Chapter SIX.teacHING.speaking

8/13/2019 Chapter SIX.teacHING.speaking

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Chapter 6: Teaching Speaking

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6.1 Preamble

6.2 What is teaching speaking?

6.3 Teaching speaking or talk as interaction

6.4 Teaching speaking or talks as transaction

6.5 Teaching speaking or talk as performance

6.6 Lesson plan

Summary

References

Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:

Define what is speaking

Explain how to teach talk as interaction

Discuss the steps in teaching talk as transaction

Describe how talk as performance may be taught

Chapter 1: Introduction to Listening

Chapter 2: Teaching Listening

Chapter 3: Listening Activities

Chapter 4: Assessing Listening Skills

Chapter 5: Introduction to Speaking


Chapter 7: Speaking Activities

Chapter 8: Assessing Speaking Skills

Chapter 9: Listening-Speaking Connection






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embedded in naturalistic dialogs that model features such as opening and closing

conversations, making small talk, recounting personal incidents and experiences, and reacting

to what others say. One rule for making small talk is to initiate interactions with a comment

concerning something in the immediate vicinity or that both participants have knowledge of.

The comment should elicit agreement, since agreement is face-preserving and non-

threatening. Hence, safe topics, such as the weather, traffic, and so on, must be chosen.

Students can initially be given models such as the following to practice:

Later, students can be given situations in which

small talk might be appropriate (e.g., meeting

someone at a movie, running into a friend in the

teh tarik stall, or waiting at a bus stop). They can

then be asked to think of small talk topic

comments and responses. Giving feedback (or

back channelling) is another important aspect of

talk as interaction. It involves responding to a

conversational partner with expressions that

indicate interest and a wish for the speaker tocontinue, such as “That’s interesting,” “yeah,”

“really,” and so on. To practice using back

channelling in this way, students can examine dialogs from which feedback expressions have

been omitted. They can consider suitable ways of providing them and then practice using

them. For example, they can come up with different responses to use in the following dialog:

A: I’m going to Langkawi for my next vacation.

B:

A: Yeah, my parents are taking me there as a graduation present.

B: And what do you plan to do there? A: Well I guess I’ll spend a lot of time on the beach.

B:

A: But I also want to do some fishing.

B:

Another technique to practice the use of conversation starters and narratives about personal

experiences involves giving conversation starters that students respond to by asking one or

two follow-up questions. For example: “I didn’t sleep very well last night.” “Look what I

bought on Sunday. How do you like it?” “Did that thunderstorm last night wake you?”

Rosly: How is the traffic in Kuala Lumpur?

Kumar: Very smooth today.

Rosly: Oh! Yes, I forgot that today is a holiday in Kuala Lumpur.






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Role-play activities are another familiar technique for practicing real-world transactions

and typically involve the following steps:

Preparing : Reviewing vocabulary, real-world knowledge related to the content, and

context of the role play (e.g., returning a faulty item to a store).

Modell ing and Eliciting : Demonstrating the stages that are typically involved in the

transaction, eliciting suggestions for how each stage can be carried out, and teaching

the functional language needed for each stage.

Practicing and Reviewing : Assigning students roles and practicing a role play using

cue cards or realia to provide language and other support.

Should students be penalised for grammatical errors? i.e. the level of linguistic accuracy that

students achieve when carrying out these tasks. One argument is that form will largely lookafter itself with incidental support from the teacher. Grammar is seen a mediating role, rather

than serving as an end in itself. As students carry out communicative tasks, they will engage

in:

negotiation of meaning,

comprehension checks,

confirmation checks, and

clarification requests.

Some experts argue that communications tasks may develop fluency but it could be at the

expense of grammar accuracy. Hence, some teachers are unwilling to get students to engage

in communicative tasks until they have a relatively large vocabulary.

Premature immersion of a student into an unstructured or “free”

conversational setting before certain linguistic structures are

more or less in place is not done without cost (Richards, 2008).

