Teaching English As A Foreign Language

Contents A.In the restaurant..........................................................................................................46 I actor.............................................................................................................................46 II actor............................................................................................................................46 Teacher's notes...............................................................................................................46 B.Taxi court role ...........................................................................................................47 Passenger:......................................................................................................................47 Cabbie:...........................................................................................................................47 You do not think you should be in taxi court. Saturday night, you picked up a drunk man and his girlfriend. He was so drunk that you couldn't understand his directions. You repeated "Cadman Plaza?". The customer was already kissing his girlfriend and didn't answer..................................................................................................................47 C. Neighbors at odds role cards ....................................................................................47 Create the atmosphere of a block of flats. There are many residents. Introduce the topic to the pupils. Ask if the pupils have neighbors and what relations they have with their neighbors........................................................................................................................47 The first resident aprt.102..............................................................................................47 The second resident aprt.202.........................................................................................48

Introduction As a future teacher at a middle school, my main objective will be to help the pupils to master English at a high level. This fact makes us use such terms that are generally handled in methodology. They are: approach, technique, method. When we use the word approach we mean that an idea or theory is being applied, that whatever the teacher does, certain theoretical 2

principles are always borne in mind. When we talk about a technique, we mean a procedure used in classroom. Finally, a method is a set of procedures or a collection of techniques used in a systematic way which it is hoped to result in efficient learning. A technique is the narrowest term, meaning one single procedure. A method will consist of a number of techniques, probably arranged in a specific order. The word approach is much more general and has the implication that whatever method or techniques the teacher uses, he does not feel bound by these, but only by the theory in which will fit in with his approach, then we will adopt them. Different approaches may share the same techniques and even the same methods, and different methods may share the same techniques, some techniques have developed independently but many of the important ones have arisen particular methods. Language teaching is a side of education that makes use not only of the language materials but of pragmatics. One of the most important approaches in teaching English as a second language is the communicative one. We throw forward

this idea because the essence of the relations in life is

created thanks to communication. The aim of my paper is to bring home to the great majority ways to help the pupils to handle successfully the language. Aim and tasks of the investigation have made us use the following methods: -

the analytical methods;

- the comparative methods; -

the elements of the statistical methods.

The structure of the paper is as follows: it consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion and bibliography.

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In Introduction the importance of the topic investigation is discussed the aims, tasks and methods used throughout the research. Chapter 1 is devoted to the theoretical aspect of the question that is the language teaching, its history, its methods, approaches and techniques. Chapter 2 touches upon the communicative approach, its necessity and its history. It comes out according to different opinions this approach stands at the bases of the development of speech habits at foreign language learners. The role of the teacher is to encourage and to motivate the pupils’ participation. In Chapter 3 you can find the classification of the communicative activities according to their structure and the aim of their usage. We propose some exercises too that may help all the teachers in heightening the fluency. In Conclusion the results of the licenta paper investigation are summed. The Bibliography includes the list of literature and the web sites used in the investigation.

CHAPTER ONE: General Issues of Teaching English as a

Foreign Language §1.1The needs of a foreign language teaching When Aristotle wrote All we do is done with an eye to something else over two thousand years ago1, he probably did not realize that he would be helping introduce a book on human teaching. 1

www.methodenglish.com

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Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this phenomenon was the emergence of the concept of "methods" of language teaching. The method concept in language teaching—the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning—is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of teachers and applied linguists throughout the 20th century. Howatt's (1984)2 overview documents the history of changes of practice in language teaching throughout history, bringing the chronology up through the Direct Method in the 20th century. One of the most lasting legacies of the Direct Method has been the notion of "method" itself. Methodology in language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways. When speaking about methodology 3 main terms are very important. A more or less classical formulation suggests that methodology is that which links theory and practice. Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA). Such theories are linked to various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth. Design features in turn are linked to actual teaching and learning practices as observed in the environments where language teaching and learning take place. This whole complex of elements defines language teaching methodology. When the linguists and the language specialists sought to improve the quality of language teaching in 2

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.-p.29

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the late 19th century, they often did so by referring to general principles and theories concerning how languages are learned, how knowledge of language is represented and organized in memory, or how language itself is structured. The early applied linguistics such as Henry Sweet, Otto Jespersen, Harold Palmer3, elaborated principles and theoretically accountable approaches to the design of language teaching. When they analyzed all the principles a lot of things were left out. An attempt to clarify the differences, Edward Anthony proposed a scheme. He identified three levels of conceptualization and organization, which he termed as approach, method and technique. …an approach is asset of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. An approach is axiomatic. It describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. …….method is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material…………… An approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural. Within one approach there can be many methods. A technique is implementational –that which happens in the classroom.4 Following Anthony, approach refers to theories about the nature of the language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching. In order for an approach to lead to a method, it is necessary to develop a design for the instructional system. Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider what the objectives of a method are, how language content is selected and organized within the method, the types of learning tasks, the roles of learners, the role of the teachers, the role of instructional material. 5 3 4

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Richards, J Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press.2001-p.18 Richards, J Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press.2001-p.19 Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.-p.56

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§1.2Schools of Language Teaching Methodology Within methodology a distinction is often made between methods and approaches, in which methods are held to be fixed teaching systems with prescribed techniques and practices, whereas approaches represent language teaching philosophies that can be interpreted and applied in a variety of different ways in the classroom. This distinction is probably most usefully seen as defining a continuum of entities ranging from highly prescribed methods to loosely described approaches.

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The period from the 1950s to the 1980s has often been referred to as "The Age of Methods," 6during which a number of quite detailed prescriptions for language teaching were proposed. Situational Language Teaching evolved in the United Kingdom while a parallel method, Audio-Lingualism, emerged in the United States. In the middle-methods period, a variety of methods were proclaimed as successors to the then prevailing Situational Language Teaching and Audio-Lingual methods. These alternatives were promoted under such titles as Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Community Language Learning, and Total Physical Response. In the 1980s, these methods in turn came to be overshadowed by more interactive views of language teaching, which collectively came to be known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Communicative Language Teaching advocates subscribed to a broad set of principles such as these: •

Learners learn a language through using it to communicate.

•

Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities.

•

Fluency is an important dimension of communication.

•

Communication involves the integration of different language skills.

