Definition of Impromptu Speech Practice

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a. Students’ Accuracy and Fluency in Impromptu Speech Practice

The implementation of impromptu speech practice leads the students to speak accurately and fluently. The interplay of cognitive and affective, or emotional, factors during speech production exerts heavy demands on language learners, and this, in turn, can have a direct impact on the quality of st udents‟ spoken language Goh Burns, 2012. According to Bygate 1998 and Skehan 1996, the quality of learners‟ speech depends on three characteristics, namely: fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Goh and Burns 2012 mention three key features of learner‟s speech as follows. Table 2.1 Three key featu res of learners’ speech Goh Burns 2012, p.43 Terms Definition Focus Fluency Speech where the message is communicated coherently with few pauses and hesitations, thus causing minimal comprehension difficulties for the listeners. Meaning Accuracy Speech where the message is communicated using correct grammar. The notion of accuracy can also be expanded to include correct pronunciation according to target language norms. Form Complexity Speech where the message is communicated precisely. More advanced grammatical forms are used, such as subordination and clausal embedding, which are appropriate for speech in relation to the social and cultural context, as well as the roles of, and relationships with, interlocutors. Meaning and form Furthermore, Richards 2005 divides the activities between activities that focus on fluency and those that focus on accuracy which are summarized as follows. 19 Table 2.2: Fluency vs Accuracy Richards 2005, p.15 Activities focusing on fluency Activities focusing on accuracy 1. Reflect natural use of language 2. Focus on achieving communication 3. Require meaningful use of language 4. Require the use of communication strategies 5. Produce language that may not be predictable 6. Seek to link language use to context 7. Reflect Classroom use of language 8. Focus on the formation of correct examples of language 9. Practice language out of context 10. Practice small samples of language 11. Do not require meaningful communication 12. Choice of language is controlled

b. Mechanical, Meaningful, and Communicative Practice

Apart from being grammatical, the utterance must also be appropriate on many levels at the same time; it must conform to the speaker‟s aim; the role relationships between the interactants, to the setting, topic, and the linguistic context. The speaker must also produce hisher utterance within severe constraints; he does not know in advance what will be said to him and hence what his utterance will be a response to; yet, if the conversation is not to flag, he must respond quickly Johnson 1981. Mechanical practice refers to a controlled practice activity which students can successfully carry out without necessarily understanding the language they are using. A meaningful speech is a speech that can be understood by the audience. The speaker should have the competency of speaking in front of the audience. According to Hymes 1979, an individual‟s communicative competence is his or her ability to use language effectively in actual communication. This ability consists of both knowledge about the language and specific skills in using the language. Communicative competence in relation to second language speaking is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI