Thursday, January 14, 2010

Writing in professional context 2

Developing speaking skills







By:

Anggi Mardianny

07211210254











ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHING AND EDUCATION

IBN KHALDUN UNIVERSITY BOGOR

2009









PREFACE



Alhamdulillahhirabbil’alamin, in the name of Allah, the beneficent and the merciful. Thank to Allah the Almighty lord of the world who has given the writer mercy, blessing, and health until nowadays.

Shalawat and salam to our prophet Muhammad SAW, who has brought us to the lightness. The last messenger came to human being in order to illuminate them by straight a way.

The purpose of this paper is to complete one of assessments writing in professional context 2.





































Introduction





Language is means of expressing our ideas, opinion, felling and thinking. There are many kinds of language in the world, one of those is English. English is one of the foreign languages which are learnt in Indonesia . The aim of English teaching is in order that. The student can have language skills, there are reading, listening, speaking, and writing in English. Learning a foreign language is to learn how to communicate by the as the target language, either spoken or written. There is not easy to master that particularly the former one while the spoken language is regarded as the prime channel of communication in language. Since the years ago, the experts, particularly the linguist have been making many kinds of attempts to facilitate the teacher in language teaching as well as language acquisition either second or foreign language. It can be proved by being developed the methods. The community language learning related to develop speaking skill with underlying reason as follows to provide an alternative way for the English teacher to improve their teaching methods of speaking, and than to facilitate the student in developing their speaking skills, and to encourage the students to be more active and creative in learning to speak English..

Many people think that knowing a lot of words is a key to fluent speaking. It's true! However, there are many people who have wide idiolect and problem with fluency. They try to learn more and more words because they think vocabulary is their problem. They don't realize the problem is somewhere else. They always try to use exact translation of the word they want to use, but it causes that they often get stuck. If you have same problem remember that almost all words can be swapped by some other words. If you'll be speaking and suddenly stop, trying to get to your mind translation of some word, forget it! Try to say what you have on mind in other words - practicing it is a real key to fluent English conversation.









Teaching and learning speaking



1. Definition of Speaking

Brown and Yule stated in their book. “Speaking is to express the needs–request, information, service, etc.”

The speakers say words to the listener not only to express what in her mind but also to express what he needs whether information service. Most people might spend of their everyday life in communicating with other. Revell defines communication as follow: “Communication, of ideas, of opinions, of feeling.” Therefore, communication involves at least two people where both sender and receiver need to communicate to exchange information, ideas, opinions, views, or feelings. Meanwhile, Jones stated, “Speaking is a form of communication.”

We can say that the speaker must consider the person they are talking to as listeners. The activity that the person does primary based on particular goal. So, it is important that everything we wants to say is conveyed in an effective way, Because speaking is not only producing sounds but also a process of achieving goals that involves transferring messages across Therefore, speaking process should pay attention how to say as well as to whom appropriately.. “How you say something can be important as what you say in getting your meaning across.”

Ideas, opinions, views, or feelings. Speaking is an activity used by someone to communicate with other. It takes place very where and has become part of our daily activities. When someone speaks, he or she interacts and uses the language to express his or her ideas, feeling, and thought. He or she also shares information to other trough communication.













2. English teaching learning

In all of the teaching learning process there are four factors which will help and facilitate the process teacher. Interaction between teacher and students, method, and materials. A teacher is an important factor to facilitate the process. As the target of teaching learning process is the learners so the teacher’s attention should be focused on how the students can be involved in the learning process. This means that the role of teacher changes over from the presenter of the materials the guide, helper and facilitation in learning process. However,” it must be remembered that the teacher it still the person specially trained to guide the student help him select appropriate learning materials, and create a positive classroom environment”. In teaching speaking the teachers have to urge the student feeling free to speak in the target language and guide them to convey their ideas correctly.



1. Technique of Teaching English Speaking

Every student who studies English will study about all components, which in that subject. Those components are reading, listening, writing and speaking. All components have great correlation and support each other; one of those items will be discussed by researcher is teaching speaking. As one of the language skills, speaking can be complex process. The first speaking has some points to show speaking and productions are relate in the mind of individual for the learners. The learners also need production to get interaction in receiving messages, result according to Hymens, “Communication competence”

Sometimes students-perhaps especially those at the lower levels-can be anxious about speaking in class. One way to overcome their reticence and increase their opportunities to speak is to use pair work and group work. Pair work and group work are configuration of people for doing activities, rather than activity types per se. Pair work, as the name suggest, involve two students working together to complete task or exercise target language. Group work is three or more students working together.







3. Developing Speaking skill

Considering the function of language that is as a device of communication, it can not be devised that speaking is one of the ways to gain the function of that. Unfortunately, it is not an easy task for teacher to get their students to speak, although the teaching speaking has a prominent place in all methods and approaches. The problems which arise is there has not been a method yet considered to be the best or most effective one. Beside, there are much more factors that add in the complexities of teaching speaking.





4. Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills

Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. Effective instructors teach students speaking strategies using minimal responses, recognizing scripts, and using language to talk about language which they can use to help themselves expand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in using it. These instructors’ help students learn to speak so that the students can use speaking to learn.

1. Using minimal responses

Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking. One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types of exchanges. Such responses can be especially useful for beginners. Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying. Having a stock of such responses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying, without having to simultaneously plan a response.



2. Recognizing scripts

Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges a script. Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, and other functions that are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow patterns or scripts. So do the transactional exchanges involved in activities such as obtaining information and making a purchase. In these scripts, the relationship between a speaker's turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated.

Instructors can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware of the scripts for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and what they will need to say in response. Through interactive activities, instructors can give students practice in managing and varying the language that different scripts contain.

