Teaching Speaking

 

Teaching Speaking

What is Speaking?

Speaking is ‘‘the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” (Chaney,1998:13). Brown (1994) states that speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information.

 

What Is "Teaching Speaking"?

*       Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns.
*       Use word and sentence stress, intonation and the rhythm.
*       Select appropriate words and sentences according to the audience, situation and subject matter.
*       Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
*       Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
*       Use the language quickly and confidently.

 

Why is speaking important?

Speaking is a crucial part of foreign language learning and teaching. Today's world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, learners can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance.

 

 

 

Suggestions for Teachers in Teaching Speaking

1. Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak;
2. Try to involve each student in every speaking activity;
3. Reduce teacher speaking time in class;
4. Indicate positive signs;
5. Do not correct students' pronunciation mistakes while they speak;
6. Involve speaking activities not only in class but also out of class;
7. Circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right track;
8. Provide the vocabulary beforehand to avoid problems in speaking.

 

 

 

Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills

1. Using minimal responses

Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response.

2. Recognizing scripts

Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges -- a script. Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions that are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow patterns or scripts.

Instructors can help students develop speaking ability by making them answer of the scripts for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and what they will need to say in response.

 

3. Using language to talk about language

Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they do not understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not understood them.

Instructors can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them that misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any type of interaction, whatever the participants' language skill levels.

Instructors can also give students strategies and phrases to use for clarification and comprehension check.

 

 

 

 

What are the problems of teaching speaking?

1. Students’ low level of English.
2. Students are shy to speak.
3. Motivation and encouragement.
4. Students are afraid of making mistakes.
5. Teachers do not pay enough attention to speaking.
6. Teachers do not give students opportunities to speak in real communicative activities inside the classroom.

 

 

 

Students are afraid to speak in the classroom

Start with choral repetition, followed by individual repetition. Call on the abler or less timid student first. Be patient with really timid individuals. Praise them for any effort, no matter how slight. Try to avoid continuous looking at their faces when they speak. Use paired activities.

 

 

SPEAKING STRATEGIES

1. Asking for clarification.
2. Asking someone to repeat something.
3. Using fillers (well, I mean, etc.) in order to gain time to process.
4. Using conversation maintenance cues (right, yeah, okay, hm, etc.)
5. Using paraphrases for structures one can’t produce.
6. Using mime and nonverbal expressions to clarify meaning.

 

 

TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING SPEAKING

1. Questions and answers (dialogues).
2. Improvisations.
3. Plays.
4. Readings.
5. Speeches
6. Small-group discussions.
7. Games.
8. Debates.
9. Group projects.
10. Field trips.

 

 

 

How to teach speaking

1. Communicative teaching.
2. Mistakes should be welcome.
3. Actions with speaking.
4. Activities imitating, answering verbal cues, interactive conversation, oral presentation.
5. Content of speaking should be practical and usable in real life.
6. Provide appropriate feedback, but don't interrupt communication.
7. Address both interactive fluency and accuracy.
8. Encourage strategies like asking for clarification, paraphrasing, gestures, and initiating ('hey',' so', 'by the way’)

 

 

 

Stages of teaching speaking

1. PRE SPEAKING

• Plan and organize for speaking.
• Choosing a speaking topic.
• Determining a purpose and audience.

2. WHILE SPEAKING

• Engaging student in interactions with peers and other audiences.
• Engage in formal and informal speaking situations.

3. POST SPEAKING

• Reflection about students' performance (critical thinking).
• Reflect upon performance.
• Giving feedback.

Reference: 

Summery of Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdulammer.