Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers) [Paperback]

Friederike Klippel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521278716 | ISBN-13: 978-0521278713 | Publication Date: April 26, 1985

This is a practical guide to communication activities in the language classroom, suitable for use with students from elementary to advanced level. Part I contains instructions for over 100 different exercises, including interviews, guessing games, jigsaw tasks, problem solving, values clarification techniques, mime, role play and story telling. For each activity, notes are also provided on the linguistic and educational aims, the level, organisation, time and preparation required. Part II contains the accompanying worksheets, which can be copied, making many of the activities instantly available for use in class. A comprehensive table of activities and an index are included for ease of reference.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This book is invaluable and informative in the numerous suggested activities and approaches that can be used to make learning English more meaningful and interesting.' VATME Newsletter

'This is a worthy addition to the Cambridge Handbooks series and should be on the shelf of every resources room.' EFL Gazette

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 26, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521278716
• ISBN-13: 978-0521278713
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun and fluency building for the language learner, August 14, 2000

By 

Chris Elvin (Kanagawa, Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers) (Paperback)

"Keep Talking" contains over one hundred different fluency-building activities for the language teacher to use either directly, or with modification, in her language classroom. Each activity has a well defined purpose, whether it be functional or structural, and is categorized according to language level, skill and student arrangement, stating clearly whether or not preparation is necessary, and how long the tasks typically take. The procedural instructions are lucid and relatively easy to convey to most groups of language learners, and there is also scope for variation for many of these language games, along with helpful comments on how make such activities fun and achievable. If one also includes the importance of making notes, and obtaining feedback, which Kippel suggests in the introduction, then it is clear just how useful this book is. Although I was at first confused as to why the author grouped his language learning activities under themes such as jigsaw task, interview, or story telling, rather than according to function or structure, I think his point is to focus on fluency and engendering a communicative atmosphere, rather than to actually teach anything or practice something too specific. The teacher's role, therefore, appears to be as a facilitator or classroom manager. In any case, the indexes include language structure (but not function) and level, making navigating relatively straight-forward. "Keep Talking" also contains about sixty worksheets which can be copied for use in class. Although I no longer use them in my teaching situation, I borrow ideas from them all the time. This book is not suitable for formal institutions, but otherwise, whether you are new to language teaching, or a seasoned pro, I feel fairly confident that there is something in this book for you.

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ESL Teacher's Best Friend, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers) (Paperback)

As an ESL teacher in China for the past 12 years, I have found this book a great help and, at times, a life-saver. "Keep Talking" is one of the best sources of English language games and activities for the ESL classroom. Logically arranged and with clear instructions on how to use, lanaguage level, time needed and aim of the activity, this book is a must for all ESL teachers, but especially for those teaching for a year or two overseas without strong formal ESL training. You won't be disappointed.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, December 8, 2003

By 

Robyn DiFalco "neginha" (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers) (Paperback)

This book is pretty good. It has photocopiable games at the back that I use fairly often. My only complaint about this book is that it isn't organized in a way that lets me find specific activities for practicing specific grammar points. It's organized by type of game (i.e. picture games, word games, acting, etc.) But all in all, it's pretty good