•

Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

However, CLT advocates avoided prescribing the set of practices through which these principles could best be realized, thus putting CLT clearly on the approach rather than the method end of the spectrum. Communicative Language Teaching has spawned a number of off-shoots that share the same basic set of principles, but which spell out philosophical details or envision instructional practices in somewhat diverse ways. These 6

Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.-p.78

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CLT spin-off approaches include The Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, Content-Based Teaching, and Task-Based Teaching. It is difficult to describe these various methods briefly and yet fairly, and such a task is well beyond the scope of this paper. However, several up-todate texts are available that do detail differences and similarities among the many different approaches and methods that have been proposed. 7Perhaps it is possible to get a sense of the range of method proposals by looking at a synoptic view of the roles defined for teachers and learners within various methods. Such a synoptic (perhaps scanty) view can be seen in the following chart. TEACHING METHODS AND TEACHER & LEARNER ROLES Teacher

Method Situational

Language

Teaching

Roles Context Setter Error Corrector Language

Audio-lingualism

Modeler Drill Leader

Learner Roles Imitator Memorizer Pattern Practicer Accuracy

Enthusiast Communicative Language Needs Analyst Improvisor Teaching Total Physical Response

Task Designer Negotiator Commander Order Taker Action

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Performer

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.-p.90

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Community

Monitor Language Counselor

Learning The Natural Approach

Suggestopedia

Collaborator

Paraphraser Actor

Whole Person Guesser

Props User Auto-

Immerser

hypnotist

Relaxer

Authority

True-Believer

Figure As suggested in the chart, some schools of methodology see the teacher as ideal language model and commander of classroom activity (e.g., AudioLingual Method, Natural Approach, Suggestopedia, Total Physical Response) whereas others see the teacher as background facilitator and classroom colleague to the learners (e.g., Communicative Language Teaching, Cooperative Language Learning). There are other global issues to which spokespersons for the various methods and approaches respond in alternative ways. For example, should second language learning by adults be modeled on first language learning by children? One set of schools (e.g., Total Physical Response, Natural Approach) notes that first language acquisition is the only universally successful model of language learning we have, and thus that second language pedagogy must necessarily model itself on first language acquisition. An opposed view (e.g., Silent Way, Suggestopedia) observes that adults have different brains, interests, timing constraints, and learning environments than do children, and that adult classroom learning therefore

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has to be fashioned in a way quite dissimilar to the way in which nature fashions how first languages are learned by children. Another key distinction turns on the role of perception versus production in early stages of language learning. One school of thought proposes that learners should begin to communicate, to use a new language actively, on first contact (e.g., Audio-Lingual Method, Silent Way, Community Language Learning), while the other school of thought states that an initial and prolonged period of reception (listening, reading) should precede any attempts at production (e.g., Natural Approach).

§1.3 The Future of Methodology The future is always uncertain, and this is no less true in anticipating methodological directions in second language teaching than in any other field. Some current predictions assume the carrying on and refinement of current trends; others appear a bit more science-fiction-like in their vision. Outlined below are 10 scenarios that are likely to shape the teaching of 11

second languages in the next decades of the new millennium. These methodological candidates are given identifying labels in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek style, perhaps a bit reminiscent of yesteryear's method labels. Collaborates8

1. Teacher/Learner

Matchmaking techniques will be developed which will link learners and teachers with similar styles and approaches to language learning. Looking at the Teacher and Learner roles sketched in Figure 2, one can anticipate development of a system in which the preferential ways in which teachers teach and learners learn can be matched in instructional settings, perhaps via on-line computer networks or other technological resources. 2. Method

Synergistics

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Crossbreeding elements from various methods into a common program of instruction seems an appropriate way to find those practices which best support effective learning. Methods and approaches have usually been proposed as idiosyncratic and unique, yet it appears reasonable to combine practices from different approaches where the philosophical foundations are similar. One might call such an approach "Disciplined Eclecticism."

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Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.67 9

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.68

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3. Curriculum

Developmentalism

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Language teaching has not profited much from more general views of educational design. The curriculum perspective comes from general education and views successful instruction as an interweaving of Knowledge, Instructional, Learner, and Administrative considerations. From this perspective, methodology is viewed as only one of several instructional considerations that are necessarily thought out and realized in conjunction with all other curricular considerations. 4. Content-Basics11

Content-based instruction assumes that language learning is a by-product of focus on meaning--on acquiring some specific topical content--and that content topics to support language learning should be chosen to best match learner needs and interests and to promote optimal development of second language competence. A critical question for language educators is "what content" and "how much content" best supports language learning. The natural content for language educators is literature and language itself, and we are beginning to see a resurgence of interest in literature and in the topic of "language: the basic human technology" as sources of content in language teaching. 12

5. Multintelligencia

The notion here is adapted from the Multiple Intelligences view of 10

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.69 11

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.70 12

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.74

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human talents proposed by Howard Gardner (1983). This model is one of a variety of learning style models that have been proposed in general education with follow-up inquiry by language educators. The chart below shows Gardner's proposed eight native intelligences and indicates classroom language-rich task types that play to each of these particular intelligences. The challenge here is to identify these intelligences in individuallearners and then to determine appropriate and realistic instructional tasks in response. INTELLIGENCE

TYPES

AND

APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Intellegence Educational Activities Type lectures, worksheets, word games, Linguistic journals, debates Logical puzzles, estimations, problem solving charts, diagrams, graphic organizers, Spatial drawing, films Bodily hands-on, mime, craft, demonstrations Musical singing, poetry, Jazz Chants, mood music Interpersonal group work, peer tutoring, class projects reflection, interest centers, personal Intrapersonal values tasks field trips, show and tell, plant and Naturalist animal projects 6. Total Functional Response 13 13

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like

fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.80

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Communicative Language Teaching was founded (and floundered) on earlier notional/functional proposals for the description of languages. Now new leads in discourse and genre analysis, schema theory, pragmatics, and systemic/functional grammar are rekindling an interest in functionally based approaches to language teaching. One pedagogical proposal has led to a widespread reconsideration of the first and second language program in Australian schools where instruction turns on five basic text genres identified as Report, Procedure, Explanation, Exposition, and Recount. Refinement of functional models will lead to increased attention to genre and text types in both first and second language instruction. 14

7. Strategopedia

"Learning to Learn" is the key theme in an instructional focus on language learning strategies. Such strategies include, at the most basic level, memory tricks, and at higher levels, cognitive and metacognitive strategies for learning, thinking, planning, and self-monitoring. Research findings suggest that strategies can indeed be taught to language learners, that learners will apply these strategies in language learning tasks, and that such application does produce significant gains in language learning. Simple and yet highly effective strategies, such as those that help learners remember and access new second language vocabulary items, will attract considerable instructional interest in Strategopedia.

Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman.-p.83 14

www.wikepedia.com

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8. Lexical

Phraseology

The lexical phraseology view holds that only "a minority of spoken clauses are entirely novel creations" and that "memorized clauses and clause-sequences form a high proportion of the fluent stretches of speech heard in every day conversation." One estimate is that "the number of memorized complete clauses and sentences known to the mature English speaker probably amounts, at least, to several hundreds of thousands" . Understanding of the use of lexical phrases has been immensely aided by large-scale computer studies of language corpora, which have provided hard data to support the speculative inquiries into lexical phraseology of second language acquisition researchers. For language teachers, the results of such inquiries have led to conclusions that language teaching should center on these memorized lexical patterns and the ways they can be pieced together, along with the ways they vary and the situations in which they occur. 9. O-zone

Whole

Language

Renewed interest in some type of "Focus on Form" has provided a major impetus for recent second language acquisition (SLA) research. "Focus on Form" proposals, variously labeled as consciousness-raising, noticing, attending, and enhancing input, are founded on the assumption that students will learn only what they are aware of. Whole Language proponents have claimed that one way to increase learner awareness of how language works is through a course of study that incorporates broader engagement with language, including literary study, process writing, authentic content, and learner collaboration. 10. Full-Frontal

Communicativity

We know that the linguistic part of human communication represents 16

only a small fraction of total meaning. At least one applied linguist has gone so far as to claim that, "We communicate so much information nonverbally in conversations that often the verbal aspect of the conversation is negligible." Despite these cautions, language teaching has chosen to restrict

its

attention

to

the

linguistic

component

of

human

communication, even when the approach is labeled Communicative. The methodological proposal is to provide instructional focus on the nonlinguistic aspects of communication, including rhythm, speed, pitch, intonation, tone, and hesitation phenomena in speech and gesture, facial expression, posture, and distance in non-verbal messaging.

