HOW TO TEACH SPEAKING

Outside the context of any classroom, all children who are repeatedly exposed to language, in
normal circumstances will learn it unconsciously. Most adults can learn a language without
studying it. Though they may have more trouble with pronunciation and grammar than
younger learners, they may still be able to communicate fluently. Children and adults who
learn language successfully outside a classroom context seem to share certain similarities.
First of all, they are usually exposed to language which they more or less understand even if,
sometimes, they can't produce the same language spontaneously themselves. Secondly, they
are motivated to learn the language in order to be able to communicate. And communication is
mainly an oral business. And finally they have opportunities to use the language they are
learning, thus checking their own progress and abilities.
All these features of natural language acquisition can be difficult to replicate in the classroom,
but there are elements which are no doubt worth imitating. Obviously enough within the
classroom environment students don't get the same kind of exposure as those who are
"picking up" the language. But we should try to work on motivation, language exposure,
maximised talking time and we should offer chances to use the language.
This module will deal with communicative (or conversational) skills, that is those skills a
speaker must possess when he or she wants to communicate something orally.
Communicative (conversational) skills
When we think about speaking, we mean when the students use any and all the language at
their command to perform some kind of oral task. The important thing is that there should be
a task to complete and that the students should want to complete it.
The reasons why it is a good idea to give students speaking tasks which provoke them to use
all and any language at their command are mainly three:
1) Rehearsal: when students have free discussions or conversations inside the classroom
they have a chance to rehearse having discussions or conversations outside the classroom.
Simply enough, when they meet a new friend from abroad the first conversation will be
about introducing oneself, one's own family etc. Having them take part in a role-play at the
lost property office allows them to rehearse such a real-life event in the safety of the
classroom. It is a way for students to "get the feel" of what communicating in the foreign
language really feels like.
2) Feedback: engagement in a speaking task which demands for the use of all and any
language at the students' command provides feedback for both teacher and students.
3) Engagement: completing a speaking task can be really motivating and give real
satisfaction. Many speaking tasks (role-play, discussions, debate, problem-solving etc.) are
intrinsically enjoyable in themselves and if planned carefully (by the teacher) and
completed successfully (by the students) contribute to increasing their self-esteem.
What is conversation?
Teachers often tend to assume that conversation in the language classroom involves nothing
more than putting into practice the grammar and vocabulary skills taught elsewhere in the
course. But if we want to teach conversation well, we need to know something about what
native speakers do when they have conversations. We have chosen to deal with conversation
here, because conversation is what normally occurs in everyday life, in the contacts students
will have with foreign friends or foreign people in general. With the term "conversation" we
refer to a spoken interaction between two or more people who don't follow a fixed schedule.
The purposes of conversation include the exchange of information, the creation and
maintenance of social relationships, the negotiation of status and social roles as well as
deciding on joint actions.
The basic unit of a conversation is an exchange. An exchange consists of two moves (an
initiating move and a response):
A. Would you like a cup of coffee?
B. Yes, please.
We can give a function to each move. In the case above we have offering (A) and accepting
(B). To do so we need to take account of factors such as who the speakers are and where and
when the conversation occurs.
An exchange or a series of exchanges are not necessarily the same thing as a conversation:
A. Excuse me?
B. Yes?
A. How do I get to the railway station from here?
B. Go straight on, then take the first turning on the right. The railway station is at the end of the street.


Step 1

Make periodic lists. Encourage students to make a list of situations or opportunities in which they may believe it might be a good idea to speak English. Gather up these initial lists and refer to them later. The idea here is to see if students take advantage of potential opportunities when they present themselves.

Step 2

Get them listening. If you want to effectively teach someone to speak English, try to improve their listening skills. Introduce them to the concept of active listening by performing "paying attention" exercises. It may sound a little silly, but speaking English is a lot more than just understanding words, too. Learning context is a large portion of effectively communication.

Step 3

Get them talking. Have a student speak aloud as often as possible and be sure to let them know it is fine if they feel the need to repeat things over and over, as well.

Step 4

Teach them how to guess. In some circumstances, native English speakers might have to guess or infer what another person has said to them. One such example is when people have to guess at a word they do not know or recognize. Native English speakers are able to do this because they learn certain non-verbal cues from parents or caregivers as children. Someone can learn to speak English by being taught certain relational cues between speakers, as well.

Step 5

Invent new words or phrases, if necessary. Often times when a non-native English speaker finds they are engaged in a conversation that is unfamiliar to them, they will refuse to speak entirely for fear of humiliation or embarrassment. Rather than have them simply be at a loss for words, have them practice describing scenarios in English, even invent new phrases. If they cannot remember the word for "elevator," have them remember to say "moving box, up and down." If they cannot remember the word for "lolipop," have them say "candy on a stick," for example.