Four Key Questions

Four Key Questions: Enhancing Your English Speaking Skills

Timothy Hogan

Four Key Questions  What

do I say?  How do I say that?  Did you get that?  How did I do?

Key Question 1

What do I say?

What do I say? Needs analysis 

What language do I need? – –

Language functions Topics



What language features do I need to improve? – – – –

Pronunciation Fluency Discourse management Interaction

What do I say? Language functions 

Asking – – – – – – – – –

For help For directions For advice How much something costs How something works How often something breaks What something is What is wrong with something What something is made of



Telling – – – – – –

Someone how to do something Someone what they should do Someone the advantages of something Someone where something is located Someone your opinion Someone how well they do something

What do I say? Language functions        

Comparing Contrasting Agreeing Disagreeing Apologizing Thanking Reporting Summarizing

       

Clarifying Classifying Describing Suggesting Congratulating Generalizing Complaining Praising

What do I say? Topics        

Experiences Family members Needs and wants Opinions and feelings Home and community Job and career Friends and colleagues Ambitions and plans

       

Weather Sports Clothing Food and drink Traveling Health Media Shopping

Key Question 2

How do I say that?

How do I say that? Pronunciation -- Sounds 

Vowels – – –



got, home, come, look fall, fool, full, foal banana, dutiful, follow

Clusters – – –



asked, urged, inches speak, bread, threaten strength, blades, dredged, trembling

R – – –



air, or, ear, ire, err, are robe, rent, rack, rule roar, rubber, renter

L – – –

lee, lay, low, lie Al, ale, ell, eel Lyle, lull, label, level

How do I say that? Pronunciation -- Stress 

One-syllable words



chief, bowl, sense



Multi-syllable words



promise, alone discount, discount object, object

–

Stressed syllables Louder  Longer  Clearer vowels 

–

Unstressed syllables Softer  Shorter  Reduced vowels 

 

How do I say that? Pronunciation -- Rhythm 

3 syllables



12 3 – objective – 123 – plentiful –



4 syllables – – – –

123 4 operation 1234 evaluate

5 syllables – – – –



123 45 volatility 12345 justification

6 syllables – – – –

1234 56 authoritarian 123456 paleontology

How do I say that? Fluency  Minimize

hesitations and fillers

Uh, eh, mmm, and uh,  Eliminate

restarts

Basically, I think that, uh, that uh, I think, basically, I feel, in my opinion, uh…. What was I saying?

How do I say that? Fluency Stress content words One of the things I like about Taipei are its back alleys.  Content words 

– –



Usually nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs Longer, louder, clearer

Structure words – –

Usually prepositions, articles, conjunctions Shorter, softer, reduced

One of the things I like about Taipei are its back alleys.

How do I say that? Fluency  Stress

content words

One of the things I like about Taipei are its back alleys. You can be walking along a busy street, turn into an alley, and all of a sudden, you’re in a quiet part of town. You see shops you would never find on one of the avenues, and little restaurants where you can get a bowl of noodles. There are often walls along these alleys, and behind them you catch glimpses of gardens, flowering vines climbing the sides of buildings, or even ripe papayas waiting to be picked.

How do I say that? Fluency  Speak

in phrases

One of the things / I like about Taipei / are its back alleys. / You can be / walking along a busy street, / turn into an alley, / and all of a sudden, / you’re in a / quiet part of town. / You see shops / you would never find / on one of the avenues, / little restaurants / where you can / get a bowl of / noodles. / There are often walls / along these alleys, / and behind them / you catch glimpses / of gardens, / flowering vines / climbing the sides / of buildings, / or even ripe papayas / waiting to be picked.

How do I say that? Fluency 

Plan what you want to say What do you like about Taipei? 3. 4. 5.

Quiet back alleys Convenient transportation Vibrant urban atmosphere

Key Question 3

Did you get that?

Did you get that? Discourse Management 

Take a clear stand – –



Frame your answer – –



What do you like about Taipei? Should casino gambling be allowed in Penghu? There are three things I like about Taipei. In my opinion, casino gambling should be allowed in Penghu. I’ll give you two reasons why.

