speaking and listening
TRANSCRIPT
Speaking and Listening:Instructional Philsophy and Teaching
SuggestionsFiona Lawtie, ELT teacher, British Council, Caracas
The information in this section applies to all grade levels, 6-9. Grade level differences will be reflected in the teacher's choice of learning objectives, resources, and activities. Although the language processes are presented in three separate sections in this curriculum guide (Speaking and Listening, Writing, and Reading), it is intended that they be integrated throughout the year and the language arts program.
An integrated approach to learning and curriculum development enables students and teachers to participate in new dialogues and pathways to learning. Shifts in thinking and learning patterns emerge, providing an integrated, relevant curriculum where meaning is constructed and purposeful to the lives of students (Seely, A.E., 1995, p. 36).
Speaking
Oral communication is a vital component of the English language arts curriculum and provides the base for growth in reading, writing, and listening abilities. Oracy consists of both verbal and nonverbal communication. It is important that teachers recognize that nonverbal communication is culture specific, and be aware of the differences that may exist across cultures when students express themselves nonverbally.
As learning and applying the skills of oral English are so closely related, the classroom should be a place where the use of spoken language is sensitively supported and where active listening is developed and valued. Talk enables students to make connections between what they know and what they are learning, and listening helps them to acquire knowledge and explore ideas.
Talk can be immediate and spontaneous, or planned and deliberate. Confidence and enthusiasm are critical factors in oral language development, and because much oral language is immediate, it involves taking risks. Student learning is most effective when there is a relationship of mutual trust, when students' oral language is accepted and a variety of communication styles are accommodated in the classroom, and when students have frequent opportunities to talk in formal and informal situations.
Functions of Talk
Talk serves two important functions in the classroom: the social and the intellectual. Students' oral language skills develop in conjunction with their expanding social awareness and their ability to reflect upon and reconstruct experience. As a social
function, talk helps students adjust to ideas and ideas are reformulated to facilitate student understanding. Within this function, students share information and ideas with listeners by speaking informally and sharing through conversation. Talk is also used to form relationships through language.
Intellectual Function
Talk, as an intellectual function, shapes students' perceptions of the world and represents these perceptions as knowledge. Talking encourages students to reproduce and transform knowledge as they sift through observations, evaluate information, and compare views. Talk that transforms knowledge increases students' critical thinking abilities and retention.
Both social and intellectual talk have a place in the classroom. Instruction must ensure a full range of talk and allow for crossover between social and intellectual talk. Some classroom talk experiences are spontaneous and occur without teacher prompts or instruction, while other speaking activities require planning and structure.
Growth in oral communication revolves around increasing fluency and effectiveness. Students need to be able to speak clearly, using appropriate volume. They need to be able to give directions, follow directions, negotiate, ask questions, suggest answers, and organize and present information. They need to adapt their speaking for different audiences, purposes, formats, and topics.
As students become more proficient speakers, they develop their abilities to:
Interact Socially
• use language and ideas appropriate to the situation • respond to listeners' verbal and nonverbal cues, restate ideas, and ask questions to
clarify understandings • use language to create images and to produce an emotional response • acknowledge and be sensitive to others' viewpoints.
Develop Self-awareness
• examine and explore personal points of view • identify flaws in their own and others' reasoning • determine what it is they need to know • find effective ways of supporting their own opinions.
Inform
• use key language patterns, proper sequencing, nonverbal cues, and appropriate intonation
• provide essential information
• determine the type of presentation necessary in order for the listeners to benefit and learn
• reflect to determine if their language is appropriate to their listeners.
Fluency and effectiveness in speaking develops gradually. The chart on the following page describes the developmental stages of speaking, from dependence to independence.
Developmental Stages of Speaking: From Dependence to Independence
Stage 1 Novice Speaker (unskilled, needs encouragement)
• uses a limited vocabulary • encounters difficulties with pronunciation (not to be
confused with accent or features of dialect) • lacks self-esteem and seems shy • exhibits little interest in group interactions • attempts to learn by listening to the conversations of
others
• engages in brief conversations
Stage 2 Transitional Speaker (self-involved, becoming more confident)
• initiates conversation within a circle of trusted friends • volunteers responses when certain that the contribution
is acceptable • participates in reading or speaking activities as part of a
group • asks questions when requiring information • uses vocabulary adequate for informal communication
• avoids controversy and argument
Stage 3 Willing Speaker (peer-involved, achieving self-assurance)
• introduces topics and ideas for conversation and discussion
• enters into discussion about topics or ideas of personal interest
• participates comfortably in conversation and in other oral interactions
• extends vocabulary as required
• demonstrates a growing sense of audience when speaking
Stage 4 Independent Speaker (autonomous speaker, assuming leadership roles)
• initiates conversation and discussion • encourages others to contribute their ideas • possesses an extensive vocabulary and uses it
appropriately • requests more information, when needed, for
clarification and interpretation
• differs tactfully with ideas or attitudes deemed personally unacceptable
The Speaking Process
As students actively engage in the speaking process, their perceptions can change from moment to moment and from week to week. As individuals acquire new information, the language they use to make meaning changes. As they reflect upon information shared or received, they revise their understanding, further developing their schemas about language and the world.
The speaking process includes activities that occur prior to, during, and after the actual speaking event. For example, before speaking, the speaker might determine the actual content of the message, how it should be presented, and what kind of audience will be hearing the message. While speaking, the speaker must attend to such things as presenting a clear message, tone of voice, suitable vocabulary, possible responses, the environment, and nonverbal gestures. Following speaking, the speaker might accept comments, answer questions, explain concepts not understood, and/or assess the process.
Pre-speaking: Planning and Organizing
Just as pre-writing precedes drafting, pre-speaking begins before students actually speak. Students' experiences, observations, and interactions inside and outside of the classroom have an impact upon what they say and how they say it. Pre-speaking activities involve thought and reflection, and provide opportunities for students to plan and organize for speaking. Some purposes for pre-speaking are listed below.
To choose a speaking topic:
Students generate and explore ideas for speaking topics through a variety of pre-speaking activities such as the following:
• constructing thought webs and graphic organizers • reading and researching • listening to music • viewing a video • listening to a speaker • jotting down ideas • reflecting upon personal experience.
To determine purpose:
Speakers talk to express ideas, emotions, and opinions, and to share information. Students must ask themselves "What is my purpose for speaking?"
To determine audience:
Speakers must ask themselves "Who is my intended audience?" Some possible audiences are:
• familiar, known audiences (self, friends, peers, family, teachers) • extended, known audiences (community, student body) • extended, unknown audiences (local media).
To determine format:
Speakers must consider how their ideas and information can be presented most effectively. Some possible formats include the following:
• conversation • discussion • formal speech • dramatic presentation • monologue • Readers Theatre.
See the Writing section for a variety of pre-writing suggestions which also can be useful as pre-speaking scaffolds.
Speaking: Going Public
Speaking actively engages students in interactions with peers and other audiences. Students who have been provided with supportive, collaborative environments and opportunities to prepare for their informal and formal speaking experiences are more likely to have the confidence needed to "go public" with their ideas and information.
In order to communicate and interact with others, students need to engage in a variety of formal and informal speaking situations, depending upon their purpose for speaking. Some purposes for speaking include the following:
• to express personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints • to tell a story • to entertain or amuse • to describe • to inform or explain • to request • to inquire or question • to clarify thinking • to explore and experiment with a variety of ideas and formats • to converse and discuss.
Some scaffolds to support speaking include the following:
• Discussing or developing with students criteria for a variety of formal and informal speaking formats (e.g., conversation, group discussion, role play), and posting these on a bulletin board or having students record them in their notebooks for reference.
• Modelling a variety of formal and informal speaking formats for students. • If possible, making available to students audio and video equipment so that they
can practise prior to formal speaking situations.
Post-speaking: A Time for Reflection and Setting Goals
Following speaking experiences, both formal and informal, it is important to have students reflect upon their performance. Their reflection, whether it is oral or written, should include the teacher, who can help them set personal goals for improving their speaking abilities. This type of reflective assessment and goal setting encourages critical thought. Some purposes for post-speaking activities are listed below.
To reflect upon performance:
Students who have opportunities to reflect upon their speaking experiences, in light of pre-determined criteria, grow in their abilities to speak effectively.
To set goals for improvement:
When students reflect upon their performance, they begin to recognize what they have done well and where they require improvement.
Some post-speaking scaffolds include:
• Discussing or developing criteria for assessing a variety of speaking experiences. • Providing opportunities for students to talk, write, or represent in various ways
their personal speaking strengths and needs (e.g., learning logs, teacher/peer conferences).
When students have reflected upon their own speaking performance, peers may be invited to comment. Peers may comment through a structure similar to a writing conference and may give oral feedback, written feedback, or a combination of the two. Conferences may be guided by specific questions determined by the teacher or may take the form of conversation between peers.
Supporting and Managing the Speaking Process
Students' speaking skills develop best in dynamic interactive learning environments, where enough time is provided for them to share and listen to a variety of ideas. A safe, comfortable, and relaxed atmosphere is critical for the development of productive talk in the classroom for all students and is particularly important for those students who may come from backgrounds that differ from the classroom norm.
Classrooms should be places where students can ask and answer meaningful questions and in which the teacher and students are co-learners, collaborating with one another to communicate ideas and information. Different group sizes (pairs, small groups, and large groups) provide opportunities for students to practise the different thinking and oral skills unique to each configuration.
The role of the teacher is to:
• give students the opportunities to gather information, question, and interpret • build on what students already know, as new knowledge is achieved by
reconstructing and reshaping prior understanding • ask questions that result in a diversity of thought and response, and to which there
is not always one right answer • encourage purposeful talk and tentative "thinking aloud" • attend to the thought and intent of students' responses rather than the surface
features of dialect and grammar • develop or involve students in developing assessment instruments • encourage peer assessment that focuses on strengths and areas for improvement • value questions as much as answers • share enthusiasm for the oral tradition by regularly reading and telling stories to
students and by providing opportunities for students to tell stories • make informal talk and the sharing of facts and opinions a regular part of the
program • encourage students to challenge their own and others' assumptions, prejudices,
and information presented as facts • promote students' abilities to develop and participate in reasoned argument during
discussions and debates • develop students' sensitivities to others' feelings, language, and responses • set personal goals for communicating appropriately and effectively, and for
understanding the needs of listeners and participants • respect cultural traditions; allow and model wait/think time after questions • encourage and reward effort and improvement as well as competence • assess both processes and products.