According to Rickards (2008), students who do not have a large vocabulary and not

knowledgeable about grammatical rules when carrying out communication tasks, often rely

on a lexicalised system of communication that depends heavily on vocabulary and memorised

chunks of language, as well as both verbal and nonverbal communication strategies, to get

meaning across.

To address the issue of language accuracy when students are practicing transactional use of

language, the following methods may be adopted:

By pre-teaching certain linguistic forms that can be used while completing a

task.

By reducing the complexity of the task (e.g., by familiarising students with the

demands of the activity by showing them a similar activity on video or as a

dialog).




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By giving adequate time to plan the task.

By repeated performance of the task.

CYCLE OF ACTIVITIES for Teaching Talk as Transaction by Jane

Willis

Jane Willis (1966) suggests using a cycle of activities with task work using a sequence of

activities in a lesson. These activities create interaction mediated by a task and then build

language awareness and language development around task performance. She proposes the

following sequence of activities:

Pre-task activities

INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC & TASK

The Teacher helps Students to understand the theme and objectives of the task, for

example, brainstorming ideas with the class, using pictures, mime, or personal

experience to introduce the topic.

Students may do a pre-task, for example, topic-based odd-word-out games. Teacher

may highlight useful words and phrases, but would not pre-teach new structures.

Students can be given preparation time to think about how to do the task.

Students can hear a recording of a parallel task being done (so long as this does not

give away the solution to the problem). If the task is based on a text, Ss read a part

of it.

a) Why is teaching ‘talk as transaction’ easier compared to teaching ‘talk as

interaction’?

b) Describe the role-playing activities that may be used in teaching ‘talk as

transaction.

c) Should students be penalised for grammatical errors?d) What methods may be adopted to enhance language accuracy?




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The task cycle

TASK

The task is done by Students (in pairs or groups) and gives Students a chance to use

whatever language they already have to express themselves and say whatever they

want to say. This may be in response to reading a text or hearing a recording.

Teacher walks around and monitors, encouraging everyone’s attempt at

communication in the target language.

Teacher helps Students to formulate what they want to say, but will not intervene to

correct errors of form.

The emphasis is on spontaneous, exploratory talk and confidence building, within

the privacy of the small group. Success in achieving the goals of the tasks helps

Students’ motivation.

PLANNING

Planning prepares Students for the next stage, where they are asked to briefly report

to the whole class how they did the task and what the outcome was.

Students draft and rehearse what they want to say or write.

Teacher goes around to advise students on language, suggesting phrases and helping

Ss to polish and correct their language.

If the reports are in writing, Teacher can encourage peer editing and use of

dictionaries.

The emphasis is on clarity, organization, and accuracy, as appropriate for a public

presentation.

Individual students often take this chance to ask questions about specific languageitems.

REPORT

Teacher asks some pairs to report briefly to the whole class so everyone can

compare findings, or begin a survey. There must be a purpose for others to listen.

Sometimes only one or two groups report in full; others comment and add extra

points. The class

may take notes.




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Teacher chairs, comments on the content of group reports, rephrases perhaps, but

gives no overt public correction.

The LANGUAGE FOCUS

Analysis

Teacher sets some language-focused tasks, based on the texts student read or on the

transcripts of the recordings they heard. Examples include the following:

o Find words and phrases related to the topic or text.

o Read the transcript, find words ending in “s” and say what the “s”

means.

o Find all the words in the simple past form. Say which refer to past timeand which do not.

o Underline and classify the questions in the transcript.

Teacher starts Students off, then students continue, often in pairs.

Teacher goes around to help. Ss can ask individual questions.

In plenary, Teacher then reviews the analysis, possibly listing relevant language on

the board. Ss may take notes.

