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?What are Speaking Skills

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Speaking Skills

Here you’ll find everything you need to know about

speaking skills, including a definition, key information and
.excellent teaching resources

?What are speaking skills

The ability to speak confidently and fluently is something
which children will develop during their time at school,
.and something that will help them throughout their life

Speaking skills are defined as the skills which allow us to

communicate effectively. They give us the ability to
convey information verbally and in a way that the listener
.can understand

Children will learn English speaking skills as well as

speaking skills in other languages, in primary and
secondary school. Learning how to develop English
speaking skills is so important for ESL students and EAL
students too. It's one of the most important parts of
language learning as speaking is how we tend to
.communicate in everyday life

Speaking is an interactive process where information is

shared, and if necessary, acted upon by the listener. So,
it’s important to develop both speaking and listening
.skills in order to communicate effectively

The four elements of speaking skills

:Vocabulary

To develop our speaking skills, we first need to know the

right words. Vocabulary development begins when we are
infants, as we learn to describe the world around us and
communicate our needs. This progresses from single
words to sentences when children are 2 or 3, at which
point they will normally have a vocabulary of 150-300
.words

Vocabulary development is where students understand

the meanings and pronunciations of words necessary for
communication. When they understand what a word
means, they can check what the word or sentence
means. This is so important so they can keep up a
conversation. If they understand what the other person is
saying and they know what vocabulary to say back, they
.are halfway there to communicating effectively

Did you know that to be considered fluent in a language,

?you need to have a vocabulary of around 10,000 words

:Grammar

You may think that grammar is something we only need

for written language. But grammar includes lots of
important areas for spoken language such as an
understanding of tenses and the correct way to structure
sentences. Grammar helps us to convey information in a
.way that the listener will recognise and understand

:Pronunciation

Understanding how to correctly pronounce words is

another important element of speaking skills. We learn
how to pronounce words by listening to those around us,
such as our parents, friends and teachers. Pronunciation
!varies from country to country, and even city to city

A lot of this comes from phonemic awareness. This

involves understanding the small units that make up
spoken language. English can differ quite a lot compared
to other languages. Some phonemes might not be in ESL
students' native languages and children's minds are
trained to categorise phonemes in their first language, so
it can become confusing. Developing this ability in
English can come from playing language games and
using songs and poems to reiterate rhythm and
repetition. Phonics is where students start to see the
relationship between the sounds of spoken language and
graphemes which are the letters and spellings
.representing sounds in written language

:Fluency

Fluency in spoken language is something that naturally

develops as children go through school, as they are using
and practising speaking skills every day. Reading widely
(and out loud) is a good way to improve fluency as it
introduces children to new vocabulary and reinforces
.their knowledge of spoken language

Fluency is the ability to hear words and understand them

straight away. If they see a word written down, they can
read it aloud and pronounce it properly. Ways to develop
this include guiding your students to read passages out
loud. You could also get your students to read aloud in
front of the class. This builds their confidence and also
.helps them to annunciate better

The more fluent your students are in English, the more

interesting, exciting and insightful conversations they can
.have

?Why are speaking skills important to learn

Speaking skills are one of the most important skills we
learn, as they allow us to communicate with others and
express our thoughts and feelings. Speaking skills can be
separated into formal and informal speaking skills, and
we use both types of speaking skills in a variety of
.contexts throughout life

Informal speaking skills are important for conversations

with friends and family, helping us to form emotional
connections. Formal speech, on the other hand, is
necessary for workplaces, in presentations or for
conversations with people you don’t know. Formal
language is important as it helps us to make a good
.impression on people and communicate politely

As an ESL or EAL student, speaking skills are considered

the most important part of learning a language. In fact,
many language learners measure their performance by
how well they can speak it. As most effective foreign
language learning takes place through interaction, it's a
skill that can be honed to really build an understanding of
.the language and culture of English-speaking countries

Yet it can be so easy to find speaking daunting or

challenging. It isn't as straightforward as we may like.
Teachers need to encourage students to speak as much
as possible. They can make it as fun as the structure of
their lessons will allow. This might be through role-play,
.group work or even projects

Speaking skills on the National Curriculum

The National Curriculum states that spoken language is a
crucial part of learning English in schools. Throughout
:primary school, children will learn to

Listen and respond to teachers and

classmates

Build their vocabulary

Use spoken language to express feelings, give

explanations and describe

Ask questions to increase their understanding

Participate in drama, conversations, role play,

discussions and debates

Understand formal and informal speech

Listen and understand different points of view

Hold the attention of the listener

How to develop English speaking skills

with ESL students
Practice makes perfect when it comes to developing
English speaking skills. Listening to English,
understanding grammar and reading can all help slightly,
but they're never going to improve English speaking skills
to the extent it is possible. Your class need to actually
speak. As ESL students, understanding the nature of
English can be a real struggle. Students with different
native languages can be at a disadvantage because of
.the nature of English

Here are some helpful tips on how to develop English

:speaking skills

Learn new vocabulary in phrases - although

learning new words and their pronunciation is
always beneficial, some words need to be
learnt in phrases to be of much use when
.speaking in English

For example, a cup of coffee might be more useful than

"just learning "coffee

Focus on pronunciation. Although learning

lots of vocabulary can boost English skills, if
these words aren't pronounced correctly it can
be easy to misunderstand what the student is
saying. A top tip to ensure students
pronounce the words they've learnt correctly
could be to try some tongue twisters. For
example, this PowerPoint full of tongue-
twisters would be really useful to get your
.class practising

Ensure they understand how English flows.

With ESL students, an important focus on how
to develop English speaking skills is to get
them into the flow of how English is usually
spoken. This is because often their native
language has a very different flow. Native
speakers of English link words together, often
resulting in a sound disappearing, or a new
sound being made. There are often some
syllables stressed that wouldn't be in other
.languages or a different rhythm overall

Get them to practice self-talk. This involves

getting them to talk loudly in English to
themselves. This could be before completing
a task, such as "shall we go and grab a
".coffee?" to "I need to go to the gym tonight

Encourage your students to download

practice apps. This can break down difficult
language into manageable chunks that can be
.practised on the go at regular intervals

Improving speaking skills with EAL

students
Children who are learning English as an additional
language may need extra help developing their speaking
skills and fluency in English. We’ve put together some
ideas for assisting EAL children in learning spoken
:English

Give children a language buddy. Get EAL .1

children to work on tasks in pairs with a native
speaker so they can practise their skills and
.pick up new vocabulary

Create a synonym display board so children .2

can learn new words and have a more varied
vocabulary

Encourage children learning English to spend .3

time reading out loud every day. This will help
them improve their fluency and confidence
.with English

Resources to improve children’s speaking

skills
We have a wealth of resources designed to support your
.children’s learning and improve their speaking skills

One great idea is to hold a No Pens Day, which

encourages children to communicate verbally and listen
actively. This ready-to-use PowerPoint will introduce your
.class to No Pens Day and explain why it's useful

Develop speaking and listening skills with this handy set

of posters, which include helpful tips on how to have
engaging conversations with others. And, for children
who are struggling with speaking skills and need a little
extra help, we have the KS2 Speaking and Listening
Catch Up Pack, including a range of activities to bring
children up to speed. Perfect for small group
.interventions

What’s more, you can help children develop their

speaking and listening skills through drama activities. Try
out this fun improvisation activity to improve fluency and
.spoken language skills in a fun way

And for more information on speaking skills, make sure

to visit our Conversation Skills or Public Speaking Skills
.pages

3MinuteELT: A Speaking Game for…

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ESL

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