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Based on the analysis above, it is believed that the content-based instruction is an effective approach to overcome the problem of improving the student’s speaking skill.
B. Formulation of the Problems
Based on the background above, the problems of this study are as the following: 1.
Can and to what extent the Content-based Instruction improve the students’ speaking ability of Business English Department of CsTVC?
2. How is the teaching and learning situation when Content-based Instruction is
applied in the speaking class?
C. The Objective of the Study
Based on the analysis of the causes of the problem, the objectives of this research is to know:
1. whether and to what extent Content-based Instruction improves the students’
speaking skill of Business English Department of CsTVC. 2.
the teaching and learning situation when Content-based Instruction is applied in the speaking class.
D. The Benefits of the Study
1. For the Business English Department of CsVTC
This research can both expand and enrich the English language teaching instruction for the Business English department, consequently to improve the
teaching quality in this College. 2.
For the English teacher or lectures The approach conducted in this research can be used as another choice of
teaching approach in the speaking class. Besides, it will also be found to be the best way for teachers to conduct the specific knowledge to their students.
3. For the students
The result of this research can improve the student’s speaking skill with the view that learning is fun. Furthermore, it will help the students to master the specific
working skills which are related to their future career. 4.
For other researchers
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This research can function as additional references or sources to carry out or conduct further research about language learning and teaching.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Speaking
1. The Nature of Speaking
Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information Florez and Cunningham cite form Brown,
1994; Burns Joyce, 1997 in http:www.ericdigests.org2000-3adult.htm. Its form and meaning depend on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves,
their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving.
Rizvi 2006: 92 also states that speaking is an interactive communicative process that involves speakers and listeners.
In communicative process, speakers need to learn to adapt their talk to the listeners; use a range of ways to express themselves; use talk to clarify
their ideas and sustain their talk to develop thinking and reasoning. Speaking is not the oral production of written language, but involves learners in
the mastery of a wide range of sub-skills, which, added together, constitute an overall competence in the spoken language
McDonough and Shaw, 2003: 133.
Bukart 1998 in http:www.nclrc.orgessentialsspeakingspindex.htm
state that language learners need to recognize that speaking involves three areas of knowledge:
- Mechanics pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary:
It is the ability to use the right words in the right order with the correct pronunciation.
- Functions transaction and interaction:
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It is about the knowledge of knowing when clarity of message is essential transactioninformation exchange and when precise understanding is not
required interactionrelationship building -
Social and cultural rules and norms turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses between speakers, relative roles of participants:
It refers to the understanding of how to take into account who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, about what, and for what reasons.
In our lives, we use talk in different ways for different purpose and audiences. As a skill that enables us to produce utterances, when genuinely communicative, speaking is desire-and
purpose-driven, in other words we genuinely want to communicate something to achieve a particular end. This may involve expressing ideas and opinions, expressing a wish or a desire to
do something, negotiating andor solving a particular problem, or establishing and maintaining social relationships and friendships.
Burnett and Myes 2004: 24 put forward the following spoken language that may be used in many different ways:
Explaining suggesting discussing reporting Instructing speculating arguing narrating
Summarizing negotiating clarifying directing Persuading planning informing presenting
Questioning disagreeing analyzing hypothesizing Evaluating describing expressing feelings reasoning
Speaking English can be particularly difficult because, unlike reading or writing, speaking happens in “real time,”
it requires the simultaneous use of a number of abilities which often develop at different rates. Generally, there are at least five components of speaking skill
concerned with it such as following Widiastuti cited from Syakur 1987: 3, in
http:etd.eprints.ums.ac.id332 :
a. Comprehension
Oral communication certainly requires a subject to respond, to speech as well as to initiate it.
b. Grammar
It is needed for students to arrange a correct sentence in conversation. It is in line with explanation suggested by Heaton 1978: 5 that the student’s ability to manipulate
structure and to distinguish appropriate grammatical form in appropriate ones. The utility
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of grammar is also to learn the correct way to gain expertise in a language in oral and written form.
c. Vocabulary
One cannot effectively communicate or express their ideas both in oral and written form if they do not have sufficient vocabulary. So, vocabulary means the appropriate
diction which is used in communication. d.
