Having strong conversation skills is near the top requirement for job advancement, but many classes fail to emphasize on it because it is difficult to measure unlike writing. For example, the word “Massachusetts” can be pronounced differently but there is only one correct way to spell it. Organizations that offer English classes need to provide measurable results in order to receive funding so conversation skills take a backseat.
8centric enjoys a good challenge so we came up with our own measurements. We used various video techniques to record our students and play them back so the students can make improvements. We used motion tracking to count their hands and shoulders movements and voice recognition to count unneeded filler words. We provided feedback and subsequent recordings of them narrating the same story had shown positive results.
We created a curriculum filled with engaging activities. Below is a video of a student giving directions to the class on building a Lego structure. The students all have the same pieces and took turns listening and speaking. We would compare how our structures turned out and many had good laughs at their mistakes.
We served 52 students and 400+ classroom hours during the four years of this project.