Chapter II. Language Communication Teaching §2.1 The Essence of Communicational Approach The subject matter of my research is the development of speech habits at school during the classes of English. When speaking about the development of the speech, we refer to communicative language teaching approach. Communication is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. The communication process involves six basic elements: sender (encoder), message, channel, receiver (decoder), noise, and 17

feedback. Supervisors can improve communication skills by becoming aware of these elements and how they contribute to successful communication. Communication can break down at any one of these elements.

Sender Encodes The sender initiates the communication process. When the sender has decided on a meaning, he or she encodes a message, and selects a channel for transmitting the message to a receiver. To encode is to put a message into 18

words or images. The message is the information that the sender wants to transmit. The medium is the means of communication, such as print, mass, electrical, and digital. As a sender, the supervisor should define the purpose of the message, construct each message with the receiver in mind, select the best medium, time each transmission thoughtfully, and seek feedback. Words can be verbal - written and spoken. Words are used to create pictures and stories (scenarios) are used to create involvement. This is the essence of the communicative language teaching approach. The origins of CLT are to be found in the changes in the British language teaching tradition from the late 1960’s. Until then the situational language teaching represented the major British approach to teaching English as foreign language in situational language teaching, the language was taught by practicing Basic structures in situation-based activities. In the mid 60’s. British applied linguists began to call into question the theoretical assumptions underlying situational language teaching: By the end of the 60’s it was clear that the situational approach had run its course…………15 This was a response to the sorts of criticisms the American linguist Noam Chomsky had leveled at the structural linguistic theory in his classic book Syntactic Structures. Chomsky had demonstrated that the current standard Structural theories of the language were incapable to account for the fundamental characteristic of the language- the creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences. The other linguists saw that the need to focus in 15

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.-p.153

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language on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery structures. Scholars who advocated this view were C. Candlin, H.widdowson, J.Firth, D.Hymes, W. Labov.Both American and British proponents now see it is an approach that aims to make the communicatice competence the goal of language teaching; to develop procedures for the teaching of four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication. CLT is more than an integration of grammatical and functional teaching. Littlewood states : One of the most characteristic features of CLT is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as to the grammatical aspects of the language.16 This means using procedures where learners work in pairs employing available language resources in problem solving tasks

. The development

of this approach is the essence of the society, without the communication the child , the pupil and the society can not live. A more pedagogical analysis of the CLT was given by Henry Widdowson. He identifies four dimensions of communicative competence : Grammatical competence

is what refers to Chomsky’s linguistic

competence. It is the domain of grammatical and lexical capacity. Sociolinguistic competence to an understanding of the social context in which communication takes place, including role relationships, the shared information of the participants. 16

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.-p155

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Discourse competence refers to the interpretation of individual message elements. Strategic competence refers to the copying strategies that communicator employs to initiate, maintain and terminate the conversation. When speaking about the implementation of the CLT in school, we can say that Piepho draws the attention to the following objectives:17 1. An integrative and content level 2. A linguistic and instrumental level 3. An effective level of expressing interpersonal relationships( a means of expressing values and judgments about oneself and the others) 4. A level of individual learning needs( remedial learning based on error analysis) 5. A general educational level of extra-linguistic goals( language learning within the school curriculum) The emphasis in CLT on the processes of communication leads to different roles for the learners. Thus candling says that the role of the learner is that of a negotiator18.There is an acknowledgement that learners bring preconceptions of what teaching and learning should be like. The teacher has a role too. In such a way according to Breen: 17

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.-p.162 18

Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.-p.166

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The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communication between the participants in the classroom……the second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning- teaching group. The other roles of the teacher according to Jack C.Richards are needs analyst, Councelor, and group process manager. The needs analyst is the teacher’s responsibility for determining and responding to learner language needs. Typically these assignments contain items that attempt to determine an individual’s motivation for studying the language. The teacher counselor is expected to exemplify an effective communicator seeking to maximize the meshing of speaker intention and of the hearer interpretation, through the use of paraphrase, confirmation and feedback. CLT procedures often require teachers to acquire less teacher-centered classroom management skills. It is the teacher’s job to organize the classroom as a setting for communication. Guidelines for classroom practice suggest that during an activity the teacher monitors, encourages and suppresses the inclination to have gaps in grammar and lexis. The focus on fluency and comprehensibility may cause anxiety among teachers that are accustomed to seeing error suppression and correction as the major instructional responsibility. A great variety of materials are used to support CLT approach. The materials currently used are text- based, task- based and realia. 22

There are a lot of textbooks designed to direct and support CLT. Their tables of content sometimes suggest a kind of grading and sequencing of language practice not unlike those found in structurally organized texts. Some of these are written around a largely structural syllabus, with slight reformatting to justify their claims to be based on a communicative approach. A variety of games, role plays, simulations and task- based communication activities have been prepared to support CLT. These typically are in-one-ofa-kind items: exercise handbooks, cue cards, activity cards, paircommunication practice materials and student interaction booklets. In pair communication materials enter two sets of material for pair of student. They contain different information. Sometimes the information is complementary and the partners must fit their parts in the jigsaw. Others assume different role relationships for the partners. Many proponents of CLT have advocated the use of authentic, from-life materials. These might include language-based realia, such as signs, magazines, newspapers, visual sources around which the communicative activities can be built. Generally all the activities that are used in developing the speech habits should undergo a procedure.

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Structural activities

Pre-communicative activities

Quasi-communicative activities

Functional communication Communicative activities Social interactional activities As you can observe the class of communication is supposed to be very well structured if we want to achieve results. Thus before the speaking begins it is necessary to prepare the class for the topic. The pupils are given structures for training, then they are supposed to introduce the formulas in some situations. This is going to take a period of time before the speaking itself starts. When the pupils have a command of the formulas they are given the intended tasks. Only after it different types of discourses are used. To sum up I would like to mention that the preparation and the training of CLT is a very hardworking and a time-taking job.

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Chapter III. Oral Communication Skills in Pedagogical Research. When someone asks you Do you speak English?, they usually mean if you can carry on a conversation. The goals and the techniques for teaching conversation are diverse, depending on the student, teacher, context, class. Recent pedagogical research on teaching conversation has provided some parameters for developing objectives and techniques. Generally speaking when working on CLT we are interested in fluency and comprehension. There

has been a controversy over the role of

pronunciation work in a communicative course. The problem is that the foreign language learners will never keep in mind perfectly the stress and the intonation. This fact as many others can bring to misunderstanding. There are many cases in the everyday usage of CLT when the pupils meet some problems. This is related to some peculiarities of the language. §3.1What makes Speaking Difficult?19 Douglas Brown in his book Teaching by Principles draws the attention of the teachers to some things that may stop the understanding. •

Clustering. Fluent speech is phrasal, not word by word. Learners can organize their output both cognitively and physically. When we speak we break our speech in small parts. Clauses are common

19

Brown ,D. Teaching by Principles, Second Edition. San Francisco State University.2001-p.270

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constituents, but the phrases within the clauses are more easily retained. This the job of the teacher when handling a communication. •

Reduced forms. This is a process where some unstressed syllables are lost in the flow of speech. In English there are a lot of reduced forms.

