Speaking Up

Warm-up: Your voice, one minute

2 warm-up questions

• When do you stay quiet in English — in class, at work, with strangers?
• First try: tell me about yesterday — 30 seconds, don't stop, mistakes are completely fine. Go!

Reading: Finding Your Voice

Read a 150-word text about Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice Anna is new at her English class. She is quiet because she is nervous about speaking. Teacher: OK, class. What did you do last weekend? Anna, would you like to start? Anna: Um... I... I went to the park. Teacher: Great! What did you do there? Anna: I walked and... I had a coffee. Sorry, my English is not good. Teacher: Your English is fine, Anna! You said a complete sentence. That's great! Anna: Really? Thank you. Teacher: Remember, it's OK to make mistakes. The important thing is to try. Anna: OK, I will try more. I also read a book in the park. It was a nice day. Teacher: Wonderful! See? You can do it! When we speak in a new language, we often feel nervous. But every time we speak, we get better. The first step is the hardest, but it gets easier with practice.

Vocabulary: Confidence Words

6 items

Practice: Speaking with Confidence

Gap-fill exercise, 6 items

• I feel ____ before speaking in class.
• She is very ____. She speaks clearly and without fear.
• Don't worry about ____. They help you learn.
• I want to ____ my English pronunciation.
• He is very ____. He doesn't like speaking in front of people.
• Please ____ to answer the question. It's OK if it's not perfect.

Practice: Match Feelings and Actions

Matching exercise, 5 items

• nervous
• confident
• shy
• improve
• mistake

Dialogue: Speaking Up in Class

Role-play: Your teacher asks you to share something in class (6 lines)

• Teacher: What did you do yesterday?
• You: I went to the shops and bought some food.
• Teacher: That's great! Can you tell me more?
• You: I cooked dinner for my family. It was nice.
• Teacher: Wonderful! Do you enjoy cooking?
• You: Yes, I like cooking. I want to learn new recipes.

Discussion: Your mission: one full minute

3 discussion questions

• Mission: speak for 45–60 seconds about your last weekend. Keep going to the end, and do NOT say "sorry, my English is bad" — not even once. If you make a mistake, just continue. Use: "I went…", "It was…", "I also…" (Success = the full time, zero apologies. Tutor: time it and count apologies!)
• Second take: same weekend, but this time add one feeling in every part: "I was tired / happy / nervous because…"
• Compare with your 30-second try at the start. How much longer did you speak? Finish with one sentence: "Next week I will speak up when…"