In this article, the author shares some experienced English language teachers’ practices to develop Young Learners’ critical thinking for speaking. The teachers allayed students’ anxieties towards speaking by closely examining their knowledge and skills to hone their capacities for this kind of thinking.
Speaking is an important skill in the teaching and learning process. In the English language classroom, it is the main means through which curricular content is explained, and an important way for students to clarify their interpretation by verbalising what they know and asking questions about areas they are less clear about. For example, learners do this by responding to teachers’ questions to check their understanding or requesting clarification on particular areas of concern. Speaking, however, can be challenging for some students, since it requires them to respond, often instantaneously. The task of speaking is possibly more onerous for Young Learners in primary school. This is especially so for children for whom English is not a home language, and whose less-developed language banks could be possible limiting factors for communication, resulting in them being less keen to participate in discussions with their teachers or peers.
This paper focusses on teachers’ actions to enhance students’ capacities for critical thinking and evaluation of their speaking progress. It focuses on children in the primary school setting, where a majority of the students have languages other than English as their home language. The students’ ages range from 7 to 12 years old, and they are typically in classes of about 40 children. The article presents teachers’ strategies to address students’ affective concerns with respect to speaking, and how they develop their learners’ competence by guiding them on preparation for speaking, as well as monitoring the effectiveness of their communication.
The affective domain is an important aspect to be considered in preparing learners for speaking. The task of having to bring together content and articulating it using accurate language may be a difficult endeavour for some speakers. In this regard, teachers leveraged their strong knowledge of learners to conceptualise engaging lessons in alignment with students’ interests in computer games. For example, they prepared a series of language quizzes designed in a game-based format which connected well with their learners’ interests. Linking classroom instruction with contexts that learners are familiar with can be extremely effective in encouraging participation in classroom talk. The novel nature of the task, and students’ comfort with the learning environment, are helpful in encouraging them to participate and, in so doing, they acquire new vocabulary and grammar structures to use in speaking.
Two aspects of the strategies are particularly important in promoting students’ active involvement in the planning process. Firstly, the design of the quiz is aligned with students’ interests, which could alleviate any possible stress in speaking. Secondly, the warm and welcoming nature of the activities further serves to reduce possible pressure when responding in face-to-face interactions. The quiz helps students to revise previously taught language items, and can also be used to introduce new words and structures they could incorporate in communication.
Critical thinking entails thoughtful inspection of a person’s understanding about their knowledge and skills. In the context of speaking, critical thinking concerns learners’ close inspection of their repertoire of ideas and discourse structures, as well as their effectiveness of articulation. Facilitation of learners’ critical thinking about content and language improves the quality of their utterances. As teachers role modelled speaking, they situated the grammar and vocabulary items in sentences, which served as a guide. This helped students compare their utterances against the exemplars to reflect on how their communication could be improved. As students listened to the use of the new words and phrases in sentences, they were able to examine their speaking and identify possible gaps in knowledge. In this way, teachers’ guidance helps them connect the new information with that previously taught, to think critically about how best they could convey meaning clearly.
Working in pairs or small groups, students were tasked to come up with their own sentences that accurately depict the meaning of the newly acquired vocabulary and grammar in context. They listened attentively to their classmates to monitor one another’s speaking, then provided feedback on pronunciation and sentences that were inaccurate, or words incorrectly used. Speakers were guided to evaluate their own speaking by carefully assessing their word choices and organisation of ideas, paying close attention to their listeners’ responses and accordingly self-correcting their utterances where necessary. For example:
These are just some of the ways in which students could be scaffolded to raise their awareness of the stages involved in preparing to speak, monitoring communication and, finally, evaluating their overall progress. Despite their young ages, children can be guided to think critically about the processes of speaking and, as they do so, systematically reflect on their own competence. Branigan and Donaldson (2020) similarly highlight the value of teacher guidance to help children reflect on classroom lessons to enhance the quality of learning. As students think critically about the efforts needed to bridge their gaps, they accordingly enlist appropriate strategies, as well as the support of teachers and peers, to enhance their communication. Facilitating Young Learners in bringing to the fore their existing linguistic repertoires and helping them connect their prior knowledge with new vocabulary and structures heightens their appreciation of how language could be effectively used in speaking (Sabnani & Goh, 2022). It also scaffolds learners in examining their strengths and areas for improvement as they go through the nuanced processes of preparing ideas, monitoring delivery of messages and evaluating the overall quality of their utterances.
Branigan, H.E. & Donaldson, D.I. (2020). ‘Teachers matter for metacognition: facilitating metacognition in the primary school through teacher-pupil interactions’. Thinking Skills and Creativity 38:1–14.
Sabnani, R.L., Goh, C.C.M (2022). ‘Developing young learners’ metacognitive awareness for speaking’. TESOL Quarterly 56 1:336–346.
Dr Robbie Lee Sabnani is a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her instructional and research interests include oracy skills and processes, metacognitive awareness in language learning, teacher beliefs and knowledge, and the development of teacher expertise. As Programme Leader for the department’s suite of language enhancement and academic discourse skills courses, she manages and teaches on graduate, pre- and in-service courses on professional English; communication skills; speaking and listening development; and language studies. Robbie publishes on pedagogical practice and language education research and contributes to theory and practice through invited keynotes and presentations at conferences.
Dr Robbie Lee Sabnani is a lecturer in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her instructional and research interests include oracy skills and processes, metacognitive awareness in language learning, teacher beliefs and knowledge, and the development of teacher expertise. As Programme Leader for the department’s suite of language enhancement and academic discourse skills courses, she manages and teaches on graduate, pre- and in-service courses on professional English; communication skills; speaking and listening development; and language studies. Robbie publishes on pedagogical practice and language education research and contributes to theory and practice through invited keynotes and presentations at conferences.