1. SPEED COUNTS
One trick that is helping my students is speed. Many of my students are at a level where they are comfortable studying at home and taking their time to get it right. So they do well in school. But have difficulty in the real world and switching from using what they know going slow and comfortably to under pressure in real life. I had high school English students who could pass English tests that are difficult for me, but say “Hello” to them and they fail miserably. They panic and melt.
The trick is after the listener understands something, speed it up. Add pressure to come up with the answers faster. This is not for a grade. This is to improve everyday communication skills in both listening and interpreting and responding. Try it. At the end of my beginner classes I always ask a student what time it is and then push them to hurry up and tell me.