What Is Turn-taking in Speaking?

Quite literally, we’re talking about taking turns to speak. So, if you tell a
group they have to plan a party together, the students should take turns
providing ideas, offering to do something or giving opinions. What happens
most often in the ESL classroom is that one or a few of the students dominate
the conversation, giving the others very short turns. Another common scenario,
when students are divided into pairs, is that both students take turns to speak,
but end the conversation in a matter of seconds, i.e. the talk is cut short simply
because they don’t know how to keep it going. So, here are some tips, just a few
ideas that should help your students have longer and better
conversations/discussions.

Use These 7 Turn-taking Strategies to Boost Student Speaking Time

Interrupting

Interrupting a discussion can seem impolite, but is often necessary for a

number of reasons. For example, you might interrupt a conversation to:

·Give a message to someone

·Ask a quick question that has nothing to do with the conversation

·Give your opinion about something that has been said

·Interrupt to join the conversation

Here are forms and phrases used to interrupt conversations and meetings
arranged by purpose.

INTERRUPTING TO GIVE SOMEONE INFORMATION

Use these short forms to quickly and efficiently interrupt a conversation to

deliver a message.
·I'm sorry to interrupt but you're needed (on the phone / in the office / in the
classroom / etc.)

·Sorry for the interruption. It's Jim / Peter / Mary on the phone.

·Pardon me, but I have John on the phone.

·Excuse me, could I get a signature / an answer / a cup of coffee quickly?

INTERRUPTING TO ASK A QUICK UNRELATED QUESTION

At times we need to interrupt to ask an unrelated question. These short

phrases quickly interrupt to ask for something else.

 I'm sorry to interrupt, but this will only take a minute.

 Sorry for the interruption, but could you (answer a quick question / help
me for a moment / give me an opinion on ...)?
 I'm so sorry. This will just take a minute.
 I apologize for the interruption, but I have an important question.

INTERRUPTING TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH A QUESTION

Using questions are a polite way of interrupting.

Here are some of the most common questions we ask in order to be allowed to
join the conversation.

 Could I jump in?

 Could I add something?
 Can I say something?
 May I interject?

INTERRUPTING TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION

During a conversation we might need to interrupt the conversation if we are not
asked for our opinion.

In this case, these phrases will help.

 Would you mind if I joined the conversation?

 I couldn't help overhearing. (Use when listening to a conversation that
you are not a part of)
 Sorry to butt in, but I think / feel ...
 If I may, I think / feel ...

INTERRUPTING SOMEONE WHO HAS INTERRUPTED YOU

Sometimes we don't want to allow an interruption. In this case, use the

following phrases to bring the conversation back to your point of view.

 Please let me finish.

 Let me complete my thought.
 Would you please let me finish?
 Can I continue, please?

ALLOWING AN INTERRUPTION

If you want to allow an interruption, use one of these short phrases to allow the
person to ask a question, express an opinion, etc.

 No problem. Go ahead.
 Sure, what do you think?
 That's OK. What do you need / want?

CONTINUING AFTER AN INTERRUPTION

Once you've been interrupted you can continue your point after the
interruption by using one of these phrases.

 As I was saying, I think / feel ...

 To get back to what I was saying, I think / feel ...
 I'd like to return to my argument.
 Continuing where I left off...

EXAMPLE DIALOGUE

Example 1 : Interrupting for Something Else

Helen : it's really amazing how beautiful Hawaii is. I mean, you couldn't
think of anywhere more beautiful.

Anna : Excuse me, but Tom is on the phone.

Helen : Thanks Anna. This will only take a moment.

Anna : Can I bring you some coffee while she takes the call?
Kyle : No thanks. I'm fine.

Anna : She'll be just a moment.

Example 2: Interrupting to Join the Conversation

Marko : If we continue to improve our sales in Europe we should be able to

open new branches.

Stan : Could I add something?

Marko : Of course, go ahead.

Stan : Thanks Marko. I think we should open new branches in any case. If
we improve sales great, but if we don't we still need to open stores.

Marko : Thank you Stan. As I was saying, if we improve sales we can afford
to open new branches.

