language consists of short, often fragmentary
utterances, in a range of pronounciations. There is often a great deal of repetition and overlapt

23
between one speake r and another ”(p.26), while written language is well -structured into
elaborate par agraphs.
Students develop their speaking ability through controlled language practice in which
students form sentences with a particular function or part of grammar , moving further to less
controlle d practic e, more flexible, students adding their person al ideas in a given structure and
freer practice such as role plays or debates when learners rely on their background knowledge
and creativity to complete the tasks.
I will closer consider teaching speaking , and analyse it in depth , in the following section,
Integrating Skills , in relation to the other skills developed in t he process of language learning and
in the final chapter of the theoretical part.

1.2.4 Integrating skills
1.2.4.1 Reading for developing communication skills
To create authentic communication in a foreign language , integrating the four language
skills is a natur al process when enrolled in language learning. When we start a conversation, we
are to listen as well as speak, as it takes at least two people to be enga ged in a dialogue. When
we ask student s to listen to an audio message, a speaking task usually follows. Reading a text is
usually followed by a written task t o check comprehension, we read an e -mail or a message and
reply to it. Thus , we can integrate them in a varie ty of ways. Isolating the four skills is close to
impossible and ineffective as we need to be fully engage and activitate our knowledge when
using the language. When all skills are interwoven during lear ning, we can speak of optimal
communicati on.
According to Harmer (2007) , ” receptive skills and productive skills feed off each other in
a number of ways. What we say or write is heavily influenced by what we hear and see. Our
most important information about language comes from this input. Thu s the more we see and
listen to comprehensible input, the more English we aquire, notice or learn. This input takes
many forms: teachers provide massive language input, as does audio material in the classroom
and the variety of reading texts that students are exposed to. S tudents may read extensively or
listen to podcasts. They may interact with other English speakers both inside and outside the
classroom.”( p.266)
In order to maximize learning opportunities we integrated all fo urs skills. Before reading
a text, we discuss the topic, the pictures, students listen and speak, the reading task follows,
comprehension exercises in the while -reading or post -reading stages engage the students either

24
to make notes, to produce oral message again when expressing the ir thoughts, ideas and fe llings ,
regarding the text.
Reading is important in the process of speaking because reading provides a wide range of
vocabul ary, provides examples of useful phrases, grammar structures, sentence struct ures,
teaches students word order and word formation. Mastering words and microskills enhance
production of exquisite spoken language .
Teachers can integrate reading and speaking through role plays. St udents ar e offered a set
of role cards, usually with distinct points of view, in which some information is given regarding
the topic, they are given some time to prepare and afterwards act out scenes by using their own
structures, ideas for the information provided on the card s. According to Scrivener, ”Role cards
can be designed to of fer students opportunities to practise specific pieces of language( maybe
grammatical points, functional areas, grammatical groups” . (Scrivener Jim, 200 5; p.156)
However, s tudents should focus their attention fi rst on meaning , and then on form when
speakin g.
Teachers can introduce students to drama by giving them the script of a play and asking
them to act out the story. The plot of the story is represented by dialogues and students can be
encouraged to use their imagination and make any changes to the pl ot and dialogues in their
performance. Having a a reading assignment with a drama compon ent is not only unique but also
makes it easy for the students to acchieve four -skill int egratio n, as they set up their drama project
for wh ich they have to read, then write d own their lines and expose them in an interactive
setting.
Debates offer a suitable context for developing English fluency. An article, a blog entry
found in a t exbook or of a different source can be a starting point. Students scan the text, focus
on the controversial topic while reading it carefully, for and against grou ps can be formed to
argue in favour or against the topic, bringing pertinent arguments to sustain their position s.
Students once again deal with an integrated activity in which the y read, take notes and then
discuss their points of view.
Reading to interview provides students opportunities to orally present ideas starting from
a reading task. After going through the reading material students can study it in depth , in pairs,
for a f ull comprehension, come up with a set of questions, answers being f ound in the text. They
can apply the information they have read in a conversational context. They can also take notes
and even have personal contributions through their own freely chosen qu estions, having the
quality of interviewers.

25
Students can also be involved in tasks w hich require summing up a text. Students can be
asked to change the beginning or the ending of a text. Engaging students in reading activities
integrated with speaking, increases their language awareness, motivates students to analyse the
text which deepens the text comprehension and stimulates expressing new ideas on the topic
discussed.

1.2.4 .2 Listening and audiovisuals for enhancing communication
Listening activities are most of the times a great opportunity for challenging students into
spoken discourse. A multitude of tasks can be o ffered for each listening stage and they are
nonetheless beneficial: ” In speaking and listening activities we tend to be getting something
done, exploring ideas, working out some aspects of the world or simply being together”. ( Jones;
1996: p.12)
In the preliminary stage, prior to listening, when teac hers introduce a topic, prepare
students for what follows and aris e their interest, different pictures can be discussed,
brainstorming can activate their previous language knowledge, a question -answer drill may
involve them even more.
After instructing them what they are required to do and what they should pay attentio n to,
listening to authentic materi al or listening with visuals ask students to process the information
and consider it carefully as they move towards speaking tasks. Learners can be asked either to
sing along, summarize the mater ial, agree or disagree wit h it.
Jigsaw listening allows students to work at their own speed and "involves a lot of
message -oriented communicationn and useful group cooperation."( Scrivener, Jim, 2005,p.182)
Scrivener discusses this tech nique and explains that s tudents work in smal l groups and each
group hears different things. They afterwards, meet up with people from other groups, that
listened to other parts of the recording to compare ideas and find the complete story .
Live listening is very popular among students who are anxi ous to meet real people
speaking in class, rather than recordings. The teacher can invite guests to speak about a certain
topic that maybe the textbook doesn’t treat properly. Students can take notes, orally summarise,
ask questions, express opinions, have similar conversations to the one they have witnessed.
Audiovisuals are very effective in developing listening and speaking skills at the same
time. Watching a play, a film scene , a cartoon, a documentary or a song, followed by interactive
tasks stimulate students’ imagination and fluency development . After the watching session ,
students are challenged to speak. They can be asked to provide information as they are
previously instructed what they have to pay attention to while watching. They might need to

26
point out who the characters were, what the setting was, how the characters felt, what they
looked like , wheather they identified with any of them , what their reactions were, if they agre e or
disagree with them. Such activities also create a perfect contex t for developing students’c ritical
thinking, considering issues from various perspectives, increasing their motivation as
audiovisuals have always been among students’favourites.
Another means of enhancing speaking skills starting from audiovisuals is to play a video
without the sound and previously instruct students to focus on the facial expression of the
characters, outfit, reactions, the background while trying to predict what the characters are
talking about and what their feelings are. Students can e ven act the scene out.
Guessing games, such as ”Who/What am I? ” also promote fun and ideal conditions for
oral fluency development. The teac her can place a card on each student’s back ,and play a
Yes/No game to recycle vocabulary from the previous lesson . Student need to ask Yes or no
questions to guess their identity. A set of sample question s can be provided on the board.
Stude nts listen, read and orally practise the target language.
Info-gap race is a wonderful activity in which students need to liste n to each other to fill
in the missing informati on needed for completing a task. Some examples would be Describe and
draw , Define it, Spot the differences .
Teaching listening and speaking skills integratively boosts students’ spoken language
discourse, as comprehending is essential to using the language in a communicative purpose, one
cannot speak without listening and understanding the message transmitted . The more skills are
taught individually, the less communication will take place in the classroom.

1.2.4 .3 The effects of writing practice on improving speaking skills
EFL learners view writing and speaking as the most difficult language skills to master.
On the one hand, writing is a complex well-structured process which ” takes time: time to
brain storm ideas or collect them in some other way; time to draft a piece of writing and then,
with the teacher’s help, perhaps review it and edit in in variuos way before changing the focus,
generating ideas, re -drafting, re -editing, and so on. ”( Harmer, Jerem y; 2015, p. 326) A range of
lexical and grammatical skills are needed in the writing proces which targets accuracy and rich
meaning. On the other hand, speaking lacks planning time, is less structured, usually more
spontaneous, focuses on functional lan guage and mistak es can immediately be corrected, if
noticeable , in the flow of speech.
Writing practice has a huge impa ct on improving speaking skills as the writing activities
designed for EFL learning can equip students with the ability to express their th oughts, give

27
suggestions, make remarks, contrast what has been stated, compare ideas, bring arguments to
sustain their opinions. According to Scott Thornbury, ” writing has a useful role to play as an
initial stage in the appropriation of the newly encount ered language for speaking. It can act as a
way of easing the tra nsition from learning to using.”(2005; p.67) A series of activities can be
exemplified to support the importance of integrating writing with listening.
Dictation of useful expressions, when focusing on functions such as giving advice or
making requests can engage the students in a communicative ac tivity. The teacher can dictate the
expressions at random and ask the students to group them under the correct heading, moving
further to making up a dialogue for reinforcement. Paper conversation can involve students in
first writing conversations and then acting them out. Students can benefit from this type of
activity as the teacher can act as a monitor and provide immediate corrections and improv e the
students’ drafts.
Running or shouted dictation is among the students’ favourite s as they make the
classroom more dynamic. Divided into groups students run to read or shout parts of a text or
sentences offered by the teacher and dictate them to thei r group partners. Afterwards, the groups
can get extensive speaking practice while negotiating correct sequencing of events or accuracy if
the emphasis is on language structures learning.
Sentence starters or sentence frames are good ways of provoking st udents to use spoken
language and extend a conversation if the topic is well chosen. A relevant example would be
„If”sentence starters such as ” If you had the change to design your ideal school, it
would….”which involves using more complex language to s hare opinions.
Picture writing is also worth mentioning as a pair -work activity. One student describes a
picture to his or her part ner who writes the description. Creative writing can offer an oppotunity
for learners to write for instance a comic strip st arting from a set of pictures given. Students can
afterwards act out the story or the written dialogue .
Cooperative writing is also successful. Students can build up a group story or a story in
rows by answering a set of questions. Students fold the pape r after writing a sentence and hand
the paper in to the next student until the story is completed. Students can afterwards read,
present, imagine a dialogue and act their stories out. Harmer highlights the importance of such
activities: ”Writing in groups , whether as part of a long processor as part of a short game -like
communicative act ivity, can be greatly motivating for students, including as it does, not only
writing, but research, discussion, peer -evaluation and group pride in a group
accomplishment.” (2007; p. 329)

28
Surveys are very frequently met in coursebooks and involve learners in asking and
answering questio ns to complete a questionnaire or a survey on the topic of the lesson. They
need to write, discuss, compare their answers and report back to the class.
When people learn a foreign language, all language skills are utmostly important , none
should be neglected and linking them together in the classroom , practising them interactively,
prepares students for real -life communication, the ultimate g oal of language learning. The use of
any skill naturally leads to the use of other and learning tasks should be tailored to b ring different
skills into use, to trully shape learners characterised by communicative competence.

1.2.4 European language leve ls for speaking skills
Language competence has a classic division into 6 levels: beginners, elementary, pre –
intermediate, intermediate, upper -intermediate and advanced. However, the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages, abreviated CEFR , regarding learning, teaching and
assessment, offers guidance describing the learners’ language achievements for each level.
CEFR was published in 2001, by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe, after a
7-year period of research and debates. A ccording to CEFR there are six levels of reference for
assessing language proficiency, widely accepted as the European standard.
More specifically, the figure below provides the differences between levels from
beginners(A1) to advanced( C1).
Fig. 4 CEFR levels Source: https://efvideocefrscale.wordpress.co/

The global scale of Common Reference Levels and level descriptions is included in the
Appendix section. For students’ reference, there is another CEFR scale, a self -assessment grid,
with details on what stud ents can do regarding the fours skills: listening, reading, spoken

29
interaction, spoken production and writing. Appendix 2 includes a part of the scale, describing
what students need to know in terms of spoken interaction and production, which I have been
analysing in my research.