They

phonological(Dijeetjt),

morphological(I’ll),

syntactical(tomorrow, may be). These reductions pose a lot of difficulties, especially for language learners who were exposed to full forms. •

Rate of delivery. The speed can stop the understanding too. That is why you are supposed to teach the pupils the speed along with other attributes of the fluency. The learners will nevertheless be able to comprehend the speech a any rate of delivery.

•

Stress, rhythm and intonation. This is the most important feature of English. The stress-timed, along with its intonation patterns convey important messages. Intonation patterns are very important; they are supposed to be taught to understand subtle meaning conveyed by these.

•

Colloquial language. Make sure your pupils are reasonably well acquainted with the words, phrases from the colloquial language.

As you could observe the problem that we have tried to bring to your judgment is Teaching

Speech Habits. It is a topic that is linked to

methodology and it is worth studying as the communication is the essence of our living. My practical chapter will be centered around techniques that are

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necessary in developing speaking, and principles for designing speaking techniques.

§3.2Principles for Designing Speaking Techniques.20 20

Brown ,D. Teaching by Principles, Second Edition. San Francisco State University.2001-p.275

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1. Use techniques that cover the spectrum of learner needs, from

language-based focus on accuracy to message based focus on interaction, meaning and fluency. In our current zeal for interactive language teaching, we can easily slip into a pattern of providing zesty content- based, the interactive activities that do not capitalize on grammatical pointers. When you begin a game make sure that your task include techniques that help the students to perceive and use the building blocks of language. 2. Provide intrinsically motivating techniques. Try all the time to appeal

to students ‘ultimate goal, interests. Even if the activity does not send the students into ecstasy, it make them understand how they will benefit them. 3. Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts.It

takes energy to devise authentic contexts and meaningful interaction, but with the help of a storehouse of teacher resource material it can be done. 4. Provide appropriate feedback and correction. In TEFL situations,

students are totally dependent on the teacher for useful linguistic feedback. It important that you take advantage of you knowledge to inject the kinds of corrective feedback that are appropriate for the moment. 5. Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening. Many

interactive techniques include both speaking and listening. We are supposed to integrate these two skills.

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6. Give students to initiate oral communication. Part of oral communication competence is the ability to initiate conversation, to nominate topics. 7. Encourage the development of speaking strategies. The concept of

strategic competence is one that few beginning language students are aware of. The students are supposed to participate in the development of the dialogue. There some of the possibilities: • Asking for clarification • Asking someone to repeat smth. • Using mime and nonverbal expression to convey meaning • Getting someone’s attention. • Using paraphrases. As you notice each class of speaking is a hard work as you should achieve the most important goal in teaching a foreign language, this is ability to speak and understand the interlocutor. According to Richards21 to major approaches characterize current teaching for conversation: an indirect approach and a direct approach. The indirect approach implies that one does not actually teach conversation, but rather the students acquire conversational competence by engaging in meaningful tasks. 21

Klippel, F. Getting Students to Talk: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.1984-p.67

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A direct approach explicitly calls the students’ attention to conversational rules, conventions and strategies. Thus the conversational classes according to Marianne Celce-Murcia can be divided into: 1. Imitative. A very limited portion of classroom speaking time may be

spent generating human tape recorder speech, where the students practice an intonation contour. Imitation of this kind is trained not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on particular element of language form. They offer limited practice through repetitions. They allow focusing on one element of the language. They can help in establishing psychomotor patterns there are some pieces of advice for teachers: Keep them short Keep them simple Make students know why they are doing the drill. Limit them to phonology or grammar points. Don’t overuse them. 2. Intensive . Intensive speaking goes beyond the imitative to include

any speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological grammatical aspect of language. Intensive speaking can be self initiated, where students are going over some certain forms of language.

30

3. Responsive. A good deal of student speech is responsive, that means

questions and answers. They may be of different types, beginning from the trivial ones: How are you?, Who is on duty, finishing with How do you find life in Moldova?. The only condition is that these questions do not expand into dialogues. • Use the questions! 1. ________________ has been dating his/her SO for more than a year. How long? 2. ________________ was not sleeping at midnight last night. What? 3. ________________ was going to school when s/he fell in love for the first time. Who? 4. ________________ has been playing a sport for more than 5 years. Which? 5. ________________ was doing English homework when s/he realized that Jim is a great teacher. Why? 6. ________________ is thinking about something other than English. What? 7. ________________ has been studying English for more than five years. How long? 8. ________________ is getting good grades in his/her classes. How good? 9. ________________ has been planning something special for a long time. What? How long? 10. _______________ was out drinking Saturday night. Where? Who? 11. _______________ has recently been studying English very hard. 31

Why? 12. _______________ has been playing a computer game for more that three years. Which? • Fill in sentences can be attributed to responsive activities 1.______________

has

been

to

Australia.

2. ______________ has been to a country in North America. 3. ______________ has been to a country in South America. 4. ______________ has been to a country in Europe. 5. ______________ has been to another country in Asia. 6. 7.

______________ ______________

enjoys

enjoys

flying.

traveling

by

train.

8. ______________ enjoys being a passenger in a car. 9.

______________

enjoys

driving

cars.

Write down three places you'd like to visit. These should be places that you have never been to before. 1. 2. 1.

________________ enjoys cooking. What...?

Do you enjoy cooking? What do you like to cook? 2. ________________ doesn't enjoy cooking. How often...? 32

Do you enjoy cooking? How often do you cook? 3. ________________ likes to listen to music. What kind...? Do you like to listen to music? What kind of music do you like? 4. ________________ doesn't mind studying English. Why...? 5. ________________ doesn't like studying English. Why...? 6.

________________

7.

________________

8.

________________

likes

pizza.

hates loves

How

often...?

pizza.

Why...?

animals.

Why...?

9. ________________ really likes to watch TV. What...? 10. _______________ really dislikes watching TV. How often...? 11. _______________ is thinking about a TV show right now. Which...? 12. _______________ likes his or her job. Why...? 13. _______________ doesn't like to exercise. Why...?

4.Transactional. Transactional language, carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specific information, is an extended form of responsive language. Generally we can speak about the talk referring to transactional language. The work can be divided into: pre-speaking activity 33

Students need to choose topics that interest them. They should have a clear idea of the topic, when and where they will be presenting the talk, the purpose of the talk, and the nature of the audience. Next, they need to gather information and develop an outline for the talk. An outline helps students develop a comfortable familiarity with their material. Students may wish to prepare index cards with points outlined on them and they may choose to use visual aids to enhance their presentations (e.g., use of a slide projector, computer display, audio or video recordings, overhead transparencies, chart paper or chalkboard, posters, photographs, illustrations, or graphs). Students should be encouraged to practice their talks in front of an imaginary audience, a mirror, or a friend. Together the teacher and students may create a list of guidelines for practice similar to the one below: •

monitor volume and rate of speed to be sure everyone can hear and understand you

•

practice the use of emphasis and pitch so your voice sounds natural

•

use appropriate nonverbal cues for emphasis and interest

•

practice using the index cards in a discreet way

•

review index cards to be sure that the notes spark your memory and support you as you speak

•

Review your talk (e.g., ask: "Have I omitted anything important or included anything unnecessary? Do my points flow smoothly and logically from one to the other?")