The following should be observed in the classroom on a day-to-day basis:
• the teacher modelling standard English language usage • the teacher using brief mini-lessons to instruct students about language usage and
formats for a variety of speaking situations (e.g., informal and formal individual, small group, and large group situations) and purposes (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to share feelings, to respond, to entertain)
• the students speaking for a variety of purposes and situations (e.g., small group discussion, conversation, formal speeches, drama, debates, storytelling)
• the students developing social skills by interacting in a variety of small group situations (e.g., reader response groups, collaborative and co-operative groups)
• the students learning to facilitate and participate in group discussions
• the students and the teacher assessing speaking abilities and practices using checklists and anecdotal notes.
Assessment of speaking should be continuous and take into account both process and product. A variety of assessment techniques that consider students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be used.
Teachers may collect anecdotal notes, use checklists, or use audio or videotapes to collect data about students' speaking abilities. This data can then be used during conferences or interviews with students about their performance and progress. Specific assessment suggestions are provided with each of the speaking and listening activities included later in this section of the curriculum guide.
Listening
Listening is an essential part of the communication process. Students spend the majority of each school day listening and much of what students know is acquired through listening. It is essential that students have opportunities to practise the behaviours of effective listeners.
Listening is more than hearing; comprehending spoken language involves process-oriented thinking skills. Because listening involves the use of language and thought, the ability to listen effectively develops as students' language abilities develop and mature.
Developing effective listening abilities cannot be left to chance. Active listening experiences should be structured into daily English language arts activities. Students learn to value listening when it is given a prominent role in the English language arts classroom and when it is meaningfully integrated with their speaking, writing, and reading experiences.
Exposure to oral English is very important for ESL students, who need to hear the language spoken in meaningful contexts in order to acquire it. Their receptive (listening) language abilities precede their expressive (speaking) language abilities, so they need to spend a great deal of time listening before and as they develop their speaking abilities.
Students become active listeners when they deliberately attend to the speaker's message with the intention of immediately applying or assessing the ideas or information. For example, students may take notes if they wish to refer to the information; they may offer words of agreement or ask questions if they are part of a conversation; they may formulate questions to ask the speaker; or they may evaluate the message, determining the speaker's motive and what is fact and what is opinion.
Characteristics of Effective Listeners
Effective listening requires the listener's participation. The effective listener wants to understand what is said and actively tries to assign meaning to the speaker's verbal and
nonverbal language. The effective listener responds appropriately to what is said and fosters a productive exchange. The meaning generated depends upon the listener's desire and ability to engage in thinking and listening, as well as on prior knowledge of the speaker's language use and topic. Effective listeners are able to:
• value listening as a means of learning and enjoyment • determine their own purpose(s) for listening • recognize their responsibility to the speaker and listen without distracting the
speaker • concentrate and not become distracted • send appropriate feedback to the speaker (e.g., restate directions and explanations,
ask questions) • prepare to react or respond to what the speaker says • make connections between their prior knowledge and the information presented
by the speaker • evaluate the speaker's message and motive • try to predict the speaker's purpose and determine the speaker's plan of
organization • identify transitional/signal words and phrases, and follow the sequence of ideas
spoken • observe and interpret the speaker's nonverbal cues (e.g., smiles, frowns, body
movements) and use them to enhance their understanding of the speaker's message
• recognize the speaker's main point(s) or idea(s) and identify the supporting details and examples
• distinguish fact from opinion • determine bias, stereotyping, and propaganda.
The listening process is recursive in nature. Students may hear sound from a stimulus, attend to it, evaluate it, and continue to listen. Students may attend to a speaker's message and respond to it without choosing to remember or evaluate it. The listening purpose and context, and the student's listening maturity will determine the level of listening. The chart on the following page outlines three levels of listening: literal, interpretive, and critical and describes the factors that influence listening abilities at each level.
Developmental Levels of Listening
Levels of Listening Factors That Influence Listening Abilities
Literal Level
(hearing, receiving, attending)
• refers to hearing or the actual physical awareness of sounds and language caused by stimuli (e.g., words, verbal and nonverbal cues)
• includes hearing, but involves the listener's ability to focus
• physical factors (e.g., hearing loss, hyperactivity, limited attention span, inability to sit still, easily distracted)
• physical environment (e.g., comfort of
attention on the speaker or on the verbal and nonverbal language without becoming distracted; requires motivation, desire, and effort on the part of the listener
listener, location of listener in relation to the speaker)
• emotional and psychological factors (e.g., environment and conditions of trust that exist, listener's self-concept)
• fluency in English
Interpretive Level
(remembering, responding, assigning meaning)
• refers to the process that listeners engage in as they assign meaning to the stimuli; depends upon prior knowledge of the topic and the language of the speaker, and the context of the listening situation, as well as on the listener's schema as it relates to the speaker's schema
• refers to the selective storage of information in the listener's mind for retrieval at another time
• insufficient language development: limited personal language that makes it difficult for listener to make sense of other's language
• impaired speech that limits reproduction of sounds and hence accurate listening ability
Critical Level
(evaluating, judging, reacting, responding)
• refers to the judgements made by the listener as a result of interpreting the speaker's ideas using critical thinking skills
• includes evaluating, but refers to the expression of judgements and interpretations, as well as to seeking clarity of understanding
• perception of the importance and value of the message
• pre-formed opinions and attitudes toward the speaker or the message
• inability to make connections between new ideas and prior knowledge
• inability to process oral language in a meaningful way
One way of helping students to become aware of their own listening habits and abilities is to have them complete Listening Strategies Questionnaires or Listening Inventories such as those on the following pages. As well as informing the students about their own listening skills and understandings, the questionnaire or inventory can inform teachers about instructional needs. The questionnaire or inventory can be completed by individual
students or can be used as a structured interview for pairs of students. Discussion in small groups or as a whole class is a useful follow-up activity; as students talk about what they know about their listening behaviours, they begin to develop understanding about what it means to be an effective listener. As well, discussion offers students the opportunity to share their successful listening strategies with others, and to gain knowledge of other students' strategies.
The Listening Process
Listening is a complex process in which listeners interact with a speaker to construct meaning, within the context of their experiences and knowledge. Understanding oral language is essential to the learning process, so students require strategies for becoming accurate, effective listeners. When students are made aware of the factors that affect accurate listening, the levels of listening, and the components of the listening process, they are more likely to recognize their own listening abilities and engage in activities that prepare them to be effective listeners. Students can extend their listening abilities most efficiently when listening instruction is integrated into their speaking, writing, and reading activities, and when it is structured as pre-listening, listening, and post-listening experiences.
Pre-listening: Setting the Stage
Effective listening requires that students be prepared for what they are about to hear so that their listening goes beyond the literal level. Pre-listening activities encourage students to listen at the interpretive and critical levels. Some purposes for pre-listening are listed below.
To spark interest and motivate students to attend to the spoken message:
• When students are able to relate the listening experience to their own lives, they are more willing to listen actively to what the speaker has to say.
• Using pre-listening activities, teachers can create an environment conducive to listening and encourage effective listening behaviours that are necessary lifelong skills.
• Adolescents often focus on themselves, and personal needs influence their level of motivation. Through involvement in pre-listening activities, students can develop an interest in the speaker's topic and become willing, active listeners.
To activate or build students' prior topical and linguistic knowledge:
• It is important for students to be able to relate what they already know to the speaker's content.
• When students' prior knowledge about the speaker's topic is activated or built by the teacher, students begin to predict what they might hear and make connections with what they already know, increasing the relevance of the information.
• The time to familiarize students with key concepts and vocabulary is before a listening experience.
To set purposes for listening:
• When students set purposes for listening, they become active listeners who listen for something, not to it. This enhances their comprehension and retention. Teacher guidance may be required at first to help students set purposes for listening.
• Students who have identified a purpose for listening are more willing participants, secure in knowing what is expected of them.
• Providing purposes for listening assists the teacher in making a meaningful assessment of student participation and comprehension following the listening experience. Some purposes for listening are to:
o gather knowledge and information o follow directions o participate in discussion o interpret and analyze information o form an opinion or make a judgement o appreciate or enjoy o empathize o clarify ideas o share ideas, feelings, and information o state the main idea/theme and identify supporting details o determine what is fact and what is opinion o select descriptive vocabulary o determine bias, stereotyping, or propaganda.
Activities that prepare students for reading are often equally helpful in preparing them for listening. See the Reading section of this curriculum guide for examples of pre-reading scaffolds that can be used as pre-listening scaffolds.
Sample Listening Strategies Questionnaire
Sample Self-assessment Listening Inventory
Listening: Interpreting Speech and Constructing Meaning
Listeners who participate actively in the listening experience are more likely to construct clear, accurate meaning as they interpret the speaker's verbal message and nonverbal cues. During the listening experience students verify and revise their predictions. They make interpretations and judgements based upon what they know, assessing what more they need to know. Some purposes for listening follow.
To foster students' comprehension of the speaker's language and ideas:
• Active participation in the listening experience helps students comprehend the speaker's language and ideas, connecting them to what they already know about language and the topic.
• By monitoring their own understanding of the speaker's message (e.g., asking themselves "Does this make sense?"), students know when to request clarification of what they do not understand.
To focus students' attention on such things as the speaker's organizational patterns:
• When students have been prepared to consider the organization of the speaker's talk (e.g., an introductory and concluding statement, transitional words and phrases), they are likely to comprehend more and acquire an understanding of some of these patterns for use in their own speaking experiences.
To encourage students' critical reactions and personal responses to the speaker's ideas and use of language:
• Students who listen attentively, jotting notes, questions, and responses are better prepared to interact with the speaker during or after listening.
