For language learners, being able to converse fluently is a major goal and the one by which we often judge a person’s linguistic fluency. Students arrive in A-level classes with varying oral skills, so a clear priority is to help them achieve the best level of proficiency possible given their starting points. In the A-level exam, spoken fluency is assessed notably in Assessment Objective 3 (AO3) where students must “manipulate the language accurately, in spoken and written forms, using a range of lexis and structure” (Ofqual, 2016). In our new handbook we have a chapter devoted to developing students' oral skills. This post summarises what is in the chapter, then looks at an example fluency-building activity which we call 'Speedy Summary'. The sections in our chapter are as follows. How spoken proficiency develops Accuracy and fluency Oral drills ...
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