Afternoon Dialogues
Afternoon dialogus are for sure great opprtunity for all language tachers and learners to experience learning authentic English. This is a good time to get away from formal teaching and instead 'enhance peripheral learning'. I found at least 7 advantags in practicing AD in our classrom this quarter:
1. Speaking is difficult for language learners specially when they are not prepared for it and unfortunately, many learners avoid to take part in conversation evnts when thy hav nothing memorized or prepared. This is a great chance for them to learn that speaking is spontaneous.
2. As ADs are unprepared, learners need to rely on what they know and learn what need to know. (That's how we learned the word 'hunk' in the classroom
)
3. It is th best way to learn and have fun at the same time. They do not need to worry about making mistakes and this helps them focus on content.
4. It develops collaboration among the learners, as they try to keep the conversation going rather than stop it. Unlike in oral tests, they do not count seconds to finish and sit.That's why they try to help when their partner runs out of ideas.
5. Although the teacher is there to mention the main points of the conversation, the speakers know that there is no help or support DURING the speech. This makes them more independent.
6. This activity engages the whole class and not only those who take part in the dialogue. They listen and take notes to discuss with the teacher and other learners.
7. For teachers, it is a suitable time to integrate teaching and assessment, to find more of each learners, weaknesses, strenghts, interests, etc.
By, choosing the right topics, themes, and hints we can make the most of our class time.