Use transitions – – –

First of all, … More importantly, … In conclusion, …

Did you get that? Interaction 

Initiate a dialogue – I just came from a difficult meeting with some clients. – You won’t believe what I saw on my way to work this morning. – I heard you just returned from an overseas trip. – Have you been following the stock market? – Would you like to hear what happened to me this morning? – What did you think of the presentation we saw last night?

Did you get that? Interaction  Take

your turn

I bought a new car yesterday. Wonderful! What kind? A Toyota Wish. A Wish? Nice. What color is it? Silver. That’s my favorite color. When can I see it? Right now. Come on. It’s parked outside.

Did you get that? Interaction 

Take your turn – – – – – –

I just came from a difficult meeting with some clients. You won’t believe what I saw on my way to work this morning. I heard you just returned from an overseas trip. Have you been following the stock market? Would you like to hear what happened to me this morning? What did you think of the presentation we saw last night?

Key Question 4

How did I do?

Key Question 4 How did I do?  Assessing

your English ability with BULATS (Business Language Testing Service) – – –

BULATS Computer Test BULATS Standard Test BULATS Writing Test

 BULATS

Speaking Test

BULATS Speaking Test Preparation  Familiarize

yourself with the types of tasks in

the test.  Examine the rating criteria and determine what aspects of your English need improvement.  Practice speaking, specifically focusing on the skills you need to improve.

BULATS Speaking Test  Part

1 – Interview  Part 2 – Presentation  Part 3 – Information exchange and discussion

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 1  Answer

examiner’s questions for approximately 4 minutes. – – – – – –

Introduction Current work or studies Travel Language learning Future career prospects Personal interests

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 1  Watch

Part 1 Video

BULATS Speaking Test Preparation for Part 1  Practice – – – –

talking about

yourself your job or studies your career plans your interests

 Develop

compensation strategies to use when you are unsure how to answer.

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 2  Select –

Prepare your talk for 1 minute.

 Speak – –

one topic from a list of three. for 1 minute on that topic.

Something your company is doing now, has done in the past, or plans to do in the future Something you are doing now, have done in the past, or plan to do in the future

 Include

the information described in the instructions.

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 2 Sample Describe an important business meeting you attended. You should say: where it was; what is was about; why it was important. What were the most interesting moments?

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 2  Watch

Part 2 Video

BULATS Speaking Test Preparation for Part 2  Practice – – – –

speaking on a topic for one minute organizing your talk so it is clear and logical delivering your talk smoothly answering questions about the content of your talk

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 3  Information –

Exchange

Participate in a role-play.  Find

out 3 pieces of information.

 Discussion –

Discuss a question related to the role-play for 1 to 2 minutes.

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 3 Sample Information Exchange You are making the arrangements for a one-day conference at a local hotel. The Examiner is the Conference Organizer for the hotel and is visiting you to discuss the conference. Find out this information: the size of the largest conference room; the cost for that room; the equipment available.

Do you think the hotel is offering you a good service for the price it is charging?

Discussion Now, discuss this topic with the Examiner: What makes a successful conference?

BULATS Speaking Test: Part 3  Watch

Part 3 Video

BULATS Speaking Test Preparation for Part 3  Practice

participating actively in a role play and a discussion. – – – –

Initiating a dialogue Formulating questions Responding naturally Giving your opinion

Rating Criteria  

Scores from 0 to 5 Accuracy of language –



Range of language – –



Are you able to use the right vocabulary and grammar without making mistakes? How large is your vocabulary? How much grammar you know?

Pronunciation – –

Can you pronounce words accurately? Do you use stress and intonation effectively?

Rating Criteria 

Discourse management – – –



Interactive communication – – –



How well do you speak when giving longer answers? How fluent are you? How well do you organize what you say? How easy is it for the examiner to speak with you? How much help do you need? How well do you join the conversation?

Overall ability

Enhancing Your English Speaking Skills The 4 Key Questions 3. 4. 5. 6.

What do I say? How do I say that? Did you get that? How did I do?

   

Identify language resources Develop your techniques Get constructive feedback Measure your improvement

Thank You

On the Internet www.tabf.org.tw

www.lttc.ntu.edu.tw

www.bulats.org

[email protected]