Teaching Speaking

Brwa Rasul Sharif

What is speaking?
According to Chaney, speaking is the process of
building and sharing meaning through the use of
verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of
contexts.
Speaking is an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns &
Joyce, 1997).
Speaking is the action of conveying information or
expressing ones thoughts and feelings in spoken
language.

The purpose of speaking

1.

Transactional function: (to buy something

and so on)

2.

Interpersonal function: ( to be sociable, to

express our feelings or opinion, and so on)

Which aspects of your English do you

most want to improve?
The

following statements are English learners

response to the question:
This is the problem, I have been learning
English long, but I cant speak, I understand
the conversation but I cant answer
immediately as I like.
The problem is to speak English with other
people face to face. I cant find words. I
always use the same sentences.

 L1 use
Low participation of individuals
Finding things to say
Shyness and inhibitions

4
3
2
1

Some problems that students may face.

How to design and administer

procedures to get students to talk:
The
The

students should actually talk a lot.

language used should be of an acceptance

level.

Fluency and Accuracy

Is

fluency the ability to speak fast?

- Speed is a factor but it is by no means the
only-or even the most important-one. Research
suggests that pausing is equally important.
Fluency: the features which give speech the
qualities of being natural and normal,
including native-like use pausing, rhythm,
intonations, stress, rate of speaking, and use of
interjections and interruptions.

 Accuracy:

the learners need to produce a

message that is accurate enough in terms of
word order, word endings, pronunciation, and
so on for the listener to understand.

Controlled activities generally focus on the

learners producing language accurately, while
less controlled activities focus on developing
the learners fluency.

Speaking in the classroom

In the classroom we need to get our learners to
practice both production and interaction.
1) Drills
a. Substitution drills
b. Transformation drills
c. Functional-situational drills
2) Pair work and group work

3) Interactive activities:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Information gap.
Discussion activities
Role plays
Games
Informal interaction

Feedback and Correction

Feedback:

Learners need encouragement and

they need to know when they are making
mistakes that cause other people not to
understand or misunderstand them.

Correction:

It is more difficult to decide when

to correct. Teachers can choose to correct as
soon as the mistake is made or at the end of
the activity or class.

The advantage of immediate correction is

that the learner can correct the error and use
the corrected language for the rest of the
activity.
The disadvantage is that it can break the
flow of communication and possibly demotivate or embarrass the learner.

How can we correct learners?

Listening to facilitate speaking.

Brown

and her colleagues found that prior

experience as a listener helps speakers
improve their performance as a speaker.
There are two reasons for this findings:
1. In the first place, being a listener gives
learners models to deploy when acting as a
speaker.
2. And being a hearer helps the learner
appreciate the difficulties inherent in the
task.

Writing to facilitate speaking.

Writing can act as a way of easing the transition
from learning to using. Learners tend to rely on a
very narrow repertoire of memorized expressions
in face to face interaction.
a. Dictation
b. Paper conversations
c. Computer mediated chat
d. Rewriting

Types of spoken tests

Interviews
Live monologues
Recorded monologues
Role-plays
Collaborative tasks and discussions

Conclusion
Practice makes if not perfect at least
fluent speaker, therefore speaking activities are
the fundamental for speaking. I can say
whoever knows speaking a language, it means
they know the language, and vice-versa.

References

Florez, M. C. (1999, 06 00). Improving Adult English Language Learners'

Speaking Skills. Retrieved from Ericdigests.org:
http://www.ericdigests.org/2000-3/adult.htm
Harmer, J. (1998). How to Teach English. Harlow: Addison Wesley
Longman Limited.
Lindsay, C., & Knight, P. (2006). Learning and Teaching English. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
New Oxford English Dictionary. (2012). Retrieved from
www.oxforddictionaries.com:
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/speaking
Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching & Learning. Boston:
University of Hong Kong.
Richards, J. C., Schmidt, R., Kindricks, H., & Kim, Y. (2002). Longman
Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited.
Thornbury, S. (2005). How to teach speaking. Harlow: Pearson Education
Limited.
Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.