Teaching the Productive Skills

Speaking is the skill by which learners are most frequently judged and through which they make and lose friends. It is the vehicle par excellence of social solidarity, social bonding, of professional advancement and of business. It is also the medium through which much language is learnt. (Bygate, 1987)

Styles of Communication Assertive: it is how we naturally express ourselves when our self-esteem is intact, giving us the confidence to communicate without games or manipulation Aggressive: It always involves manipulation by means of guilt or intimidation and control tactics. We simply want our needs met Passive: It is based on compliance and hopes to avoid conflict at all costs Passive-Aggressive: It avoids direct confrontation but attempts to get even through manipulation

Why is speaking important? Because: It is used for performing basic transactions It is used for establishing and maintaining social relations

Areas of Knowledge in Speaking Mechanics: pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary Functions: transaction and interaction Social and Cultural Rules and Norms: turn- taking, rate of speech, length of pauses, relative roles of participants

The Goal in a Speaking Lesson The goal is communicative efficiency. Learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary, and to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communicative situation.

How to achieve communicative efficiency Instructors can use a balanced activities approach that combines language input, structured output and communicative output

Elements Language input: it comes from teacher’s talk, listening activities and the language heard and read outside of class. It could be content oriented (information), or form oriented ( language use). Structured output: it focuses on the correct form. Ss are expected to use a set of given forms in the right way. It emphasizes accuracy development. Communicative output: it’s main purpose is to complete a task. Language is a tool, not an end and it focuses on fluency development.

Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills Using minimal responses Recognizing scripts Using language to talk about language

Structured Output Activities Information Gap Activities Jigsaw Activities They always call for discussion and negotiation, although under controlled settings

Communicative Output Activities Role plays Discussions

To Succeed with Role Plays Prepare carefully Set goal or outcome Use role cards Brainstorm Keep groups small Give time to prepare Be present as a resource Allow ss to work at their own levels Do topical follow-up Do linguistic follow-up

To Succeed with Discussions Prepare students Offer choices Set goal or outcome Use small groups Keep it short Allow ss to participate in their own way Do topical follow-up Do linguistic follow-up

Discussion Questions Why do we need to foster speaking? What characteristics should speaking activities have? How and why should speaking tasks be evaluated? Which are the 3 main types of speaking activities? How can we motivate our ss to speak for communication?

Activity 1 Confess a Secret. Create a character who has a secret to confess, but who is afraid to confess it. Write a diary or journal entry that your character would write in regards to: 1. how she or he considers the secret, 2. why it needs to be confessed, 3. who will be affected if the secret is known 4. why she or he is afraid the secret could come out 5. his decision to tell or not the secret

Activity 2 Historical Fiction Choose a historical figure whom you know something about. Choose one of the following sentence beginnings below, and complete the sentence for your figure. Compose a short story in first-person, speaking as the historical figure where you explain the figure's wish, dream, or fear. The thing that I regret most about my life is _____________________. If I could accomplish one more thing, I would ___________________. The accomplishment that I am proudest of is ___________________. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would choose ______________. The saddest moment in life was when ________________________. My favorite childhood memory is _____________________________. The thing that scares me the most is _________________________.

Who dares to teach, must never cease to learn John Cotton Dana