Publication Date

1999

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

First Advisor

Jack Millet

Abstract

This paper will explore an activity called “Timed Conversation” that I use in large classes of relatively unmotivated first and second year non-language majors in a Japanese university setting. Timed Conversation is designed to help students to communicate in native-like and incrementally longer sustained dialogues in the target language. In the activity, the students interact with many partners and practice conversations while practicing various language expressions. In every lesson over the course of a semester they speak in conversations about a number of topics for a set limit of time. The goal is to be able to speak more fluently in a mostly English conversation in incrementally longer timed conversations each week. This paper looks at the entire routine of setting up, conducting and following up Timed Conversation. We will also examine the role of the teacher, teacher and student feedback and the many components within Timed Conversation.

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | First and Second Language Acquisition | Higher Education and Teaching

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