Practical tools, activities, and resources
to guide instruction
Instruction
Instructional Activities to Support the Development of Adult Oral English Proficiency
ESL teachers can use formative and standardized assessments of student oral language proficiency to guide learners to practice listening and speaking in the structured environment of the classroom. A balanced approach to build listening and speaking skills will include activities related to listening comprehension, language complexity, and communication.
In this module section, we will share guidance for instructional activities as they pertain to these three components of oral proficiency. Look to the sidebars in each section for specific activities to use in your classrooms. On the last page of this section, you will find complete activity packets that you can download with more ideas for developing students’ speaking and listening skills.
A note for BEST Plus users: BEST Plus is not directly correlated to any adult ESL curricula or instructional materials. To align instruction with this assessment’s focus on conversational communication, teachers should incorporate the types of speaking and listening activities that focus on listening comprehension, language complexity, and communication, featured in the instructional activity packets shared here. Emphasis should be placed on providing practice with a variety of question types, content areas, and conversational interactions that focus on fluency and meaning. To learn more about the question types, content areas, and other characteristics of BEST Plus, please view the BEST Plus FAQ Slideshow.