3. Using language to talk about language

Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything when they do not understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversation partner has not understood them. Instructors can help students overcome this reticence by assuring them that misunderstanding and the need for clarification can occur in any type of interaction, whatever the participants' language skill levels. Instructors can also give students strategies and phrases to use for clarification and comprehension check. By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class when misunderstanding occurs and by responding positively when they do, instructors can create an authentic practice environment within the classroom itself. As they develop control of various clarification strategies, students will gain confidence in their ability to manage the various communication situations that they may encounter outside the classroom.
E. Developing Speaking Skills in the Young Learners

When teaching young learners we constantly have to keep in mind the fact that what we have in front of us is a mixed class with varied abilities, expectations, motivation level, knowledge and last but not least, different learning styles. Thus, we need to vary our approaches and offer as much opportunity as possible to make the whole class find a little something to hold on to, expand and grow. Developing speaking skills definitely deserves a closer look and the article provides a few guidelines to keep all the students involved and interested.
1. The Basics

Young learners are like sponges, they soak up everything we say and how we say it. Thus clear and correct pronunciation is of vital importance, since young learners repeat exactly what t hey hears. What has been learned at an early stage is difficult to change later on. One of the rules that apply here is: slowly and steadily, through constant revision and recycling. Furthermore, I always strive to achieve a positive and relaxed atmosphere in my young learners’ classroom, as this proved a decisive factor in achieving maximum results. With the help of mixed activities, such as dialogues, choral revision, chants, songs, poems and rhymes students’ speaking abilities grow, their pronunciation gets better and their awareness of the language improves. When applying the above-mentioned tools into my teaching practice, I try to keep in mind that interaction is an important way of learning. Therefore, increased oral emphasis should be included in our teaching to give the students as much speaking time as possible.
2. Shadowing a Tape or a CD

Many textbooks for young learners offer shorter texts written as comics, introducing characters learners can relate to and through which they get to know the language, the culture and the people of a certain country. Instead of simply following the text (with books either open or closed), I often divide the class into various parts or teams (e.g. A and B, depending on the number of roles in the comics) and then the learners read with the tape. Choral reading has always proved a lot of fun and children are excellent at imitating, thus producing brilliant copies of the original. Do not forget to change roles after the text has been read a few times. Further on, as you see learners getting familiar with the topic and vocabulary, make them work in pairs.

If they want to, they can also perform in front of the class keep in mind that at an early age they are mostly extroverts and love showing off their English. However, there may be students who are terrified of being exposed, some are in the so-called silent phase never force these students to speak in front of the whole class. Instead, give them some other role e.g. they "act" as a ringing phone in the comics, appear as the voice of a dog or the like. I can tell from my own experience that this does bring results and eventually also these students come out of their shell and express themselves in English. Needless to say, each and every attempt should be accompanied by our approval and appraisal, the same being the case with other speaking activities the learners are involved into. Do encourage them constantly as this builds their motivation and self-awareness.

A slow progression from choral shadowing to smaller-group shadowing and finally to pair-work is advisable as students gain confidence through each stage and providing them with a lot of opportunities widens our chances of success in trying to provide a stimulating environment for all – the courageous and the shy ones.
3. Learning the Dialogues

Textbooks are usually filled with situation dialogues, helping the students learn language in real-life situations, therefore offering them the tool which opens many doors to various subjects. But learning these dialogues by heart is a definite no-no. It is much better and far more useful to substitute the words so that they are true to students and their world. Thus each student uses his/her own variation, there is an obvious transition from pure imitation to conscious changing, which speeds up remembering and offers varied communicative opportunities. By imitating, sharing and discussing students benefit modeling, understanding and picking it up seem to be natural. Through imitating, interacting and internalizing the process is later on understood explicitly on a higher level, by practicing social phrases in everyday situations the learners are building a basis on top of which new information is to be added from lesson to lesson. Note: with young learners, grammatical points should be taught implicitly only, after they are 11 and up, the explicit approach can be used as well.






4. Songs, Poems, Rhymes and Chants

Throughout our English lessons students are learning to speak, express ideas, share opinions and exchange information. Using songs, poems, rhymes and chants is a wonderful way of making students sing/talk and at the same time (unconsciously) work at their grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation. Try to include the above-mentioned activities by providing learners with those that require total physical response, shortly known as "TPR". Year by year, children get highly enthusiastic about songs like: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes") where (excessive) body movements are required. Confidence and motivation are built through the process. Sometimes new lyrics can be added to traditional songs, making things a bit different and out of the expected. e.g. "Row, row, row your boat" can easily be changed into "Fly, fly, fly your plane" the movements change accordingly and so does the rest of the lyrics. It is basically the teachers’ call what and how to change the song, and it is always welcomed by the learners. After telling them the new lyrics is your own invention, maybe they can try and come up with another version as a part of their home assignment (trust me: even parents get involved in the process and the list of newly written songs has become endless and a true inspiration when a bit bored with the originals).





























Conclusions



Sometimes students-perhaps especially those at the lower levels-can be anxious about speaking in class. One way to overcome their reticence and increase their opportunities to speak is to use pair work and group work. Pair work and group work are configuration of people for doing activities, rather than activity types per se. Pair work, as the name suggest, involve two students working together to complete task or exercise target language.



The discussions and explanation precluding section can be concluded as follows:

1. learning a foreign language is to learn how to use the language, as a target language for the various kinds of purposes
2. speaking can be one of the tools to gain the purpose





































Bibliography







Brumfit, C,J., and J.T. Robert. Language and language teaching. London: Batsford Academic and Educational Ltd., 1983.

Pattison, Pat. Developing Communication Skills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/speaking/stratspeak.htm

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Klancar-SpeakingSkills.html

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