The Silent Partner in Speaking Part 3
In a Speaking Part 3 practice, Priya and Tom have two minutes to discuss a task. Priya speaks for about 80% of the time, interrupts twice, and answers her own questions. Tom produces three one-word turns and one 6-word turn. Individually, both have strong grammar and range; the examiner's notes say 'interaction limited by dominance'. Their exam is in three weeks. The teacher has 20 minutes of class time for speaking practice per lesson.
1. Which speaking subscale is most at risk, and why is it not enough to tell Priya to 'speak less'?
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The clearest risk is Interactive Communication, for both candidates. Priya initiates and sustains, but she does not invite, respond to, or build on Tom's contributions; interruption and answering her own questions reduce interaction quality. Tom's one-word turns show he is not developing or linking contributions, so he also fails to demonstrate interactive competence.
'Speak less' is insufficient because the target is not word count. Priya could speak less and still fail to nominate, respond, or negotiate. The relevant behaviours are turn-taking, inviting a partner, responding to a partner's point, and developing a topic jointly. Tom also needs practice in claiming a turn and extending beyond one word. The judgement call is to coach the pair's interaction pattern, not to punish fluency.
2. What should the teacher do in the 20 minutes per lesson, and what common fix should be avoided?
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Use the 20 minutes for role-conditioned practice:
- 5 min: model three moves - 'What do you think?', 'That's a good point, but...', 'Shall we go back to...'.
- 10 min: run the same task twice. In round 1, Priya must invite Tom after every contribution; in round 2, Tom must start one idea and Priya must respond to it before adding her own.
- 5 min: record or transcribe 60 seconds and count who initiates, who responds, and how many turns build on the partner.
Avoid the common fix of separating the pair or replacing Tom with a stronger speaker. That may raise the fluency of one candidate but removes the exact interaction problem both need to solve. Also avoid telling Tom simply to 'be more confident'; he needs concrete turn-entry phrases and repeated low-stakes practice.