Scaffolds, such as partner journals and prediction points (see the Reading section of the curriculum guide), which engage students in text during the reading process are also useful during listening activities.
Post-listening: Responding, Reflecting, and Reconstructing Understanding
Follow-up activities to listening experiences are critical because they extend students' learning, encourage students to understand that there are purposes for listening, and emphasize that the information gained will be useful to them. Post-listening activities are most effective when implemented immediately after the listening experience, becoming a direct extension of it. Well-planned post-listening activities offer students opportunities to connect what they have heard to their own ideas and experiences, and encourage interpretive and critical listening and reflective thinking. As well, post-listening activities provide opportunities for teachers to assess students' comprehension, check their perceptions, and clarify their understandings. Some purposes for post-listening are listed below.
To examine relationships between prior knowledge and experience, and new ideas and information gained from the speaker or discussion:
• Students' comprehension can be enhanced and extended through activities that encourage them to make connections between what the speaker says and their own knowledge and experience.
To invite and encourage student reflection and response:
• Students develop a greater understanding of what they have heard if they are asked to summarize their ideas and respond to what they have heard through discussion, writing, drawing, drama, music, or dance.
To clarify and extend comprehension beyond the literal level to the interpretive and critical levels:
• Students who engage in response to talk by discussing or writing are actively engaged in constructing their own meaning.
• Through analysis, synthesis, organization, and expression of the speaker's ideas, listeners interpret, evaluate, and determine meaning.
To check comprehension, correct inaccurate concepts, and clarify tenuous learning:
• Students who engage in active listening activities are prepared to question the speaker and verify their understandings.
• Through discussion and response activities, students are able to develop a clearer understanding of the topic and of the listening experience.
To give students the opportunity to apply new information immediately:
• When students are called on to apply what they have gathered from the message, they tend to be more attentive listeners.
It is important to encourage students to reflect, and to clarify and extend their thinking about what they have heard by making concrete responses which may be written, spoken, visual, or dramatic. Many of the same means used to help students extend and clarify their reading experiences can be used to extend and clarify their listening experiences.
Supporting and Managing the Listening Process
Creating separate instructional listening situations may be useful occasionally; however, it is more effective when listening instruction permeates the school day. Isolated listening instruction is artificial and does not foster transfer to students' real life. To practise listening in meaningful contexts, students require opportunities to engage in open dialogue with peers in such informal situations as writing conferences and literature circles. They also need practice in more formal situations such as listening to student prepared speeches and guest speakers.
Some ways that teachers can promote effective listening and help students develop as mature, active listeners include the following:
model effective and active listening regard what the student has to say as important integrate listening into daily speaking, writing, reading, representing, and viewing
experiences
plan opportunities for students to practise active listening for a variety of purposes in a variety of contexts (e.g., face-to-face, social situations, formal situations)
adjust the length of listening time to the maturity of the students emphasize and explain effective, active listening behaviours using lists of specific
criteria relevant to the situation plan for listening by using pre-listening, listening, and post-listening activities assess listening as a process within daily language experiences.
The following should be observed in the classroom on a day-to-day basis:
the teacher modelling effective listening behaviours for students the teacher using brief mini-lessons to instruct students about effective listening
practices and behaviours for a variety of situations and purposes the students listening in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes (e.g., one-on-
one conversations, group discussions, formal speeches, oral reading, student presentations)
the students developing their social skills through listening (e.g., attending to speaker, questioning for clarification, using and interpreting nonverbals, summarizing, and paraphrasing to demonstrate understanding)
the students using listening effectively as a means of learning and connecting to prior knowledge
the students and the teacher assessing listening practices and behaviours using checklists or anecdotal notes.
Assessment of learning should be continuous. A variety of assessment techniques which consider students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be used. Assessment suggestions are provided with each of the speaking and listening activities that follow.
Story joke
1
I got booked to do comedy at our local county fair, which I should have realized was not a good fit, given that I do somewhat cerebral humor about being a suburban working mom, and there were more tattoos and body piercing in the crowd than I knew existed in California! My stage shared bleachers with the pig races, but the stands were full, so I figured at least I’d have a good audience.
However, right before I started, they announced that the mother of the pig race winner (Lindsay Lo-Ham) was in the livestock tent about to give birth. The stands immediately cleared out, and the only audience left besides my husband & teenage sons was a woman with several children. As it turns out, she wasn't there to watch me, but needed a place to nurse her baby, very openly. Needless to say, my sons weren't very interested in my show!
Lauren MayerLauren Mayer Productions – Corporate comedy & coachingwww.laurenmayer.com
#2
For nearly 10 years I served on the faculty of Daniel Webster University in Nashua, NH, as an adjunct instructor of public speaking. One of the early assignments in the course was for students to present a speech to demonstrate a skill or process using audio-visual aids. One enterprising student chose as his topic a demonstration of how to make fortune cookies. He gave out copies of the recipe, explained the steps, mixed the batter from pre-measured ingredients, and rolled out the dough. I was impressed with the advance planning and preparation that went into the speech, but never more so than when he passed out samples of cookies he had already baked in the dorm kitchen.
The one I received contained the following fortune: “You are about to give a student an A on a speech.” He got his A!
Maggie Rowe, Wheaton, IL
#3
I have presented my smoking cessation and weight loss seminars to just about a million people. There is one memorable night in Texarkana, TX that stands out.
After about a half hour of lecture, I had a hundred or so people lie down on the floor for an eyes closed hypnosis session. I was about two minutes into the eyes closed portion of the presentation and the room was pin drop quiet. You could only hear the sound of my voice.
I said something like the following: “And now you can allow yourself to relax, unwind and just let go.” Right after I said, “let go,” one man passed the loudest amount of gas that you could ever imagine. All I could see and hear was 100 bellies going up and down and the sound of stifled snorting. It took all of my skills to recapture the group's attention and get them refocused on what we were there for. No one in that room will ever forget that night.
John Morganjohnmorganseminars.com
#4
For 10 years I wrote job-search guides and thus did a lot of speaking. At one session, I had a man stand up unexpectedly, extend his entire arm at me and declare, “You are NO good. I have come to hear you three times and I still don't have a job.”
I have since written other books, and I counsel small publishers and authors about their marketing communications. I always mention that they need to be prepared for the unexpected.
Linda CarlsonSeattle author and marketing consultantwww.lindacarlson.com
#5
Many years ago I traveled from DC to an eastern Long Island community hall to speak to an insurance industry group. There were several hundred people in attendance, and I was fairly young and nervous about the event. A few minutes into my presentation, I was interrupted by a loud bang. Then another. Then another... There was a bowling alley in the building! I quickly learned the rhythm of the bowling balls hitting the lanes, and I made it through the presentation with a few laughs. That roll-with-it attitude earned me more appreciation from the crowd than my speech probably would have on its own.
Maureen Wall Bentley, VPBrand Strategy
#6
Here’s the story, all true!
Junior Achievement is an educational program that provides a variety of different opportunities for businesspeople to teach young students about the business world. I taught a 6-week class (once a week) in a junior high school (Orlando, FL) for 7th grade students, and each week I spoke on an aspect of business, i.e., financial planning, marketing, etc. I tried to make every presentation very upbeat and fun, and I decided it would be interesting to take the students on a field trip to really SEE first-hand the complexity of a large business operation.
A major hospital was near the school, and it was an ideal location for my purpose. Across the street from the hospital was a Wendy’s. I arranged the field trip for a weekday morning and the plan included lunch at Wendy’s at 11:30 am (the timing was to beat the
crowd); all was coordinated perfectly.....The field trip day arrives. The school bus takes the students and chaperones to the hospital. We arrive and break into a few groups with individual tour guides, hospital workers presenting all the ins-and-outs.
My group gets on an elevator. Along with my group, a hospital bed is wheeled in with a DEAD BODY in a body bag! Of course it was easy to tell what was in the bag. To try to break the tension, I calmly said to the students, “This is not usually the way a hospital visit ends. Most people leave well.” I could have DIED! So the hospital tour continues and concludes. All of the student groups reconvened in the dining area to re-board the bus.
Well, we’re all sitting in the dining room and waiting and waiting and time is passing. I said to one of the hospital employees, “What are we waiting for? We need to get on the bus.” This is the answer: “Oh, you haven't been told? The hospital is surrounded by police. We're in a lock down. There's a guy running around the parking lot dodging cars threatening to commit suicide.” Now what am I suppose to tell the kids???? I already had to “defend” a dead body. I nonchalantly told the entire group there was a delay with the bus. Well, finally, the guy killed himself. Then we had to wait for the “clean-up crew”.....The bus was eventually allowed to drive up to a back exit, where everyone boarded the bus ... and the students never knew a thing about the suicide. We, of course, arrived at Wendy’s late, and the manager was none too pleased. But I explained what happened, and that was that.
Sheryl P. Kurland, Relationship/Marriage and Corporate TrainerAuthor of Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls of Wisdom from Couples Married 50 Years or [email protected]
#7
I was giving a presentation at a BBB breakfast networking meeting when someone said that a car was rolling down the slope of the parking lot. They gave the license plate number: no one recognized it. It was several minutes into my presentation when someone gave a description of the car that I realized, to my horror, that it was mine. I dashed out into the parking lot to see that my car was very close to hitting another car. I got in and parked it correctly, making sure the parking brake was on securely, then went in to continue my presentation with a very red face and feeling very embarrassed. I made a few jokes about the episode, continued on and was very glad to have the whole thing over with.
Jennifer Ann Bowers, RM, LMTRose Bridge Creations, Transforming your ideas into reality www.rosebridgecreations.com
#8
I was asked to present a 90-minute database programmer productivity session in many cities in Asia; starting in Singapore and ending in Taipei. All along the route, the conference promoters indicated there were no language translation issues or requirements; English and the programming languages of the products I was speaking about, dBase and Clipper would be enough.
Throughout Asia the presentations went exceedingly well; the turnout was phenomenal and the venues and presentation technology was extremely advanced with multiple large projection screens and high-quality audio-visual systems. In addition, the quality and depth of questions demonstrated deep understanding of the technologies and mastery of the English language.
