## Time to speak!

## Speaking task 4 You’re not the only teacher dealing with conflicts. Discuss the following questions with a fellow teacher. Use your mind maps! Causes: What are some common causes of conflicts on the playground? Strategies for solving conflict: Can you think of a time when you experienced a conflict on the playground? How did you handle it? Ask questions: Can you tell me more…? Strategies for preventing conflict: What are some ways to prevent conflicts from happening in the first place? Ask questions: Have you thought about…?

## Speaking task 5 Uh oh. There they are: hot-headed and in tears. Two pupils approach you. Role play: Work in groups of three. Two of you are students and number three is the teacher. Select one of the cases below for the speaking task: Case 1: There’s snow! Children have a snowball fight. They laugh and have a great time. But then there are tears. A snowball lands on someone’s head. There’s some cold slush trickling down the back. Case 2: Children are playing in the sandpit. There are only a few spades. One child comes to you because she doesn’t have a spade, and the other children don’t want to give her one. Case 3: A child comes to you because he is not allowed to join a group of children playing. The other children are calling him names. Your own case: …. Choose one of the examples above or take one of your own examples. What was the conflict about? What was the cause of the conflict? What did the pupils say? What did you do and say? Or what would you do and say? Think about using sentences like "He said..." or "She said..." Think about your role play. Did you have all the words you needed? Make notes of words you needed and use this as a 'cheat sheet' in the next round. Change roles two more times. Select a different conflict, if you wish.

## Getting ready for speaking task 6

So many conflicts to solve all the time. Can they not do it themselves?

photo by Jeff-o-matic (Flickr)

Read this article: Trusting children to resolve conflicts in play

1. Read the text. Look up the words you don’t understand.
2. Summarise the text in 4 sentences. How does the text link to your experiences? To which degree do you agree with her approach?
3. Create your own step-by-step instruction for resolving playground conflicts using the input and vocabulary you have learned so far.

## Speaking task 6 You have read two texts and created your own step-by-step instructions. Now it’s time to practice speaking and for peer feedback with your classmates. You’re going to exchange ideas and experiences with playground duty. Describe thoroughly one conflict that you solved. What was the cause of the conflict? Which steps did you take to resolve the conflict? Use your step-by-step plan. Game for speaking practice: speed dates! Find another speaking partner in the group. You will have four minutes to talk about whether or not you can trust children to resolve their own conflicts. Share your opinion and support it with your own experiences and facts. After the four minutes, make notes of any words you needed or new ideas you got. Find a new speaking partner and repeat steps 2 and 3. Do this three or four times in total. ### For independent work using ChatGPT Write down in a few bullet points whether or not we can trust children to resolve their own conflicts. Give at least three arguments. After that, open ChatGPT and share your thoughts. Include your supporting arguments. ChatGPT prompt 1: I want to discuss why I think children can/cannot resolve their own conflicts. Please listen and estimate my CEFR level of speaking. After speaking prompt 1: Please estimate my CEFR level of speaking. After speaking prompt 2: What suggestions can you make to improve my vocabulary, based on my speaking? After speaking prompt 3: What suggestions can you make to improve my grammar, based on my speaking? After each prompt, make notes of the feedback ChatGPT gives. Then, write down in a few bullet points why you think children can/ cannot resolve their own conflicts. Give at least three arguments and repeat the speaking task. ChatGPT prompt 2: I will now repeat the speaking task. Please check if I have applied your suggestions correctly. Make notes of the feedback ChatGPT gives.