Hey there, machoman!
Whoa! So sorry to hear that you have to deal with that! I was just about to detail what I do over the 2 weeks for each lesson, then after reading your next response, found that it's basically the same thing! My co-teachers have never complained, but actually have complimented me on what I've been doing. Clearly your other co-teacher(s) are fine with it too, so I don't really understand the problem.
Maybe this difficult co-teacher needs to realize that many/most middleschoolers are too embarassed/tired/unmotivated/uninterested to participate, while others seriously don't understand what is going on or have the language ability to respond. This really does not reflect your teaching style but has so much to do with the student's themselves. Would this co-teacher be happier if you just got the students to repeat, repeat, repeat? This would bore them half to death and they probably would still not participate.
Personally, I don't really think the listening activities are as bad as they may seem. To begin, you can ask the students to describe what they see in the picture, what they think is going on, etc. Then they listen, get the correct answer, and like you mentioned, ask extra questions on top of that. I usually get them to write some sort of sentence that relates to the key expression as well. For example, in Grade 3, Lesson 8, the key expression is, "It would be nice to..." so for Listen In A, I'd get them to fill in, "It would be nice to exercise every day and save the planet." I am really confused as to why your co-teacher thinks writing things down in class is pointless. Ok, so maybe many students will never look at their notes again, but it serves this function if they do check it, and they also seem to stay more focussed when they have something they need to fill out. You can even check their book/handout at the end of class, and keep those students behind who haven't done anything.
I think I'm getting somewhat off topic becasue your main question was about getting the students to speak more. Perhaps begin each class with a question for them to answer, or show a Youtube clip and get their opinions. As for the rest of the class, it seems like you're doing what you should be!
It sounds to me like you're doing a great job and just dealing with a difficult co-teacher. Have you ever asked her for any concrete ideas on how to get the students talking more? If he/she has no ideas, can he/she really expect you to come up with something?
Best of luck!!!