Pronunciation Pronunciation is the way the students produce clearer language when they speak. It
deals with the phonological process that refers to the component of a grammar made up of the elements and principles that determine how sounds vary and pattern in a language.
e. Fluency
Fluency can be defined as the ability to speak fluently and accurately. Fluency in speaking is the aim of many language learners. Signs of fluency include a reasonably fast
speed of speaking and only a small number of pauses and “ums” or “ers”. These signs indicate that the speaker does not have to spend a lot of time searching for the language
items needed to express the message Brown. 1997: 4.
2. Speaking in Second Language
Many language learners learning a second language regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing that language. These learners define fluency and accuracy as the ability to
converse with others, much more than the ability to read, write, or comprehend oral language. They regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire, and they assess their progress
in terms of their accomplishments in spoken communication. The speaking ability in a second language can more or less be divided into two categories: accuracy and fluency
Cotter Hue in http:hubpages.com
. a.
Accuracy focuses on the correct use of grammar, vocabulary, and other skills. In most lessons, the teacher builds accuracy in the early stages through controlled or semi-controlled
activities. Students practice a pattern, and use the language in context. Drills, scripted dialogues, and short questions which promote the language are all common examples in any
level of lesson. b.
Fluency is the ability to speak smoothly and clearly. With advanced students, it also refers to the ability to participate rather than react to a conversation. Activities which focus on fluency
often appear towards the end of the lesson, when more open ended yet focused activities appear.
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According to
Florez
1999, in
http:www.cal.orgcaelascbIV
a good speaker of a second language usually acts as the following:
- producing the sounds, stress patterns, rhythmic structures, and intonations of the
language; -
using grammarstructures accurately; -
assessing characteristics of the target audience, including shared knowledge or shared points of reference, status and power relations of participants, interest levels, or
differences in perspectives; -
selecting vocabulary that is understandable and appropriate for the audience, the topic being discussed, and the setting in which the speech act occurs;
- applying strategies to enhance comprehensibility, such as emphasizing key words,
rephrasing, or checking for listener comprehension; -
using gestures or body language; and -
paying attention to the success of the interaction and adjusting components of speech such as vocabulary, rate of speech, and complexity of grammar structures to maximize
listener comprehension and involvement Brown, 1994.
Based on the descriptions above, it can be concluded that speaking is an interactive communication process that involves speakers and listeners. It is often conducted in
different ways, in different circumstances, and for different purpose, involving not only the knowledge of mechanics, but also concerned with the function, and social and
cultural rules to the competence that the learners are able to speak with people fluently, and accurately use the right words vocabulary; put them in the correct order grammar;
sound like a native speaker pronunciation; even produce the right meaning comprehension.
3. Teaching Speaking
a. The goal in teaching speaking
Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching. Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English
language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, todays world requires that the goal of teaching
speaking should improve students communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules
appropriate in each communicative circumstance.
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Nunan in Kayi, 2006, in http:iteslj.orgTechniques states that teaching speaking is to teach the students to:
1 Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns
2 Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second
language. 3
Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter.
4 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
5 Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
6 Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which is called
as fluency. Baker and Westrup 2003: 5 also put forward the following reasons to practice
speaking during a lesson: 1
Speaking activities can reinforce the learning of new vocabulary, grammar or functional language;
2 Speaking activities give students the chance to use the new language they are
learning 3
Speaking activities give more advanced students the chance to experiment with the language they already know in different situations and on different topics.
