In Mr. John Barker’s Year 9 Supplemental English class, we have been reading extracts from a collection of short stories featuring the character of James Bond. These stories were written over 60 years ago and include some more complex vocabulary and more sophisticated descriptive/narrative techniques than many students may have encountered previously.
As one of the stories we read focused on an action scene, a task was set for students to write a short story (or part of a story) featuring one- a fight, playing a sport, an accident, etc. The students were to be graded according to how well they presented their story in front of the class. They had to speak in interesting, non-monotonous ways, keep eyes contact with their audience, and convey a sense of excitement.
The students seemed to produce some good attempts at storytelling, though maybe next time they should spend more time practicing, especially in not using monotone voices. Using a range of inflections is a part of English which many students find difficult to succeed in, though it is something which is looked at in more advanced speaking exams, such as IELTS.