Practice

Teacher conducts practice activities as needed, based on the language analysis work

already on the board, or using examples from the text or transcript. Practice activities

can include:

o Choral repetition of the phrases identified and classified

o Memory challenge games based on partially erased examples or using

lists already on blackboard for progressive deletion

o Sentence completion (base sentence set by one team for another)

o Matching the past-tense verbs (jumbled) with the subject or objects

they had in the text

o Dictionary reference with words from text or transcript

a) List the steps suggested by Jane Willis to enhance language awareness when teaching

‘talk as transaction’.

b) What activities are done at the ‘Introduction to Topic’ stage?

c) List the activities performed by the teacher and students at the ‘Task’ stage.

d) Why is ‘planning’ important?

e) What is done during ‘language focus’?




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Teaching talk as performance requires a different teaching strategy. According to Jones(1996), preparation for ‘talk as performance’ is quite similar to the preparation what one does

for written text, and many of the teaching strategies used in teaching writing can be applied

to teaching ‘speaking or talk as performance’. Do you agree?

This approach involves providing examples or models of speeches, oral presentations,

stories, etc., through video or audio recordings or written examples. These are then

analysed, or “deconstructed,” to understand how such texts work and to understand their

linguistic and organisational features. Questions such as the following guide this process:

What is the speaker’s purpose?

Who is the audience?

What kind of information does the audience expect?

How does the talk begin, develop, and end? What moves or stages are involved?

Is any special language used?

PROCEDURES IN A TEXT-BASED LESSON for Teaching Talk as

performance by Feez & Joyce (1998).

The TEXT is the basis on which the speaker uses when talking to an audience. S. Feez & H.

Joyce (1998) suggested the following steps in developing the TEXT:

Phase 1 BUILDING THE CONTEXT: In this phase, students:

Are introduced to the social context of an authentic model of the text being studied

Explore features of the general cultural context in which the text is used and thesocial purposes the text-type achieves, e.g. are you giving a speech thanking your

classmates for voting you as class monitor.

Explore the immediate context of situation by investigating the register of a modeltext that has been selected on the basis of the course objectives and learner need

An exploration of register involves:

Building knowledge of the topic of the model text and knowledge of the social

activity in which the text is used, e.g., job seeking

Understanding the roles and relationships of the people using the text and how

these are established and maintained, e.g., the relationship between a job seeker

and a prospective employer

Understanding the channel of communication being used, e.g., using the telephone,

or speaking face-to-face with members of an interview panel

6.4 Teaching Talk as Performance




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Phase 2: MODELL ING AND DECONSTRUCTING THE TEXT: In this phase:

Students investigate the structural pattern and language features of the model

Students compare the model with other examples of the same text-type

Phase 3: JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEXT: In this phase:

Students contribute to the construction of whole examples of the text-type

The teacher gradually reduces the contribution to text construction, as the studentsmove closer to being able to control text-type independently

Phase 4: INDEPENDENT CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEXT: In this phase:

Student work independently with the text

Learner performances are used for achievement assessment

Independent construction activities include:

Listening tasks, e.g., comprehension activities in response to live or recorded material

such as performing a task, sequencing pictures, numbering, ticking or underlining

material on a worksheet, and answering questions

Listening and speaking tasks, e.g., role plays, and simulated or authentic dialogs

Speaking tasks, e.g., spoken presentation to class, a community organization, or a

workplace

Reading tasks, e.g., comprehension activities in response to written material such as

performing a task, sequencing pictures, numbering, ticking or underlining material on

a worksheet, and answering questions

Writing tasks which demand that students draft and present whole texts

Context building activities include:

Presenting the context through pictures, audiovisual materials, realia, excursions, field-trips,guest speakers, etc.

Establishing the social purpose through discussions or surveys, etc.