1. 3 COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING(CLT)
1.3.1 The evolution of CLT
Communicative language teaching , as CLT was originally called, has origi nated from
Britain in the 1960s, emerging after a series of teaching method s that have failled to accomplish
the needs of English language learners . Considered rather an approach than a method, it came to
replace the popular method known as Situational language teaching which viewed language
learning in terms of structure, not co nsidering functions and the communicative purpose.
Language learning should aim at achieving communication, therefore wisely linking techniqu e
and objective in the process of language learning brings up successful language learners. This
approach was a rea ction away from grammar -focused attention, making communication t he
focus of the classroom.
Linguists all over the world were trying new ways of teaching EFL, thinking about
developing learners’ fluency, making communication a priority, through a more hu manistic
approach . It seemed as if l anguage itself was looking for its own valid principles and appropriate
techniques. The moment the Communicative Approach emerged, it was adopted worldwide as it
was accepted by the leading linguists, publishers, languag e specialists and the British Council. In
time, CLT w ent through a set o f changes, in the first stage specialists attempting to find
compatibility with the syllabus in the EFL teaching and learning process . Language teaching was
now facing a shift from for m to meaning, the focus moved on the functional nature of languag e,

30
on tasks , rather than the adopting the principles of previous language approaches, centered
around grammatical structure accuracy, around form.
In Approaches and Methods in Language Teac hing, Richards and Rogers (2001) pointed
out a set of principles which target viewing the supreme goal of language learning,
communicative competence: ”Learners learn a language through using it to communicate,
authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities, fluency is
an important dimmension of communication, communication involves the integration of
different language skills, learning is a process of creative constructions and it involves trial and
errors.”( p.172) Thus, communication should convey meaning and tasks should be learner –
centered, allowing students to make use of their previous l anguage knowledge, activating it in a
creative context, which although subject to error maki ng, encourages a learner ’s autonomy.
Deve loping all language skills is vital in this process, because managing them successfully
prepares students for apply ing them in real world interactions.
In the second stage, CLT analysed in depth the learner’s needs as this should be a starting
point in d esigning a methodology for communicative activities . The third phase focused on types
of useful classroom activities to be performed with the purpose of strengthening skills, using the
language for communication. Group work, task -based activities, informat ion gap came to
reinforce and provide meaningful progress in shaping the CLT methodology.
According to Johnson and Johnson(1998) there are five important characteristics related
to the communicative methodology, Richards and Rogers(2001) included in their research:
appropriateness, message focus, psycho linguistic processi ng, risk taking, free
practice.( p.173 )Appropriateness refers to the way learners should make use of language, in
accordance to the setting, the context provided by the teacher , the goal of communication and
the role each participant takes in either a formal or informal situation. Learners not only create,
but also need to understand message, message focus is essential in the process of information
echange and transfe r during communic ative activities. Teachers should encourage critical
thinking development by engaging them in cognitive tasks when acquiring the language. Risks
must be taken when leading learners into more complex tasks in which they are asked to be more
independent, go beyo nd what they have learnt, appeal to feelings in expressing their ideas
although mistak es are to be made on the way. Once confident enough, CLT aims also at
encouraging students to use all possible subskills at a time , underlining the imp ortance of
”holis tic practice”.
Following the principles of Communicative Teaching Approach, other contemporary
communicative approaches brought to light examples of activites which came to complete the

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techniques of language teaching. The Natural Approach, the Cooperati ve Language Teaching,
the Content –Based Instruction, the Task Based Language Teaching explored in depth by
Richards and Rogers( 2001 ), in Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (p.177 -245).
When input is the main concern, Content Based Teaching, un derlines the importance of
the subject mater through authentic materials carefully chosen for teachers , in accordance with
their preferences, needs, interests thus motivati ng and engaging learners more. To stimulate
communication, pair -work an group -work a re fundamental , through Cooperative Learning, both
language and social skills are developed. This approach together with Task Based Langu age
Teaching foster giving instructions to learners, monitoring and providing support for
accomplishing tasks.
Commun icative Lan guage Teaching aims at developing skills and strategies learners can
use to com municate meanings and face real -life situations successfully, while building their
identity, autonomy, social skills and linguistic competence, manipulating speech in a
spontaneous and natural way.
However, teachers cannot use only one approach when teaching a foreign language.
Teachers are the one who need to addapt their style, strategies, techniques and materials to the
digital learners of our time . In the era of speed and fast tech nological development, students are
used to doing things fast, to moving a lot, to shifting activities, a tendency which resulted from
the high exposure to fast -working media devices. Thus, teachers should keep update d on the
current tr ends of teaching methods.
1.3.2 Current trends in CLT
Current approaches and extenses of Communicative Language Teaching view lan guage
teaching in relation with its functional and communicative potential. Learning a foreign language
is a longlife proce ss and the learners should be involved in meaningful interpersonal exchanges,
in both inductive and discovery learning, giving them opportunities to expand their language
resources, to convey and negotiate meaning, to reflect on their language usage and me ans of
reaching a proficient oral flu ency level.
In a communicative context, o ver the years, teachers create and re -create their resources
for the purpose of ”re aching” the students, motivate them on their learning path and provid e
exciting games and acti vities.
In Essentials for Successful English Language Teaching , Jacobs and Farrell(2010 ),
explore the importance of viewing CLT in a holistic manner and promote conceiving and
conducting language teaching in an integrated way . A set of eight important ele ments, also

32

represented in the figure below, are considered to be interpendent , all elements are part of a
whole and are essential in successful language learning:
”1. Encourage Learner Autonomy
2.Emphasize Social Nature of Learning
3.Develop Curricula r Integration
4. Focus on Meaning
5. Celebrate Diversity
6. Expand Thinking Skills
7. Utilize Alternative Assessment Methods
8. Promote English Language Teachers as Co –
learners” (p.18 -23)

As CLT promot es learner -centered instruc tion, activities should aim at encouraging the
students’ autonomy, self -assessment, choice of topic and strategies used to convey meaning.
Cooperative learning is also a key factor in the l earning process, students share and
negotiate meaning by interractin g socially. Teachers should rather
encourage cooperation, than competition although the latter shouldn’t be totally omitted. They
not only learn from their teacher, but also from their peers.
All four skills should be integrated and , in EFL learning, connection s with the other
subjects, through cr oss-curricular text and task -based activities , are more than welcomed. This
brings forward the idea of experiential learning, learning by doing, as teachers can helps students
make associations and analyse langua ge process while doing an experiment, exploring the
elements of nature, singing or drawing during the topics presented. What joy this approach
brings to the students one can imagine.
Students should be motivated to learn a foreing language for its constan t use throughout
the entire life, not just for passing a year or an exam. Education prepares learner for what life has
in store for them, for real -life communication. That is why students should understand aims and
content by being consta ntly involved.
It is important to become aware of learning strategies. We are unique because we are
different. We look, act, react, learn, remember in different ways and this is what te achers should
take into account. Human beings have both weak and strong points. Jacobs a nd Farrell( 2010 )
explain that: ” no standard, one -size-fits-all way of teaching a second language exists, and that
differences of opinion and perspective offer opportunities for learning rather than being cause for
winner -take-all conflict.” (p.10) Fig.3 Eight essentials for second language teaching , p.18

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Creativ e and critical thinking should also be developed through activities which allow the
students to go beyond the language used in the classrom, to use their creativity, inner thoughts,
contrasting, bringing arguments, taking decisions in an immaginative and m eaningful scenary .
In the past, teachers used written text as a main means of assessing progress. Although
tests are still highly important, alternative testing methods such as: portfolios, presentations,
interviews, journals can provide relevant informa tion on students’ progress and how well they
are performing .
Teachers should make a great team with their students, in the collaborative process of
language learning, aiming at facilitating al ternatives for learning, especially through experiential
learn ing.
Reflecting on what a language syllabus should include today, in Communicative
Language Teaching Today( 2006) , Jack Richards suggests that: ”a language syllabus today
needs to include systematic coverage of the many different components of communicat ive
competence, including language skills, content, grammar, vocabulary and functions.” (p.26)

1.3.3 Criteria for speaking tasks
Teaching speaking is among the most challenging parts of English teaching and building
activities. In case of beginners, and not only, repetition is very valuable and beneficial as it is the
first step taken into language transfer. Each repetition, every rehearseal of the speaking task
brings learners closer to self-confidence and accuracy. If the language production is followe d by
an analysis and a feed -back the performance will definetely improve. ”Process speaking is
characterised by the pattern: plan, perform, analyse, repeat.” ( Harmer, Jeremy, 2007, p. 346)
Besides helping students aknowledge the importance of repetition , for increasing a
learner’s oral fluency level, teachers should encourage students to take risks and offer guidance
from controlled practice towards autonomy, support in self-regulating his or her own output, to
gain control over language usage. For maxim izing speaking activities Scott Thornburry, in How
to Teach Speaking (2007 ), under lines a series of criteria that oral fluency opportunities need to
meet such as: productivity , purposefulness , interactivity , challenge , safety and authenticity .
The planned tasks should motivate students to participate for full y accomplishing their
aims, because if just a few learners are interested in the task and the rest use L1, the activity is
useless. Interactivity is essential and teachers should focus their tasks on g iving students the
possibility of exchanging language simulating real -life situations. Even if the teacher asks the
students to give a talk or make a presentation, the interactive element can be introduced through
peers’involvement e ither by asking questio ns, making comments at the end.

34
Teachers convey learning experiences according to the students’ level of undestanding,
therefore challenge learners to produce spoken language by activatin g their background
knowledge. Students feel confortable and willing to communicate if they are not inhibited by a a
high d egree of dificulty, beyond their capacity.
Learners need to feel safe in the learning environment, speaking tasks involve many of
the times taking the risk of making mistakes without being able to with draw your comments.
Teachers need to protect students and intervene when other students attempt to be judgemental
towards errors ana attitudes.
Eventually, in order to become autonomous, besides language games and drills, students
should meet tasks which require them to asssume roles they might need to take outside the
classroom, more or less spontaneous language usage being expected. Students’ interests and
needs are once again of ut most importance and should be carefully consider ed.
In order to acchie ve communicative competence , Jack C Richards identifies five strands
of communicative competence which important in teaching English: ”accuracy, fluency,
complexity, aproppriacy and capacity. ”3 Accuracy is the ability to use the correct structures of
the language , fluency enables a learner to keep the flow of a conversation, complexity refers to
vocabulary exapanding, while appropriacy means using the language knowledge according to
the context, the relationships between the participants, whether formal o r informal usage is
expected .
As previously mentioned, succesive practice of the target languag e leads to automatic
production of speech as speaking is a cognitive skill. Classrom activities cho sen for a
communicative purpose „fulfill two important lang uage learning needs: they prepare learners for
real-life language use, they encourage the automatization of language knowledge .”( Thornburry,
Scott, 2007, p. 79) Patiently practising and keeping mot ivation at a high level provides skilfull
English learner s who will be able to get their meaning across wi th ease in authentic settings.

1.3.4 Types of materials used in CLT
The a ctivities a teacher develops for a communicative purpose must enable students to
practise communicating in different ways through in formation sharing activities, appropriate
tasks with a focus on integrating outside worl d into the classroom. Activities should require
students to draw around their communicative re sources in a learner -centered classroom context.

3 Jack. C Richards on Communicative Competence , Part 2 of 2, by Cambridge University Press ELT channel,
published on August 21, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpGvWYPL7cU

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Scott Thornbury on Commu nicative Language Teaching , considers that m aterials used for
teaching speaking have an essential role and they can be divided into: ”text-based, tasked -based
and content -based”4. According to Richards and Ro gers(2001) text -based materials found in the
students’coursebook are a proper starting point for supporting oral tasks. Each text has a theme,
students can analyse, by means of comprehension questions, asking for more information on the
topic, taking notes, summarising, paraphrasing and expressing perso nal opinions.
Taks -based materials bring even more opportunities for students to practise spoken
language such as simulations, role -plays, games . Students are asked to work in pairs or in groups
and could use exercise workbooks, cue cards, role-play work sheets, activity cards all aimed at
promoting interaction. Some provide drills and practice, others ask students to assume different
role relationships and use a more complex language in completing the tasks.
When choosing c ontent based materials , the fo cus is on a topic or a subject matter
students have learn about. This kind of tasks can be demanding but rewarding for students . For a
better outcome, teachers can involve students in choosing the topics of the lesson appealing to
what their preferences ar e, what their expectations are how confident they feel about their
knowledge on the topic. Students learn about the topic in a natural way, in the same way they
learn their native language, by using the language they are trying to learn to develop their
linguistic abilities.
Teachers alwa ys choose their materials wisely a nd take into account the number of
students, the level, if they are age-appropriate, meaningful, entertaining and motivating. They
consider the aims established, the language system and t he skills. A bove all , what counts the
most is, guiding students towards taking a further step in thei r oral production development.