All this helps students to learn English better and succeed. In line with the statements above, the goal in teaching speaking skill, therefore, is
communicative efficiency. That is, learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid
confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communication situation.
b. Guidance for Teachers in Teaching Speaking
There is some guidance for English language teachers while teaching speaking Kayi, 2006, in http:iteslj.orgTechniques:
1 Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak the target language by providing
a rich environment that contains collaborative work, authentic materials and tasks,
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and shared knowledge. 2
Try to involve each student in every speaking activity; for this aim, practice different ways of student participation.
3 Reduce teacher speaking time in class while increasing student speaking time. Step
back and observe students. 4
Indicate positive signs when commenting on a students response. 5
Ask eliciting questions such as What do you mean? How did you reach that conclusion? in order to prompt students to speak more.
6 Provide written feedback like Your presentation was really great. It was a good job.
I really appreciated your efforts in preparing the materials and efficient use of your voice…
7 Do not correct students pronunciation mistakes very often while they are speaking.
Correction should not distract student from his or her speech. 8
Involve speaking activities not only in class but also out of class; contact parents and other people who can help.
9 Circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right track and see
whether they need your help while they work in groups or pairs. 10
Provide the vocabulary beforehand that students need in speaking activities. 11
Diagnose problems faced by students who have difficulty in expressing themselves in the target language and provide more opportunities to practice the spoken
language. In teaching speaking, Ur 1996: 121-122 also gives some different advices to
the English teacher: 1
Use group work This increases the sheer amount of learner talk going on in a limited period of time
and also lowers the inhibition of learners who are unwilling to speaking in the full front of the class
2 Base the activity on easy language
The level of language needed for a discussion should be lower than that used in intensive language learning activities in the same class: it should be easily recalled and
produced by the participants, so that they can speak fluently.
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3 Make a careful choice of topic and task to stimulate interest
Teachers should consider the students’ need and provide the right topic and task based on the students’ interest to motivate the students to talk more. The more they talk,
the more they will achieve. 4
Give some instruction or training in discussion skills Specific and clear rules should be given to the students during the classroom
activities, so that they can perform the task smoothly later. 5
Keep students speaking in the target language Teachers can appoint some students in the speaking class as monitors to remind the
other students to use the target language.
c. Activities for teaching Speaking
There are many activities to promote speaking. According to Kayi 2006, in http:iteslj.orgTechniquesKayi-TeachingSpeaking.html, there are thirteen activities
to promote speaking, which are: 1
Discussion After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons. The
students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the
discussion activity is set by the teacher. In this way, the discussion points are relevant to this purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other about
irrelevant things. 2
Role Play Students pretend they are in various social contexts and have a variety of social
roles. In role-play activities, the teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are and what they think or feel. Thus, the teacher can tell the student that You are
David, you go to the doctor and tell him what happened last night, and… cite from Harmer, 1984
3 Simulations
Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes simulations different than role plays is that they are more elaborate. In simulations, students can bring items
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to the class to create a realistic environment. For instance, if a student is acting as a computer seller, she brings computer and demonstrate it and so on.
4 Information Gap
In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs. One student will have the information that other partner does not have and the partners will share their
information. Information gap activities serve many purposes such as solving a problem or collecting information. Also, each partner plays an important role because the task
cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the others need. 5
Brain Storming On a given topic, students can produce ideas in a limited time. Depending on the
context, either individual or group brainstorming is effective and learners generate ideas quickly and freely. The good characteristic of brainstorming is that the students are not
criticized for their ideas so students will be open to sharing new ideas. 6
Storytelling Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody
beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates. Story telling fosters creative thinking. It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning,
development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have. 7
Interviews Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people. It is a
good idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own
interview questions. After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class. Moreover, students can interview each other and introduce his or her partner to
the class. 8
Story Completion For this activity, a teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or she
stops narrating. Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the previous one stopped. Each student is supposed to add from four to ten sentences. Students can
add new characters, events, descriptions and so on. 9
Reporting
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Before coming to class, students are asked to read a newspaper or magazine and, in class, they report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news.
