Free Talking

What is a free talking language class? For Korean learners of English, it represents a higher level of attainment, lifting the learner out of the requirement to be a slave to a text. It is definitely a plateau of significant achievement, the reaching of which enables one to, presumably, discourse freely on any topic, not necessarily with great fluency, but to have reached a milestone of a kind of improvisatory level, to borrow a musical metaphor. The text no longer defines structures to be learnt, nor does it limit topics and activities. No, now the learner could be regarded as advanced and has at his or her disposal and adequate repertoire of phrases, vocabulary, structures, language resources to enter into conversation at will. Freely talking. But just consider the reality of the free talking class for a moment. Five days a week for an hour each day, the disparate group of varying ages, abilities, interests, outlooks gather to ...talk. About what? A teacher chosen and directed topic usually. Will the students respond? Do they know about the topic? Sometimes. Will they do some background reading to come prepared to "freely talk" about it? Not likely with an hour-long commitment every day and a full-time work schedule. The class time is their talking/learning time. So what does the teacher do? This one brings articles to read and discuss. Is reading the same as free talking? No, it isn't but the premise of a free-talking class just doesn't work in the existing arrangement so a tacit compromise is reached. A reading and discussion class is born.