When we arrived in Taipei, as was customary, I presented first. Also as customary, I started my session with a few questions to get to know the general knowledge and programmer demographics of the audience. It went something like this:
“How many of you use Ashton-Tate’s dBASE?” (On asking the question, I raised my own hand.) The Taipei audience was almost unanimous in raising their own hands. I continued.
“How many here use Nantucket’s Clipper compiler for dBASE development?” (Again, I raised my hand first.) And once again, nearly 100% of the attendees raised their hands.
“How many of you use dBRIEF, the most productive editing system for dBASE programming?” Amazingly, nearly everyone in the audience raised his hand! Either I was staring at 700 copyright infringers who unabashedly proclaim their theft in public, or I was simply engaged in a monkey-see, monkey-do early morning exercise program for my right arm and 700 or so other arms. In a blink, I knew exactly what to ask next:
“How many of you want to be a fire engine?” Fearfully, I watched as everyone’s hands went up. I might as well have been speaking to an alien society from Alpha Centauri-nearly 100% of the audience spoke Chinese, and only Chinese. It was very easy to see who in the auditorium spoke English, since they were the ones practically rolling on the floor laughing.
Bill French, Co-Founder MyST [email protected]
#9
I had one recently where I was to speak at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota. When I checked into the hotel where the event planner had booked me, the hotel wouldn’t use the card used to book the room from the event planner. So I had to use my card to check in, which is fine because I knew they’d get it squared away with me. But I was speaking for free at this event and I really didn't care to potentially lose any money on the engagement.
Not only did the hotel force me to use my card, they wouldn't give me the special rate originally booked because I didn’t have the “form.” So my room rate was three times what it should have been and for the amount of time I was staying there the bill was over a thousand dollars!
When I pulled up to the Ritz, the man at the gate instructed me to let my truck be taken by the valet. I asked if they take credit cards and he said no. I asked about ATM’s nearby but he did not know. I think he could tell I “wasn’t from around there” and told me that there are very limited parking spaces the valet don’t use and that if I can find one of those I was free to take one. I got one. As I was getting my computer and other stuff out of my truck, I saw what my contact described as her car a few spaces away from where I was parking. She had done the same thing. And she was also just getting out of her car.
I decided it would be better to meet her without my hands full of my speaking stuff. So I put everything back into the truck real fast, closed the door and went over to meet her. When I came back to the truck, I quickly found out that I had locked the doors. I reached for my keys and realized I had put them in my bag. I had locked myself out of the truck, and no spare key!
My contact was very nice about my embarrassment as we went into the hotel. I asked the hotel manager if there was a local shop that could come to the site and get me back into the truck. He called someone the hotel had used before. It was about half an hour before I was to speak and the locksmith had just shown up. As soon as the doors were unlocked I was grabbing my stuff when the hotel manager came up and said he’d take care of the locksmith. “You focus on your speech, you’re probably nervous about it now, I’ll cover this.” I was very grateful.
With only a few minutes before the event was to start, however, my Mac wouldn’t hook up to their projection system. I didn’t have any other cable to make that happen, and neither did the hotel. Again the hotel manager came through and called an IT person and they tried to help me. Nothing worked. So one of my contacts had a portable USB memory stick and I transferred the slides I was going to use to it and then we used the event’s computer. And to top that off one of the contacts had to manually hit “next” on her computer to change the slides.
There was rain coming and the event planner asked me to cut the speech a bit short for the people to leave before it rained. I did, but not really on purpose. When I was speaking I had gone by memory and my memory failed. I blew through a half hour speech in about 10 minutes. When at the end I realized I left out a major part of my talk, I opened up the audience for some Q&A. At first there was no one willing to ask a question. I nudged
them a bit and finally got them asking. Eventually the questions took on a life of their own and the event went over the time limit and ran late!
Gary Unger, Creative-at-largeAuthor of How to Be a Creative Genius (In Five Minutes or Less)www.garyunger.comwww.linkedin.com/in/garyunger
#10
Several years back, I was asked to give a speech to a room full of budding women entrepreneurs. I arrived at the event with a terrific speech, looking quite stunning in my navy blue suit. Just before my speech began, as I was talking with the emcee who would introduce me, I looked down at my shoes to see that I had one blue and one black shoe on. At first, I was embarrassed––but then decided to put it in my speech.
At the end of the speech, I reached down, took off my shoes and put them up on the podium for all to see. I reminded the listeners that every one of us is working hard to balance it all. Sometimes we get it all right, but we still don't manage to put on a matching pair of shoes! It was the greatest laugh I have ever gotten
Vicki Donlan Author of Her Turn: Why it's Time for Women to Lead in AmericaVR Business [email protected]
... And here’s one of my own:
Some years ago, when I was the International Student Advisor in the Department of Communication at Emerson College, I taught a summer course entitled “Introduction to Graduate Studies.” Emerson’s campus is across the street from the lovely Boston Common. Kitty-corner to the park is a Starbucks, where I’d go before class to have a coffee and look over my notes.
Since this was a summer course, the day was hot. With the front door being opened frequently, the interior of the Starbucks wasn’t very cool even with the air conditioning on. I had to keep mopping my forehead with napkins as I sat and prepared for my lecture.
The lecture went fine. It was only in the men's room after the class, that I discovered I had a large piece of paper napkin stuck to my forehead! The international students-undoubtedly trained in their universities to be deferential to professors-had sat through
my lecture without a wayward look or a snicker. Since then, I carry a small women’s compact in my pocket and always check it before “going on.”
THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL
By Koesoemo Ratih, S.Pd. M.Hum Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta
THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL
By Koesoemo Ratih
Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta
Abstract
There are many problems that come out in the effort of
acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from
either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems
coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion. It is assumed that extroversion
is one aspect constructing personality which influences second language
learning especially in gaining speaking skill. Extroversion is beneficial for the
learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there
should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages
that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers
need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.
DAFTAR RIWAYAT HIDUP
I. KETERANGAN PRIBADI
1. Nama lengkap Koesoemo Ratih, SPd. M.Hum.2. Alamat kerja FKIP, UMS, Jl. A. Yani Po Box 1, Pabelan, SKA3. Pangkat Penata Muda4. Golongan IIIA5. Jabatan Asisten Ahli6. Tanggal lahir 5-2-19697. Tempat lahir Palembang8. Agama Islam9. Status perkawinan Kawin10. Alamat rumah:
a. Jalanb. Kelurahanc. Kecamatand. Kabupaten
e. Propinsi
Diponegoro no 68
Kertonatan
Kartasura
Sukoharjo
Jawa Tengah
II. PENDIDIKAN
No. Tingkat Nama Pendidikan Tahun lulus1. SD SD Negeri Blulukan I, Colomadu,
Karanganyar.1982
2. SLTP SMP Negeri I Colomadu, Karanganyar 19853. SLTA SMA Negeri 2, Surakarta 19884. Sarjana PBS. Inggris FKIP, Universitas
Sebelas Maret, SKA1995
5. Pascasarjana Program Pengajaran Bahasa, Jurusan Linguistik, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta
2002
III. KARYA ILMIAH
No. Judul Jenis 1. A Case Study on The
handicaps in Developing Skripsi
Speaking Skill in Non-Formal Classes at IEC Surakarta 1994/1995
2. Profil Kemultiaksaraan
Masyarakat Etnis Jawa Muslim di Wonogiri. 2000.
Penelitian Reguler , Lemlit UMS (anggota)
3. Keterampilan Wicara Bahasa Inggris ditinjau dari motivasi belajar dan Tingkat ekstroversi, 2002.
Penelitian Reguler, Lemlit UMS (Ketua)
4. Hubungan antara Derajat Ekstroversi dan Motivasi Belajar dengan Keterampilan Wicara Bahasa Inggris.2002.
Tesis
PRIVATEFrom :
PRIVATE "Ratih sun"
Reply-To : PRIVATE
To : PRIVATE
Subject : PRIVATE
(No Subject)
Date : PRIVATE
Mon, 09 Jun 2003 11:17:35 +0800
Attachment : XXX.doc (117k)
PRIVATE
Dear Sir,
I am glad to get informed that my paper is accepted to be presented in your
NUESP National coference.With great pleasure,here I send my full paper.
Regarding that the conference will be held on August 4-5, 2003, could you give
me further information dealing with the accommodation?
Thank you for your attention.
Best wishes
Koesoemo Ratih
THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL
By Koesoemo Ratih
Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta
Abstract
There are many problems that come out in the effort of acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion. It is assumed that extroversion is one aspect constructing personality which influences second language learning especially in gaining speaking skill. Extroversion is beneficial for the learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.
Key words : extroversion, speaking skill, and language learning and
teaching.
A. Introduction
Human beings are social creatures that need to associate with one another. They communicate with a language to keep their relationship. It is stated by Clark & Clark (1973: 3) that language is the main means of human communication. There are two important forms of communication, namely: verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication means to communicate with words whether oral or written words, while non-verbal means without words. It is agreed that most of human activities are in the form of verbal communication that uses oral language.
Speaking is the form of oral language that is inevitably used to communicate ideas and feelings. A lay man likes to judge the success of learning language from the ability to express their ideas orally. It is the case that the goal of people learning language is to be able to speak it.
There are many factors that influence people to succeed to learn English, especially to acquire speaking skill. Among them are motivation of learners, personality, environment, culture, teaching materials and techniques, teachers and curriculum. Personality plays an important role to improve speaking skill. One aspect that constructs personality is extroversion-introversion. As stated by Brown that extroversion determines the success of learning to speak, that is why this paper wants to show the importance of extroversion in learning to speak a foreign language.
B. Extroversion
Extroversion is one of personality dimensions which can be indicated through behavior. It is commonly contrasted with its antithesis, introversion. Someone who is extrovert tends to be easy going, friendly, impulsive, energetic and sociable. On the contrary, an introvert person looks reserved, reflective, careful, quiet and unsociable. Pervin and John (1970: 234) say the following“ Hans Eysenck suggests that a basic dimension of personality involves whether people tend to be unsociable, quiet, and passive (introvert) or sociable, outgoing, and active (extrovert)”.