Students can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth telling their friends in their daily lives before class.
10 Playing Cards
In this game, students should form groups of four. Each suit will represent a topic. For instance: diamonds represent earning money, hearts represent love and
relationships, spades represent an unforgettable memory, and card represent best teacher. Each student in a group will choose a card. Then, each student will write 4-5
questions about that topic to ask the other people in the group. For example: if the topic diamonds: earning money is selected, here are some possible questions: “Is money
important in your life? Why?” or “What is the easiest way of earning money?” or “What do you think about lottery?” etc. However, the teacher should state at the very
beginning of the activity that students are not allowed to prepare yes-no questions, because by saying yes or no students get little practice in spoken language production.
Rather, students ask open-ended questions to each other so that they reply in complete sentences.
11 Picture Narrating
This activity is based on several sequential pictures. Students are asked to tell the story taking place in the sequential pictures by paying attention to the criteria provided
by the teacher as a rubric. Rubrics can include the vocabulary or structures they need to use while narrating.
12 Picture Describing
For this activity students can form groups and each group is given a different picture. Students discuss the picture with their groups, and then a spokesperson for each
group describes the picture to the whole class. This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.
13 Find the Differences
For this activity students can work in pairs and each couple is given two different pictures, for example, picture of boys playing football and another picture of girls
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playing tennis. Students in pairs discuss the similarities andor differences in the pictures.
d. The Characteristics of Successful Speaking Activity
Ur 1991:121 lists four characteristics of successful speaking activities as follows: 1
The learners talk a lot As much as possible of the period of time allotted to the activity is occupied by the
learner talk. 2
Participation is even In the speaking class, the classroom activity is not dominated by a minority of
talkative students, all learners have equal chances to talk or speak in English. Contributions are evenly distributed.
3 Motivation is high
Learners are eager to speak: a because they are interested in the topic. They have something new to say about it; and b because they want to contribute to achieve a
task objective. 4
Language is of acceptable level Learners express themselves in utterances that are relevant, easily comprehensible to
each other, and of an acceptable level of language accuracy.
4. Testing Speaking
A test is a procedure for measuring ability, knowledge or performance Nagarja, 1996: 207. The speaking test is used to test students’ speaking proficiency. When we
give a speaking test to the students, normally, we want to know the followings: -
How accurately and appropriately the learner use the language grammar and vocabulary
- How well the learners develop the conversation and organize their ideas
- How fluently they speak
- How comprehensible their pronunciation is
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- How
positively they
contributed to
the conversation
http:www.bulats.orgBulatsThe-Speaking-test.html .
According to Kitao and Kenji 1996: 2 a speaking test can be a source of beneficial backwash. If speaking is tested, it can encourage the teaching of speaking in
classes. There are many techniques which can be used to test the speaking ability. Thornbury 2005: 125-126 mentioned the most commonly used test types as follows:
a. Interviews
In conducting the interviews, students are called out one by one for their interview. Interview is relatively easy to set up, but the rather formal nature of interview is hardly
conducive to testing more informal, conversational speaking styles. It is also difficult to eliminate the effects of the interviewers questioning style.
b. Live monologues
The candidates prepare and present a short talk on a pre-selected topic. This eliminates the interviewer effect and provides evidence of the candidates’ ability to
handle an extended turn, which is not always possible in interviews. Other students can take the role as audiences; a question-and-answer stage can be involved. This can provide
some evidence of the speaker’s ability to speak interactively and spontaneously. c.
Recorded monologues Recorded monologues are less stressful than a more public performance and, for
informal testing; it is also more practicable in a way that live monologues are not. Learners can take turns to record themselves talking about a favorite sport or pastime.
The assessment of the recorded tests can be done after the event, and results can be ‘triangulated’.
d. Role-plays
Students will be used to doing at least simple role plays in class, so the same format can be used for testing. The other ‘role’ can be played either by the tester or
another student. The situation in the role-play should be better grounded in everyday reality. However, in the role-play test, the influence of the interlocutor is hard to
control. e.
