Teaching Speaking in Foreign Language Classrooms

Teaching Speaking in Foreign
Language Classrooms
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson you are expected to be able to
demonstrate sound understanding of:
1. The reason for teaching speaking;
2. The definition of “speaking”;
3. The speaking features of spoken language
4. The definition of “Teaching Speaking”;
5. The rationales for teaching speaking using
communicative language teaching & collaborative
learning;
7. Some communicative activities to promote speaking;
8. Things a teacher should/should not do in teaching
speaking
Reasons for teaching
Speaking?
1. Reasons for teaching Speaking
Speaking is a crucial part of foreign language learning
and teaching.
The mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority
for many foreign-language learners.
Our learners often evaluate their success in language
learning as well as the effectiveness of their English
course on the basis of how much they feel they have
improved in their spoken language proficiency.
Oral skills have hardly been neglected in today’s EFL
courses (witness the huge number of conversation and
other speaking course books in the market)
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)
Studying English without practice speaking is useless.
Through speaking, one canexpress their minds, ideas
and thought freely and spontaneously.
To most people, mastering the art of speaking is the
single most important aspect of learning a second or
foreign language, and success is measured in terms of
the ability to carry out a conversation in the language.
2.1. Areas of Knowledge
Generally , students need to recognize that speaking involves
three areas of knowledge(Burnkart: 1998):
 Mechanics (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary): Using

the right words in the right order with the correct
pronunciation;
Functions (transaction and interaction): Knowing when clarity

of message is essential(transaction/
information exchange) and when precise understanding is not
required(interaction/relationship building);
Social and cultural rules and norms (turn-taking, rate
of speech, length of pauses between speakers, relative
roles of participants): Understanding how to take into
account who is speaking to whom, in what
circumstances, about what, and for what reason
Features of spoken Discourse in
Daily life
3. Some features of Spoken Discourse in
Daily Life:
Composed of idea units (combined short phrases and
clauses);
May be planned (e.g., a lecture) or unplanned (e.g.,
a conversation);
Employs more vague (rather unclear) or generic
(simple) words than written language;
Employs fixed phrases, fillers, and hesitations
markers;
Contains slips and errors reflecting online processing;
Involves reciprocity (i.e., interactions are jointly
constructed);
Shows variation (e.g., between formal and casual
speech), reflecting speaking roles, speaking purpose,
and the context. (Luoma, 2004)
What is “Teaching Speaking”?
4. What is “Teaching Speaking”?
Teaching speaking is to teach our learners to:
 Produce the English speech sounds and sound
patterns;
 Use words and sentence stress, intonation patterns
and the rhythm of the second language;
 Select appropriate words and sentences according to
the proper social setting, audience, situation and
subject matter.
 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical
sequence.
What is “Teaching Speaking”? (cont….)
 Use language as means of expressing values and
judgments;
Use the language quickly and confidently with few
unnatural pauses, which is called as fluency. (Nunan,
2003) .
5. The Rationales For Teaching Speaking
Communicatively
For many years, teaching speaking has been
undervalued and English language teachers have
continued to teach Speaking just as repetition of drills
or memorization of dialogues;
Today’s world requires that the goal of teaching
Speaking should improve students’ communicative
skills;
Only in that way, students can express themselves and
learn how to follow the social and cultural rules
appropriate in each communicative circumstance.
Students learn to speak in a foreign language by
interacting;
It is necessary for learners to recognize:
1. the very different functions speaking performs
in daily communication, and
2. the different purposes for which our students need
speaking skills;
6. Communicative language teaching &
collaborative learning
Communicative language teaching is based on real-life
situations that require communication.
By using this method in foreign language classes,
students will have the opportunity of communicating
with each other in the target language.
Foreign language teachers should create a classroom
environment where students have real-life
communication, authentic activities and
meaningful tasks that promote oral language.
This can occur when students collaborate in groups to

achieve a goal or to complete a task’
Examples of various types of speaking in real-life
situation
7. Examples of various types of speaking
in real-life situation
Chatting to a passenger sitting next to you during a
plane;
Chatting to a school friend in a canteen;
A student chatting to his/her teacher while waiting for
any class;
Telling a friend about on amusing weekend experience
and hearing him/her recount a similar experience
he/she once had;
Classroom group discussions and problem solving
activities;
A class activity during which students design a poster;
Discussing needed computer repairs with a
technician;
Discussing sightseeing plans with a hotel clerk or tour
guide;
Making a telephone call to obtain flight information;
Asking someone for direction on the street;
Buying something a shop;
Ordering food from a menu in a restaurant;
Giving a class report about a group /individual
assignment
Conducting a class debate,
Giving a speech of welcome;
Making a presentation;
Giving a long talk
8. Suggestions for teachers in teaching
Speaking
Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak
the target language by providing a rich environment
that contains collaborative work, authentic
materials and tasks and shared knowledge;
Try to involve each student in every speaking activity.
For this aim, practice different ways of students
participation.
Reduce Teacher Speaking Time in class while increase
student Talking Time;
Step back and observe students
Indicate positive signs when commenting on the
student’s response;
Ask eliciting questions such as ‘what do you mean?
‘how did you reach that conclusion?’ in order to
promote student to speak more;
Provide written feedback like your presentation was
really great. It was a good job. I really appreciated your
efforts in preparing the materials and efficient use of
your voice.’
Don’t correct students’ pronunciation mistakes very
often while they are speaking. Correction should not
distract student from his / her speech;
Involve speaking activities not only in class but also
out of class; contact other people who can help;
Provide the vocabulary beforehand that students need
in speaking activities.
9. Some types of communicative activities
to get students to speak
1. Discussions 11. Picture narrating
2. Role plays 12. Picture describing
3. Simulations 13. Find the differences
4. Information gap
5. Brainstorming
6. Storytelling
7. Interviews
8. Story completion
9. Reporting
10. Playing cards

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Teaching Speaking in Foreign

 Mechanics (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary): Using

Functions (transaction and interaction): Knowing when clarity

This can occur when students collaborate in groups to

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