In addition, He states that the basic difference between extrovert and introvert lays on biological side, that is from reticular activated system on the brain. This system controls the arousal brain membrane. Extrovert people tend to have lower arousal brain membrane. The difference of this arousal causes extrovert compensates finding stimulus from the outer side (their environment) to increase their arousal brain membrane. On the contrary, the introverts tend to reduce their stimulus or their arousal.
Only a few people belong to the extreme positions (the most extrovert or the most introvert), but most tend to stay in certain degree ranging from introvert pole to extrovert pole. The difference among people whether they tend to be extrovert or introvert is very slight. It can be seen from the degree of their behavioral characteristics.
Yul Iskandar (2000: 46) states that what is meant by extroversion is one’s personality with which he enjoys getting together with others, loves meeting people and feels confident in attending social programs. He is not clumsy when talking with others in front of strangers. He is outgoing and sociable. Usually, it is
easy for people with this type of personality to adapt to their new environment. Society also support this tendency. Conversely, the society regard negatively with the people having introvert personality. In general it is assumed that introvert type of people don’t enjoy meeting people, talking with strangers and talking in front of audience. They show their tendency of being shy, unconfident, quiet and reserved.
In this article, the writer tries to view the term of extroversion from seven indicators that have been applied by Eysenck. Those particulars are activity, sociability, risk-taking, impulsiveness, expressiveness, responsibility, and reflective ness.
Activity is derived from one’s tendency to behave actively and energetically. A person having such type likes to do physical activities, including hard work and exercise. S/he does not feel convenient to stay calm. According to Eysenck, this kind of person tends to get up early in the morning, does something quickly and has a lot of interests to do. And it is assumed that a person having high degree of activities tends to have high degree of extroversion.
Sociability, how people associate with others can become the indicator to judge the degree of extroversion tendency. Extrovert people are usually indicated by their sociability degree which tends to be high. This specification can be seen from one’s tendency in getting along with others, such as; like to find new friends, like to do social functions, like to go to parties, like to meet a lot of people, and generally enjoy in a warm situation.
Risk-taking indicates the degree of extroversion. People with high degree of risk-taking can be proved from their tendency to be brave to take risk and to do anything without considering the risk that will occur. This bravery to take the risk is led to get acknowledgement and honor from their surrounding. Without any notice of worry, they enjoy doing something that is full of risk and danger.
Impulsiveness is a spontaneous action that easily changes depending on one’s internal condition. People with this type seem to do everything spontaneously and without any advanced consideration to plan. They tend to be careless and like to decide to do something which is not planned. Their character can not be predicted. The degree of impulsiveness goes together with the extroversion degree.
The fifth indicator that constructs extroversion is expressiveness. This aspect refers to the tendency to look emotional, such as easy to show sadness, anger, fright, love, hatred, and happiness. People with high degree of expressiveness tend to be sentimental, easy to show empathy and demonstrative. Their degree of expressiveness goes together with their extroversion degree.
The sixth characteristic of extroversion is called reflective ness. Reflective ness appears in one’s behavior to show new ideas, something abstract, philosophical questions, discussion, speculation, and they tend to be thoughtful and careful. The higher degree of reflective ness people have, the more introvert or the less extrovert they are. This shows negative correlation, it means the high degree of reflective ness shows the low degree of extroversion.
The last indicator to show extroversion can be seen from one’s degree of responsibility. A person with extrovert type tends to be less thorough, less reliable and unserious. While the one with introvert type shows their seriousness, reliability and promptness. That is why the higher one’s responsibility is, the lower his extroversion will be.
From those seven indicators, it is assumed that extroversion is a type of one’s personality that is active, sociable, brave to take risk, impulsive, expressive, less reflective and less responsible.
C. Speaking skill
Many people believe that “speaking skill” is an important aspect to acquire when learning a second or foreign language, and the success of learning the language is measured from the performance of learners to speak the language learned. However most people learning a language have a goal to be able to speak so that they can communicate. Clark & Clark (1977: 3), state that the nature of language is a principle means for communication among human beings. Noticing the process of communication, it is assumed that two main activities occur in it, namely speaking and listening.
Finocchiaro (1974: 2) also convinces us that all normal human beings are able to speak and no tribe is found without an oral language. From this, it is regarded that an oral language / speaking is a language skill that is absolutely possessed by every normal human being. The ability to speak can be seen from daily activities. As social creatures, people always interact with one another, surely they could not live alone and it is the oral language that is used as an instrument to interact.
Bygate (in Nunan,1995:40) says that communicative interaction can be identified through the existence of participants negotiating a meaning and in a general term their existence is to control interaction by noticing who is saying, to whom the speakers are saying, what is discussed, and when the interaction occurs. Consciously or not people who are speaking experience those particulars.
When people speak, they construct ideas in words, express their perceptions, their feelings, and their intentions, so that the interlocutors grasp the meaning of what the speakers mean. Here, the process seems
very complicated since the speakers do not merely produce words without any meaning, but they do intentionally to represent their intention. Finicchiaro adds that all languages are a very essential instrument that enables speakers to state their existence and others, ask something, express agreement and refusal. For this reason, oral language or speaking is regarded principle.
Joji Miyauchi (2001:5) assumes that speaking is an action to produce words. This of course still brings a general idea since not every action to produce words is meaningful. Then, Joji Miyauchi reviews his assumsion by quoting MacDonough (1993:152) and says that in speaking activities there is an intension to speak that is to communicate something in the speaker’s mind. In communicating there is a goal to achieve, such as: to inform something, to solve problems, and to maintain social interaction and friendship. From the explanation above, it can be derived that speaking is actually an action to produce words to express ideas, feelings and intentions for communications.
If speaking is an action to communicate, it does not only cover knowledge in the language but also skill to use it. Bygate (1987: 1) says that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, learners need to know certain grammar and vocabulary. In addition , it is necessary to get the learners to actually say something. To do this they must act on knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. By giving learners ‘speaking practice’ and oral exams we recognize that two things involve in using the language, namely knowledge and skill.
There are two basic ways in which speaking can be seen as a skill. They are motor-perceptive skills and interaction skills. Motor perceptive skills involve perceiving, recalling, and articulating in the correct order sounds and structures of the language. While interaction skills involve making decisions about communication, such as: what to say, how to say it, and whether to develop it, in accordance with one’s intentions, while maintaining the desired relations with others. (Bygate, 1987:6).
In addition to that, speaking is seen as a skill since practices are applied to acquire it. People willing to be able to speak a foreign language must practice and practice to use the language. It is impossible for them to be successful to speak only relying on learning the knowledge of the language without any practice of that language.
In a language teaching process in which the goal of teaching is to enable learners to communicate, the learners need to be given a lot of chance to practice using the language learned. It is only through practices that the ability of learners to speak can increase. Offner (2001:2) convinces us that the only way to acquire English speaking skill
is through practices. The learners who want to be skillful at speaking English willy-nilly must practice to speak using English. For this reason, speaking can be regarded as the ability to express ideas and feelings that can be acquired through practices.
D. The Implication of extroversion in speaking
Learning English covers complicated process since many variables involve. Those variables might come from either inside or outside the learners and affect the process of learning language. One of the variables coming from inside is personality. Extroversion is a preferred personality as it is assumed that western people regard it as a desirable behavior and ideal, while its antithesis, introversion is undesirable. This assumption is brought into classroom and “speaking” teachers will value this. It implies that quiet, reserved personalities are treated as problems, and language teachers seek ways of encouraging extroversion.
Susana Teopilus (2000: 66) says that personality has some influence on the success of learning the second language and one thing that constructs personality is extroversion. According to Brown (1980: 110), extroversion is a potential and crucial factor in learning a second language, especially in developing speaking skill of foreign language.
Research conducted by Ratih (2002) shows that there is a correlation between extroversion degree and speaking achievement. It is shown from its correlation coefficient (r = 0,425) through regression Ÿ =10,450 + 0,427 X. It means that the more extrovert the person is, the better achievement of speaking skill the learners will get. This finding supports the assumption that extroversion plays an important role in developing speaking skill. If it becomes a crucial factor, there should be an effort to develop speaking skill by making learners to tend to have extroverted personality or at least teachers have to provide some possibilities which can enable learners to have similar characteristics as extroverts.
Speaking skill requires some aspects, namely linguistic and non linguistic aspects. The first aspect is the main requirement that the English learners should possess in order to speak it well, while the second functions to support the learners to achieve a success in acquiring speaking skill. Extroversion is a part of nonlinguistic aspect that plays a role to acquire speaking achievement.
In an effort of increasing the students' speaking achievement, teachers of speaking subject are responsible for the students' acquisition.
For the sake of this task, they need to be tactful in deciding techniques employed in the teaching and learning process. Teachers' adaptation to the needs of learners should be created. The teachers are invited to be responsive to difficulties faced by the learners in trying to develop their ability to speak English. Dealing with their tasks, teachers of Speaking need to consider their learners' extroversion.
The role of extroversion in developing speaking skill is implied in the process of learning and teaching. There are many teaching components involved. Those components interact one another and finally influence the success of learning. One of the teaching components is teaching techniques. Its existence enables learners to develop the skill they learn as the technique that is applied in classroom can provide some chance for the learners to learn to speak or not. Teachers of speaking need to be aware of internal condition of the learners when they are trying to learn to speak. The technique chosen can support learners and make them brave to speak. Conversely an inappropriate technique can make the learners avoid practicing and learning to speak.
Many English learners find problems to develop their ability to speak because of introversion. To solve the problems, the role of teachers is dispensable. The teachers are expected to be responsive toward their learners' participation in speaking activities. Therefore it is a task for the teachers to detect their students’ involvement whether their students are active to participate or not in the speaking activities. If the teachers find out that learners are not active in classroom because of lacking of motivation, the teachers need to create an atmosphere that can motivate them, such as: games, challenging tasks and prompt actions. If an inactive involvement found out is caused by introversion or it seems that the learners are less sufficient to be extrovert, the teachers need to give an extra attention to guide them to overcome their feeling of fear or shyness, for examples: creating a relax situation in teaching, asking the most talkative ones not to dominate the class, and giving a fair chance to the frightened and shy learners to participate.