•

review visual aids to determine their effectiveness

•

practice using the visuals (number them if you have several). The talk itself 34

If the student is prepared, the interest talk itself should be an enjoyable experience. Interest talks can take a variety of forms, from a five-minute review of a movie to a fifteen-minute slide presentation accompanied by explanations. Students should be reminded to speak in a relaxed but enthusiastic and confident manner. After the Talk Peer assessment could be done by three or four members of the class, rather than the entire class. The assessors could write answers to questions such as the following: •

What were the purposes of the talk?

•

How well was the talk timed? Explain.

•

Were visual aids used? If so, explain why they were (or were not) helpful.

•

Was the talk presented in logical sequence? Comment.

•

Did the audience seem interested? How do you know?

•

What might this student do in the future to improve the presentation?

We propose some transactional activities: I.Questions that can initiate a dialogue.22 A.1. ________________ writes down how s/he spends time. How long/ (you) write/how

you

spend

your

time?

(present

perfect

continuous)

2. ________________ is very punctual. Why/be/you punctual? (present simple) 22

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35

3. ________________ is disoraganized. Can you/give/me an example? (present

simple)

4. ________________ uses a planner to organize his/her time commitments. How

long/use/a

planner?

(present

perfect

continuous)

5. ________________ studies in between classes. What subjects/do/you study? (present simple) How much time do you/spend/studying between classes? (present

simple)

6. ________________ went out during midterm week, even though s/he knew it would be better to saty home and study. What/ (you) study/for? 7. ________________ is too busy. Why/be/you busy? (present simple) 8. ________________ usually has to cram the day before a test. What/happen/when

you

take

the

test?

(present

simple)

9. ________________ has pulled an all nighter to study for a test. Which test/ (you)

study/for?

(past

continuous)

10. _______________ recently had to make an excuse for not doing his/her homework.

Why/

(not)

(you)

do/your

homework?

(past

simple)

11. _______________ often feels tired. Why/ (you) feel/tired? (present simple) 12. _______________ doesn't sleep enough. Why/ (you) sleep/enough? (present simple)

36

B.1. Do 2. Do 3.

________________ you

enjoy

cooking?

________________ you

enjoy

enjoys What

________________

do

doesn't

cooking? likes

cooking. you

enjoy

How to

listen

like

cooking.

often to

What...? to

cook?

How

often...?

you

cook?

What

kind...?

do music.

Do you like to listen to music? What kind of music do you like? 4.

________________

doesn't

mind

5.

________________

doesn't

like

6.

________________

likes

7.

________________

8.

________________

studying studying pizza.

hates loves

9.

________________

really

10.

_______________ really

likes

to

English.

Why...?

English.

Why...?

How

often...?

pizza.

Why...?

animals.

Why...?

watch

dislikes watching

TV.

TV. How

What...? often...?

11. _______________ is thinking about a TV show right now. Which...? 12.

_______________

likes

his

or

her

13. _______________ doesn't like to exercise. Why...? 37

job.

Why...?

C. Christmas Questions How do you usually celebrate Christmas? Will this Christmas be different? How long does it take you to do your Christmas shopping? What are you getting for

your

friends

and

relatives?

How much money do you usually spend around Christmas time? Do

you

listen

to

(or

sing)

Christmas

carols?

What's your favorite Christmas special on TV? Why? II. Interview can initiate a conversation.

A. Interview your partner, using the following questions as a guide. Feel free to add your own questions. Then, individually write the draft copy of a speech you will use to introduce him/her. Once your draft copy has been completed, sit down with your partner and help each other edit your work for the final copy. Then do your final copy. Practice what you are going to say with your partner. Then you will be ready to present your introduction to the class. · When were you born? Where? · How many people are members of your family? · Have you ever had any accidents? If so, briefly describe what happened. · What activities do you enjoy in your spare time? · What is your favorite subject at school? Why? · What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you? · If you could make any dream come true, what would you do? · What would you like to do when you get older? 38

· What is your favorite time of year? Why? B. Give the students some information about a personality. Organize a press conference with journalists and the interwiee. 1. Queen Elisabeth the 2nd

2. William Shakespeare 3. One of the teachers 4. Tom Cruise C.

Describe the pictures or draw and describe the pictures.

D. •

interviewer and another as a character from a novel, story, or poem. The interviewer needs to establish a time and place being referred to in the selection, and then ask questions of the character. The character should be encouraged to elaborate when replying, rather than giving one-word answers.

•

A variation would be to have one student, who has not taken on any identity, approach and wait for a second student (who has decided to "be" a particular character). The second student would establish an identity, and establish what the circumstances are through actions and conversation. The first would "become" the character needed to respond to the second, after recognizing the second person's identity. Then the second student could become the one without an identity, waiting for a third student to approach, and so on.

•

In a more complicated four-person exercise, two students become certain characters from a selection, with the other two becoming their consciences. The consciences talk to their characters, saying the things that are supposedly "driving" the characters' thoughts and actions. The 39

two characters interact as any two people might, take cues from their consciences. Each character can react only to what the other says (and does) and his/her own conscience. He/she cannot hear the other person's conscience. 5.Interpersonal. Transactional type of activities resembles the interpersonal, but they differ as the interpersonal activities should involve the following factors: A casual register Emotionally charged language Slang Ellipsis Sarcasm A covert agenda As a result here we can include: role-playing, puppetry, telephone, announcements. A.Telephoning.23 The telephone is an important tool for personal, school, and business use because of the rapid communication it permits. Therefore, there is need to reinforce personal speaking and listening abilities regarding telephone use. Before Telephoning Students could brainstorm ideas about basic telephone etiquette and generate a list such as the following: •

23

answer the telephone as quickly as possible

Bygate,M. Speaking. Oxford University Press. 1995-p.76

40

•

identify yourself immediately when receiving or placing a call

•

keep the call brief and the talk relevant

•

show respect for the listener's time and give full attention to the conversation

•

offer to take a message if the call is for another person and record the message in writing

•

treat every caller politely and professionally

•

be helpful and co-operative

•

prepare for receiving and placing calls by planning what you might say and anticipating what you might hear (e.g., list dates, write down important questions, keep standard message pads as well as important reference material near the telephone)

•

follow up telephone conversations with notes or letters, when appropriate.

While Telephoning Students must have authentic reasons for telephoning when they are practicing their skills in the English language arts classroom. Reasons can include the following: •

to inquire about suitable times and dates for a trip to the museum, as a follow up to a unit in historical fiction

•

to plan a visit to a senior citizens' home for an "adopt a grandparent" reading program

•

to order materials for a research report or other project

•

to order class tickets to a theatre performance

•

to inquire about details concerning a class trip 41

•

to invite or arrange for a community speaker, author, or storyteller to come to the class.

