Information collection & exchange

parti
advice. 
en discuss reactions 
3. Ask the selected students to act out the rest of the story. Th
plausible alternatives for dealing with the same problems are 
new
uggested stra
Here are ample suggestions fo
1. M
tells her mothe
"You know that I am relying on you to get a job and help with yo
"But Mother, this is 
You
ill get ma ied and then he mone
"O
oth
2. N
school
Rubadiri is having trouble keeping up, especially with the math. Rubadiri expects Nduku to coa
is is taking so much time his own work is 
even to do his homework for him, but Nduku is finding that th
suffering. He is becoming angry with his friend. What should he do? 
 
 Communication strategies 
ur students should be aware of the need 
d managing a conversation. 
tive listening is a good strategy for those students who shy away fro
listener in English conversations w
communication. Good listeners use phrases which encourage the speaker, such as:
"Yes." 
"Of course."
"Is that so?"
List these phrases for your students, and give them opportunity to practice them, along with the correct body 
language-the smile, the nodding of the head, the eye contact. If your students have contact with native 
speakers of English, encourage them to observe these listening strategies and to mimic the body language 
when speaking English. 
As good non-native listeners of English, your students will also need the phrases necess
speaker for help, repetition, or slower speech. Phrases such as the following will help: 
"I'm sorry, what was that again?"
"Would you repeat that please?"
"Did you say _________?” 
"Could you speak more slowly please?" 
Practice in the communication strategies for managing a conversation should be woven throughout your 
lessons. Every one uses these strategies when speaking. Your task will be to make your students conscious 
of these strategies and of how much they use them in their native language, and then to help them use 
these strategies when speaking English. There are many basic communication strategies, some of which 
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Choose the topic of conversation. Where possible, encourage your students to take the initiative and select 
the topic of conversation. By using this general strategy your students will be more in control, and in talking 
about a familiar topic, can feel more confident. 
Paraphrase. Encourage students to use words they do know to replace words they do not. 
Bo
ad
kno
Ge
As
one directly: "How do you say ___?" or "What does ___ mean?" Or it can be 
one indirectly by constantly watching the other person's reactions, or speaking with a rising, questioning 
educe. Simplifying, changing, or even abandoning those parts of speech which are too difficult to handle is 
l, especially for a beginner. The longer the sentence, the more complicated the message, 
nd the greater the danger of not being understood. Some of your students may come from cultures which 
n activity which can help in the development of communication strategies is "What's It Called?" Here are 
g you use to do this? 
It's made of metal and it has a small hole in one end. The other end is sharp. Your students should be 
e. Repeat this demonstration with five other 
words, for example: 'thimble," "spool," "safety pin," "pin cushion," "zipper."
they do not know in English, using the 
ommunication strategies you have demonstrated. Write the following cue phrases on the board:
ow do you say that in English?" 
An example of the kind of exchange you are trying to promote is as follows: 
Stu
taxi. On Saturday I noticed something 
wrong with the taxi. A bit was missing. A bit near the wheel. What do you call it? 
u mean the tire had been stolen?
It goes over the tire. (Student gestures.) 
with four to seven students in each team. Take one representative from 
each team and ask these representatives to come to the front of the class facing everyone. Write 25 
rrow. Borrowing or inventing words from any language in the place of unknown English words and 
justing the form or pronunciation is a particularly useful strategy for students who can borrow from their 
wledge of Spanish or French. 
sture. Using gestures to get meaning across is a simple but most effective strategy. 
k for feedback. This can be d
d
intonation to check that what was said was understood. 
Ask for slower speech. It is often helpful to get native speakers to slow down. Saying "Could you say that 
again, slowly?" will help. 
R
an important skil
a
place a high value on ornate, complicated expression. Your students need to know that this is not the case 
in English. In English a high value is placed on clear, straightforward expression and simplicity of speech. 
A
the steps for this activity: 
1. Play the role of someone who wants to find out certain words in your students' native language. Use 
any communication strategies to ask about a few words, preferably some which your students do not yet 
know in English. For example: Mime sewing and ask: What do you call the little thin
able to give you the word "needle" in their own languag
2. Now it is your students' turn to find out from you words
c
hat's that called in English?" 
"W
''What do you call it?" 
"H
dent: 
My father owns a taxi. It is my job to clean the
Teacher: 
A tire? Do yo
tudent 
No, not a tire. It's made of metal. 
S
Teacher 
The fender? That's part of the car's body, it comes over the wheels. 
Student 
No, it isn't part of the body. It's very bright. You can see your face in it. You have to 
take it off (Student gestures, as if he has a crow bar in his hand) when you change 
the tire. 
Teacher 
Oh, you mean a hub cap. (Teacher writes words on board.) 
3. Divide the class into teams,
words on the board (calculate three words per team) where they can be seen by all. Show a picture of 
one of the words on the board to the class, but not to the team representatives. Give team A three 
minutes in which to use communication strategies to describe the picture to their team representative. 
The representative may ask questions and has to correctly identify the object described. If this has not 

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been done by the time three minutes is up, the team does not score. It is then the turn of team B, and so 
on.