Cross-cultural activities, such as comparing differences in the use of the text in two cultures

Comparing the model text with other texts of the same or contrasting type, e.g., comparinga job interview with a complex spoken exchange involving close friends, a work colleague,or a stranger in a service encounter




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Phase 5 LINKING TO RELATED TEXTS: In this stage, students investigate how what

they have learned in this teaching/learning cycle can be related to:

Other texts in the same or similar context

Future or past cycles of teaching and learning

Activities that link the text-type to related texts include:

Comparing the use of the text-type across different fields

Researching other text-types used in the same field

Role-playing what happens if the same text-type is used by people with different roles

and relationships

Comparing spoken and written modes of the same text-type

Researching how a key language feature used in this text-type is used in other text-

types

CONCLUSION

In planning to teach speaking in an English class, it is important to determine what kinds of

speaking skills the class will focus on. Which of the three functions of speaking should the

teacher give attention to? Should one function be given greater attention than others?

Informal needs analysis is the starting point.

Set Lesson Goals

Lesson goals are most usefully stated in terms of what students will have done or

accomplished at the end of the lesson. Stating goals in this way allows both teacher and

learners to know when the goals have been reached.

6.5 Lesson Plan for Teaching Speaking

a) Why does teaching ‘talking as performance’ require a different strategy?

b) What is meant by ‘building context’?

c) List what is involved during ‘independent construction of text’?

d) What do you mean by ‘joint construction of text’?




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To set lesson goals:

1. Identify a topic for the lesson. The topic is not a goal, but it will help you develop your

goals. The topic may be determined largely by your curriculum and textbook, and may be

part of a larger thematic unit such as Travel or Leisure Activities. If you have some flexibility

in choice of topic, consider your students’ interests and the availability of authentic materials

at the appropriate level.

2. Identify specific linguistic content, such as vocabulary and points of grammar or language

use, to be introduced or reviewed. These are usually prescribed by the course textbook or

course curriculum. If they are not, select points that are connected in some significant way

with the topic of the lesson.

3. Identify specific communication tasks to be completed by students. To be authentic, the

tasks should allow, but not require, students to use the vocabulary, grammar, and strategies presented in the lesson. The focus of the tasks should be topical, not grammatical. This means

that it may be possible for some students to complete the task without using either the

grammar point or the strategy presented in the first part of the lesson.

4. Identify specific learning strategies to be introduced or reviewed in connection with the

lesson.

5. Create goal statements for the linguistic content, communication tasks, and learning

strategies that state what you will do and what students will do during the lesson.

Structure the Lesson

A language lesson should include a variety of activities that combine different types of

language input and output. Learners at all proficiency levels benefit from such variety;

research has shown that it is more motivating and is more likely to result in effective

language learning.

An effective lesson has five parts:

Preparation Presentation Practice Evaluation Expansion

The five parts of a lesson may all take place in one class session or may extend over multiple

sessions, depending on the nature of the topic and the activities.

The lesson plan should outline who will do what in each part of the lesson. The time allotted

for preparation, presentation, and evaluation activities should be no more than 8-10 minutes

each. Communication practice activities may run a little longer.




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1. Preparation

As the class begins, give students a broad outline of the day’s goals and activities so they

know what to expect. Help them focus by eliciting their existing knowledge of the day’s

topics.

Use discussion or homework review to elicit knowledge related to the grammar and

language use points to be covered

Use comparison with the native language to elicit strategies that students may already

be using

Use discussion of what students do and/or like to do to elicit their knowledge of the

topic they will address in communication activities

2. Presentation/Modelling

Move from preparation into presentation of the linguistic and topical content of the lesson

and relevant learning strategies. Present the strategy first if it will help students absorb the

lesson content.

Presentation provides the language input that gives students the foundation for their

knowledge of the language. Input comes from the instructor and from course textbooks.

Language textbooks designed for students in U.S. universities usually provide input only in

the form of examples; explanations and instructions are written in English. To increase the

amount of input that students receive in the target language, instructors should use it as much

as possible for all classroom communication purposes.

An important part of the presentation is structured output, in which students practice the form

that the instructor has presented. In structured output, accuracy of performance is important.

Structured output is designed to make learners comfortable producing specific language items

recently introduced.

Structured output is a type of communication that is found only in language classrooms.

Because production is limited to preselected items, structured output is not truly

communicative.

