120 hr. TEFL Course Module 6-Listening (Pt.8 Teaching Students to Paraphrase)

Module 6: Listening

6.2.2 Teaching students to paraphrase

1. Now that your students are getting a little more comfortable with paraphrasing, give them text to work with. You can still have them in pairs, but this time have one student read the text to the other (once again, also practicing reading and speaking skills), and have the other student paraphrase. Keep the texts simple enough so that the focus of the activity is on paraphrasing skills.
2. As the students seem to really get the hang of paraphrasing, ask them to do it in front of the class. Bring a pair up to the front to showcase the activity the class has already been working on. Let students in the audience critique the performances. Remember that this step will only really work once the students are comfortable with the process.
3. If you really want to extend the assignment and challenge your students, take the next step by giving them more and more complex texts. Even once they start to master the language, this is a good skill to practice.

Paraphrasing is a great skill to practice even if there is no listening component. Students can also learn a lot by reading a text silently and paraphrasing it. Remember that anything that helps your students gain fluency in the English language is worth doing.