An ESL Oral Communication Lesson: One Teacher\u27s Techniques and Principles

This article presents a set of techniques and principles for teaching English as a second language (ESL) oral communication that is designed to prepare ESL students as successful participants in the introductory courses in communication. The discussion is divided into two major sections: a detailed description of an authentic classroom lesson and a concise listing of thirty techniques and principles derived from the lesson. It is widely acknowledged that ESL speakers sometimes experience debilitating degrees of anxiety/apprehension during oral communication lessons which may results in resistance to traditional methods of instruction. Aiming to address this concern, the article presents a way of minimizing ESL students\u27 anxiety/apprehension levels by highlighting the use of dyadic interactions. It illustrates a non-traditional classroom structure that encourages learners\u27 active participation