While telephoning, the student should practice the techniques previously established by the class. After Telephoning As soon as possible after telephoning, students should complete a selfassessment form based upon criteria established prior to their placing the call. A sample checklist follows. Sample Telephone Self-assessment Checklist Reason for Call: Was

1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Did Was

I I

prepared

Did

Did

I I

notes

attend show the

I

double

and

call

a

the for

brief check

1. A call to a friend. 2. a call to a famous person. 42

note

pad?

listener? my

and my

8. Did I follow up on the conversation with a note or letter? Items for telephoning:

professional?

immediately?

and

to

respect

keep

polite

myself

with

I

Did Did

identify

I

listener? on

topic? facts?

3. a call to the president of Moldova to ask when the salaries will be raised. 4. a call to the parents telling about the future husband. 5. a call to a boy friend. 6. a call to the favorite actor, actress. B. Announcements Making announcements can serve as useful oral speaking practice at any grade level. As with other types of speech activities, criteria for making announcements should be developed by the class. These criteria should address the recommended format and manner of presentation and serve as guidelines for the students. Some guidelines include the following: · provide all necessary and relevant information (who, what, when, where, how) · record and review key points prior to making the announcement · confirm accuracy of information · use vocabulary that is appropriate for the audience · speak in a friendly and enthusiastic manner · speak slowly, audibly, and clearly · observe listeners to be certain they are understanding the message and clarify as needed. Listeners should be encouraged to concentrate on the speaker making the announcement, taking care not to become distracted. As well, listeners should give appropriate responses to the speaker, confirming their understanding or asking questions for clarification. 43

Items for developing this activity: • Take some magazines or newspapers as New Yorker, Digest, Forum. Let the children read the headlines and let them make announcements on the information they have read. • Let the children make announcements of different kinds: meeting, selling of the house, presentation of oneself. 2.Role playing. It is a type of activity that is not so much expanded on in our country and it is highly preferred in Europe and in America. As Martin Bygate notes in his book Speaking………….it is something that not only trains the language but also make the pupils live and think about the carries of the language they are training……….24We fully agree with this as the student or pupil that is involved in role playing tries to act and to think about his acting. Thus the teacher pays attention to cultural and functional sides of the language. Role play provides the opportunity for students to develop and revise their understanding and perspectives by exploring thoughts and feelings of characters in given situations. The teacher may take a role, becoming an active participant in promoting independent thinking and cooperative learning. Role play helps students to develop: •

empathy as they examine others' ideas, feelings, and points of view

•

oral expression and interpretation skills as they use language to describe perceptions, emotions, and reactions

•

decision-making and problem-solving skills as they gain experience in independent thinking and co-operative learning

24

Bygate,M. Speaking. Oxford University Press. 1995-p.100

44

•

speaking and listening abilities.

Before the Role Play Explore possibilities concerning sources for role plays. While literature is the most frequently used source, the media and students' life experiences are also rich sources of role play situations and issues. Carefully plan for integration of all language processes into the role play. The following describes a method of planning a role play: •

choose a topic or theme (one that has a number of potential learning concepts) currently under study

•

identify relevant concepts within the topic (webbing is useful for discovering possibilities)

•

select a concept, being sure that there is a compelling issue involved, that it has human conflict within it, and that there are roles to play for the number of students to be involved

•

decide upon a key question about the concept or issue selected

•

list the possible viewpoints that might be adopted

•

place each viewpoint within a situation (or set of circumstances) in such a way that those characters involved are faced with a problem which needs resolving

•

choose a situation for the drama, and roles for students and teacher.

During Role Play It is important that students feel safe taking risks as they enter into various roles. Establishing expectations and rules (e.g., no putdowns) with students can help students to be supportive of each other during the role play. Listeners should be encouraged to observe attentively so that they are prepared to respond and discuss following the drama.

45

If the role play has been planned effectively and all the steps have been carried through, the experience should be satisfying and positive for all participants. After the Role Play Assessment of role plays will mainly occur through reflective discussion and through assessment of the products which develop in response to the drama (e.g., written work, art work). Student participation is important; however, participation does not always involve talking. It is possible for a student who has remained very quiet during the role play to write effectively and thoughtfully about the experience. Activities: A.In the restaurant25 I actor You own a restaurant. You need a server (waiter or waitress). Decide if you will hire the interviewee. II actor You have never worked in a restaurant before, but you really need a job (and the money)! Teacher's notes 1.

Set

the

scene.

Create

the

atmosphere

of

a

restaurant.

2. Put the two actors together and let them decide what they are going to tell.

25

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46

3.Retell the students about the Americans or Englishmen and their preferences. B.Taxi court role 26 You are a judge in taxi court. A customer will complain about a driver, and the driver will be there to defend himself. You must decide if the taxi driver should be punished. If punishment is necessary, decide what is appropriate. Passenger: You are complaining about a taxi driver because he took you to the wrong destination. You live on Mace Street in The Bronx, but he took you to Cadman plaza in Brooklyn. The driver wasted your time so you don't want to pay. Cabbie: You do not think you should be in taxi court. Saturday night, you picked up a drunk man and his girlfriend. He was so drunk that you couldn't understand his directions. You repeated "Cadman Plaza?". The customer was already kissing his girlfriend and didn't answer. C. Neighbors at odds role cards Create the atmosphere of a block of flats. There are many residents. Introduce the topic to the pupils. Ask if the pupils have neighbors and what relations they have with their neighbors. The first resident aprt.102

26

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47

It's 7:00 AM. You are a drummer, and a music major. Today is your senior recital. If you don't play well you can't graduate so you have to practice as much as possible. The second resident aprt.202 It's 7:00 AM. You were up until 4:00 AM preparing for an important business meeting. You have to give your presentation at 9:30, and you really need another hour or two to sleep. You can't sleep because the person who lives downstairs is playing the drums. 3.Puppetry.In the classroom, puppets are creations that "come to life" with the help of student puppeteers. Almost any object can be a puppet. An effective puppet is one that can be manipulated easily; however, it is not what the puppet looks like that counts, but rather how the student feels about, and uses, the puppet. Puppets can be incorporated into a variety of oral language strategies including storytelling, oral reporting, and choral speaking. Even Littlewood spoke about this activity in his book Teaching Oral Communication

27

as being effective in raising the interest of the

pupils and the development of the language. Puppetry is a valuable learning practice for many reasons: •

Dressing and decorating puppets require imagination. Each puppet must become a character through its costume and through the way it is decorated or painted.

•

Puppetry requires students to engage in speaking activity; the use of the puppet has the advantage of shielding the speaker who is shy.

27

Littlewood, W. Teaching Oral Communication. Oxford: Blackwell.1992-p.45

48

•

Puppetry offers an avenue of expression, allowing the puppeteer to express the thoughts and feelings of the characters being portrayed.

•

Working with puppets demands co-operation; students learn to work together for a successful performance.

•

Puppetry is inexpensive; excellent results may be obtained within the most limited budget.

•

Puppets are capable of behaviors (e.g., fighting) and feats (e.g., flying, shrinking) which would be undesirable or impossible for student performers.

•

Telling stories with puppets is fun; it provides students with enjoyment.

