How to Develop the Conversational Powers of Pupils
By Flora Elmer
In order to be a good speaker, one must primarily be brimful of thoughts that he wishes to express. Yet he may be well stocked with excellent ideas and not have the vocabulary or fluency of speech to enable him to make his conversation attractive and interesting. Children from American homes, if not of a timid nature, have considerable conversational ability when they enter school. Most of the pupils in our large cities are of foreign parentage, however, and work in language must necessarily proceed very slowly. Quite recently I saw a bright young teacher tell a long story to an infant class. She related her story charmingly, holding the little ones spellbound. But, alas! when she called for repetitions, or rather reproductions, none were forthcoming. I could not have repeated the story as interestingly as she did myself, and the little cherubs about us, no doubt, realized their lack in the power of expression. Finally, after much coaxing, one fair-haired maiden volunteered to reproduce the story, and succeeded admirably. “That is the way,” said the teacher, turning to me. “Ada, or John, and possibly Harold, will tell a story for me, but I can’t get the rest to talk. They won’t even try.” I have gone through the same discouragement, always hoping that by and by more would attempt to imitate Ada and John. This does happen sometimes, but experience has taught me that all must have something to say in the language lesson. The work must be planned to benefit the majority. “From the simple28to the complex,” this is the most vital principle of all pedagogy. Therefore, proceed slowly, step by step. Begin a lesson thus:— To-day, children, I want each one of you to tell me something about your baby at home, something interesting, something that I should like to know and you want to tell. Quickly will come responses:—
Clara.—“Our baby can walk.”
Bella.—“Our baby can laugh.”
Hans.—“Our baby has blue eyes.”
Carl.—“Our baby has got two legs.” Again, Carl.—“Our baby has two legs.”
Gretchen.—“Our baby sleeps all the time.” Every child will respond, if only to say: “We have no baby at our home.” On the following days talk about papa, mama, teacher, school, home, etc. Every child begins his sentence with “Our house,” which soon becomes monotonous, so I suggest: “Let me see how many of you can tell me something about your home and not begin with ‘Our house.’” Now come sentences like:—
The roof of our house is made of shingles.
The street-car passes our house.
We live in a two-story house. Before taking the regular reading lesson, we always read the picture. It tells us so much if we but stop to look. Picture stories furnish excellent opportunities. Give the boy in the picture a name. Also name the dog. Now let John tell a story about the child and dog. Irma may then give her version of the same. This brings the imagination into play, tests the child’s handling of words, but makes no tax on his memory. During these early lessons I would entertain the children with stories, but as yet I would require no reproductions. They will come in due time, but will be very, very short for many weeks. In order to be able to reproduce a story, the pupils must have no difficulty in grasping the thought, and the incidents in the narrative must be of such a nature that one step suggests the following. Do not correct mistakes in these first steps. Lead the child to speak up lively, and do not hamper him in any way. Later begin by calling attention to just one mistake. If one mistake is pointed out, it will probably make some impression on him; if two or three are corrected, the pupil becomes disgusted, and will pay no attention to any. After considerable facility in reading has been attained, pupils should reproduce many paragraphs that they read silently. Sometimes let the paragraph be read orally, but as many synonyms inserted as possible. Sometimes change the noun from singular to plural—verbs and pronouns correspondingly. Again change the name “Frank” to “Ella,” then change the gender of all pronouns. Do not interfere with a narrative because some minor detail has been omitted; be content if the general thread of the story is continuous. By the time the children have reached the fifth grade, require a great deal of topical work in geography and grammar. It will be exceedingly difficult at the outset, but step by step you will eventually succeed. It has been my experience when teaching a fifth-grade geography class, that the first attempts at description were more than disastrous. After we have finished our study of the Amazon River, I expect a child to tell a great deal about it. Perhaps the first pupil called upon may rise and say: “The Amazon River rises in the Andes, flows east, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.” Then he may hesitate, look about, and expect me to ask some ten or twelve questions before I can pump out of him everything that he knows about the Amazon. This we are prone to call leading out a child. This is very good at times, but is much overdone by inexperienced teachers. The time comes when every child must be able to stand on his own feet and tell what he knows. I often make this remark: “Who can talk for five minutes on the ‘Amazon River’?” Perhaps the first effort will give me a one-minute recitation, and the next two, which will generally satisfy me. It isn’t, you understand, the time he speaks, but the fact that he has learned to tell what is in his mind—unburdened his soul—and poured out all he knows on the subject under consideration. At all times insist on complete sentences, whether the lesson be language, writing, arithmetic, or singing. Thus language is correlated with the other subjects in the curriculum. In grammar, after the subject of nouns has been taught, I expect a child to begin a recitation on nouns thus:—
“A noun is a name; as, boy, John, desk, river, book. All nouns are divided into two classes, common and proper. A common noun is a name given to a class of objects; as, book, chair, boy, dog, table. A proper noun is a special name given to a person, place, or thing; as, John, Clara, Missouri River, Wisconsin, Christianity. Every proper noun must begin with a capital letter. Nouns are also divided into the two classes called singular and plural. A singular noun—at this point I would call upon another pupil to continue. After a little practise of this kind the children become independent and interesting speakers. They daily gain confidence in themselves. If found difficult at the beginning, do not grow discouraged; remember my first answer to the topic, “Surface of Mexico,” generally brings this remark: “The surface of Mexico is rocky.” It is not a simple matter to describe intelligently so large a portion of land. When the children have a good vocabulary at their command, call attention to the fact that the repetition of the same word makes conversation monotonous. Show the children how to avoid using “said he” too frequently by saying, “replied the lad,” “was the father’s remark,” “said the boy thoughtfully,” or the like. Forbid the use of “and then,” “after that,” etc. Occasionally have an informal conversational chat with the children. “Who has something he would like to tell us?” This question will bring forth many spontaneous remarks that will help the teacher get close in touch with her little charges. Our most fascinating speakers are not always those who cling rigidly to form. Grammar is the least necessary of the four essentials to good conversation. These four essentials are, thoughts, words, style, grammar. Let it be our aim in the language lesson, son, therefore, to implant ideas; arouse thoughts; these to be clothed in a vocabulary of choice words pleasingly uttered with an originality of style, simple, forceful, and irresistibly charming.—Flora Elmer, in “Successful Teaching.”