Affect in speaking lessons

As a foreign language learner I would say that I was shy and usually embarrased to make mistakes in front of my classmates. Most of them had a very good level of English and didn't have many problems to communicate or to use new structures.I think that this interfered with my learning process the first two years because my professors were more concentrated on the product than the process; therefore, If I was not able to show what I was learning in the way they wanted I was ignored or got low marks. After some years, I was gaining more confidence and expressing my ideas in the second language was not a problem anymore. Working in pairs or groups with the guidance of the teacher was the most useful for me. Following models and rehersing before the presentation of a specific task was also of great help. I would say that the activities more related to fluency involving problem solving were more meaningful and helped me to avoid feeling examined every time I tried to speak.

Most of my classmates were different from me. They loved talking and were more proficient (due to different reasons such as, travelling, living in an English speaking country before, or attending bilingual schools). Their personality and accuracy didn't help much in my learning process, because most of the times, I felt that my English was too basic. Nowadays, I have  a mixture of students learning styles and personalities in my groups. Some of them feel that they know everything, so most of the activities are considered boring, in this way, the weaker ones are not very motivated.

To work in a mixed abilities class, it is important to offer a variety of activities and to get to know each learner. I think that it is necessary to have an idea of the student's need and cognitive style to decide which speaking activity would be more useful.