It was stated by Brown in advance that extroversion is a potential and very important factor in second or foreign language acquisition, especially in improving speaking skill. This assumption appears in accordance with the conventional assumption in western society that introversion is not a preferred personality, conversely with extrovert personality which is shown to be friendly, sociable and talkative is more preferred and considered ideal. This assumption is brought in a Speaking class where teachers consider problems if their pupils tend to keep silent and not to participate speaking activities. Therefore, teachers always find ways to lead learners to tend to have characters to be like extroverts, so
that the learners are willing to speak and motivated to show bravery to speak.
Based on the indicated characteristics of extroversion, several implications of each indicated characteristic will be discussed below. Firstly, indicator of extrovert person is the tendency of being active. This tendency can be seen in their involvement in the speaking activity. Those who tend to be extrovert will tend to be active to speak and even always try to dominate the class as the internal condition as the extra energy forces the learners to show the activity. This type of character automatically will bring out some advantages, as the learners are always energized to speak and speak. Referring to the assumption that the only way to enable learners to have a speaking skill is through practice, certainly this type of characteristic will provide more chance for the learners to practice speaking.
Secondly, extrovert learners are indicated to be sociable and easy going. They tend to enjoy meeting people, not to seem clumsy. To be easy to adapt to a new atmosphere characterizes this personality. This of course provides benefits for the owners to support to gain the skill earlier.
Thirdly, people having extrovert personality tend to be talkative. The talkativeness has become their habit. This personality is very beneficial to develop the ability to speak. This supports learners to practice speaking and finally can increase their achievement in oral proficiency.
The forth indicator is risk taking. Extroverts tend to be brave to take risks. Psychologically learners are afraid to make mistakes when it is the first time to learn to speak. Beginners should be trained in such away so that they are not afraid to make mistakes. Learners who are brave to take risk are those who are not afraid to make mistakes in producing utterances. Although they make mistakes, they still try hard to practice speaking. It results in positive effect. Learners with this type get benefits from being brave to the risk so that they can develop their skill.
Fifthly, Impulsiveness characterizes someone to behave extrovertly. Impulsiveness is an action that happens spontaneously, without any advanced consideration from doers. If one’s degree of impulsiveness is low, it is assumed that the learner could not show tactful speaking ability to respond his interlocutor. In conducting communication, he could not be able to respond spontaneously because he needs to think and consider what he wants to say first before deciding to express it. Consequently, it influences the speed of communication. This problem should be limited. Therefore, in speaking activity learners are demanded to have high degree of impulsiveness so that communication can run well.
One of suggested ways to solve this problem is providing the time limit spent in group works. To develop student’s speaking skill, teachers should be aware of the impulsive aspect and expected to lead learners to be have high degree of impulsiveness.
Sixthly, extroversion is identified with the high degree of expressiveness. This factor affects the evaluation toward speaking skill. A learner’s speaking achievement could be less satisfactory because of their plain expression although the one has a good language competence. To get a satisfactory achievement, learners are demanded to show a good expression. And to develop their speaking skill, teachers should train them to have right expressions in uttering words and sentences.
Whether someone tends to be extrovert or not can be seen from their responsibility. According to Eysenck, an extrovert has a low degree of awareness toward his responsibility. Conversely an introvert has a high degree sense of responsibility. Ideally, learning achievement is determined by the responsibility of learners to achieve it. However research proves that a degree of responsibility correlates negatively with extroversion. It means that the more responsible the person is, the less extrovert the person will be. Responsibility here refers to the accurateness, caution, carefulness, and alertness of someone in doing something. The more responsible the person is, the more introvert he will be or the less extrovert will be. Learners with a type of personality of being too cautious, alert, careful and afraid making mistakes will get disadvantages and be hindered by their own personality in developing their speaking skill. It is suggested for beginners to omit their way of being too careful in uttering words and sentences. Teachers need to let them make mistakes first and to avoid prompt notification so that the learners feel confident to express ideas. If teachers always interrupt and show the learners mistakes on the spot, the teachers unconsciously hinder the learners to develop their speaking skill. The implication of this matter in the process of learning and teaching is that teachers of speaking are to create an interesting atmosphere so that the learners feel safe, not afraid to practice speaking the language learned and finally could get a good achievement.
E. Conclusion
In language learning and teaching process, there are many components involved. Those components are teachers, learners, curriculum, methods of teaching, and materials. Learners become one of the components that could not be neglected. However good the quality of the teacher is, it does not give a guarantee that the outcome will be
successful. Focusing on the learners, many problems appear in the effort of acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion.
Extroversion is a type of one’s personality that is shown from the tendency of being active, sociable, brave to take risk, impulsive, expressive, less reflective and less responsible. Extroversion characterizing one’s personality is very rare to happen in the extreme pole. One’s degree of extroversion ranges variously from the most extrovert to the most introvert.
Extroversion is an important aspect that influences language acquisition especially in acquiring the skill of speaking. Extroversion is beneficial for the learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.
References:
Brown, Douglas. 1980. Principles or Language Learning and Teaching. New
Jersey :Prentice-Hall, Inc.
. 1994.Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall,Inc.
Bush. Deborah. 1982. “Introversion-Extroversion an The EFL Proficiency of Japanese Students”. Language Learning. Vol. 32. no. 1Michigan : University of Michigan.
Bygate, Martin. 1987. Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clark, H. dan Clark, Eve V. 1973. Psychology & Language. New York:
Harcourt Brice Jovanovich, Inc.
Dulay, Burt & Krashen.1982. Language Two. New York: Oxford University.
Eysenck. H.j.& Wilson, Glenn. 1975. Know Your Own Personality. Linotype
Baskerville: Hazell Watson & Viney Ltd.
Finochiaro, M. 1974. English as a Second Language: From Theory to Practice.
New York: Regents.
Nunan, David. 1995. Language Teaching Methodology. London : Phonix ELT.
Pervin, Lawrence A and John, Oliver P. 1970. Personality: Theory and Research.
New York: John wiley & Sons, Inc.
Teopilus. Suzana. 2001. “The effects of Extroversion and Intyroversion on the
students’speaking and writing Achievement”. Magister. No. 9. Surabaya: FKIP UNIKA Widya Mandala.
Yul Iskandar. 2000. Test Personaliti. Jakarta. Yayasan Dharma Graha.
Teaching speaking skills 1Submitted by admin on 13 March, 2003 - 13:00
'I can understand my teacher's English, but when I speak to 'real people' I can't understand them'. This is a comment I'm sure many teachers have heard. While it is a bit of an exaggeration, students clearly feel that classroom-based speaking practice does not prepare them for the real world. Why do students so often highlight listening and speaking as their biggest problems? Partly because of the demands of listening and speaking and partly because of the way speaking is often taught. It usually consists of language practice activities (discussions, information-gap activities etc.) or is used to practise a specific grammar point. Neither teaches patterns of real interaction. So what can we do in the classroom to prepare students for real interaction?
• What do students need?
• Practical suggestions
• What language should I teach?
• How do I get students to use new language
• Further reading
What do students need?
• Practice at using L1 (mother tongue) strategies, which they don't automatically transfer.
• An awareness of formal / informal language and practice at choosing appropriate language for different situations.
• The awareness that informal spoken language is less complex than written language. It uses shorter sentences, is less organised and uses more 'vague' or non-specific language.
• Exposure to a variety of spoken text types.
• The ability to cope with different listening situations. Many listening exercises involve students as 'overhearers' even though most communication is face-to-face.
• To be competent at both 'message-oriented' or transactional language and interactional language, language for maintaining social relationships.
• To be taught patterns of real interaction.
• To have intelligible pronunciation and be able to cope with streams of speech.
• Rehearsal time. By giving students guided preparation / rehearsal time they are more likely to use a wider range of language in a spoken task.
Practical suggestions
• Transferring L1 strategiesWhen preparing for a spoken task, make students aware of any relevant L1 strategies that might help them to perform the task successfully. For example, 'rephrasing' if someone does not understand what they mean.
• Formal / informal languageGive students one or more short dialogues where one speaker is either too formal or informal. Students first identify the inappropriate language, then try to change it. Also show students how disorganised informal speech is.
• Vague languageUsing tapescripts of informal speech, focus on examples of vague language.
• Different spoken text typesDraw up a list of spoken text types relevant to the level of your class. Teach the language appropriate for each text type.
• Interactive listeningDevelop interactive listening exercises. Face-to-face listening is the most common and the least practised by course books. Any form of 'Live listening' (the teacher speaking to the students) is suitable. (See Try article for a more detailed outline of this)
• Transactional and interactional languageRaise students' awareness by using a dialogue that contains both. It could be two friends chatting to each other (interactional) and ordering a meal (transactional).
• Real interaction patternsTeach real interaction patterns. Introduce the following basic interactional pattern: Initiate, Respond, Follow-up. This is a simplification of Amy Tsui's work. See Tsui (1994) The following interaction could be analysed as follows:
A: What did you do last night? (Initiate)B: Went to the cinema (Respond)
A: Oh really? (Follow-up)What did you see? (Initiate)B: Lord of the Rings (Respond)Have you been yet? (Initiate)A: No it's difficult with the kids (Respond)B: Yeah of course (follow-up)
• Understanding spoken EnglishAfter a listening exercise give students the tapescript. Using part of it, students mark the stressed words, and put them into groups (tone units). You can use phone numbers to introduce the concept of tone units. The length of a tone unit depends on the type of spoken text. Compare a speech with an informal conversation. In the same lesson or subsequent listening lessons you can focus on reductions in spoken speech, for example, linking, elision and assimilation.
• Preparation and rehearsalBefore a spoken task, give students some preparation and rehearsal time. Students will need guidance on how to use it. A sheet with simple guidelines is effective.
• Real-life tasksTry to use real-life tasks as part of your teaching.
What language should I teach?Spoken language is both interactional and transactional, but what should teachers focus on in class? Brown and Yule (1983) suggest the following:
• When teaching spoken language, focus on teaching longer transactional turns. This is because native speakers have difficulty with them and because students need to be able to communicate information efficiently whether in their country or in a native-speaker country.