Sustaining talk
It is one thing to open a conversation, and it is another to keep it going. Here are a
number of suggestions for ways to keep things interesting and lively such that the
other person does not want to leave!

Here are some specific techniques that you can use to keep the conversation going.
  Ask their opinion : On any topic.

 Concern for the person : Empathy always works.

 Interest in the person : Ask about their lives.

 Linking : Connect what is said to other things.

 Plans for the future : Talk about what will or might happen.

 Progressive disclosure : Tell a bit about yourself at a time.

 Tell stories : Use the power of the storyteller.

 Topical events : Talk about news and recent events.

 Topic list : Build yourself a bag of interesting topics.

Notes and tips

Here are a few additional thoughts to keep in mind when you are sustaining a
conversation.

 Accepting criticism : Don't let it become an argument.

 Balanced conversation : Give and take in good measure.

 Enthusiasm for the subject : Infect them with your passion.

Also remember that the most powerful way of keeping a conversation going is
simply to ask questions that the other person is interested in answering, and
then doing a great deal of listening.
Paralinguistic Features

Paralinguistics are the aspects of spoken communication that do not involve

words. These may add emphasis or shades of meaning to what people say.
Some definitions limit this to verbal communication that is not words.

There are 7 elements ;

1. Intonation

2. Rhythm

3. Volume of voice

4. Pitch

5. Inflection/Vocal Variety

6. Quality

7. Intensity/Tone

1. Speed of voice

Paralinguistics is the part of communication outside of the words themselves –

the volume, speed, intonation of a voice along with gestures and other
non-verbal cues. Whenever there is confusion or stereotyping in cross-cultural
communication, paralinguistics is most often responsible. Paralinguistics can
be broken down into categories.

The following are the most important for the classroom.

• Gestures
• Facial expressions

• Eye contact

• Kinesics or body language

• Proxemics

participating in a group discussion:

1. Prepare

If you know what the topic of the discussion will be, there is a lot you can do to
prepare in advance. You can read round the topic to make sure you are aware of
the main issues and arguments, and spend some time deciding what your own
position is. If you can find any English-language audio or TV materials about the
topic, make sure you watch it! You can also do some vocabulary research around
the topic so that you can talk about it confidently. Make a list of the nouns, verbs
and adjectives that you think will be useful and practise their pronunciation. A lot
of online dictionaries have pronunciation help.

2. Listen

An effective discussion is one in which people listen to each other. Listening is a

very important discussion skill: make sure you listen and respond to what other
people have to say. A good discussion is one in which people share and talk about
different opinions and viewpoints. It's not a competition!

3. Don't dominate
Many people make the mistake of thinking that in order to be effective in a
discussion, they have to speak a lot. In fact, this isn't the case. In discussions,
quality is more important than quantity: in other words, what you say is often
much more important than how much you say. If you give other people a chance
to say what they think, and then respond with a polite, intelligent comment which
you are able to back up, you will gain the respect of your colleagues.

4. Back up your points

If you make a point in a discussion, you may be asked to explain or support it. You
can do this in a number of ways: by providing facts or statistics to support your
idea; by quoting expert opinion; by referring to your own experience or simply by
explaining why you said what you said. But make sure you are prepared to
support what you say, and try to avoid making 'empty' points.

5. Learn some useful phrases

There are lots of useful phrases that you can use in discussions. Here are just a
few of them:

~ Agreeing: You're absolutely right about that.

~ Disagreeing: I'm sorry, I don't see it that way at all.
~ Interrupting: Sorry, do you mind if I say something here?
~ Dealing with interruptions: Could I just finish what I'm saying?
~ Asking for an explanation: Would you mind telling us what exactly you mean by
that?
~ Asking for more information: Would you mind saying a little bit more about
that?
~ Adding more information: Another point I'd like to make is... There are many
more phrases you can learn and use to help you feel more confident in
discussions.

6. Be polite

The words argue and discuss in English have different meanings. People may get
angry and behave rudely or shout or get aggressive in an argument. In a
discussion, especially one with colleagues, it's important to stay calm and be
polite, even if you feel strongly about the topic under discussion. Using words like
please, thank you, I'd like to... May I...? Would you mind...? Could you...? Make
you sound polite and respectful.