1.3.5 Assesing speaking
Communicative language testing intends to appreciate the student’s progress in the
process o f language learning, to give information about how well they perform in context -based
tasks.
While assessing speaking teachers should appeal to real-life contexts, focus on content
and ways of conveying meaning rather t han on strict language accuracy, al though the latter is
also important. Communicative tests can measure all integrated skills of a learner.

4 Communicative Language Teaching 40 years on: A public presentation by Sco tt Thornbury, published on 27 July
2017, by The New School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf4IfEbxF4s

36
At the beginning of the year, students receive a written initial test that usually does not
have a spoken component. The teacher can still assess the speaking skills of a learner by means
of an interview, a game or oral tasks . Teaching classes with a large number of students I usually
test students’ oral skills or rather the class level by involving them in games and oral task -based
activities. Individ ual testing complicates things, takes time, students get bored, can disturb the
lesson and influence the way their peers perform, being under pressure being too formally
approached, thus it outweighs the benefits.
During the school year, constantly engag ing students in speaking activities, teachers can
assess students’performances. In How t o Teach Speaking , Scott Thornbury (2007) , enumerates
some of the most commonly used types of spoken tests: interviews , live monologues, recording
monologues, role plays, collaborative tasks and discussions.
Using interviews as a form of assessment has its drawbacks. The class can be gi ven a
reading or a writing task as a staring point, students are indiviually tested, but for the teacher it is
difficult to mark a studen t’s spe aking ability, if he or she is both the interviewer and the assessor.
Bring ing pictures for a certain topic, giving candidates 2 -3 minutes to prepare in advance can
ensure a h igher degree of success during examination.
In case of live monologues, students can pre -select a topic, prepare in advance and find
suitable ways of presenting a certain theme . A follow -up stage with questions asked by the peers
can be included during this type of spoken test. This can give the teacher more evidence of the
learner’s ability to use the language in an interactive way and check comprehension of what he
or she has presented.
Recorded monologues can be a useful tool for oral assessment and is less stressful than
performing in front of an audience. Learners can rec ord themselves when talking for instance
about a hobby, a favourite sportsperson , or any topic of interest. If students upload them on a n
online educational platform , the teacher can view them together with the class and discuss, give
feedb ack and reccomen dation, not to mention the thrill of watching their work projected on a big
screen.
Role plays in pairs or groups can start from simple tasks, students being given time to
prepare, to select the most suitable vo cabulary and phrases to use on the topic req uired. They can
also receive pictures, or authentic material such as a leafleat, a map, a magazine, depending on
what the assessor has chosen to test.
Collaborative tasks and discussions can require students to expresss opinion on a topic,
debate, argue for or against, build up a story and act it out, meanwhile the teacher can observe,
take notes to assess their interactive skills .

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No matter what means of assessment a teacher chooses, it is important to encourage
students not to feel demotivated when ma king errors, when failing, because error are great
opportunities for learning, the same as losing points during a team activity means just ” try
again”. Errors should be seen as ” happy accidents” and ” teacheable moments”5 as they are
meaningful and promo te change, evolving and learning even more.

1.3.6 Error correction in speaking activities
Giving students feedback on their work is essential in the process of learning a foreign
language. It is widely accepted that we all learn from our mistakes and r aising awareness
regarding them allows us to avoid repeating them and better our language use. While written
tasks have a clear criteria for assessing, speaking activities should be viewed differently in terms
of error correction. In case of repetition dri lls aimed at correct pronounciation, the teacher can
give immediate feedback each time a students needs it, but if students are engaged in a problem
solving tasks, debates, interviews the teacher’s intervention may not only destroy the flow of the
conversa tion, but also intimidate learners and the activity will fail to fulfil its purpose.
First of all, when referring to feedback during oral work, teachers need to take into
account the type of activity, the stage of the lesson, who makes a mistake, how freq uent the
mistake is made in the course of speach and how serious making a certain mistake affects a
student’s progress. According to Harmer (2007) , ” a distinction is often made between accuracy
and fluency. We need to decide whether a particular activity i n the classroom is designed to
expect the students’complete accuracy -as in the study of a piece of grammar, a pronounciation
exercise or some vocabulary work , for example – or whether we are asking the students to use the
language as fluently as possible. W e need to make a clear difference between ’non –
communicative’and ’ communicative’ activities; whereas the former are generally intended to
ensure correctness, the latter are desi gned to improve fluency.”( p. 142)
However, no strict rules are to be followe d regarding err or correction. If there is a good
teacher – student relationship and the teacher knows how to intervene without disturbing the
speaker, students can receive immediate oral feedback, too. ”This kind of gentle correcti on might
take the form of reformu lation where the teacher repeats what the student has said, but correctly
this time, and does not ask for student re petition of the corrected form.” ( Harmer, Jeremy, 2007,

5 The One Thing All Teachers Do , by Nick Furman, published on 11 April 2018,

38
p.131) It depends a lot on both the teacher making students aware of aims, s tages of different
activities and his or her intention, and the students’ expectations, reaction s towards interruption
for error correction. A discussion with the students would clear things up and the teacher can
thus know how to offer the correct form wi thout compromising an activity and a student’s
confidence.
To make the most out of a speaking activity which involves more freedoom in terms of
topic, such as a presentation for instance, the te acher should listen attentively and take notes on
the perf oromance. He or she should down what went well , what part of their presentation was
hard to understand and what constant mistakes inf luenced the course of speech. At the end of
the activity, the teacher should ask the students to self -assess their performan ce, to express their
opinion towards their peers presentations, to explain how they felt during their own presentation
and what should have been improved. When giving individual feedback, the teacher should start
with first emphasising the positive aspect s, the speaker’s strong points and move on with making
remarks about the mistakes one has made. Depe nding on the activity, t he teacher can also choose
to make general remarks if there have been a set of mistakes over -repeated during the session of
presenta tion.
In speaking activities, nego tiating meaning has its advantages, therefore in some cases,
the teacher’s intervention should be avoided . Students may make a range of attempts ot make
themselves understood during a discussion, to reach the others and ” processing language for
communication is, in this view, the best way of processing language for acquisition. Teacher
intervention in such circumstances can raise stress level and stop acquisition process in its
tracks”( Harmer, Jeremy, 2007; p.143)
Whe n giving feedback during accuracy work, the teacher makes the student understand
that he made a mistake and is then helped to improve his or her utterance. How can we notify a
student when he or she uses inccorect language? We can ask the student to repeat what he has
said or we can echo his or her mistake by repeating it, stressing the incorrect part by making use
of intonation. Another option is to make a statement and then ask a question such us:
” Nice try, thank you for your attempt, do we all think this is correct? ” Using body language
such as appealing to facial expression, raising an arm or snaping fingers can signal a mistake a
student has made and that he or she can reconsider the answer. Giving students a hint for self –
correction such as shouti ng out a code word like: ” did”, ”always”, ”tense” can encourage re –
attempting an answer to give a correct version. We can also reformulate as I have previously
mentioned, give the correct answer or appeal to peer correction. The latter is a little sentisi tive
and it fairly depends on the cooperative atmosphere and group characteristics.

39
Error correction in spoken language context is rather challenging for teachers, but the
focus is important when dealing with such activities. While during accuracy work, immediate
feedback is expected and is most fruitful, d uring fluency work gentle correction is hence
advisable to take into account, recording students’ performance for deep analysis and discuss the
feedback in the following lessons.

CHAPTER 2 THE RESE ARCH: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE – ENGLISH
CONVERSATION IN THE CLASSROOM
2.1 Building a positive teacher -student relationship
”The strength of our student relationships makes the difference in translating our passion for
teaching in their passion for learning.” (Beth Morrow)
I have always believed that teaching is a work of heart and work of art at the same time. I
have always seen teachers as inspiring seeds of knowledge who nurture the students’ growth
through their patience, love, warmth and prof essionalism. The quote above brings out to light the
idea that how a student perceives a teacher and his or her learning engagement depends not only
on how passionate we are about teaching the subject matter, but on how interested we are in
building a str ong, positive student -teacher relationship.
There is a need to first create a learning environment which allows strong long -term
relationships for children to be attached to school and to those who wish to guide them on their
way into becoming the future adults. Although a well -organised plan, revolutionary teaching
methods and the effective use of technology are important, what counts the most is the way we
see students as unique individuals who are willing to cooperate once they feel accepted and
impor tant.
There are three universal, psychological, human needs in the theory of self -determination:
connection, competence and control. The first one implies the need of each individual to connect
with the others and feel loved, the second one refers to hav ing the ability to do something to feel
motivated, while the third one deals with the need of taking control of the situation.
Relating the above mentioned with the teaching -learning process I want to emphasise that
students, children , first, need to con nect with us to accept enrolling in their becoming. They
must then have the skills to perform well and gain con fidence in their evolution . E qually

40
important is to allow them to take control of their learning by involving them and activating
their creativ e thinking.
Communicative Language Teaching provides the best opportunity for covering the three
basic needs. The approach promotes the idea that, we as teachers, need to ”remove ourselves”
from front and center, and guide them, encouraging them on the si de. Thus, communication with
students builds a bridge to students’engagement, it connects peo ple. A favourable and postive
attitude towards interactive activities helps them develop all skills , makes them feel competent .
Eventually, the student -centered classroom allows us to listen to their thinking and involve them
in activities limited only by their imagination, giving them more control than ever before.
After leaving school students won’t remember what you did as teachers, but how we
made them feel, how we looked them in the eyes and asked them if they are troubled by
something. They will remember our transparent ability to laugh with them and laugh at
ourseleves when making mistakes. Students want to see us as humans. They want to know the
person be hind the teacher and they are eager to feel that their mentors care and are interested in
knowing them as human beings, as the children behind the students.They want us to think like
them, put ourselves in their place.
The ”engaging process” implies givi ng students choice, the opportunity to cooperate and
communicate. Students need to be given the opportunity to think, create and innovate. It also
implies celebrating their ability to fall, because only by failing one can achieve accomplishment.
Only by c aring can teachers lead students into knowing what motivation which comes from
within means.
In this rapidly changing world we can only imagine what the jobs of the future will be.
What skills do nowadays restless students need to succeed in these unkno wn future jobs, besides
the basic four language skills? What we know is that it is not about what we teach, but about
how we teach them to maximize their potential and manage the world of the future. I think, in
the teaching process, we need to focus on en couraging their curiousity, ambition and developing
their social skills. In a world fueled by technology, in the age of information, in which all the
answers are at one’s fingertips we should teach them how to select what they access. We should
also challe nge them to solve things in colaboration, problem -solving allows them to think and
innovate, to come up with unique solutions. Beyond the shadow of doubt, their social skills will
enable them to become successful professionals and happy individuals who thi nk ” outside the
box”.

