2. Research in the Teaching of Speaking

Abstract

This chapter reviews research and practice in six main areas relevant to the teaching of speaking: (1) the growing influence of spoken corpora, (2) the debates concerning native speaker (NS) and nonnative speaker (NNS) models for spoken pedagogy,(3) the issue of authenticity in spoken materials, (4) approaches to understanding speaking in the classroom, (5) the selection of texts and aspects of spoken language for the teaching of speaking, and (6) developments in materials and methods for the teaching of speaking. Spoken corpora, whether NS corpora collected in “old” or “new” variety locations or NNS corpora based on learner data or expert/successful user data, have generated vigorous debate as to how spoken language should be modeled for teaching, and their influence is being seen in shifts in methodology toward language-awareness-based approaches as well as new materials based on lexicogrammatical and discoursal corpus evidence. Various approaches to understanding classroom speaking are also reviewed, including discourse analysis, conversation analysis, cognitive approaches, and the Vygotskian perspective. Applications of insights from these approaches are reviewed, especially how the approaches affect the selection of texts and language features to be taught. Finally, practical discussion on the teaching of specific spoken genres is reviewed and probable future directions are discussed.

EFL Learners’ Attitude towards Developing Speaking Skills at the University of Taif, Saudi Arabia

“…Skehan (2001Skehan ( , 2009) agrees that speaking is a complex skill which drops a large burden of tackling fluency, accuracy and complexity on a learner. Discourse analysis focuses on developing effective strategies from natural spoken interactions of native speakers for facilitating spoken communication in English (Burns, 2001;McCarthy & O'Keeffe, 2004). The main goal of this approach is to develop knowledge about how to ask for things, ways of doing things in proper manner, and developing skills for producing interaction and managing it, the rules of conversation and its structure, functions and meaning by examining the different features and various structures of natural spoken discourse (Burns & Seidlhofer, 2010).…”

Alternatives to Questions: Language Use in UNIPREP Classroom Discussion

“…As students they had to acquire tools that attuned them to the "cultural logic" (Baker & Freebody, 1989) of the pervading teaching practice in an academic English tutorial. They had to perform student roles within parameters that their teacher encouraged or allowed them to act out (McCarthy & O'Keeffe, 2004) while they could be seen also to conform to the quite narrow range of behaviour that their peers accepted in discussion.…”

The Authenticity Gap between what is taught in Bangladeshi EFL Courses and the Reality of ‘authentic’ English

“…The textbooks employed in Bangladeshi English language institutes do not generally depict spoken English with much 'authenticity'. Burns (2001) notes that scripted dialogues rarely reflect the unpredictability and dynamism of conversation, or the features and structures of natural spoken discourse, and those students who encounter only scripted spoken language have less opportunity to extend their linguistic repertoires in ways that prepare them for unforeseeable interactions outside of the classroom (cited in McCarthy and O'keeffe, 2004). Technological advances have enabled the focus of EFL teaching to shift from written texts to spoken texts though grammar-translation approaches still have a huge influence on Bangladeshi language classrooms.…”