Collaborative tasks and discussions
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These are similar to role-play except that the learners are not required to assume a role but simply to be themselves. In this performance, the learners’ interactive skills
can be observed in circumstances that close approximate real-life language use. Moreover, Kitao and Kenji 1996: 4 also suggest that testing speaking can use
visual material. Pictures, maps, diagrams, and other types of visual material can be used to test speaking without requiring the students to comprehend written or spoken material.
Through careful selection of the material, the tester can control the vocabulary and, to some extent, the grammatical structures required. In the test of using visual materials,
usually, the students are given a series of pictures which tell a story, and are required to put together a coherent narrative. A variation on this is to give the pictures in random
order of the narrative to a group of students. On a speaking test, getting the students to say something appropriate is only half
the job. Scoring the test is equally challenging Madsen, 1984: 166. However, Thomburry 2005: 127 suggests two main ways: either giving it a single score on the
basis of an overall impression called holistic scoring or giving a separate score for different aspects of the task analytic scoring. The holistic-scoring has the advantage of
being quicker, and is probably adequate for informal testing of progress. It needs more than one scorer, and any significant differences in scoring should be discussed and a joint
score negotiated. Analytic-scoring takes longer, but compels testers to take a variety of factors into
account and, if these factors are well chosen, is probably both fairer and more reliable. However, in the process of scoring, the scorer may be distracted by all the categories and
lose sight of the overall picture. In describing the criteria levels of scoring, Hughes 2003: 110 said that the
descriptions may be holistic or analytic and it was said that it is possible to use one method as a check on the other.
Madsen 1983: 167-168 state that the advantage of holistic grading is probably obvious. It concentrates on communication while not overlooking the components of
speech. It is used to evaluate a various aspects simultaneously such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension. According to Madsen 1983: 170, this
rating scale can be adapted for the use of the teachers, and the teachers can prepare their
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own scale. Moreover, teachers with clearly identified evaluation criteria will want to rate their students on a holistic scale. Based on the theories above, the scoring rubric applied
in this research is as follows:
Scoring Rubric No. 1
Score Indicator
fluency 17-20
Speech as fluently as that of a native speaker 13-16
Speed of speech seems to be slightly affected by language problems
9-12 Speech and fluency are strongly affected by language
problems 5-8
often hesitant and forced silence by language limitation 1-4
Speech is so halting and fragmentally that makes communication impossible
No. 2 Score
Indicator
Vocabulary 17-20
Almost no inadequacy or inaccuracy 13-16
Few times inadequate or inaccurate 9-12
Sometimes inadequate or inaccurate 5-8
Inaccurate or in adequate that affect the understanding 1-4
Inadequate for communication
No. 3 score
Indicator
Grammar 17-20
No grammatical inaccuracy 13-16
Few grammatical inaccuracy 9-12
Grammatical inaccuracy does not impede the understanding 5-8
Grammatical inaccuracy does not seriously impede understanding
1-4 Grammatical inaccuracy makes understanding almost
impossible
No. 4 score
Indicator
Pronunciation 17-20
Accurate pronunciation 13-16
Few inaccurate pronunciation 9-12
Inaccuracy of pronunciation does not impede understanding 5-8
Inaccuracy of pronunciation does not seriously impede understanding
1-4 Inaccuracy of pronunciation makes understanding almost
impossible
No. 5 score
Indicator
Comprehension 17-20
Understands everything in normal educated conversation 13-16
Understands quite well the normal educated speech dialogue, but sometimes need repetition or rephrasing
9-12 Understands simplified speechdialogue but need repetition
and rephrasing 5-8
Understands only slow, very simple speech, require repetition and rephrasing
1-4 Understands too little for the simplest type conversation
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B. Content-Based Instruction
