Vary the oral teaching and say goodbye to "Hello, I am going to present my presentation to you"

Julie Noël is a pedagogical advisor at the RÉCIT National Service, in the field of languages. She tells us about different ways to vary the teaching of oral communication skills to move away from artificial formulations to the “Thank you for listening to me! "! 

Interview: Stéphanie Dionne
Text: Audrey Miller

When we think of oral communication, we mainly think of interaction situations in oral communication, that is to say of the peculiarities of spontaneous speaking, prepared speaking (in relation to listening) and spontaneous listening and prepared listening (in relation to speaking). During the interview, Julie Noël explains that there are many possible nuances, for example, a spontaneous speech slightly prepared! She also recalls the close link between the development of oral communication and that of social skills. 

To teach it, of course, you have to plan, but it is also possible to have recourse to various contexts, for example a group work in mathematics where the pupils must take turns speaking and exchanging in order to reach a consensus. . In this case, the teacher could choose to listen specifically to one or two groups per session.

Digital technology for the development and assessment of oral skills

Julie Noël quotes researcher Christian Dumais in his book Teaching oral is possible, which thus defines the 3 stages of the teaching of oral communication: the teaching point, the practice and the regulation. For her, digital is particularly interesting as a tool in each of these times. Moreover, she talks about different uses, for example the programming of Blue-Bot robots to give clear instructions and the production of podcasts to get the best of more shy students in front of a group. She explains how digital can also be beneficial at the level of assessment, since oral communication is something ephemeral.  

Finally, she offers the following resources in addition to the projects to which she refers during the interview. 

The Blue-Bot robot to make a path towards better oral communication:

1. Preparation
   • Teach oral communication
   • Practice oral communication
2. Production
   • Activities to make the robot your own
   • Communicate orally by experimenting with paths with the robot
3. Integration
   • Reflective feedback on the experiment with the robot

Expo science 2.0 - Multimodal digital literacy project:

1. Preparation
   • Prepare to formulate a research question - Develop oral interaction strategies
   • Carry out and document your scientific experimentation
2. Production
   • Find and process information
   • Write the podcast script
   • Get inspired by professional podcasts - Self-regulate through audio recording
   • Self-regulate through audio recording
   • Record and edit your podcast
3. Integration
   • Produce a media poster - Experience a science exhibition 2.0

Literature and digital use:

1. Preparation
   • Activate knowledge and practice oral communication
2. Production
   • Experience interactive reading using digital tools
3. Integration
   • Create a seabed
   • Interview with management
   • Interview with an educational advisor

In closing, be sure to visit the website of the national RÉCIT service, language area, as well as that of Digital Pedago Network, where we broadcast projects carried out by RÉCIT with various partners in Quebec.

Thanks for reading us! 🙂

In addition, Carrefour education offers you these relevant educational resources:

• Generation Robots (preschool and elementary school)
• Bee-Bot: start programming
• BaladoWeb - The voice to learn

Produced with the support of Carrefour Éducation