Happy Fri-Yay from Literacy Connexus everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and getting settled into the school year, or making headway in your preparations for the Fall.

Today I want to share a short activity idea that’s perfect for extending English practice beyond the classroom. Voicemails! Voicemails? Yes, voicemails.

I think that one of the hardest things to do in another language is speak over the phone, and many English language learners agree. There are no facial or body language clues to grasp, you can’t point or demonstrate things to communicate, people tend to speak quickly on the phone, and none of that even touches on possible technical difficulties like bad signal or muffled voices. In fact, a lot of beginning English students won’t even answer the phone if they don’t know who’s calling because the thought of having to speak English on the phone is both scary and stressful.

While the best way to work on this is practice, and a voicemail isn’t exactly a phone conversation, it is a great gateway to being comfortable using English over the phone. Students have to place the call – a familiar action, understand the voicemail instructions in English – a little listening practice, and then leave a voice message in English – a bit of speaking practice. Because they are not having an actual conversation, it’s low stress and they have the chance to practice exactly what they want to say as many times as they need to beforehand.

Another advantage to this activity is that it can easily be used with any topic. Learning about personal information? Have students practice leaving their name, reason for calling, and a callback number. Learning about education or school? Have students practice leaving a voicemail asking for more information about an English class. Learning about food or restaurants? Have students practice ordering their favorite meal over the phone. Learning about jobs and employment? Have students practice leaving a customer a voicemail or inquiring about a job. Learning about the Bible? Have students ask a question about the scripture over the phone. The possibilities are endless.

Another great thing about these, is that you can also use the voicemails in class as learning material. Have students edit their mistakes (anonymously of course), compare messages, or find things in common. Or use the voicemails to gauge students understanding of the lesson, are they using the proper word order, can you understand them, are they using their vocabulary words properly? This activity can be done throughout the year to practice English, gauge student comprehension, and increase student comfort and confidence using the phone in English.

Would you try this activity in your classroom? Or do you have another activity you’d like to share? Let us know at info@literacyconnexus.org. We’d love to hear from you! Until next time, blessings and happy teaching.