SBA TRAINER NOTES

No. 7: Developing speaking skills in the classroom

Adapted by Liz Hamp-Lyons
Developing Speaking Skills in the Classroom
The nature of speaking makes certain demands on the teacher and student. Here is a summary
of these demands and some ideas for how they might be dealt with in the classroom.

1: Focus on Knowledge
Speaking in a second/foreign language requires knowledge of that language in its
spoken form.
Knowing how to speak requires systematic and comprehensive oral language
development.
Speaking is also a skill. Students need plenty of practice opportunities.

2: Focus on Skills
The section below is adapted from an extract from Cambridge ESOL website at
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teach/bec/bec_preliminary/speaking
Issue

Possible Solution

Research suggests that for

many people one of their
greatest fears is public
speaking. When we ask
students to speak to the whole
class and in a foreign language,
the potential for stress is
greater. Such stress or fear can
create a block to the
concentration necessary for
speaking in a foreign language.

A relaxed and friendly atmosphere seems to be the best

for practising speaking a foreign language. Students need to
be able to concentrate and also to feel relaxed enough to
experiment with the language. Fun activities and language
games, especially at the beginning of a new teaching
sequence, will help set the right atmosphere.

Similarly, some students are

particularly shy about speaking
a foreign language.

Getting students to do speaking activities in small groups

and pairs will provide a safer environment for practice and
for taking risks. Also, encouraging them to practise with
friends/classmates in their own time should increase
confidence, even if they only do this for one minute a day.

If the whole class is expected

to listen while one student
speaks, not much practice is
achieved.

Again, speaking in pairs or small groups will maximise the

opportunities for practice. Pairs and small groups also
reflect the format for real-life tasks.

Correcting every mistake will

only increase shyness and fear
of speaking.

Be selective about what and when you correct will help. See
Assessment for learning: Putting it into Practice. Module 4
has more to say about feedback and correction.

Outside the classroom we

usually speak because we have
something to say. In the
classroom students often speak
because the teacher tells them
to.

When organising speaking practice, providing the means

and opportunity to get some ideas before having to speak
will help ensure that students have something to say. The
link between oral SBA and extensive reading/viewing is a
powerful one for this purpose.

Outside the classroom we

usually speak because we feel
motivated to say something. In
the classroom students often
speak because the teacher tells
them to.

Creating or exploiting information gaps can provide a

reason to speak. This is where one student has some
information that another doesnt, for example, in pairs
students may be discussing two different books; or in a
group students may be focussing on different characters in
a movie. Using the same task on different texts, students
can practice how to select interesting information and ideas
to focus on in discussing different SBA situations.

Students may feel they do not

have the words they need.

Extensive reading supports students vocabulary

development. Students can always use an English-Chinese
dictionary, or read sub-titles, when carrying out their
extensive reading/viewing.

Students shyness may stem

from a lack of confidence in
how to pronounce words and
phrases.

Pronunciation is a neglected skill in Hong Kong English

classes, and it is an important domain in the SBA.
Combining reading and viewing helps students with the
pronunciation of key words. Teachers need to be willing to
provide students with a clear model of how to pronounce
important new words/phrases they encounter in their
individual extensive reading.

While some students are too

shy to speak, others might
dominate speaking practice.

Model for students the ways they can monitor themselves

and observe each other to make sure everyone in a group
has equal opportunity for equal participation in speaking
tasks.

Students may need more

Suggest speaking practice options and opportunities
practice than they have time for outside of class time. For example, encourage students to
in class.
meet each other to practise speaking tasks. Encourage
students to listen and observe conversations and interviews
on the radio, TV and Internet. Students may also have
access to cassettes and books for pronunciation practice.