Plenty of language learners can hold their own in class but falter in real-world conversations. The issue often isn’t their language skills but the way speaking practice is structured. Here’s how to adjust speaking activities to help learners succeed when it counts.
Many learners spend years studying English yet still struggle to communicate effectively in unscripted situations. They may know grammar rules, recognise a wide range of vocabulary and perform well in controlled exercises. Yet, they freeze in meetings, have trouble organising ideas under pressure, or fail to convey their message with clarity and impact.
One reason for this is that speaking activities in language classrooms are often treated as opportunities for language practice rather than as chances to develop communication skills.
Learners are asked to ‘discuss’, ‘share ideas’ or ‘speak freely’ – but without sufficient support, rehearsal or a clear communicative focus. As a result, they may speak a lot without becoming more effective communicators.
A fresh perspective: Language and Communication Coaching
Language and Communication Coaching (LCC) combines principles from language teaching and acquisition, oral communication development and coaching. These principles form part of the broader approach I’ve developed through work with language learners, professionals and teacher training contexts over many years. Rather than seeing grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as isolated content to study, LCC treats them as tools learners use to achieve communicative outcomes.
The focus shifts from simply producing language to developing communicative competence in real communicative situations.
Here are three practical ways teachers can begin incorporating LCC principles into their lessons immediately.
1. Replace ‘free speaking’ with structured communicative outcomes
Many speaking tasks are too open-ended:
Learners are asked to ‘talk about’ a topic without a clear idea of what successful communication looks like. This often leads to repetitive language, uneven participation and low communicative challenge.
Instead, try designing speaking activities around a specific communicative outcome.
For example, rather than asking learners to ‘discuss stress at work’, ask them to:
- reassure a stressed colleague
- persuade someone to change a habit
- explain a difficult situation diplomatically
- lead a short discussion effectively
- tell a story in an engaging way
This immediately changes the demands of the task and encourages learners to think not only about language, but also about impact, organisation, clarity and delivery.
2. Build rehearsal into speaking work
In many classrooms, learners perform a speaking activity once and then move on.
However, communication development often happens during rehearsal rather than during first performance.
In LCC, rehearsal is central:
After an initial attempt, learners reflect on what was effective and where communication broke down. They then receive focused feedback before repeating the task with a specific communicative goal.
For example, learners might first complete a short simulation in pairs such as explaining a problem to a colleague or persuading someone to change plans.
After the first attempt, the teacher gives focused feedback on areas such as clarity, organisation of ideas or use of persuasive language. Learners then repeat the task with a specific goal, such as sounding more confident, reducing hesitation, or improving their presence during the interaction.
The second performance is often noticeably more effective than the first because learners are not simply ‘practising speaking’, but actively refining communication through rehearsal.
This process helps learners:
- retrieve and organise language more effectively
- develop fluency under pressure
- improve clarity and delivery
- notice communication patterns
- build confidence through repetition with purpose
Rehearsal also helps bridge the gap between ‘knowing’ language and being able to use it effectively in real time.
3. Give feedback on communicative impact, not only language
Teachers are often trained to focus feedback primarily on grammatical accuracy or vocabulary use.
While language accuracy matters, successful communication also depends on factors such as:
- clarity
- pacing
- listener engagement
- organisation of ideas
- tone
- confidence
- ability to respond under pressure
For example, a learner may produce grammatically accurate language while still sounding hesitant, disorganised or difficult to follow.
Communication coaching therefore expands feedback beyond language correction alone.
Instead of focusing exclusively on mistakes, teachers can also help learners reflect on questions such as:
- Was your message clear?
- Did you sound convincing?
- Did the listener remain engaged?
- Did you organise your ideas effectively?
- Which parts had the strongest communicative impact?
This helps learners develop greater awareness of communication as performance rather than simply language production.
Final thoughts
Many learners do not need more exposure to English. They need more guided opportunities to use English purposefully, under conditions that resemble real life.
By incorporating clearer communicative outcomes, rehearsal cycles and communicative impact feedback, teachers can begin helping learners move beyond practising English towards becoming more capable communicators.
That shift may prove increasingly important in a world where communication skills matter more than ever.
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If you enjoyed this article, you may also like these related reads:
Cut the Noise: Turning Clients into Clear Communicators – Connections
Wow Your Audience without Words: Top Tips from a Public Speaking Expert – Connections
Title image by: Volodymyr Hryshchenko, Unsplash
Barnaby Griffiths
Barnaby Griffiths is a language teacher trainer, communication coach and founder of Barnaby Griffiths Language Consultancy (BGLC). He is the author of the Language and Communication Coaching book series and creator of professional development courses focused on helping teachers develop learners’ real-world communicative competence. More information can be found at www.bglc.es.