41
Students will only listen if they feel we care. Students will hear us once they feel we treat
them as human beings and not ”objects”viewed as academic achievement ”tools” for gaining
popularity.
How do I connect with students? I s how interest in their feelings, peer relationships,
emotional issues. I chat with them during recess and any time I can as ” it is the little
conversations that build the relationships and make an impact on each student”( Robert John
Meehan). I involve th em in extra -curricular activities, embrace their opinions, find out their
interests. I ask for feed -back, act flexible, treat serious matters although they may affect the plan
and I try to think from their point of view. I display their work to show appre ciation, I
congratulate them when they succeed and support them to be better the next time. I teach them
how to manage stress and how to use it only for their self -acchievements, as a tool for becoming
motivating, for perseverance. I teach them that they are valuable, respected and that each of
them has a skill they will discover at some point in their lives and turn it into a goal. I share my
experience with them, my fear, I show them I am also vulnerable sometimes, although I struggle
to stay strong. We learn together, I learn from them, too.
Above all, I make use of ” the most powerful teaching technique… love” 6, love for the
subject and for the kids, the kind of decisional love which motivates and inspired the students in
a powerful way. The moment students feel loved, they start to feel comfortable and improves
their academic performance. A smile, a joke, involvement, encouragement, trust, all the key
elements discussed, will make students feel good about themselves and this opens the
opportunity t o more learning.
Building a teacher -student positive relationship is more than challenging as we are all
different and our expectations and perceptions. When it comes to students’ engagement and
motivation, this particular relationship entails responsibi lity. The way we make students feel
around us and the strategies used in the classroom by means of active learning, humour, elements
of novelty, challenge and variety create an ideal learning environment.

2.2 Establishing class rules to benefit from co mmunicative teaching
As discussed in the previous section, working hard to build relationships with students is
the most meaningful classroom management technique. Once we get to know them and make

6 Teaching Methods for Inspiring the Students of the Future , published by Ruhl Joel, on 27 May 2015,
https:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCFg9bcW7Bk

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The Agreement
Teacher
 I promise to come up with fun and cool activities
to prepare you for life
 I promise to respect you, to listen to you and
answer all your questions
Students
 We promise:
to be on time
to respect each -other and the teacher
to learn our lessons
to raise our hands before speaking
to do our homework
to always do our best
to behave well during games
Class: ___ Date: ____ Signatures :________

them understand that we are all working together, as a te am, to help them become their best
versions.
There are a number of reasons for discipline problems such as: low self -esteem, feeling
demotivated or mistreated, a family attitude which doesn’t promote the importance of education
or unhappiness caused by p ersonal family issues.
How to manage a classroom with a large number of students involves a variety of
strategies to be applied by the teacher.
Good rules of conduct are to be established at the beginning of each school year as a
strong framework is re quired for students to benefit from communicative activities. For students
to respect and follow the rules, they need to be involved in creating the set of rules. It is widely
accepted that it is best to select only a few clear and specific rules, to contr ibute to a successful
educational environment. The rules can be expanded, adapted throught the
year, if necessary.
I usually establish the classroom rules with them, make an „ Agreement” they in which I
set out my promises: to engage
them in fun activi ties that will prepare them for life, to listen to them, to respect them and guide
them whenever they need me. We
move on to what concerns their
behaviour, and ask them to first
reflect on what they think is
acceptable. (e.g. We shouldn’t
interrupt others when speaking ,
we should respect each others’
opinions a.a ) and on the rules they
should respect. We negotiate a
teacher – student ”contract” to
agree on a code of conduct.
The consequences of
disobeying the rules are also to be
established at this point and the
next step is writing the rules down
and signing the agreement.

43

The code of conduct should be brought into discussion and reminded every now and then.
Students need to understand what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. The teacher should
appreciate students for being well -behaved and make sure that their positive behaviour is what
the teacher focuses on, at all times, their success and not their failure.
Students are usually very competitive although I do not agree with fierce competion a s it
most of the times ends up in disappointment, peer arguing or even worse. I always explain my
student that the purpose of group or team activities is a collaborative one. It is not about
competing, but about working together and having fun while doing this, unconsciously acquiring
the language. It is about being better this week than the previous week. There is no room for
comparing, it is not about being better than the others, but about being the best version of
yourself.
In interactive teaching th e teacher has to cope
with the noise as students tend to get over –
enthusiastic, with persuading the class to use English.
I found a very fun and useful tool for informing the
students on what kind of speech level is acceptable
during different stages of th e lesson.( see figure 5)
A students ’s disruptive behavior stems from a
feeling of personal unfulfilment, dictated by a need of
getting attention he or she might not receive at home.
Getting to know students and their background better
is surely of great help for managing their behaviour.
Establishing rules and sticking to them, focusing on
what happened and not who was responsible will
discourage students from breaking the code. Above all, engaging students in fun activities which
interest them and enha nce learning will also prevent discipline problems.

2.3 Assumption
After presenting my experience regarding building a teacher -student relationship and the
importance of classroom rules I will continue with explaining the steps taken in writing my
pape r.
First and foremost, t he starting principle of research my paper was my need to discover
means of developing my students’ speaking skills, making communication the center of the
classrom , through creative activities, aiming at upring ing competent lang uage communicators. Fig.2 Volumeter,
www.teachingmaterial.minibilinguals.com Figure 1. The Agreement

44
Most of the times, students can ma nage grammar structures, have a rich vocabulary, but when
opening their mouth, words do not seem to come out and so they settle on answering that they do
not have anything to say.
I therefore started f rom the basic assumpsion that providing student -centered
communicative activities I will develop all language skills and in this way guide my students
towards becoming effective users of spoken discourse. Altough the English textbooks the
Ministry provides do have materials teachers have at hand, they are not entertaining enough to
suit the students’ preferences.
After highlighting the effectiveness of the Communicative Language Teaching Approach ,
this chapter provide s language teachers an array of techniq ues and resources which will : bring
change in the dynamic of the class and allow students to really make use of the language in real –
life situations .
Firstly, I want to demonstrate that only by building a strong student -teacher relationship,
the students can be engaged and motivated to benefit from the challenging meaningful activities.
The interactive setting of communicative activities requires a long -term commitme nt to building
such a relationship , to turn students into active participants . Moreover, m otivation and classroom
management go hand in hand for establishing a sol id background for language achievements.
I have to mention that the research for my paper started 5 years ago, but entering a
maternity leave , obviously forced me to put my study on hold until returning to school, last year.
As many years have passed , all the classes I have been assigned were new, that is why I had a lot
of unknown elements before engaging in my research.
In this particular chapter I focus mainly on lower secondary schoo l learners and for the
outcome of my research I asked myself a series of essential questions regarding the new target
groups :
What are the age characteristics of my students?
What is their English level?
How did they perform during speaking activitie s?
How often were they engaged in group tasks?
How did they react in an interactive environment?
What was their attitude toward s learning English and their motivation?
What do they expect from the English lessons and from me as a teacher?
Will they manage to become more confident speakers and develop their social skills at the same
time through the CLT approach ?

45
In shaping my teaching style I also had to ask myself a set of questions regarding my
performance as a teacher:
How can I build a strong relations hip with my new students?
How can I improve my classroom management skills?
How do I motivate learners to become engaged?
How much time do I spend talking in the classroom?
What are the most suitable activities for this new energetic generation which easil y gets bored?
How can I provide feedback during speaking tasks?
Having these questions in mind, I went on with doing research on how to reach this new
generation of students, how to motivate them and what clasroom management skills I needed to
improve for succeding in communicative teaching . I then chose my research methodology
suitable for establishing the stages of my research paper , for a complete and complex outcome.
I will provide examples of activities I ha ve successfully used during this school yea r and
in the previous years and which I will use in the future, leaving an open list for further research.
Keeping students motivated requiers constant research for extra challenging materials. The
feedback I have received from my students will allow me to interpret t he result and disseminate
them by means of this paper.
2.4 Research methodology and procedure
I chose an action research project as a methodology for conducting my study and the
Communicative Language Teaching approach for designing activitie s.
According to Nunan(1992 ), an action research project is a process through which teachers
can identify and improve the learning environment, through collecting and interpreting data. An
action project deals with changing things, is aimed at improving an d evaluating the results of
strategi es and practices carried out, in my case, in a learning environment.
This type of research project is extremely relevant and worthy for both the initiator and
the participants. The initiator establishes the research ai ms, educators become more effective
through the teaching strategies they have implemented helping their students develop their
language skills. It also disolves the barrier between the research and the participant, as the
teacher actively participates and conducts the research. It is important to also mention that the
action research is a reccursive process , as the initiator doesn’t always follow the steps in a linear
way, everything is subjected to change, reconsider, adjusting along the way.
Researchers in the fields have manage d to decide upon a series of seven steps to be taken
for concluding results:
1. Selecting the focus

46
In my study is developing EFL learners’ speaking skills , to be more precise, lower
secondary school learners, through activities drawn from the Communicative Language
Teaching approach
2. Clari fying theories
For a deeper understanding of the topic, I turned to the literature dealing with EFL
teaching, with an emphasis on t he CL T approach and reflected on the learning process.
3. Idetifying res earch questi ons
I have mentioned them at the beginning of the Research chapter. I considered both the
target group and self -developing my teaching strategies.
4. Collecting data
During the research I paid attention to the type of activities I have chosen fo r my
students, their preferences, the outcome of my teaching strategies and the students’ progress . I
used a variety of materials and the s ame approach, in 3 classes. I will detail the data collection
tools further on.
5. Analysing data
Any research is reliab le and valid if the data collected are analy sed in depth, therefore, I
carefully considered the students’feedback and their progress.
6. Reporting results
This research paper offers an appropriate context for sharing the results of my study. I
therefore wrote the outcome of the activities used , drew the conclusions and
reccomendations. Reflecting on my own practice , led to newer questions and the cycle
will continue as I refine the strategies.
7. Taking informed action
After going through this recursive process , I made a plan of action , putting what I have
discovered into practice, by applying the positive results, the successful activities for ”
crafting” new activitites to be conducted.
In conducting my research I firstly became familiar with the students’ new syllabus and
reanalysed the EFL methodologies and teaching strategies. Secondly , I thought about the
research instruments I needed for my paper. Then, I analysed my targe t groups needs and
preferences by means of a survey . I afterwards, found and created relevant materials for the
topics in t he syllabus, focusing my attention on oral practice in real -life situations. I continued by
planning the stages required for the strategies chosen. I gathered feedback and analysed the
results, the end of semester as sessment and the students’opinions. All the successful results of
the research became a starting point for designing new activities further on.

47
2.4. The Participants and the A ction Research Instruments
For the outcome of this research the study was conduc ted on 3 classes from ” Liviu
Rebreanu” School, in Tirgu -Mures, Romania: two 5th grades and a 6th grade. Class 5 A had a
number of 21 students( 6 girls and 15 boys), class 5 B had 25 students(14 boys and 11 girls) and
class 6 C had 27 students ( 16 girls a nd 11 boys) . They have been studying English since the
Preparatory grade, 1 hour up to the the 3rd grade, 2 hours from then on. They were all pre -tested
by means of a diagno stic test .
When engaging in the process of teaching a foreign language the teacher appeals to a
range of instruments to register the learners’ evolution and progress. A single instrument can
mislead the researcher. In the research conducted I appealed to a di agnostic test, constant direct
observation, a survey, self -assessment forms and an end of semester progress test.
The diagnostic test was applied at the beginning of the school year, and as it is an initial
test it assessed the knowledge of students from the previous year. The test included items which
tested reading and writing, and some items regarded grammar structures, too.
Direct observation allowed me to notice and diagnose my students’speaking skills
through the games that I carried our in the first lessons and during the school year. It is the most
effective way of assess ing students’spoken language as the classes have a large number of
students.
A survey in the form of a questionnaire to diagnose students’ attitudes towards speaking
and their topic preferences was applied at the beginning of the year. They had to choose which of
the 4 language skills they find difficult to put in practice, how often they used oral English
during the class, what factors interfere with their speaking skills how they assess their speaking
skills and what their interests are.
The diagnost ic test s of classes 5 A, 5 B and 6 C assessed the overall knowledge of
previous years, involved tasks regarding grammar, vo cabulary, reading and writing.( see
Annexes 3&4). The statistic analysis can be seen below and a complete analysis can be found in
Annex 5&6).The averages were as follows: 5A(7,67), 5 B(8,50), 6 C (9,15). Their speaking skills
were assesed through direct observation during the activities the students took part in, at the
beginning of the school year. Class 5 A had a significant lower lev el, compared to class 5 B,
therefore the activities I planned had to be adapted to the students’ competences. Class 6 A The
statistics charts can be seen below.

