[HUE]

I'm sure you've gone over the grammar and vocabulary, and have done a few model readings, so that everyone feels comfortable with the passage. For a dialogue, you can then pair up the students, and sit them back to back. Because they aren't looking at one another, they listen much more intently. The by-product is clearer and louder speech, in order to facilitate communication. I've done this activity quite often, especially with dialogues or role-plays of telephone conversations. For a monologue, give the listener tasks to complete (comprehension questions, follow-up questions to ask the speaker, etc.).

You can also put students in groups of four, and have one pair perform a dialogue (preferably one they have written), while the other pair listens. When done, the first pair asks comprehension questions. Switch and repeat. Again, because other students must actively listen, students usually speak louder and clearer. I'm sure small groups help the activity, too, as all eyes aren't trained on a single speaker.