Some guidelines for preparing for puppetry activities include the following: •

The teacher and students discuss the characteristics that make a puppet play interesting to watch. Student responses are listed and posted.

•

The teacher asks students to suggest stories they have read or to create their own stories that may be turned into puppet plays.

•

The teacher and students discuss the types of puppets which might be suitable for each story, and that are practical given time, cost, and materials available.

•

The teacher and students list a set of guidelines and tasks required for adapting and presenting a story as a puppet play (e.g., audience attention span, availability of materials for making puppets and sets, special skills required).

•

Students form groups of 4-6, with each group responsible for selecting or creating a story; adapting it to oral dialogue format; creating 49

puppets, sets and props; and practicing the play. Emphasis in rehearsal must be on creating and maintaining consistent voices and movements for each of the puppet characters. Students not handling puppets might serve as technical crew (e.g., lighting, sound). •

Groups are given time to organize and accomplish their tasks.

During the performance of puppet plays, consider the following: •

As each group shares its play with the class, listening students are encouraged to record positive comments and constructive suggestions to help the group members refine their performance.

•

The teacher should record anecdotal notes regarding the performance.

•

If plays are to be presented to other audiences (e.g., a class of younger children), groups should be given the opportunity to rehearse several times before the presentation.

•

The teacher and students may wish to record puppet plays on video to be stored with the puppets.

•

Familiar folk and fairy tales are dependable choices for puppet plays. Some additional puppetry activities include choric work with puppets, situational role playing with puppets, interviews, and small group problem solving. Students could also explore the puppetry of various cultures.

After the performance of puppet plays, discuss the various aspects of the puppet play presentations with students. Some students may choose to write or draw in response to the puppet play they have created or viewed (e.g., journal writing, creating dialogue for another puppet play, illustrating the setting). 50

Using anecdotal records, the teacher should note observations made while students were taking part in the entire activity: •

abilities to co-operate in the group task

•

participation in class discussion

•

combining of personal experience with knowledge of stories to create a puppet play

•

creation of believable dialogue

•

efforts to use their voices to communicate the puppets' attitudes and personalities.

Activities: 1. stage an episode from Cinderella.

2. stage an episode from Three Pigs. 3. stage an episode from a cartoon they like. 4. Stage an anecdote. 4.Games. The last and the most interesting way of developing the communicative abilities is the game. The 20th century is generally referred to as the year of interesting and efficient activities28. All the methodological books that appear, all the seminars that are organized are all interactive. Moreover this kind of work the pupils like most of all as they bring joy and better understanding to the pupils. We want to propose some activities that are a mixture of effective and motivating ways to improve the pupils’ ability to speak in a foreign language. Activities: 28

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A. Crazy Sentence Listening to details can be very important when trying to solve a problem or when attempting to follow complicated directions. Sometimes the details are not essential but at other times these details are the most important part of the

information

being

conveyed.

Being able to listen carefully to what is said and to all the words that a person is saying isn’t an easy task. Sometimes we must listen with our eyes and observe body language, facial expressions, and eye movement in order to get all the information needed. The better you “listen” to the details, the more you will hear and the better you will understand what is being said. Objective To use good listening skills in order to win the game. GroupSize 4 or more Materials -Paper -Pensorpencils - 2 Chairs Description Prior to this activity make up a dozen or so sentences that are complete and correct but make them crazy and random; then write each sentence on a small piece of paper. Some examples of crazy sentences are: “My “Big

prom Bird

date

had is

a my

52

large idol.”

tattoo.”

“The “It

blue is

good

“Rubber

cow to

bands

swam

eat

spiders

stick

to

over and

the

the

caterpillars

ceiling

on

moon.” for

breakfast.”

Christmas

day.”

Be creative and come up with many more. Also, prior to the game set up two chairs

in

the

front

of

the

room.

For the activity select two people from the group and ask them to sit in the chairs that you have set up in the front of the room. Give each person a piece of paper with one of the crazy sentences on it. The two players must read the sentence to themselves and then engage in conversation. Each player attempts to state his/her sentence in the course of conversation. The object is to slip in the sentence without the other person guessing what it is. You may wish to give them a topic to start with such as fishing, country music, bowling, buying shoes, or anything else that has nothing to do with the sentences. Also give them a one or two minute time limit to slip their sentences in during the conversation. After the time limit, allow the people in the audience to guess what the crazy sentence is and whoever guesses correctly is given the opportunity to play the game for the next round. DiscussionPrompts 1. What did you have to do in order to detect the hidden sentence? 2.

When

do

you

use

your

best

listening

skills?

Why?

3. When is it important for you to show good listening skills? Variations - Each player may tell a story, instead of engaging in conversation with

one

other

player.

- This game can be done with three people engaging in conversation at the

53

same

time

instead

of

just

two.

B. Direction Direction In our society there is a constant transfer of information from one person to another. You must be careful when you pass information on if you want it to stay accurate. One great example shows up in rules for a game. If you check with people in different parts of the country you will find out that many of the games have different rules. Someone, something changed the rules a little bit In this activity someone gets a set of rules and the group gets to see how easy it can be to make mistakes in passing them on. This can be a fun way to see what can happen when information is not passed on correctly. Objective For people to recognize the importance of using good communication skills when giving directions and when receiving directions. To recognize the difficulties encountered when interpreting what someone else said. Group Size 2 or more Materials - Varies Description Chose a game that has a few specific rules that must be followed in order to play the game (and enough rules to make it hard to remember them all). Prior to the activity select one person and give him/her the direction for the 54

game without telling the rest of the group. Verbally explain the game can clearly state all of the rules. At the time of the game, the person who has heard the rules will give the directions to the rest of the group without any help from you. Allow the group to play the game once through before having a group discussion or making any corrections or clarifications in the rules of the game. Discussion Topics 1. Was there any confusion about the rules of the game? 2. Why do you think the game was explained correctly (or incorrectly)? 3. What is important to remember when listening to others and when giving directions? C. Back to Back Purpose: To have participants become aware of the need for eye contact in interpersonal communication. Setting: Room enough for participants to sit on floor in pairs. Procedure:

1.

Have participants form dyads. Read the following mini-lecture to the group:

55

Sit back to back with your partner and begin to talk about something that happened to you lately - something that was a really good experience. (Wait about one minute.) Now, move about five feet away from your partner and continue talking. Processing: Ask the group members to share how this experience felt. How did it feel for them to share a good experience with someone who turned away from them? If the group members do not bring up the following points, discuss them with the group: -How strong is the need for eye contact when talking with others? -Did you find yourself missing the nonverbal gestures and facial expressions? Why? -How easy was it to hear what your partner was saying? D. Do Your Best Objective: To help participants discover how well they communicate. Materials: Sugar Cubes. Exercise Handout Time:

20 minutes

Procedure: Divide the participants into groups of two. Have the groups determine who will be the committee leader and who will be the committee member. Give the committee leader the sugar cubes and exercise handout. Tell the committee leader to read each exercise's directions before beginning each activity. Exercise 1Read the following instructions to your committee member. "Your job is to stack as many blocks as you can in one minute. Each sugar 56

cube will be stacked one on top of the other in a single, vertical column. How you stack the sugar cubes is up to you. If the column topples and time remains, you may rebuild. Your score is the number of sugar cubes standing in a column when I call time. Your minimum score is always one." 2.