• Teach interactional language by using an awareness-raising approach. For example, with monolingual classes by listening to a recorded L1conversation before a similar L2 recording.For recordings of native-speaker interactional and transactional conversations, have a look at 'Exploring Spoken English' by McCarthy and Carter (1997). It not only contains a variety of text types, but each recording comes with analysis.
How do I get students to use new language?Research by Peter Skehan on Task-based Learning shows that giving students preparation time significantly increases the range of language used in the performance of the task,
whereas the accuracy of the language is not as influenced. If this is so, then it seems sensible to give students preparation time when encouraging them to use new language.
• Imagine you have been working on the language that would be useful for the following task: 'Having a conversation with a stranger on public transport'. You have now reached the stage where you wish students to perform the task. Rather than just give students 10 minutes to prepare and rehearse the task, give students guided preparation time.
A simple preparation guide for the task could be a few key questions like:How will you start the conversation?What topics are you going to talk about?How are you going to move from one topic to another?How are you going to end the conversation?
After the preparation stage, students give a 'live performance'. This can be in front of the class or group to group in a large class. This increases motivation and adds an element of real-life stress.
• Another way of encouraging students to use new language in a communication activity is to make a game out of it. Give students a situation and several key phrases to include. They get points for using the language.
Similarly, when working on the language of discussion, you can produce a set of cards with the key phrases/exponents on. The cards are laid out in front of each group of 2/3/4 students. If a student uses the language on a particular card appropriately during the discussion, he/she keeps the card. The student with the most cards wins. If he/she uses the language inappropriately, then he / she can be challenged and has to leave the card on the table.
Further readingBrown, G and G.Yule. 1983. Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge University PressBygate, M. 1987. Speaking. Oxford University PressCarter, R. and M. McCarthy. 1997. Exploring Spoken English. Cambridge University PressSkehan, P. 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford University PressTsui, A.B.M. 1994 English Conversation. Oxford University Press
Rolf Donald, Eastbourne School of English, Teacher and Teacher Trainer
Teaching speaking skills 2 - overcoming classroom problemsSubmitted by admin on 16 February, 2004 - 13:00
This article is written for teachers with large classes of students who have encountered some of the following or similar problems during speaking activities in their classroom.
• Why should we teach speaking skills in the classroom? o Motivationo Speaking is fundamental to human communication
• Dealing with the arguments against teaching speaking skills o Student's won't talk or say anythingo When students work in pairs or groups they just end up chatting in their
own languageo When all the students speak together it gets too noisy and out of hand and
I lose control of the classroom
• Conclusion
• References
Why should we teach speaking skills in the classroom? MotivationMany students equate being able to speak a language as knowing the language and therefore view learning the language as learning how to speak the language, or as Nunan (1991) wrote, "success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the (target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak or do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-motivated and lose interest in learning. On the other hand, if the right activities are taught in the right way, speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivation and making the English language classroom a fun and dynamic place to be.
Speaking is fundamental to human communication Just think of all the different conversations you have in one day and compare that with how much written communication you do in one day. Which do you do more of? In our daily lives most of us speak more than we write, yet many English teachers still spend the majority of class time on reading and writing practice almost ignoring speaking and listening skills. Do you think this is a good balance? If the goal of your language course is truly to enable your students to communicate in English, then speaking skills should be taught and practised in the language classroom.
Dealing with common arguments against teaching speaking skills in the classroom Students won't talk or say anythingOne way to tackle this problem is to find the root of the problem and start from there. If
the problem is cultural, that is in your culture it is unusual for students to talk out loud in class, or if students feel really shy about talking in front of other students then one way to go about breaking this cultural barrier is to create and establish your own classroom culture where speaking out loud in English is the norm. One way to do this is to distinguish your classroom from other classrooms in your school by arranging the classroom desks differently, in groups instead of lines etc. or by decorating the walls in English language and culture posters. From day one teach your students classroom language and keep on teaching it and encourage your students to ask for things and to ask questions in English. Giving positive feedback also helps to encourage and relax shy students to speak more. Another way to get students motivated to speak more is to allocate a percentage of their final grade to speaking skills and let the students know they are being assessed continually on their speaking practice in class throughout the term.
A completely different reason for student silence may simply be that the class activities are boring or are pitched at the wrong level. Very often our interesting communicative speaking activities are not quite as interesting or as communicative as we think they are and all the students are really required to do is answer 'yes' or 'no' which they do quickly and then just sit in silence or worse talking noisily in their L1. So maybe you need to take a closer look at the type of speaking activities you are using and see if they really capture student interest and create a real need for communication. (Why not try out some of the speaking activities on this web site).
Another way to encourage your students to speak in English is simply to speak in English yourself as much as possible in class. If you are shy about speaking in English, how can you expect your students to overcome their fears about speaking English? Don't worry if you are not completely fluent or don't have that elusive perfect native accent, as Swain (1985) wrote "We learn to speak by speaking" and that goes for teachers as well as students. The more you practise the more you will improve your own oral skills as well as help your students improve theirs.
When students work in pairs or groups they just end up chatting in their own language. Is the activity or task pitched at the right level for the students? Make sure you give the students all the tools and language they need to be able to complete the task. If the language is pitched too high they may revert to their L1, likewise if the task is too easy they may get bored and revert to their L1. Also, be aware of the fact that some students especially beginners, will often use their L1 as an emotional support at first, translating everything word for word to check they have understood the task before attempting to speak. In the case of these students simply be patient as most likely once their confidence grows in using English their dependence on using their L1 will begin to disappear.
Are all the students actively involved and is the activity interesting? If students do not have something to say or do, or don't feel the need to speak, you can be sure it won't be long before they are chatting away in their L1.
Was the timing of the activity good? The timing of a speaking activity in a class can be
crucial sometimes. How many teachers have discovered that their speaking activity ended up as a continuation of the students break-time gossip conducted in the L1? After break-time, why not try giving students an activity to calm them down and make them focus before attempting speaking activities that involve groups or pair work. Another way to discourage students speaking in their L1 is to walk around the classroom monitoring their participation and giving support and help to students as they need it. If certain students persist in speaking in the L1 then perhaps you should ask them to stay behind after class and speak to them individually and explain to them the importance of speaking English and ask them why they don't feel comfortable speaking in English in the class. Maybe they just need some extra reassurance or they don't like working with certain students or there is some other problem that you can help them to resolve.
When all the students speak together it gets too noisy and out of hand and I lose control of the classroom First of all separate the two points a noisy classroom and an out-of-control classroom. A classroom full of students talking and interacting in English, even if it is noisy, is exactly what you want. Maybe you just feel like you are losing control because the class is suddenly student centred and not teacher centred. This is an important issue to consider. Learner-centred classrooms where learners do the talking in groups and learners have to take responsibility for using communicative resources to complete a task are shown to be more conducive to language learning than teacher-centred classes (Long & Richards 1987). Nevertheless, many classrooms all over the world continue to be teacher centred, so the question you have to ask yourself is, how learner centred is my classroom?
Losing control of the classroom, on the other hand, is a different issue. Once again walking around and monitoring the students as they are working in groups can help, as you can naturally move over to the part of the classroom where the noise is coming from and calm the rogue students down and focus them back on the task without disrupting the rest of the students who are working well in their groups. If students really get too rowdy then simply change the pace of the class and type of activity to a more controlled task, for example a focus on form or writing task where students have to work in silence individually. Once the students have calmed down you can return to the original or another interactive group activity.
ConclusionThese are just some of the problems that teachers with large classes face when teaching speaking activities in the classroom. These problems are not new nor are the solutions offered above. Teachers all over the world continue to face the same hurdles, but any teacher who has overcome these difficulties and now has a large class of energetic students talking and working in English in groups together will tell you it is worth all the trial and error and effort at the outset. If you believe in the importance of teaching speaking skills in the classroom but are having difficulties making speaking activities work in your classroom why not contact your local teaching associations or branch of TESOL. Maybe they run workshops for teaching speaking skills, or maybe they can put you in contact with other teachers in similar situations but with more experience teaching speaking skills who will be willing to share their experiences with you.
References1. Celce-Murcia. M. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed). USA: Heinle&Heinle.2. Long M.H & Richards, J.C. (1987). Methodology in TESOL. USA: Heinle&Heinle. 3. Nunan. D. (1991) Language Teaching Methodology. UK: Prentice Hall International (Chapter two & three)4. Tanner .R. & Green.C.(1998) Tasks for teacher education. UK. Addisson Wesley Longman. Ltd.
Fiona Lawtie, ELT teacher, British Council, Caracas
Why use speaking aidsIn contrast, we often expect that our students have the right mood to speak without having anything that would help them to be in the right mood to speak, or any prompt that would help the flow of ideas. These small prompts or small speaking aids get especially important when children get into the age when they want to speak about themselves more than e.g. about the little animals or fairies in a tale. In this article, I will give you some ideas what little objects to use and how to use them so that students aged 12 upwards find speaking easier and less stressful.
Post-it notesPost-it notes are great conversation starters. Ask your students to put information on a post-it note each, and get them to wear it, mingle and find out about each other. What can be written on the post-it notes?
• To practise the simple past e.g., get them to write a name, a date and a place that is important to them. These three things should come from three different stories or events in their lives.
• To practise e.g. the Simple Present, used to, the Present Perfect or likes/dislikes, ask them to write five things, some true and some untrue about themselves on the post-it notes. When students mingle, they ask further questions to find out which are true and which are not.
WallsWalls of your classroom can be given meanings such as:
• Agree - disagree: Ask students to position themselves between the two walls to express their opinion on a statement e.g. ‘Playing computer games is a waste of time.' The closer they are to a wall the more they are of that opinion. First, ask students to share ideas with people near them, then put students far from each other together to talk.
• Summer - winter /casual - elegant /men's - ladies': Say names of clothes items and ask students to position themselves between the two walls to express their opinion about the clothes, and then ask them why they are where they are.
