Skip main navigation

New offer! Get 30% off one whole year of Unlimited learning. Subscribe for just £249.99 £174.99. New subscribers only T&Cs apply

Find out more

A group online speaking lesson

A video of a group online speaking lesson + tasks.
8.2
So, we’re going to talk about exchanging opinions today. And I have a couple of questions for you to answer. So, here they are. Please read them. So you’re going to work with a partner. And I’m go to open– Sorry– I’m going to open breakout rooms now. We can speak about it forever. Forever. I’m sorry, but you only have three minutes to do this. Oh. All right, so let me open the rooms.
45.7
So please join them.
61.3
So, where is our questions? Guys, you can find them in the chat box. Oh, OK.
71.4
Here we go.
76.5
Some years ago, we had one person on our project. It was on customer site. And–
90.4
–maybe. There was about one–
98.3
a new system. And my colleagues want to make a new functionality inside another. But they was totally, totally different. So, I understood it. And I explained my opinion, and showed arguments why we did not– we had no– hadn’t do it, or didn’t have to do it.
150.5
When we’ve asked for someone’s opinion, this person needs to express it. So can you think of some phrases that you can use to state your opinion? From my point of view? OK. As I see it? I think? In my opinion? In my mind– Great. Can you please type them in the chat box– well, at least one phrase from each of you?
199.5
OK, we have a puzzle here. And you need to find the phrases. So, there may be one word or several words. You have mentioned some of these phrases. And you only need to look for them, well, vertically or horizontally– so, not diagonally. You can use the tool and just circle them. Full phrase will be in one line? Yeah, that’s right.
234.9
Anton, do you have a question?
238.7
I wanted to ask about, should we find it in one directional from the left to the right, and from up to down? Yes, yes, exactly.
254.9
Good job. Ah, something is missing on the left.
262.4
You missed a letter, for some reason– a nice one. Yes.
276.2
So now, let’s move on to task 4. Please read the instructions. Hmm.
305.5
If you’re done reading, please take a Yes up on Zoom.
327.2
Mm-hmm, wonderful.
338.9
Maybe you have talked about some file, maybe we have the whole information how we can check in this complaint. What can we do? So, firstly, I would again disagree with you, because I call him yesterday, and I speak about his new project.
373.5
So there is another scenario. Please read it. Line 20? Line 20. OK, so now I would like three people to have a talk about this. So you’re all together on the same team. So I would just exchange opinions– agree or disagree. Ask one another and use the key phrases. So the other three people, please type the key phrases they use in the chat box. So, let us start. Sergei, Dmity, and Kate. So please have a conversation. Ksenia, Igor, Anton, please type the phrases.
419.1
You can start.
423.8
Hi, guys, we have a problem. Tell me more, please.
430.9
We can’t meet the deadline. So we need to extend our team, but our customers don’t want to do it. So, as I see it, we should–
453.1
I don’t know, catch up somehow?
461.2
I have a phrase that I would like you to correct.
467.7
We make a lot of mistakes. Just one phrase. Really?
489.4
Yeah, so if we have a verb, then we use about. How do you feel about that?

Planning a group speaking lesson is often more challenging than planning a one-to-one speaking lesson. We need to consider how we can ensure all learners in the group have the opportunity to develop their speaking skills. This may mean using platform features such as breakout rooms for the main speaking task, or if those are unavailable, asking learners to do the task as a whole group.

In this video Inna teaches a lesson to a group of Russian adults in a company. The lesson objective is:

By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to ask for and give opinions, agree and disagree.

Task

Watch the video and answer these questions.

1. How does Inna exploit each platform feature below? Complete the table.
Platform feature How it’s exploited
Breakout rooms  
Chat box  
Interactive whiteboard  
Tick icon  
Share screen  
Please note down your answers on a piece of paper
2. How does Inna’s exploitation of platform features ensure that all learners in the class have the opportunity to achieve the lesson objective?

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

How would you deal with a weaker learner in a group lesson? What might you do to offer them support? Is there a particular platform feature you could exploit? Share your ideas in the comments below.

This article is from the free online

Teaching English Online

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now