48

0 0 0 02 29
4 4
0
0246810
1-1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
5 A-21 students
Figure 3. Initial test results, class
0 0 0 0136 69
1
0246810
1-1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
5 B-26 students

Figure 4. Initial test results, class 5 B

0 0 0 0 013 316
3
05101520
1-1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
6 C -26 students

Figure 5. Initial test results, class 6C

The initial survey involved 73 students, 46 were 5th graders and 26 , 6th graders and was
given after the diagnostic test. The answers of the 5th graders were the following:

1

Figure 6 . Initial survey, Language skills ,
classes 5A&5B

Figure 7 . Initial survey results -frequency
of oral speech , classes 5A&5B

Figure 8 . Initial survey – factors affecting speak ing performance ,
classes 5A&5B

Figure 9 . Initial survey – speaking skills self -assessment ,
classes 5A&5B

2

Figure 10 . Initial survey – students’interests ,
classes 5A&5B

Class 6 C (26 students) were also g iven a survey and these are their results:

Figure 11 . Initial survey – language skills, class 6 C

Figure 12. Initial survey – frequency of oral speech, class 6 C

3

Figure 13. Initial survey – factors affecting spea king skills, class 6 C

Figure 14 . Initial survey – self-assessment of speaking skills, class 6 C

Figure 15. Initial survey -students’interests , class

2.6 Games and activities for developing English fluency
In what follows, I shall describ e the activities chose n for my study and give details on
how they can be used and adapted for students. I will first deal with the materials used for the 5th
graders, then with those applied during the English lessons of the 6th graders. There is also a
section with online materials used during the C ovid 19 pandemy. Eventually I shall describe a
series of successful speaking activities designed during my teaching career. For a clear and
organised structure of the materials presented I shall consider certain common issues such as:
language, skills inv olved, materials, procedure, feedback and conclusions. The games I used in the

4

classroom were either found in books, taken from online resources and adapted to suit teaching
aims and students’ needs or created by me . The first five games for both the 5th a nd the 6th grade
were used at the beginning of the year to diagnose students’speaking skills and previous knowle dge.
As I mentioned before, all 3 classes from my study, were new to me, thus assessing their previous
knowledge before finding and adapting th e best teaching methods was of utmost importance.
2.6.1 Communication games and activities for the fifth grade ( beginners)
Knock -knock Who’s there ?
Language : getting to know the teacher
Skills involved : listening, writing, speaking
Materials : coloured ca rds
Procedure : I prepare a set of coloured cards on which I write
words /numbers that prov ide information about me.( e.g 33, fruit, 1.64,
spiders a nd snakes, 2015, chocolate, turquoise, dancing, Greece etc) Students extract them one by
one and must ask the correct question for the answer given ( e.g How old are you? What’s your
favourite fruit? What are you afraid of? What is your favourite desert? What is your favourite
colour ?What do you like doing? etc )I then tell my students that they have 5 minutes to ask me any
questions they want. I afterwards give them a post it and encourage them to draw a flower with 5
petals and their name in the middle. They must write 5 words/numbers about themseleves and using
the same procedure, play in pairs.
My students were interested in this activity as they managed to know me and find out
personal things about their new teacher. I consider that for building a teacher -student relationshiop,
this is a very important stage. I also found out a lot of things about them as I mingled around them.
Remember what I like
Language: learning names, introducing yourself and other people , sharing likes
Skills involved: listening, speaking
Materials : name tags
Procedure : I first distribute a set of name tags to be filled in with th eir names. I tell the student to
stand up and find a person they get on well with, other than their deskmate, and sit in the same desk.
I next explain that we are going to play a row chain game. A student in the front desk will have to
introduce himself/ herself , then say a thing he/she likes. The student sitting next to him/her must
repeat what his deskmate said and add his/her name and preference . ( E.g My name is Andrei. I like
candies. His name is Raul and he likes candies.) In turns stu dents will intr oduce themselves, say a
thing they like and then introduce me to their classmates one by one, remembering what each of

5

them liked. The last student in the row should introduce himself/herself and remember all his
classmates likes for his team to win.
Vari ation 1: If the level of the class is high, it can be played as a whole -group game, if the level is
low the teacher can add an extra rule allowing the other students from the row( other than the
person introduced) to help the speaker . In a class with a lar ge number of students there might be too
many likes to be remembered.

Find out more!
Language : asking for/giving personal information
Skills involved : listening, writing, speaking
Materials : jar/box, pom poms
Procedure : In the first stage of the lesson I brainstorm on to the board questions to be asked when
one want s to get to know another person better. ( How old are you? Where do you liv e? Have you
got any brothers or sisters? Have you got a pet?What is your favourite free -time activity? What’s
your f avourite music/TV series? etc) I have prepared a bowl with pom poms of different shapes and
colours which are all in sets of two. Students must pick one and find their partner for this activity.
I move on to setting the classroom scene. I make two circles , an inner circle of learners facing
outwards and an outer circle of learners facing inwards. They must face their pom pom partner and
ask him/her three questions and keep in mind the information obtained. After that, I ask the outer
circle to move one plac e to the left, and so the students continue asking three questions to their new
partners. When I clap my hands and say ”switch”, they move one place to the left again. After
speaking with 4 partners students go back to their seats . Each of them must report to their
deskmates what they found out about their first partner.
Variation : Teachers can ask students to mill about and find a partner, then make the two circles and
apply the same procedure or another posibility is to ask the students to find three part ners and ask
each of them a set of 3 questions for the purpose of obtaining more information of interest about
their peers.
Two T ruths and a Lie
Language: getting to know others
Skills involved: listening, speaking, writing
Materials: –
Procedure: I write 3 statements about myself ( E.g . I can speak 3 languages. I have two pets. I can
swim very well .) , but one is a lie. Students must guess which statement is the lie. I invite my

6
students to write 3 sentences about themselves, one being a lie. I then ask some of them to read their
statements for their peers to guess. After that, I ask them to play the same game in pairs.
Variation: I use this game during the year for teaching grammar structures such as Present
Simple/Presen Continuous/Modals etc
Spy-blind fold-guess
Language : asking questions to answer about personal objects
Skills involved : listening, speaking
Materials : scarves, school supplies ,clothes and accessories
Procedure :
This game can be played in pairs or in teams , but my students usually play i t in pairs.
Before playing this game I help my students brainstorm school supplies , clothes and accessories .
Students should also be reminded about Wh- question structures ( What? Where? How many? ). I
ask a volunteer student to h elp me provide an example dialogue. I ask the students to spy on their
deskmates school supplies, items of clothing and accessories.
One student is blindfolded with a scarf and his or her deskmate must ask 5 questions
about personal items: ( What colour is my schoolbag? Where i s my History book? How many
pencils have I got? ) The blindfolded student has to guess the answers and then switches roles with
his or her partner. To motivate students more I ask them to draw a table with 5 spaces and mark
their correct answers with a smiley face.
Variation: This game can be turned into a competition, the first pair with 10 smiley faces
wins and gets stickers.
The students were very spontaneous and being determined to fill in all the spaces with
smiley faces, gave right answers . They enj oyed the activity as it fully engaged them and helped
them pay more attention to details when spying on their peers’ personal items.

Nice to meet you, stranger!
Language : introducing yourself, asking and giving personal
information; vocabu lary: countries and nationalities
Skills involved : listening, reading, writing, speaking
Materials : new ID cards
Procedure : After having learned about countries, nationalities,
official languages and capital cities , I distribute a new identity card to e ach student.(Annex 9) I ask
them to imagine that they have the privilege of being a foreigner for 5 minutes. All ID cards include
typical names of a certain country, the name of the country, hometown and language spoken.     

NAME: ADOLFO GUAREZ
COUNTRY: MEXICO
HOMETOWN: MEXICO CITY
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
Figure 16

7
Students must draw a basket and 5 b allons attached to it. On the basket they must stick their
card.They are afterwards invited to mill about and meet 5 new foreigners and ask them personal
information. ( What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s your hometown? What language
do you speak ?) They must fill in the 5 balloons with the information received.
Variation : After finishing their task they can create a new identi ty and procede in the same way or
they can decide what identity they would like to have by projecting/showing and example.
My students were very enthusiastic about this activity, especially the kinestetic learners, because
it took them out of their seats, they had fun being in someone else’ s shoes and meeting people with
funny names, some of them really famous ( Leondardo d a Vinci, Hans C. Andersen etc.)

My Things!
Language : describing objects
Skills involved : listening,writing, speaking
Materials : a sample project
Procedure : After having a discussion about how we are attached to people, but also to items that
we prefer, I assigned my students a project about 3 of their favourite things. This assignment was
inspired from their English textbook, but as they were only required to make a poster and label the
pictures , I decided to extend this task and give them speaking prac tice, by having the chance to
present their favourite items. I asked them to describe the objects in terms of shape, colour, usage
and explain where they have them from, how often they used them. I set an exam ple of 3 of my
favourite things. I encourage d them to make their posters and presentations as attractive as
possible .They could even bring one or more items to class. I divided the class in two groups as I
knew that their presentations and additiona l questions would need 2 English lessons(5A) and 3 in
case of the students from 5B. Each student had 5 minutes to present his/her favourite things.
Most students thouroghly prepared their posters, drew or took photos of their favourite things.
Some students brought the items they preferred or even bro ught a video with them. Some of them
tried to be disruptive as they were not used to giving presentations so I had to explain the
importance of listening , of showing respect to their peers and reminded them about our Agreement .
To make sure that they stay focused and reduce distractions, I told my students that they will have a
quiz at the end of the lesson, they had to answer a few questions about their
classmates’presentations. I also encouraged my students to ask qu estions after the presentation. In
class 5 A, there were some students who prepared just a brief presentation of their things as their
level was lower so I asked them additional questions and guided them during their answers. A

8

couple of students included their pets among their favourite thin gs and I explained that they can’t be
included in the category, but still gave them the chance to speak about their pets.
Projects – The European Day of Languages
Language : researching specific information, asking and
answering questions,
Skills involved : listening, reading, writing, speaking
Materials : paper cardboard, markers, pictures, computer,
videoprojector
Procedure : The European Day of Languages celebrates
linguistic diversity and lifelong langua ge learning. When
conducting this activity I first asked my students to do a little research on the topic , previous to our
lesson. Each of them came to class with relevant pieces of information about the EDL to raise
language awareness . They were divided into groups and they had to share the information ob tained
with the other group members.The students took part in a quiz as I wanted to check their general
knowledge on the topic . I distributed a set of cards on which A, B,C and D was written and each
group had to decide upon the correct answer an d raise th e corresponding card. We watched a found
on youtube about the EDL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGYtRSFo73A ) and after asking a
few comprehension questions each group decided on a country th ey had to make a project about. I
ecouraged them to be unconventional and present their projects in a creative and and funny manner .
The countries they chose were Germany, Italy, England, France and Spain. The projects were
assigned as homework to develop their organisational and social skills. Each group had 10 minutes
to present their projects and their presentations were distributed during two English lessons.
Project work on this topic was assigned only to the students from class 5 B, class 5 A worke d on
different tasks for celebrating the EDL. The learners were extremely involved in the activity as they
could d ecide who their team members. I explained what group work means and the step they should
take into account( choose a leader, decide on a plan, delegate tasks and roles etc) Each presentation
had an element of surprise which made their project -work special. We enjoyed the presentation on
Germany, in which students involved their classmates and asked them to discover some historical
fact written o n the project with invisible ink. While discovering Italy, we all cheered as the group of
girls danced on and sang Ciao Bella! England was wonderfully presented together with its
sightseeings, France was filled with colours and traditions beautifully portra yed together with a
delicious treat, French eclere. We also learnt different Spanish expressions and typical traditions.
These integrated lessons provided a learning environment , based on experience, allowed the Figure 17

9

particip ants to explore world knowldge and br ing to class their areas of interest and hobbies. They
also helped me to learn more things about my students’ skills.