• Like - dislike: Say names of performers, sports, types of music, etc. as relevant in your class and ask people to comment on their position.
• I know - I don't know: Ask a question related to your topic. A. Ask students standing nearer the ‘I know' wall to share what they know about your topic. B. Ask students standing nearer the ‘I don't know' wall to ask further questions or make a list of things they would need to know. Then put A's and B's together. Ask B's to give the answer to your initial question at the end.
Coloured paperColoured paper can be used as a metaphor that represents the choice of the student. Here is how you do it:
• Lay a good selection of different coloured paper out on the floor or on a big table in the middle of the classroom so that all the colours are visible to the class. Call out a subject e.g. something you like to eat. Everyone takes a colour that corresponds to something they like to eat.
• Give students 1 to 2 minutes to talk to each other about the subject then ask students to put the coloured paper back.
• Change the subject and at the same time, ask students to change partners and find the colour that they associate with the new subject. Some possible subjects: clothes, food, a place I like, a holiday decoration in my house, a season, an animal, music, a good friend, a dream. It's better to go from concrete to more abstract subjects.
Original idea by Karen Sekiguchi
Small objectsSmall objects such as Lego pieces, buttons, pebbles, shells, toothpicks, etc. can be used A. to control turn-taking, B. as metaphors representing other things or people.
• To control turn-takingWhen students discuss a topic, tell a story or describe a picture in small groups, give everybody an equal number of some small objects e.g. shells or toothpicks. Their aim is to get rid of the objects as they talk. They can get rid of the objects by putting them down if - you set it depending on their fluency level - they say a
complete sentence or minimum three sentences about the subject. You can do it the other way around: give groups a pile of objects and students can pick up objects when they contribute to the conversation. Here the aim is to collect as many objects as possible.
• As metaphorsSmall objects can represent real beings, like the student's best friend or their pet. It makes it easier and more interesting to describe people and animals this way. You can also ask the student to focus on similarities and differences between the object and the person or animal.Buttons are easy and fun to transform into different imaginary people. Give out a good selection of different buttons. Get students to choose one and imagine what kind of person it would be, what this person would like, how they would live, what their name would be, etc. Get students to mingle and find a button friend for their button person.
Small objects like Lego pieces can also represent periods/events in students' lives, e.g. three holidays they have had, three semesters of school or some important years. Students choose the periods/events/years first, then they choose little objects to represent them. Pairs then share.
ConclusionUsing these little, inexpensive speaking aids has the following advantages:
• Students get prepared for talking as they are thinking about the prompt, e.g. which object to choose, what to write or where to stand. So there is thinking time with an outcome that later will help talking.
• Students concentrate on the subject through concentrating on the prompt.
• It is easier to start talking as these prompts communicate first, so they break the ice before the students start talking.
• They decrease anxiety as people's attention shifts from the person who speaks to the prompt. Also, there is something to hold, to look at or to move around for.
• Their use often results in natural groupings, e.g. students with the same or different opinions, interests and ways of thinking.
• Their use often triggers imagination and/or brings back memory, so it helps creative expression, personalisation and originality in speaking.
• They develop thinking skills such as forming an opinion, finding similarities and differences and using metaphors.
• They talk to and rely on different intelligences and senses.
• They are very flexible and easily adaptable to different levels, ages and teaching aims.
The ideal language department of a school would have a good selection of small objects, small speaking aids for teachers to use in their lessons.
Further readingLindstromberg, Seth (ed.) Language Activities for Teenagers (2003) Cambridge, UK: CUPBonnie Tsai and Judit Fehér Creative Resources (2003) Atlanta, USA: IAL
Judit Fehér, Freelance teacher, Trainer, Materials writer
eaching speaking skills 2 - overcoming classroom problemsSubmitted by admin on 16 February, 2004 - 13:00
This article is written for teachers with large classes of students who have encountered some of the following or similar problems during speaking activities in their classroom.
• Why should we teach speaking skills in the classroom? o Motivationo Speaking is fundamental to human communication
• Dealing with the arguments against teaching speaking skills o Student's won't talk or say anythingo When students work in pairs or groups they just end up chatting in their
own languageo When all the students speak together it gets too noisy and out of hand and
I lose control of the classroom
• Conclusion
• References
Why should we teach speaking skills in the classroom? MotivationMany students equate being able to speak a language as knowing the language and therefore view learning the language as learning how to speak the language, or as Nunan (1991) wrote, "success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in
the (target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak or do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-motivated and lose interest in learning. On the other hand, if the right activities are taught in the right way, speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivation and making the English language classroom a fun and dynamic place to be.
Speaking is fundamental to human communication Just think of all the different conversations you have in one day and compare that with how much written communication you do in one day. Which do you do more of? In our daily lives most of us speak more than we write, yet many English teachers still spend the majority of class time on reading and writing practice almost ignoring speaking and listening skills. Do you think this is a good balance? If the goal of your language course is truly to enable your students to communicate in English, then speaking skills should be taught and practised in the language classroom.
Dealing with common arguments against teaching speaking skills in the classroom Students won't talk or say anythingOne way to tackle this problem is to find the root of the problem and start from there. If the problem is cultural, that is in your culture it is unusual for students to talk out loud in class, or if students feel really shy about talking in front of other students then one way to go about breaking this cultural barrier is to create and establish your own classroom culture where speaking out loud in English is the norm. One way to do this is to distinguish your classroom from other classrooms in your school by arranging the classroom desks differently, in groups instead of lines etc. or by decorating the walls in English language and culture posters. From day one teach your students classroom language and keep on teaching it and encourage your students to ask for things and to ask questions in English. Giving positive feedback also helps to encourage and relax shy students to speak more. Another way to get students motivated to speak more is to allocate a percentage of their final grade to speaking skills and let the students know they are being assessed continually on their speaking practice in class throughout the term.
A completely different reason for student silence may simply be that the class activities are boring or are pitched at the wrong level. Very often our interesting communicative speaking activities are not quite as interesting or as communicative as we think they are and all the students are really required to do is answer 'yes' or 'no' which they do quickly and then just sit in silence or worse talking noisily in their L1. So maybe you need to take a closer look at the type of speaking activities you are using and see if they really capture student interest and create a real need for communication. (Why not try out some of the speaking activities on this web site).
Another way to encourage your students to speak in English is simply to speak in English yourself as much as possible in class. If you are shy about speaking in English, how can you expect your students to overcome their fears about speaking English? Don't worry if you are not completely fluent or don't have that elusive perfect native accent, as Swain (1985) wrote "We learn to speak by speaking" and that goes for teachers as well as students. The more you practise the more you will improve your own oral skills as well
as help your students improve theirs.
When students work in pairs or groups they just end up chatting in their own language. Is the activity or task pitched at the right level for the students? Make sure you give the students all the tools and language they need to be able to complete the task. If the language is pitched too high they may revert to their L1, likewise if the task is too easy they may get bored and revert to their L1. Also, be aware of the fact that some students especially beginners, will often use their L1 as an emotional support at first, translating everything word for word to check they have understood the task before attempting to speak. In the case of these students simply be patient as most likely once their confidence grows in using English their dependence on using their L1 will begin to disappear.
Are all the students actively involved and is the activity interesting? If students do not have something to say or do, or don't feel the need to speak, you can be sure it won't be long before they are chatting away in their L1.
Was the timing of the activity good? The timing of a speaking activity in a class can be crucial sometimes. How many teachers have discovered that their speaking activity ended up as a continuation of the students break-time gossip conducted in the L1? After break-time, why not try giving students an activity to calm them down and make them focus before attempting speaking activities that involve groups or pair work. Another way to discourage students speaking in their L1 is to walk around the classroom monitoring their participation and giving support and help to students as they need it. If certain students persist in speaking in the L1 then perhaps you should ask them to stay behind after class and speak to them individually and explain to them the importance of speaking English and ask them why they don't feel comfortable speaking in English in the class. Maybe they just need some extra reassurance or they don't like working with certain students or there is some other problem that you can help them to resolve.
When all the students speak together it gets too noisy and out of hand and I lose control of the classroom First of all separate the two points a noisy classroom and an out-of-control classroom. A classroom full of students talking and interacting in English, even if it is noisy, is exactly what you want. Maybe you just feel like you are losing control because the class is suddenly student centred and not teacher centred. This is an important issue to consider. Learner-centred classrooms where learners do the talking in groups and learners have to take responsibility for using communicative resources to complete a task are shown to be more conducive to language learning than teacher-centred classes (Long & Richards 1987). Nevertheless, many classrooms all over the world continue to be teacher centred, so the question you have to ask yourself is, how learner centred is my classroom?
Losing control of the classroom, on the other hand, is a different issue. Once again walking around and monitoring the students as they are working in groups can help, as you can naturally move over to the part of the classroom where the noise is coming from and calm the rogue students down and focus them back on the task without disrupting the
rest of the students who are working well in their groups. If students really get too rowdy then simply change the pace of the class and type of activity to a more controlled task, for example a focus on form or writing task where students have to work in silence individually. Once the students have calmed down you can return to the original or another interactive group activity.
ConclusionThese are just some of the problems that teachers with large classes face when teaching speaking activities in the classroom. These problems are not new nor are the solutions offered above. Teachers all over the world continue to face the same hurdles, but any teacher who has overcome these difficulties and now has a large class of energetic students talking and working in English in groups together will tell you it is worth all the trial and error and effort at the outset. If you believe in the importance of teaching speaking skills in the classroom but are having difficulties making speaking activities work in your classroom why not contact your local teaching associations or branch of TESOL. Maybe they run workshops for teaching speaking skills, or maybe they can put you in contact with other teachers in similar situations but with more experience teaching speaking skills who will be willing to share their experiences with you.
References1. Celce-Murcia. M. (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed). USA: Heinle&Heinle.2. Long M.H & Richards, J.C. (1987). Methodology in TESOL. USA: Heinle&Heinle. 3. Nunan. D. (1991) Language Teaching Methodology. UK: Prentice Hall International (Chapter two & three)4. Tanner .R. & Green.C.(1998) Tasks for teacher education. UK. Addisson Wesley Longman. Ltd.