OER 3 Language and gender: learning and equality in participation

5.2 Facilitators – Activity 2

Speaking and asking for clarification

Have learners work in pairs.

1. Prepare a set of short readings, one for each pair. Choose readings that are sufficiently challenging for the level of your group: a short piece of news, information or non-fiction, a short story or a poem.

2a. In the pairs, have one learner read out the piece to their partner. Then have the pairs discuss these questions:

• What parts did you understand?
• What did you not understand?
• What prevented your understanding?

2b. Emphasise to learners that there are many acceptable and polite ways to say that they do not understand. It can be useful to say why we do not understand – this can help the speaker to slow down or explain in different words. Model different phrases to learners and invite them to practise, for example:

• I am sorry, but I did not understand because you speak very fast for me. Please could you say it again more slowly?
• I only understood the first part, please can you explain the second part?
• I do not know much about engineering, and I did not follow your explanation. Could you use less technical language, or more simple words?
• Could you explain that word?
• I understood up until the part where...

3. You can vary the activity by reading aloud to the group. You can decide to read quickly or slowly, loudly or quietly, or with different pronunciations. Then have them discuss what they did and didn’t understand and why.

4. Acknowledge that it can be challenging to ask for clarification, and sometimes it can feel embarrassing, but when a lack of understanding is covered up, students do not learn. When students ask questions it shows they are willing to learn!