Back to Back Reading
Language : reading for specific details, summing up content , asking and answering questions
Skills involved : listening, reading,writing, speaking
Materials : worksheet, English textbooks
Procedure : Reading activities are a wonderful opportunity for
practising all four skills. The English textbook provides a text about
the British Royal Family . I designed a worksheet( Annex 10) for
consolid ating the vocabulary previously learnt , remembering facts about the British royal family
relationships and engaging my student in a speaking activity. Each student has the reading from the
lesson with different words blanked out. They must sit back to back and read to each other to
discover the missing words. After filling i n the gaps, one student has to orally sum up the text and
the other has to 5 questions about the text.
Both 5 A& 5B appreciated this activity and enjoyed switchi ng the scene from face-to-face to
back -to-back .They were very attentive at what their partner re ad. I encouraged them to use English
when they did not undestand the words and asked them to spell the required word if necessary. The
students enjoyed taking c ontrol of their learning when they had to sum up the text or ask questions.
They confessed they felt like real teacher.

That’ s Not My Mum!
Language : reading for specific details, summing up content, asking and answering questions
Skills involved : liste ning, reading,writing, speaking
Materials : worksheet, English textbooks
Procedure :

10

Beat the Clock !
Language : identifying vocabulary, answering questions
Skills involved : listening, reading,writing, speaking
Materials : worksheet, English textbooks
Procedure : The English textbook and additional
worksheets I find or prepare for my students guide them
into learning interesting facts about the UK. After having
a lesson on this topic and working on a n enjoyable
worksheet, I assess my students’ comprehens ion and
learning by engaging them in a quiz I have made. I use
the same drill for other topics, too. Each student receives a hand out which contains a series of
sentences they need to complete with the correct words. The first 3 to finish receive sticker s. We
check the answers, and ask them to teach each other the information revised. Then, I divide them
into 4 groups and ask them to pick a coloured card from a box and they must get into groups
according to the colours they have chosen. I ask them to The Baamboozle online educational
platfo rm is a useful teaching tool through which students can assess their previous knowledge in an
interactive way. I designed a quiz based on the worksheet and the written quiz as a follow -up
activity. There are a set of 24 quest ions, each group gets a question, they need to discuss it and give
an answer. They receive between 15 and 20 points, depending on how difficult their quesion is and
at the end of the game they can see their rank.
Online platforms are at hand when te aching EFL, what is unfortunate is that schools are not well –
equiped with all the materials needed during the lessons. I have to install the video projectors in
classes 5A&5 B for each English lesson and this was really time -consuming and effortful. Howeve r,
seeing the joy of my students when enrolled in such games motivated me to continue provide a
digital environment. The students answered quickly, were very competitive and enjoyed using
spoken language for both discussing the facts they have learnt and c ompeting the online quiz.

That’s Not My Mum
Plurals GO FISH
2.6.2 Communication games and activities for the sixth grade
Figu re 18 – Quiz Facts about the UK,
www. Baamboozle.com

11
Name Three Things
Language : various language structures
Skills involved : listening, reading, writing, speaking
Materials : workshe ets
Procedure : This activity can be done in pairs or in groups. I usually choose it as a group work. I
distribute the worksheet found in Annex 8 and a sks students to brainstorm for different items of
vocabulary

2.6.3 Covenglish
2.6.4 Examples of extr a activities

2 THE RESEARCH -From Theory to Practice – English conversation in the classroom.
2.1 Building a teacher -student relationship
2.2 Establishing class rules to benefit from communicative teaching
2.3 Assumpsion
2.4 Research Methodology and Procedure
2.5 The Participants and the Action Research Instruments
2.6 "Covenglish" – online teaching for developing speaking skills in the pandemic context

12
1.7 Lesson Planning

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Bilbrough, N.,(2007) Dialogue Activities , Cambridge University Press
Bowket, S( 2009) A creative Approach in Teaching Speaking , Express Publishing
Cuevas, J.(2015) Is Learning Styles Based Instruction Effective? A Comprehensive
Analys is of Recent Research on Learning Styles, USA
Cunningham, A. E. And Stanovich, K.E.(1998) What Reading Does to the Mind,
American Educator
Farell T.& Jacobs M.(2010) Essentials for Successful Language Learning , Continuum
International Publishing Group
Gardner, H. (2011) Frames of Mind , The Theory of Multiple Intelligences , Basic Groups

13
Gardner, R. C.( 2010) Motivation and Second Language Acquisition : The Socio –
Educational Model , Peter Long Publishing, Inc., New York
Griffee , Dale T.(2012) An Introduction to Second Language Research Methods, TESL -EJ
Publications , tesl -ej.org, eBook edition 2012
Gower, R., Phillips D. and Walters, S.(1995) Teaching Practice Handbook ,
HeinemannHadfield, Jill(2004) Beginners Communication Games , Longman Publishing
House, 2004
Hadfield, Jill.(2004) Elementary Communication Games , Longman Publishing House,
2004
Harmer, J(2012) Essential Teacher Knowledge , Pearson
Harmer, J.(2007) How to Teach English , Longman Publishing House
Harmer, J. (2007) The Practice of English Language Te aching , Pearson Education
Homer H.& Miller R.(2014) 101 Kids Activities, Page Stress Publishing Co .
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Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Klippel, F. (1991) Keep Talking – Communicative Activties for Language Teaching,
Cambridge University Press
Kral Thomas( 1995) Selective Articles from Creative English Teaching Forum Clasroom
Activities , FPG International
Krashen, S.D(1981) Second Language Ac quisition and Second Language Learning ,
Pergamon Press Inc.
Larsen -Freeman, D., R.N. Campbell and W.E Rutherford(1986) Techniques and
Principles in Language Tea ching , Oxford University Press : Addison Wesley Longman
ELT
Lazaraton, A. (2001) Teaching Oral Skills.In M. Celce Murcia( Ed.), Teaching English as
a second language.Boston: Heinle and Heinle
Lightbown, M.P& Spada N.(2013 ) How Languages are Learnt , Fourth Edition, Oxford
University Press
Littlewood, W.(1984) Foreign and Second Language Learning, Cam bridge University
Press
Nunan, D.(1989) Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom , Cambridge
University Press
Nunan, D. (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning , Cambdrige University Press

14
Richards, C.J.(2006) Communicative Language Teaching Toda y, Cambridge University
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Richards, C. J(2008) Teaching L istening and Speaking , From Theory to Practice,
Cambridge University Press
Richards, C.J& Rodgers S.T(2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching ,
Cambridge University Press
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Kreativ Publishing House
Scrivener, J. (2005), Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide to English Language
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Savignon, S.( 2002 ) Interpreting Communicative Language Teaching , Contexts and
Concerns in Teacher Education, Yale University Press
Scheibner , Kurt(1995 ), Ready -made English, Multi -level activities 1& 2, Macmillan
Education
Vizental, A. (2014) Metodica predarii limbii engleze: strategies to teaching and testing
English as a foreign language , Iasi, Polirom
Watkins, P.(2005) Learning to Teach English , Delta Publishing
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Edition, Cambridge Universi ty

http://www.eslprintables.com/
https:// en.islcollective.com/
https://twinkl.com
http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/teaching -oral-communication -skills/

Welcome to the EF TV/Video Database!

VIDEOS AND VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Jack C. Richards on Communicative Competence , Part 1 of 2, by Cambridge University Press
ELT, published on 21 August 2012 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwMii_YtEOw
Jack. C Richards on Communicative Competence , Part 2 of 2, by Cambridge University Press
ELT channel, published on August 21, 2012,

15
Communicative Language Teaching 40 years on : A public presentation by Scott Thornbury,
published on 27 July 2017, by The New School ,

Communicative Language Teaching: Jeremy Harmer and Scott Thornburry, The New School,
published on 22 July 2013 , https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=hoUx036IN9Q&t=1s
Experiential Learning Activities – International TEFL Academy, published 16 December 2016
Rethinking Challenging Kids – Where There’s a Skill There’s a Way , Ablon, J. Stuart, published
24 October 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuoPZkFcLVs
Skills every child needs to succeed in the 21st century , by Jana A. Laura, published 27 May 2015
https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=z_1Zv_ECy0g
Student Engagement and Motivation Tips – How to Engage Students , by Plevin, R. ,published 24
January 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWRSRtdkrag
Teaching Methods for Ins piring the Students of the Future , published by Ruhl Joel, on 27 May
2015 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCFg9bcW7Bk7
Teaching English Without Teaching, by Roberto Guzman, on 26 May 2016
The One Thing All Teachers Do , by Nick Furman, published on 11 April 2018,

What Makes a Good Teacher Great , TEDx Santodomingo, by Azul Terronez, published on 2
February 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrU6YJle6Q4

7 All videos have been checked on 15th June, 2020, to confirm that they haven’t been deleted and all of them were
found accessible on this date.

16

Annex 1- Common Reference Levels Scale

Proficient user
C2 Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can
summarise information from different spoken and written sources,
reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can
express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely,
differentiating finer shades of Proficient mea ning even in more complex
situations .
C1 Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise
implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously
without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language
flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
Can produce clear, well -structured, detailed text on complex subjects,
showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and
cohesive devices.

Independent
user

B2 Can underst and the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and
abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of
specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that
makes regular interaction with native speakers quite pos sible without
strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range
of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the
advantages and Independent disadvantages of various options.
B1 Can understand the main points of cl ear standard input on familiar
matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal
with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the
language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which
are famil iar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events,
dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations
for opinions and plans.

Basic user

C2 Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to
areas o f most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family
information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can
communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct
exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can desc ribe
in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment
and matters in areas of immediate Basic need.

17
C1 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic
phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can
introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions
about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows
and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other
person talks slowly and clearly and is prepa red to help.
A1
Basic User A2
Basic User B1
Independent user B2
Independent user C1
Proficient C2
Proficient user
Source: Council of Europe website : www.coe.int

18
Source : Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF): © Council
of Europe
Source: © European Union and Council of Europe, 2004 -2013 | http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu
Annex 3 Initial Test 5th grade user Speaking

Spoken
interaction I can interact in a
simple way provided
the other person is
prepared to repeat or
rephrase t hings at a
slower rate of speech
and help me formulate
what I'm trying to say.
I can ask and answer
simple questions in
areas of immediate
need or on very
familiar topics. I can communicate in
simple and routine
tasks requiring a
simple and direct
exchange of
information on
familiar topics and
activities. I can
handle very short
social exchanges,
even though I can't
usually understand
enough to keep the
conversation going
myself. I can deal with most
situations likely to arise
whilst travelling in an
area w here the language
is spoken. I can enter
unprepared into
conversation on topics
that are familiar, of
personal interest or
pertinent to everyday
life (e.g. family,
hobbies, work, travel
and current events). I can interact with a
degree of fluency and
spont aneity that makes
regular interaction
with native speakers
quite possible. I can
take an active part in
discussion in familiar
contexts, accounting
for and sustaining my
views. I can express myself
fluently and
spontaneously without
much obvious
searching for
expressions. I can use
language flexibly and
effectively for social
and professional
purposes. I can
formulate ideas and
opinions with
precision and relate
my contribution
skilfully to those of
other speakers. I can take part
effortlessly in any
conver sation or
discussion and have a
good familiarity with
idiomatic expressions
and colloquialisms. I
can express myself
fluently and convey
finer shades of
meaning precisely. If I
do have a problem I
can backtrack and
restructure around the
difficulty so smoo thly
that other people are
hardly aware of it.

