Module 3 – Speaking Skills and Young Learners

Recent social interactionist and socio-cultural research has clearly shown that we learn foreign languages “in” and “through” interaction. This is of course the same when it comes to learning of foreign languages by young learners. However, (1) activities that foster interaction among young learners and (2) “teacher talk” that can facilitate “interactional competence” are not very common in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. In order to develop young learners’ speaking skills, teachers need to use activities and tasks that create opportunities for interaction, as such opportunities cannot be easily found by learners outside of the classroom. This requires an understanding of interactional competence (as opposed to communicative competence) and such an understanding can be established by raising teachers’ awareness on their own and their students’ language use in classrooms. Driven by this understanding, the aim of this module is to introduce and show the ways teachers can manage successful speaking activities for young learners by putting “interactional competence” and “high quality teacher talk” at the heart of their pedagogical agenda.