SPEAKING

"THE PRACTICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TEACHING" BY JEREMY HARMER
 THE
IMPORTAN CE OF
S POK E N E N G L IS H
S P O K E N E N G L I S H I S A C O R E L A N G U A G E S K I L L T H AT
N E E D S F O C U S E D AT T E N T I O N .
DEVELOPING FLUENCY AND ACCURACY IN SPOKEN
E N G L I S H I S C R U C I A L F O R E F F E C T I V E C O M M U N I C AT I O N .
S T U D E N T S R E Q U I R E P R A C T I C E I N VA R I O U S S P E A K I N G
CONTEXTS AND FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
 Spoken language
The Role of The Importance of Conversational
Characteristics of Teaching Spoken
Listenership in Lexical Phrases and Strategies for
Spoken English English
Conversation Adjacency Pairs Fluency
• Effective • Spoken English differs • Creating a supportive • Lexical phrases are • Students often
communication significantly from classroom crucial for fluent struggle with finding
involves both speaking written English in environment is speech. the right words in
and listening. terms of grammar, essential for • Adjacency pairs are conversations.
• Students need to vocabulary, and encouraging student predictable patterns in • Teaching repair
develop active structure. participation. conversation that strategies (e.g., asking
listening skills (e.g., • Features like ellipsis, • Exposure to authentic facilitate interaction. for clarification,
body language, verbal contractions, and spoken language • Both contribute paraphrasing) is
feedback). discourse markers are through listening significantly to essential.
• Turn-taking and common in spoken activities is beneficial. effective • Discourse markers
managing language. • Explicit teaching of communication. and phrases improve
interruptions are vital • The use of "tails" and spoken grammar coherence and fluency.
for successful two-step questions is features can be
conversations. prevalent in spoken considered.
English. • A balance between
fluency and accuracy is
necessary.
CHALLENGES IN
TEACHING
SPEAKING
C O M M O N D I F F I C U LT I E S F A C E D B Y
L E A R N E R S A N D T E AC H E R S OV E R C O M I N G
THESE CHALLENGES
Reluctant Students
• Fear of failure: Many students are hesitant to speak due to the fear of making mistakes or
appearing foolish.
• Anxiety and affective filter: Stress and anxiety can hinder language acquisition. Creating a
Understanding relaxed atmosphere is crucial.
Student Psychology

• Lowering the affective filter: Employ techniques like background music to create a
comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
• Matching tasks to student level: Ensure activities are challenging but achievable to boost
confidence.
Creating a
Conducive Learning • Leveraging pair and group work: These formats reduce pressure and encourage
Environment participation.

• Preparation time: Allow students time to gather thoughts and practice before speaking.
• Utilizing the "inner voice": Encourage mental rehearsal to improve fluency and confidence.
• Consider the use of L1: In certain situations, allowing students to think in their first language
Building Student can aid in idea generation and expression.
Confidence
SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES
VA R I E T Y O F S P E A K I N G A C T I V I T I E S ( PA I R
W O R K , G R O U P W O R K , R O L E - P L AY S ,
D E B AT E S , E T C . ) E X A M P L E S O F A C T I V I T I E S
A N D H OW TO I M P L E M E N T T H E M
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES

Dialogues
• Improves • Encourage

Communication Games
Acting from Scripts • Promote
pronunciation, students to fluency and
fluency, and extend and spontaneity.
overall modify • Develop
language use. dialogues. communicative
• Boosts student • Use intonation competence.
confidence and and gesture to • Foster
empathy. enhance cooperation
• Develops meaning. and teamwork.
problem- • Vary dialogue
solving and delivery
critical through
thinking skills. different
voices and
emotions.
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
Types of Discussions Buzz groups: Use for brainstorming,

Specific Discussion
problem-solving, and opinion sharing.
Buzz groups: Short, informal discussions
used for brainstorming, generating ideas,
and preparing for larger tasks.
Formal debates: Assign roles, provide

Activities
research materials, and structure the
debate for maximum engagement.
Formal debates: Structured discussions
with prepared arguments, involving panel
speakers and audience participation.
Unplanned discussions: Be prepared to
capitalize on teachable moments and
encourage student-led conversations.
Unplanned discussions: Spontaneous
conversations that arise naturally in the
classroom.
Consensus-building activities: Present
challenging scenarios that require
students to reach a collective decision.
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
Prepared talks are a valuable activity for developing oral proficiency. They involve students
delivering speeches on self-chosen topics.
to maximize the benefits of prepared talks, teachers should:
•Allocate sufficient preparation time: Guide students through the preparation process,
including recording and transcribing initial drafts.
•Facilitate rehearsal: Encourage practice through peer feedback sessions, establishing clear
evaluation criteria.
•Support multimedia integration: Assist students in selecting and effectively using audio,
video, or PowerPoint elements.
•Promote active listening: Assign listening tasks to enhance engagement and support
presenters.
•Provide constructive feedback: Offer opportunities for self-reflection and improvement
through feedback and repeated performance.
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES

Language Learning Tool

Making Recordings as a
Storytelling Increase motivation: Storytelling
taps into our natural inclination to
Enhanced Language Practice: Creating
audio or video recordings provides students
share experiences. with ample opportunities to practice
speaking, listening, and pronunciation.

Leverage existing skills: Everyone Collaborative Learning: Working together

has some storytelling ability, making it on recording projects fosters teamwork,
an accessible activity. communication, and language exchange
among students.

Promote language acquisition: Authentic Output: By producing their own

Repeated storytelling allows for media content, students gain exposure to
real-world language use and develop a deeper
natural language practice and understanding of language structure and
improvement. function.
GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
To make sure everyone takes part in making the video, it's important to give everyone
something to do.

Divide people into groups: If you have more than one camera, split the class into teams.
This way, everyone can have a job.

Wait to choose roles: Don't pick who does what until the last minute. This gives
everyone a fair chance.

Give lots of jobs: There are many things to do besides acting, filming, and directing.
People can help with the script, lights, or costumes.
SUMMARY
MAIN POINTS
MAIN POINTS
•Creating a supportive environment: Fostering a classroom atmosphere where
learners feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes.

•Variety of activities: Implementing a range of speaking activities to cater to different

learning styles and skill levels.

•Focus on meaning: Prioritizing communication of ideas over grammatical perfection.

•Implicit learning: Recognizing that much language acquisition occurs naturally
through exposure and interaction.

•Learner-centered approach: Empowering students to take ownership of their

learning and develop their speaking abilities independently.
THANK
YOU