Spoken
production I can use simple
phrases and sentences
to describe where I
live and people I
know. I can use a series of
phrases and sentences
to describe in simple
terms my family and
other people, liv ing
conditions, my
educational
background and my
present or most recent
job. I can connect phrases in
a simple way in order to
describe experiences
and events, my dreams,
hopes and ambitions. I
can briefly give reasons
and explanations for
opinions and pla ns. I
can narrate a story or
relate the plot of a book
or film and describe my
reactions. I can present clear,
detailed descriptions
on a wide range of
subjects related to my
field of interest. I can
explain a viewpoint on
a topical issue giving
the advant ages and
disadvantages of
various options. I can present clear,
detailed descriptions
of complex subjects
integrating sub –
themes, developing
particular points and
rounding off with an
appropriate
conclusion. I can present a clear,
smoothly -flowing
descript ion or
argument in a style
appropriate to the
context and with an
effective logical
structure which helps
the recipient to notice
and remember
significant points. Annex 2
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – Self-assessment grid

19
TEST DE EVALUARE INIȚIALĂ
AN ȘCOLAR 2019 -2020
CLASA a V -a L1

Numele și prenumele elevului: __________________________________
Data susținerii testului: __________
Time de lucru: 50 minute
I . Choose the correct form. (5 x 0, 20 = 1 point)
1. I…….. eleven yea rs old.
a. is b. am c. are
2. We………. from Romania.
a. am b. is c. are
3. He ……….. a handsome boy.
a. are b. am c. is
4. You………. my dear friend.
a. is b. am c. are
5. She……. her sister.
a. is b. are c.am
II. Cho ose the correct form. (5 x 0, 20 = 1 point)
1. I am …….. TV, now.
a. watch b. watching c. watches
2. She ……. a letter every day.
a. is writing b. writes c. write
3. They …….. to school every day.
a. go b. are going c. goes
4. They are ……….. an interesting story now.
a. reading b. reads c. read
5. He ……… his grandmother every Sunday.
a. visit b. is visiting c. visits
III. Put the words in the correct order to form
sentences (5 x 0, 40 = 2points)
a) is/ Alice Gray/ old/ 22 years.

b) help / mother/ Helen/ her/ does?
c) plays / Alex/ the piano/ well.
d) my /job/ like/ I.
e) We / in the / river / swim / day / every.
IV. Here is Kate’s letter to a new pen friend.
Read the letter and fill in the blanks for each
sentence. (5 x 0, 3 =1, 5 points)
Dear Chris,
My name is Kate. I am 11 years old. I have got a
brother, Paul, and a sister, Linda. Paul is you nger
than me. He’s 10. My sister is older. She’s 14.
In my family we are all tall and thin, except Paul –
he’s short and fat. He’s the shortest and the fattest in
my family.
Linda looks like my father. My father and Linda have
both got black hair and blu e eyes.
Paul looks like mum. They have both got blond hair
and brown eyes.
I’m Aunt Pat’s favourite niece, because I’ve got brown
hair and wide green eyes. We both look like grandma.
What about your family? Have you got any brothers or
sisters?
Please writ e about your family.
Hope to hear from you.
Love, Kate
Right (√), Wrong (x)
a.) Kate has got two brothers ………..
b.) Paul is short and fat ………..
c.) Kate is 11years old ……….
d.) Linda is older than Kate ……… .
e.) Linda is Pat’s favourite niece. ……….
V. Fill in the table with five words for each category.
(20 x 0,05p=1point)

FRUITS VEGETABLES ANIMALS OBJECTS

VI. Write five sentences about your self. (5 x 0, 30 = 1, 5 points)

20

Annex 4 – Initial Test 6 th grade
TEST DE EVALUARE INI ȚIALĂ
AN ȘCOLAR 2019 -2020
CLASA a V -a L1

PART I 60 marks
A. Put t he verbs in brackets into the correct form of Present Simple or Present Continuous:
1. Tom usually ______ (play) football, but today he _____________ (play) basketball.
2. Sophie usually _______________ (walk) to school.
3. Ted ____________ (wash) the car now.
4. I ________________ (listen) to music every day.
5. Look, Silvia _________________ (cry). Let’s see what’s wrong.
6. He usually _______________ (go) jogging on Sundays.
7. I _________________ (read) this fantastic book at the moment.
8. Peter alway s _______________ (do) his homework before dinner.
9. They _______________ (clean) their bedroom every weekend. (10x1m=10m)
B. Circle the correct answer:
1. John likes run / running.
2. I play football three times a week / the week .
3. Can you skate? Yes I do/ can .
4. We play baseball in / on summer.
5. First / the first I get up. Then, I clean my
teeth.
6. I can swim, but I no can / can’t swim under
water.
7. Can you / Do you can windsurf?
8. I go to school in / by bus.
9. How often do you go / do go you to the
cinema?
10. Mary can / cans run 100 metres in 12
seconds.
(10x1m=10m)

C. Underline the correct adjective:
1. He’s a very clever/silly child. He
knows all the answers.
2. Don’t go near the river, it’s very safe /
dangerous .
3. That is a(n) difficult/easy question. I
can’t answer it.
4. I like the book. It is very interesting /
boring. .
5. It is a cold / hot day. Let’s go to the
beach.
6. Jane is only three years old. She is
young / old.
7. I can’t buy the pencil case. I have go t
little / much money
8. John can touch the ceiling (=tavan). He
is a very short / tall boy.
(8x1m=8m)

1
D. Complete the sentences. Use the comparative or superlative of the adjectives .
1. In summer it is _____________ (hot) than in any other season.
a) hotter b) the hottest c) hot
2. The children from this class are _______________ (good) at English.
a) the best b) better c) gooder
3. The weather is __________ (bad) in autumn than in the spring.
a) more bad b) wo rse c) the worst
4. In winter it is ____________ (cold) than in autumn.
a) colder b) cold c) the coldest
5. The last book I read was__________________(interesting) than your book.
a) the most interesting b) more int eresting c) interesting
6. Our school is _______________(big) school in the city.
a) bigger b) the biggest c) as big
(6x 2m=12m)
E. Read the text and then answer the questions below:
It is 8 o’clock in the morning. George and his sister are at the railway station to buy tickets
for an afternoon train to Brașov. They travel to Brasov twice a year. First the y look at the timetable
to find out when the afternoon trains leave. They find a train: it leaves at 5.30 in the afternoon, and
it arrives in Brașov at 8.00 in the evening.
George tells his sister: ‘Let’s buy tickets. We leave at 3.30, we have plenty of ti me to pick our
bags.’
1. Where are George and his sister? ____________________________________
2. What is the first thing they do? ______________________________________
3. What time does the train leave?______________________________________
4. When does the train a rrive?_________________________________________
5. How often do they go to Brasov?_____________________________________

F. Complete the conversations using these expressions:
*what do you do *Do you play *Yes, I can *When do you do
*No, I can’t *Four or five times a week *Can you *I usually do
*No, we don’t *How often *not very often
Tim: What do you do on a Saturday night?
Sylvia: I usually go out with friends.
Danny: (1)_____ _______________water ski, Mike?
Mike: (2)____________________. Can you?
Danny: (3)____________________.I love water -skiing.

Chris: (4)__________________________do you play football?
Frank: (5) __________________________
Chris: (6)____________________ ____rugby at your school?
Frank: (7)_________________________

Sophie: (8)_________________________your homework?
Louise: (9)__________________________ my homework after dinner.
Sophie: Do you do any homework at weekends?
Louise: Sometimes, but (10)_ ___________________________ . (10×1 m=10m) (5x 2m = 10 m)

2

PART II 30 marks ( divided between accuracy and content )
Write a paragraph about you. Use the questions to help you. Write 40 –50 wo rds.
• What is your name? How old are you? Where do you live? What do you look like? What are
your likes and dislikes? Do you like spring, summer, autumn, or winter? Why? What do you
do in your favourite season?

Good luck class 6 A!
(10 marks ex officio)

3
Annex 5 – Initial Test Analysis ( Class 5 A )
Raportul de a naliză privind administrarea instrumentului de evaluare
Testare inițială
An școlar : 2019 -2020
Clasa : a V-a A ( L1)
Disciplina : Limba engleză
Aria curriculară : Limbă și comunicare
Scopul probei : Evaluarea cunoștințelor acumulate în ciclul primar
Competente de evaluare:
 să utilizeze forma corectă a verbelor „ a fi” si „ a avea”
 să identifice elemente de conținut în textul citit
 să utilizeze corect timpurile verbale( prezentul simplu și continuu)
 să ordoneze cuvinte pentru a formula propozitii corecte
 sa identifice elemente de continut ale unui text
 sa completeze un tabel cu elemente de vocabula r
 sa scrie cinci propozitii despre sine
Numărul de elevi evaluați : 21
Media rezultatelor obținute : 7,57
Rezultate obtinute itemi:

Itemii
probei Punctaj
maxim Categ orii de rezultate obținute la fiecare item / numărul de elevi
Itemul 1
10 0-5
(8) 6-10
(13)
Itemul 2
10 0 – 5
(12) 6-10
(9)

Itemul 3
20 0-5
(4) 6-10
(9) 11-15
(6) 16-20
(2)

Itemul 4
15 0 – 3
(2) 4-6
(5) 7-9
(7) 10-12
(2) 13-15
(5)
Itemul 5
10 0 – 5
(8) 6 – 10
(13)
Itemul 6
15 0 – 3
(-) 4– 6
(-) 7-9
(6 ) 10-12
(6) 13-15
(9)

Matricea de specificație
Competente/
Conținuturi Cunoaș –
terea Înțele –
gerea Aplicar
ea Analiza Sinteza Evaluarea Total
C1 – sa utilizeze
forma corecta a
verbelor „ a fi” si „ a
avea” 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C2 – să utilizeze
corect tinpurile
verbale 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C3 – să ordoneze
cuvintele pentru a 20%
(1 item) 20%
(1 item)

4

Concluzii și recomandări de optimizare:
Testul diagnostic prezentat vizează elemente de conținut studiate în clasele primare Itemii au
fost adecvați la conținuturile vizate, iar volumul de timp (45 min ) a fost în concordan ță cu nevoia
de a lucra cu maximă eficiență, fără a fi sub presiunea timpului, având în vedere necesitatea de a citi
textul la prima vedere cu atenția cuvenită, pentru a putea răspunde corect cerințelor.
Notele obținute de elevi sunt de la 1 la 10 după cu m urmează:

Nr.note 1-
1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
Nr.elevi
26 – – – – 1 3 6 6 9 1

Competentele de evaluare propuse s -au realizat având în vedere că notele obtinute au fost
peste 5.16 elevi au obtinut note peste7.
Toți elevii s -au încadrat în timpul prevăzut pentru evaluare (45 min ) și au reușit să
finalizeze itemii proiectați, ceea ce indică un grad ridicat de eficiență.
Itemii probei de evaluare au vizat exclusiv cunoașterea, înțelegerea și aplicarea, având în
vedere obiectivele de evaluare ale testării inițiale.
Elevii au prezentat dificultăți mai mari la itemii 2,3 și 5, dificultăți ce vor fi remediate in
decursul semestrului I prin activitățile pregătite și fișele de lucru aferente. Elevii vor primi
informaț ii teoretice unde este cazul alături de exerciții aplicative în plus.

formula propozitii
corecte

C4 – sa identifice
elemente de continut
ale unui text 15%
(1
item) 15%
(1 item)
C5 – sa completeze
un tabel cu elemente
de vocabular 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C6 – să scrie despre
sine 15%
(1 item) 15%
(1 item)
Total

35%
(3 itemi) 15%
(1
item) 30%
(2
itemi) 80%
(6 itemi)
20 p oficiu

5
Annex 6 – Initial Test Analysis ( Class 5 B)
Raportul de analiză privind administrarea instrumentului de evaluare
Testare inițială
An școlar : 2019 -2020
Clasa : a V-a B ( L1)
Disciplina : Limba engleză
Aria curriculară : Limbă și comunicare
Scopul probei : Evaluarea cunoștințelor acumulate în ciclul primar
Competente de evaluare:
 să utilizeze forma corectă a verbelor „ a fi” si „ a avea”
 să identifice elemente de conținut în textul citit
 să utilizeze corect timpurile verbale( prezentul simplu și continuu)
 să ordoneze cuvinte pentru a formula propozitii corecte
 sa identifice elemente de continut ale unui text
 sa completeze un tabel cu elemente de vocabular
 sa scrie cinci propozitii despre sine
Numărul de elevi evaluați : 25
Media rezultatelor obținute : 8,50
Rezultate obtinute itemi:

Itemii
probei Punctaj
maxim Categorii de rezultate obținute la fiecare item / numărul de elevi
Itemul 1
10 0-5
(8) 6-10
(17)
Itemul 2
10 0 – 5
(10) 6-10
(15)

Itemul 3
20 0-5
(4) 6-10
(3) 11-15
(10) 16-20
(8)

Itemul 4
15 0 – 3
(1) 4-6
(3) 7-9
(6) 10-12
(2) 13-15
(13)
Itemul 5
10 0 – 5
(7) 6 – 10
(19)
Itemul 6
15 0 – 3
(-) 4– 6
(-) 7-9
(5 ) 10-12
(3) 13-15
(17)

