1. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Unit 9 Teaching Speaking Aims of the unit: Through learning and discussion,students will get to know: 1. the main characteristics of spoken language 2. principles for teaching speaking 3. typical types of speaking activities 4. How to organize speaking activities?

2. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 1. What are the characteristics of spoken language? Speaking is a skill, just like swimming, driving a car, or playing ping-pong. Too often, in the traditional classroom, the learning of English has been relegated to linguistic knowledge only, e.g. knowledge of vocabulary and grammar rules, with little or no attention paid to practising language skill.

3. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Characteristics of spoken language Spontaneity Time-constraint

4. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Spontaneity In most situations, people do not plan ahead of time what they are going to say. The fact that speech is spontaneous means that it is full of false starts, repetitions, incomplete sentences, and short phrases. Should we expect the students to produce complete sentences in language classroom?

5. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Time-constraint The students must be able to produce unplanned utterances in real time; otherwise people will not have the patience to listen to them. Which of the following activities do you think would help to prepare students for real life speech in English?

6. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Reading aloud (needs to be supplemented with more realistic activities as the level increases). Giving a prepared talk (may be used for advanced level) Learning a piece of text or dialogue by heart more realistic activities as the level increases). Interviewing someone, or being interviewed (Yes. It helps to prepare students for real life speech.) Doing a drill (needs to be supplemented with more realistic activities as the level increases).

7. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Also students must consider whom they are talking to and be able to check if they are being understood. e.g.

8. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Kelly: Hey Jack, how’s the project coming along? Jack: What project? Kelly: The one you and Craig are working on. Jack: Craig and I? Kelly: Yeah, for the science fair. Jack: Oh, that project. It’s finished. I’m so busy working on another project for my economics class that I almost forgot about it. I hope it’ll work like we want to. Kelly: Oh, I’m sure it will.

9. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 2.Principles for teaching speaking Teacher asks the students to read the part from P159 to 160 and then gets them to think about how they can improve speaking teaching. Balancing accuracy-based with fluency-based practices Contextualising practice Personalising practice Building up confidence Maximising meaningful interactions Helping students develop speaking strategies Making the best use of classroom learning environment to provide sufficient language input and practice for the students

10. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 3. Designing speaking tasks One important consideration: Proficiency level of the students (challenging but not too difficult.) If the task is too easy or too difficult, the students may be demotivated.

11. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Common characteristics in successful speaking tasks Maximum foreign talk Even participation High motivation Right language level

12. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Maximum foreign talk –Try to avoid students’ talking in the mother tongue, and avoid too much Teacher Talk. Even participation –Try to avoid outstanding students’ dominating discussions. Try to guarantee equal opportunities for students of different levels. High motivation –Interesting topic, and clear objective. Make sure that the task is in line with the students’ ability

13. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Right language level –The task must be designed so that the students can complete the task successfully with the language that they have. Otherwise the task will become frustrating and the students are likely to give up or revert to the native language.

14. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 4. Type of speaking tasks It is important to provide the students with a variety of speaking activities because: A variety of speaking activities will enable students to cope with different situations in reality. Variety helps keep motivation high. Variety may suit students of different learning styles.

15. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING There are two major purposes for listening. One is to get information and the other is for social reasons. Since speaking is reciprocal of listening, the same is true of speaking.

16. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING For beginning students, pre-communicative activities are also necessary, which are more structural and allow the learner to practise the forms of the language. However, we should make speaking tasks as communicative as possible.

17. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Some types of speaking activities Controlled activities Semi-controlled activities Information-gap activities Dialogues and role-plays Activities using pictures Problem-solving activities Other speaking activities

18. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Information-gap activities Compare 2 activities: Activity A

19. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Activity B: Use the same pictures, but cut them up, paste them on cards, and give each student a different picture.

20. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Directions: Ask your partner what is in his/her picture. Fore example: Student A: What’s in your picture? Student B: There is __________. What’s in your picture? Student A: There is __________.

21. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Obviously the second activity includes an information gap that the first one does not. Information-gap activities can be designed at a very elementary level, so that communicative practice can be done from almost the very beginning of foreign language learning.

22. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Dialogues and role-plays Two problems with most dialogues in textbooks: Not authentic or natural. The natural speech of native speakers is often phrases or sentence fragments full of pauses, false starts, and repetitions. The way most dialogues are taught. Teachers ask students to memorize dialogues by heart.

23. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Example 2: Using cue cards Card A You are talking to a new classmate. Begin the conversation with a greeting. 1. Greet your partner. 2. Ask your partner which school he/she went to before. 3. Ask your partner if he/she lives near the school. 4. Suggest you go shopping together after school.

24. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Card B You are a new student at this school. One of your classmates greets you. 1. Greet your partner back. 2. Answer the question. 3. Answer the question. 4. Respond to the suggestion.

25. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Factors that affect the success of role-plays (Ur, 1996:133) Teacher’s enthusiasm; Careful instructions; Clear situation and roles; Making sure that the students have the language they will need to carry out the role- play.

26. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Activities using pictures In groups of 3 or 4: A secretary is appointed to mark a tick for each sentence said. Check which group has got most ticks.

27. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Problem-solving activities You are on a committee that is in charge of deciding what to do with a small amount of money that has been donated to improve your school. You have a list of things to do, but you only have enough money for 5 of the items. You must reach a consensus (agreement) in your group on which 5 items you will spend the money. Here is the list:

28. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Repaint 3 classrooms. Paint lines for games on the playground. Install lights that automatically turn off to save electricity. Buy curtains for 8 classrooms. This will make it easier to see the OHP (Overhead Projector) when the room is darker. Buy sound absorption panels for 2 classrooms. This will make the classroom quieter so it will be easier to hear each other. Buy an air conditioner for one classroom. Buy 4 new basketball hoops for the playground. Buy 15 young trees to be planted for shade around the edge of the playground. Buy fans for 6 classrooms. Remodel bathroom faucets so students can wash their hands using hot and cold water. Add soap dispensers and hand dryers to bathrooms.

29. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Problem solving activities require a higher level of language proficiency, but the difficulty levels can be controlled somewhat by the topic. In problem-solving activities, “participants tend to become personally involved; they begin to relate the problem as an emotional issue as well as an intellectual and moral one” (Ur 1996:128).

30. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Other speaking activities Find someone who … e.g. Sand up and walk around the room. Ask your classmates what they like to do. Remember, you must speak in English only!

31. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Find someone who …Name likes to swim likes to play basketball likes to play badminton likes to play tennis likes to play football likes to play volleyball likes to roller skate likes to ice skate …

32. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING A model conversation can be provided. A: Hi, Tom. B: Hi, Sherry. A: I’m conducting a survey for our school newspaper. Could you tell me, do you like to swim? B: Yes, I do. In fact, usually go swimming once or twice a week. A: Great. Would you mind signing your name here for me please? B: Sure, there you are. A: thanks a lot. See you around. B: See you.

33. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Bingo activities (This seems to be practising listening rather than speaking if the words are called out by the teacher.)

34. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Change the story Step 1: Form groups of 3-5; Step 2: The group together makes a list of about 20 random verbs. e.g. go, sleep, teach, learn, jump, fall, look (at), hear, laugh, sing, etc. Step 3: Each one writes a short story, and underlines all the verbs in the story; e.g.

35. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Yesterday I saw a cat. She was running in the street. She had a fish in her mouth. A dog was running after the cat. The dog wanted to eat the fish too. Then the cat climbed up a tree. The dog stopped under the tree. He could not climb the tree. At last the cat ate the fish.

36. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Step 4: Each one read his/her story, but pauses at every verb. The group then supplies one of the random verbs into that slot. The results can be very funny. A possible version may be:

37. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Yesterday I taught a cat. She was sleeping in the street. She learned a fish in her mouth. A dog was laughing after the cat. The dog fell to hear the fish too. Then the cat sang up a tree. The dog jumped under the tree. He could not heard the tree. At last the cat looked at the fish.

38. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING No specific responses The teacher calls out a verb and students hold up a letter card each and rush to spell a word. (This seems to be practising listening rather than speaking.)

39. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 5. Organising speaking tasks Advantages of using group work: More opportunities. As compared with activities for the whole class, group work enables students to talk a lot because it increases the time for each student to practise speaking in one lesson. More motivation. Group work helps students avoid losing their face in front of a whole class, and thus it makes students courageous to speak.

40. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING More authenticity. Speaking in a small group is more natural than speaking in a large group, because the latter is usually more formal and requires preparation. Different levels. Students can naturally perform to their abilities more readily in small groups than in a whole class, i.e. students of different levels can participate.

41. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING More cooperation. Small group work helps students learn to work cooperatively and it helps develop interpersonal skill – fostering development of tolerance, mutual respect and harmony.

42. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 6.Conclusion The most important aspect of preparing students to speak in real life is to give them as many opportunities as possible to practise producing unplanned, spontaneous and meaningful speech under time pressure.

43. A COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Homework 1. What are the main characteristics of spoken language? 2. What are the characteristics of successful speaking activities? 3. What are the main types of speaking activities?