7. Take / make notes

It's a good idea to have a pen and paper handy. You can jot down any useful or
important words or ideas that might come in handy later in the discussion - or
afterwards.

8. Speak clearly

Most people are happy to forgive a few grammar mistakes when they are talking
to a foreigner. However, they have much less patience when they can't
understand someone because they are talking far too quickly, or much too slowly,
or when they have poor pronunciation. So, practise your pronunciation and speak
clearly and confidently. If you need time to collect your thoughts, you could say
something like Hmmm... just let me have a minute to think about this. Or you
could say Could you just repeat that please? to get a bit more time to think.

9. Relax !

Remember, a discussion is not a competition: it's an opportunity to share ideas in

a positive environment. If you are relaxed, you will be more likely to feel confident
and enjoy the discussion - and the best way to make sure you are relaxed in a
discussion is to prepare for it! Preparing for a discussion can make the discussion
a lot easier. You'll be able to spend less time trying to think of vocabulary and
ideas, and more time listening to others and participating in the discussion. Speak
slowly and clearly, don't worry too much about little grammar mistakes, and
remember to listen and respond to other people.

Spoken Discourse
Spoken discourse is a vast subject, and little is known in hard statistical terms of the
distribution of different types of speech in people’s everyday lives. If we list at random a
number of different types of speech and consider how much of each day or weak we spend
engaged in each one, we can only roughly guess at some sort of frequency ranking other
than to say that casual conversation is almost certainly the most frequent for most people.
The rest will depend on our daily occupation and what sorts of contacts we have with others.
Some different types of speech might be:

 Telephone calls (business or private)

 Service counters (shops, tickets, offices)

 Interviews (jobs, journalistic in official setting etc.)

 Advantage of Spoken Language :
1. Spoken language takes in some context of situation and hence is supported by
extra-linguistic elements including all in the surrounding.

2. In a face to face interaction, the interlocutor can reformulate his/her language according to
the situation or taking into consideration the reaction shown by the other interlocutor.

3. While speaking, the speaker has available to him/her the full range of ‘voice quality’ efforts
as well as paralinguistic expressions.

4. In a conversation, non-linguistic events naturally contribute to spoken language and make it

lively.

5. Spoken language is only interactional.

6. Finally, spoken language contains interactive markers and planning ‘filers’ and thus makes
communication effective.

The following points to be know in mind before you speak.

a)Think before you speak.

b)Know your message

c)Know something about the audience.

d)Get the points quickly. Then, it is easier for the listener to remember what you said.

e)Plan and prepare in advance what you want to day and what you want to approach.
f)Use easy language and use simple words.

g)Give importance to the subject and Voice should be sweet.

h)Modulate your tones as per the topic.

i)Illustrate with example

Formal and Informal

Formal Speaking Skills

Refer to speeches and presentations delivered to an audience.These skills are

used in "serious" texts and situations.

Occasions for Formal Speaking

 Official Speeches

 Weddings and formal parties

 Presentations in the workplace

 Town meetings

 board of education meeting

 public forums

Informal Speaking Skills

Used in everyday conversations.

Occasions for Formal Speaking

 Class discussions
  Introductions

 Talking to a friend

 Giving directions

Formal
Basis of Distinction Informal Communication
Communication

A communication that
A communication that is
is made according to
made without following
pre-defined channels
Definition any pre-defined channels
set by organization is
is known as informal
called formal
communication.
communication

To exchange
information among To maintain the
Purpose various divisions or relationships inside and
departments of an outside of an organization
organization
 Classified into two
types: vertical, No classification. Can be in
Types
horizontal and any direction
diagonal

It frequently occurs
inside organization to Occurs less frequently in
Frequency perform internal communication
organizational environment
activities

More reliable as
Reliability backed by the Comparatively less
standard procedures

Speed Slow Very fast

As it is generally
written so, there is
Evidence No documentary evidence
always documentary
evidence

Secrecy can be Difficult to maintain the

Secrecy Level
maintained secrecy

Don’t rely on standard

Take much time and
Time and Cost procedures so requires less
cost
time and cost
 Necessary to achieve Necessary to improve
Importance
organizational goals personal relation