3. Practice

In this part of the lesson, the focus shifts from the instructor as presenter to the students as

completers of a designated task . Students work in pairs or small groups on a topic-based task

with a specific outcome. Completion of the task may require the bridging of an information

gap. The instructor observes the groups an acts as a resource when students have questions

that they cannot resolve themselves.

In their work together, students move from structured output to communicative output, in

which the main purpose is to complete the communication task. Language becomes a tool,

rather than an end in itself. Learners have to use any or all of the language that they know

along with varied communication strategies. The criterion of success is whether the learner




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gets the message across. Accuracy is not a consideration unless the lack of it interferes with

the message.

Activities for the practice segment of the lesson may come from a textbook or be designed by

the instructor.

4. Evaluation

When all students have completed the communication practice task, reconvene the class as a

group to recap the lesson. Ask students to give examples of how they used the linguistic

content and learning or communication strategies to carry out the communication task.

Evaluation is useful for four reasons:

It reinforces the material that was presented earlier in the lesson

It provides an opportunity for students to raise questions of usage and style It enables the instructor to monitor individual student comprehension and learning It provides closure to the lesson

5. Expansion

Expansion activities allow students to apply the knowledge they have gained in the classroom

to situations outside it. Expansion activities include out-of-class observation assignments, in

which the instructor asks students to find examples of something or to use a strategy and then

report back.

Identify Materials and Activities

The materials for a specific lesson will fall into two categories: those that are required, such

as course textbooks and lab materials, and authentic materials that the teacher incorporates

into classroom activities.

For required materials, determine what information must be presented in class and decide

which exercise(s) to use in class and which for out-of-class work. For teacher-provided

materials, use materials that are genuinely related to realistic communication activities. Don’t

be tempted to try to create a communication task around something just because it’s a really

cool video or a beautiful brochure.

Truly authentic communication tasks have several features:

They involve solving a true problem or discussing a topic of interest They require using language to accomplish a goal, not using language merely to use

language They allow students to use all of the language skills they have, rather than specific

forms or vocabulary, and to self-correct when they realize they need to The criterion of success is clear: completion of a defined task




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SUMMARY

Teaching speaking is to teach second language learners to produce the English speech

sounds and sound patterns; use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and therhythm of the second language.

‘Talk as interaction’ is perhaps the most difficult skill to teach since interactional talk

is a very complex and subtle phenomenon that takes place under the control of

unspoken rules.

Giving feedback (or back channelling) is another important aspect of talk as

interaction.

Another technique to practice the use of conversation starters and narratives about

personal experiences involves giving conversation starters that students respond to byasking one or two follow-up questions.

Talk as transaction is more easily planned since current communicative materials are

a rich resource of group activities.

Role-play activities are another familiar technique for practicing real-world

transactions.

The cycle of activities with task work using a sequence of activities in a lesson by

Willis, create interaction mediated by a task and then build language awareness andlanguage development around task performance.

Teaching talk as performance requires a different teaching strategy which is quite

similar to the preparation what one does for written text.

The TEXT is the basis on which the speaker uses when talking to an audience.

Understanding the roles and relationships of the people using the text and how these

are established and maintained.

In planning to teach speaking in an English class, it is important to determine whatkinds of speaking skills the class will focus on.

An effective lesson has five parts: Preparation, Presentation, Practice, Evaluationand Expansion




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REFERENCES

Willis, Jane (1996). A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Harlow, UK: Longman.

Feez, S., and H. Joyce 1998. Text-Based Syllabus Design. Sydney: Macquarie University.

Hayriye Kayi (2006). Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a SecondLanguage. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XII, No. 11, November.

Jones, Pauline (1996). Planning an oral language program. In Pauline Jones (ed.), Talking

to Learn. Melbourne: PETA, pp. 12 – 26

Richards, J. (2008). Teaching Listening and Speaking. New York: Cambridge University

Press.

Chapter SIX.teacHING.speaking

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