Matricea de specifica ție
Competente /
Conținuturi Cunoaș –
terea Înțele –
gerea Aplicar
ea Analiza Sinteza Evaluarea Total
C1 – sa utilizeze
forma corecta a
verbelor „ a fi” si „ a
avea” 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C2 – să utilizeze
corect tinpurile
verbale 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C3 – să ordoneze
cuvintele pentru a 20%
(1 item) 20%
(1 item)

6

Concluzii și recomandări de optimizare:
Testul diagnostic prezentat vizează element e de conținut studiate în clasele primare Itemii au
fost adecvați la conținuturile vizate, iar volumul de timp (45 min ) a fost în concordanță cu nevoia
de a lucra cu maximă eficiență, fără a fi sub presiunea timpului, având în vedere necesitatea de a citi
textul la prima vedere cu atenția cuvenită, pentru a putea răspunde corect cerințelor.
Notele obținute de elevi sunt de la 1 la 10 după cum urmează:

Nr.note 1-
1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
Nr.elevi
21 – – – – 2 2 9 4 4 –

Competentele de evaluare propuse s -au realizat având în vedere că cea mai mica nota a fost
6,70 si 16 elevi din 25 au obținut note peste 8.
Toți elevii s -au încadrat în timpul prevăzut pentru evaluare (45 min ) și au reușit să
finalizeze itemii proiectați, ceea ce indică un grad ridicat de eficiență.
Itemii probei de evaluare au vizat exclusiv cunoașterea, înțelegerea și aplicarea, având în
vedere obiectivele de evaluare ale testării inițiale.
Elevii au prezentat dificultăți mai mari la itemii 2,3 și 5, dificultăți ce vor fi remediate in
decursul semestrului I prin activitățile pregătite și fișele de lucru aferente. Elevii vor primi
informații teoretice unde este cazul alături de exerciții aplicative în plus.

formula propozitii
corecte

C4 – sa identifice
elemente de continut
ale unui text 15%
(1
item) 15%
(1 item)
C5 – sa completeze
un tabel cu elemente
de vocabular 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C6 – să scrie despre
sine 15%
(1 item) 15%
(1 item)
Total

35%
(3 itemi) 15%
(1
item) 30%
(2
itemi) 80%
(6 itemi)
20 p oficiu

7
Annex 6 – Initial Test Ana lysis ( Class 6 C)
Raportul de analiză privind administrarea instrumentului de evaluare
Testare inițială
An școlar : 2019 -2020
Clasa : a VI -a C ( L1)
Disciplina : Limba engleză
Aria curriculară : Limbă și comunicare
Scopul probei : Evaluarea cunoștințelor acumu late în clasa a V -a
Competențe de evaluare :
 să utilizeze corect timpurile verbale( prezentul simplu și continuu)
 să aleaga forma corecta a unor expresii uzuale
 să aleagă adjectivul corect in contextul dat
 să aleagă gradul de comparatie ale adjectivelor potrivit contextului dat
 să identifice elemente de continut ale unui text dat
 sa completeze o conversatie utilizand expresii date
 să scrie despre sine(nume, varsta, orasul in care locuiesc, ce le place si ceeea ce le displace,
anotimpul preferat argumentan d alegerea facuta)

Numărul de elevi evaluați : 26
Media rezultatelor obținute : 9,17
Rezultate obținute / itemi
Itemii
probei Punctaj
maxim Categorii de rezultate obținute la fiecare item / numărul de elevi
Itemul 1
10 0-5
(8) 6-10
(18)
Itemul 2
10 0 – 5
(9) 6-10
(17)

Itemul 3
8 0-4
(5) 5-8
(21)

Itemul 4
12 0 – 3
(-) 4-6
(-) 7-9
(4) 10-12
(22)
Itemul 5
10 0 – 5
(2) 6 – 10
(24)
Itemul 6
10 0 – 5
(-) 6– 10
(26)
Itemul 7
30 0-10
(-) 11-20
(2) 21-30
(24)

8

Matricea de spec ificație

Competente /
Conținuturi Cunoaș –
terea Înțelege –
rea Aplicarea Analiza Sinteza Evaluarea Total
C1 – să
utilizeze corect
tinpurile
verbale 10%
( 1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C2 – să aleaga
forma corecta
a unor expresii
uzuale
10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C3 – să aleagă
adjectivul
corect din
contextul dat 8%
( 1 item)
8%
(1 item)
C4 – să aleagă
gradul de
comparatie ale
adjectivelor
potrivit
contextului dat

12%
( 1 item)

12%
(1 item)

C5 să
identifice
elemente de
conținut ale
unui text dat 10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C6 să
completeze o
conversație
utilizând
expresii uzuale
10%
(1 item) 10%
(1 item)
C7 să scrie
despre sine 30% 30%
Total

20%
2 itemi) 30%
(3 itemi) 10%
(1 item) 30%
(1 item) 90%
(7
itemi)
10 p oficiu
Concluzii și recomandări de optimizare:
Testul inițial prezentat vizează elemente de conținut studiate în clasa a V -a. Itemii au fost adecvați
la conținuturile vizate, iar volumul de timp (45 min ) a fost în concordanță cu nevoia de a lucra cu
maximă eficiență, fără a fi sub presiunea timpului.
S-au acordat 10 puncte din oficiu

9
Notele obținute de elevi sunt de la 1 la 10 după cum urmează:
Nr.note 1-1,99 2-2,99 3-3,99 4-4,99 5-5,99 6-6,99 7-7,99 8-8,99 9-9,99 10
Nr.elevi
26 – – – – – 1 3 3 16 3

Competentele de evaluare propuse s -au realizat având în vedere că 20 elevi din 25 au obținut
note peste 9.
Toți elevii s -au încadrat în timpul prevăzut pentru evaluare (45 min ) și au reușit să
finalizeze itemii proiectați, ceea ce in dică un grad ridicat de eficiență.
Itemii probei de evaluare au vizat exclusiv cunoașterea, înțelegerea și aplicarea, având în
vedere obiectivele de evaluare ale testării inițiale.
Unii elevi au prezentat dificultăți mai mari la itemul 1 și anume la uti lizarea corectă a
timpurilor verbale prezent simplu și continuu. Lacunele inregistrate vor fi remediate in decursul
semestrului I prin activitățile pregătite și fișele de lucru aferente. Elevii vor primi informații
teoretice unde este cazul alături de exer ciții aplicative în plus.

10

NAME: HANS ANDERSEN
COUNTRY: DENMARK
HOMETOWN: ODENSE
LANGUAGE: DANISH NAME: MAX ROBERTSON
COUNTRY: SCOTLAND
HOMETOWN: EDINBURGH
LANGUAG E: SCOTTISH NAME: SEDA OZAN
COUNTRY: TURKEY
HOMETOWN: ANKARA
LANGUAGE: TURKISH NAME: ADOLFO GUAREZ
COUNTRY: MEXICO
HOMETOWN: MEXICO CITY
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
NAME: PIERE MOREAU
COUNTRY: FRANCE
HOMETOWN: PARIS
LANGUAGE: FRENCH
NAME: LEONARDO DA VINCI
COUNTRY: ITALY
HOMETOWN: FLORE NCE
LANGUAGE: ITALIAN
NAME: KANJI SATUKI
COUNTRY: JAPAN
HOMETOWN: TOKYO
LANGUAGE: JAPANESE NAME: CYREK GR YZBOSKY
COUNTRY: POLAND
HOMETOWN: WARSOW
LANGUAGE: POLISH
NAME: ANGELOS PAPADAKIS
COUNTRY: GREECE
HOMETOWN: ATHENS
LANGUAGE: GREEK
NAME: VASCO DA GAMA
COUNTRY: PORTUGAL
HOMETOWN: LISBON
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE

ANNEX 9 – Nice to meet you, stranger!

11

A. Back to Back Reading -The British Royal Family
1. Fill in the missing words.
Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of the __________________. She is the Head of
State. Her ______________ is Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The queen has
got many pets, like birds, fish and horses. Her favourite pets are her C orgi dogs.
The _______ and Prince Phillip have got four children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne,
Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Prince Charles has got Jack Russell dogs as pets.
Prince William and Prince Harry are the children of Prince Charles, and the
______________ of the Queen. They are very popular. Prince William has got a wife.
Her name is Kate Middleton. She is the Duchess of ____________. She’s very good –
looking. Prince William and Kate have got two children and an English Spaniel dog.
2. Sum up t he text. Annex 10 – Back to Back Reading
B. Back to Back Reading -The British Royal Family
1. Fill in the missing words.
Queen Elizabeth II is the _________ of the United Kingdom. She is the Head of
State. Her h usband is Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen has got
many ______ , like birds, fish and horses. Her favourite pets are her Corgi dogs.
The Queen and __________ Phillip have got four _________ – Prince Charles,
Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Prince Charles has got Jack
Russell dogs as pets.
Prince William and Prince Harry are the children of Prince Charles, and the
grandchildren of the Queen. They are very popular. Prince William has got
a___________ . Her name is Kate Middleton. She is the Duchess of Cambridge.
She’s very go od-looking . Prince William and Kate have got two children and an
English Spaniel dog.
2. Ask your partner 5 questions about the text .

12

A. Fill in with the correct answer.
1. The capital city of England is…………………. .
2. UK stands for………………………………… .
3. Great Britain is formed of ……………….., ……………….. and
………… ….. .
4. People from Scotland are……………… .
5. They symbol of England is the ………………….. .
6. People from Ireland are…………………. .
7. The River which flows through London is …………………. .
8. A…………………. is a polic e officer in England.
9. The queen of England is …………………………….. .
10. The national currency in the UK is the ………………………… .
11. How do you call the red buses used in London?
………………………………
12. The capital city of Scotland is……………………….. .
13. The symbol of Ireland is the………………………… .
14. British people drink a lot of……………. They also pour
……………. in it.
15. The famous observation wheel in London is
called……………. ……… .
16. …………………………….. is a famous bridge in London.
17. ………………………. is the patron saint of England.
B. Pick a colour ed card from your teacher’s desk and
find your group partners for the quiz on Facts About
the UK .

Annex 11 Beat the Clock!

13

Conclusions

Language is created by individual often through t rail and error. Fluency and acceptable language is
the main goal: accuracy is examined in context. Students are expected to interact with other people
such as through pair and group work. The teacher may not determine the language the students use.
The com municative approach gives a great support for students to use the target language in various
contexts and functions. Its primary focus is on creating meaning rather than developing perfectly

14
grammatical structures or acquiring native sounding pronunciation . This means that the success of
learning a foreign language can be evaluated in terms of how one has developed his or her
communicative competence, which can be defined as the ability to apply formal knowledge as well
as the sociolinguistic aspects of a l anguage on one’s proficiency to communicate. Communicative
approach has been characterized as extensive teaching method and not just one with clearly defined
sets of classroom practices. Because of this, it is usually identified as a list of general future s. One
of them is David Nunan’s (1991) five features of communicative learning teaching. They are: 1)
learning to communicate by interaction in the L2; 2) presenting of authentic texts into the learning
situation; 3) giving opportunities for people to conc entrate on both language and the learning
management procedures; 4) enhancement of learner’s own personal experience as important
contributing elements to classroom learning and 5) linking language learning inside classroom with
language learning activitie s outside. Nunan’s list has been claimed by many advocates of the
communicative approach particularly by those who are very concerned in language learning inside
and outside the classroom. This board definition makes it such that any teaching practice that aims
to help students develop their communicative competence in practical and usable contexts is
considered as a form of instruction. A communicative approach environment would often have
pairs/group work where participants are required to discuss and wor k together. It is known for
fluency based activities that encourage the development of confidence, role plays where they can
practice and develop language functions and the sensible use of grammar and pronunciation focused
activities.
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The communicative competence as Hymes (1972) devised it, m ade some important shifts in ESL
teaching regarding teaching materials design and teaching methodology. Communicative
competence presented in the 1970s and eventual

15

Strengthen, boost, raise, to bette r