Do not specify or suggest how many sugar cubes might be stacked. Simply say, "Do your best."

3.

Time the exercise as accurately as possible. (1 minute)

4.

When the exercise is finished, have the committee member count the number of sugar cubes standing.

5.

Do not comment (verbally or nonverbally) in any way on your committee member's results. If asked directly, avoid the question.

Discussion Questions: 1.

Was this exercise easy or hard?

2.

How did it feel to not have any positive feedback or encouragement?

3.

How did it feel to not have any say in the goal setting?

4.

How is this similar to "real life" situation?

As a way of conclusion we can say that there are many ways to develop speech

habits:

imitative,

intensive,

responsive,

transactional

and

interpersonal. Using these activities the speech habits are developed gradually, from the elementary to the advanced level. The wise usage of these activities can bring exceptional results.

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Conclusion Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this phenomenon was the emergence of the concept of "methods" of language teaching. The method concept in language teaching—the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning—is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of teachers and applied linguists throughout the 20th century. A more or less classical formulation suggests that methodology is that which links theory and practice. Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA). Such theories are linked to various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth. Design features in turn are linked to actual teaching and learning practices as observed in the environments where language teaching and learning take place. This whole complex of elements defines language teaching methodology. When the linguists and the language specialists sought to improve the quality of language teaching in the late 19th century, they often did so by referring to general principles and theories concerning how languages are learned, how knowledge of language is represented and organized in memory, or how language itself is structured. The early applied linguistics such as Henry Sweet, Otto Jespersen, Harold Palmer, elaborated principles and theoretically accountable approaches to the design of language teaching. When they analyzed all the principles a lot of things were left out. An attempt to clarify the differences, Edward Anthony proposed a scheme. He identified three levels of

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conceptualization and organization, which he termed as approach, method and technique. …an approach is asset of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. An approach is axiomatic. It describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. …….method is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material…………… An approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural. Within one approach there can be many methods. A technique is implementational –that which happens in the classroom. The subject matter of my research is the development of speech habits at school during the classes of English. When speaking about the development of the speech, we refer to communicative language teaching approach. Communication is the process of passing information and understanding from one person to another. The communication process involves six basic elements: sender (encoder), message, channel, receiver (decoder), noise, and feedback. Supervisors can improve communication skills by becoming aware of these elements and how they contribute to successful communication. Communication can break down at any one of these elements. The origins of CLT are to be found in the changes in the British language teaching tradition

from the late 1960’s. Until then the situational language

teaching represented the major British approach to teaching English as foreign language in situational language teaching, the language was taught by practicing Basic structures in situation-based activities. In the mid 60’s. British applied linguists began to call into question the theoretical assumptions underlying situational language teaching: 3

By the end of the 60’s it was clear that the situational approach had run its course………… This was a response to the sorts of criticisms the American linguist Noam Chomsky had leveled at the structural linguistic theory in his classic book Syntactic Structures. Chomsky had demonstrated that the current standard Structural theories of the language were incapable to account for the fundamental characteristic of the language- the creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences. The other linguists saw that the need to focus in language on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery structures. Scholars who advocated this view were C. Candlin, H.Widdowson, J.Firth, D.Hymes, W. Labov. Both American and British proponents now see it is an approach that aims to make the communicative competence the goal of language teaching; to develop procedures for the teaching of four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication. CLT is more than an integration of grammatical and functional teaching. Littlewood states : One of the most characteristic features of CLT is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as to the grammatical aspects of the language. This means using procedures where learners work in pairs employing available language resources in problem solving tasks . The development of this approach is the essence of the society, without the communication the child , the pupil and the society can not live. A more pedagogical analysis of the CLT was given by Henry Widdowson. He identifies four dimensions of communicative competence : Grammatical competence is what refers to Chomsky’s linguistic competence. It is the domain of grammatical and lexical capacity. 4

Sociolinguistic competence to an understanding of the social context in which communication takes place, including role relationships, the share information of the participants. Discourse competence refers to the interpretation of individual message elements. Strategic competence refers to the copying strategies that communicator employs to initiate, maintain and terminate the conversation. The teacher has a role too. In such a way according to Breen: The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communication between the participants in the classroom……the second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning- teaching group. The other roles of the teacher according to Jack C.Richards are needs analyst, Councelor, and group process manager. The needs analyst is the teacher’s responsibility for determining and responding to learner language needs. Typically these assignments contain items that attempt to determine an individual’s motivation for studying the language. The teacher counselor is expected to exemplify an effective communicator seeking to maximize the meshing of speaker intention and of the hearer interpretation, through the use of paraphrase, confirmation and feedback. CLT procedures often require teachers to acquire less teacher-centered classroom management skills. It is the teacher’s job to organize the classroom as a setting for communication. Guidelines for classroom practice suggest that 5

during an activity the teacher monitors, encourages and suppresses the inclination to have gaps in grammar and lexis. The focus on fluency and comprehensibility may cause anxiety among teachers that are accustomed to seeing error suppression and correction as the major instructional responsibility. A great variety of materials are used to support CLT approach. The materials currently used are text- based, task- based and realia. There are a lot of textbooks designed to direct and support CLT. Their tables of content sometimes suggest a kind of grading and sequencing of language practice not unlike those found in structurally organized texts. Some of these are written around a largely structural syllabus, with slight reformatting to justify their claims to be based on a communicative approach. A variety of games, role plays, simulations and task- based communication activities have been prepared to support CLT. These typically are in-one-of-akind items: exercise handbooks, cue cards, activity cards, pair-communication practice materials and student interaction booklets. In pair communication materials enter two sets of material for pair of student. They contain different information. Sometimes the information is complementary and the partners must fit their parts in the jigsaw. Others assume different role relationships for the partners. Many proponents of CLT have advocated the use of authentic, from-life materials. These might include language-based realia, such as signs, magazines, newspapers, visual sources around which the communicative activities can be built.

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The conversational classes according to Marianne Celce-Murcia can be divided into: 4. Imitative. A very limited portion of classroom speaking time may be

spent generating human tape recorder speech, where the students practice an intonation contour. Imitation of this kind is trained not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on particular element of language form. They offer limited practice through repetitions. They allow to focus on one element of the language. 5. Intensive. Intensive speaking goes beyond the imitative to include any

speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological grammatical aspect of language. Intensive speaking can be self initiated, where students are going over some certain forms of language. 6. Responsive.A good deal of student speech is responsive, that means

questions and answers. They may be of different types, beginning from the trivial ones: How are you?, Who is on duty, finishing with How do you find life in Moldova?. The only condition is that this questions do not expand into dialoques. 4.Transactional. Transactional language, carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specific information, is an extended form of responsive language. Generally we can speak about the talk referring to transactional language. 5.Interpersonal. Transactional type of activities resemble the interpersonal, but they differ as the interpersonal activities should involve the following factors:

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A casual register Emotionally charged language Slang Ellipsis Sarcasm A covert agenda We propose some activities that may help the teachers to make successful conversations and to develop their students’ speech habits.

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