This presentation shares experienced English teachers’ practices in the use of CALL and multimodal resources to develop EFL students’ speaking skills. The findings draw from reflections and classroom observations of two teachers teaching a communication module to undergraduate EFL learners and are informed by Goh and Burns’ (2012) framework of the principles of teaching speaking. It illuminates how teachers paired CALL with focussed instruction to develop students’ verbal and non-verbal skills and enhance their communicative competence. The teachers taught pronunciation and engaged learners in small group and independent speaking practice. The pairing of classroom instruction with technological learning tools such as Microsoft Speaker Coach enabled students to tap its affordances to receive immediate and customized feedback and with teachers’ scaffolding, identify ways to address their challenges in articulating ideas clearly and coherently. The presentation concludes with a discussion of applications of technology-enriched instruction to develop speaking skills.
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Dr Robbie Lee Sabnani is a Lecturer and Program Leader in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her academic interests include speaking and listening, metacognition and the development of teacher expertise. Robbie publishes on education research and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches at conferences on language teaching and learning. Her recent publications include book chapters with Cambridge University Press and Springer as well as articles in international journals such as TESOL Quarterly and several others. Robbie was awarded the prestigious Dean’s Commendation for Research for her publications of outstanding quality. Robbie chairs and teaches on several courses on language enhancement and academic discourse skills. In recognition of her impactful contributions, Robbie received the distinguished Excellence in Teaching Commendation award.