SEVECEN Sayı: 28 - 2019

85 Olcay Şerbetçi Let’s Speak EnglIsh Everyday in Grade one, we learn new skills of reading, writing and speaking through different activities but our students’ favorite have been our speaking activities. The activities include a lot of interaction and always grab students’ attention. We practice speaking English throughout the day and most importantly, we do this in a natural environment--and we have fun doing it! Activities that help develop speaking skills are turn and talks, surveys and presentations about our units. During turn and talks, children get to share their ideas about a topic or a book with their friends. It gives students a chance to brainstorm and have a natural discussion about a topic. In our surveys, students walk around the classroom and find a partner. They ask questions to their partners and note the answers down on their survey papers. Our goal is to practice and reinforce sentence structures that we have learnt during each unit. We also do projects at the end of every unit. After preparing the project at home or class, students have a chance to present their work to their friends. In result, they not only improve their speaking skills but also boost their confidence and develop social skills. Sarp ÜSTÜNKARLI “We do turn and talks during English lessons and I really enjoy it because I get to talk to my friends in English and I share my thoughts with them.” Samuel WHATFORD “I really like doing turn and talks. It’s fun to brainstorm and share ideas with my friends.” Ela KOÇ “I love doing presentations because it’s fun. I like sharing my projects with my friends and teachers. I love speaking English!” Chiara Ela ALİBERTİ “I love surveys because I get to ask my friends questions and get to know them better. I like learning new things about my friends.”