instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand.
Brown 2000:7 breaks down the components of the definition of learning, and extract the domains of research and inquiry: Learning is acquisition or “getting”,
learning is retention of information or skill, retention implies storage systems, memory, and cognitive organization, learning involves active, conscious focus on and
acting upon events outside or inside the organism, learning is relatively permanent but subject to forgetting, learning involves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced
practice and learning is a change in behavior. Brown also cites that teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions
for learning. Regarding the definitions about teaching and learning above, it can be
concluded that both of them cannot be separated. Teaching and learning are two processes to achieve something. It is also a process of take and give, in this case,
knowledge.
b. Principles for Designing Speaking Techniques
According to Brown 2000:275, there are seven principles for designing speaking techniques. They are stated as follows:
1 use techniques that cover the spectrum of learner needs, for language-based
focus on accuracy to message-based focus on interaction, meaning, and fluency,
2 provide intrinsically motivating techniques,
3 encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts,
4 provide appropriate feedback and correction,
5 capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening,
6 give students opportunities to initiate oral communication,
7 encourage the development of speaking strategies.
In teaching speaking, it is very important for teachers to consider the speaking techniques. The tasks should include techniques designed to help students to perceive
and use the building blocks of language. It is also needed to make any drilling as meaningful as possible. Teachers’ role is very crucial in teaching speaking because
teachers should help the students to see how the activity will benefit them. It usually pays to tell them why we as a teacher ask them to do certain things. Another thing
that is not easy to keep coming up with is meaningful interaction. Even it takes energy and creativity to devise authentic contexts and meaningful interaction, with
the help of a storehouse of teacher material, it can be done. When it deals with teaching speaking, feedback and correction are other aspects
to be highlighted. It is important that teachers take advantage of their knowledge of English to inject the kinds of corrective feedback that are appropriate for the moment.
Many interactive techniques that involve speaking will also include listening. Teachers should integrate these two skills in teaching. A good deal of typical
classroom interaction is characterized by teacher initiation of language. Part of oral communication competence is the ability to initiate conversations, to nominate topics,
to ask questions, to control conversations, and to change the subject. The last, teacher should build the atmosphere so that the students can use the expressions for asking
someone to repeat something Huh? Excuse me?, getting someone’s attention Hey, Say, So, and many others.
c. Problems in Learning Speaking
There are so many problems related to speaking, especially speaking the foreign language. People have to consider about many things. Vocabulary, grammar,
intonation, pronunciation and the meaning sense of what they are talking about. Brown 2000:270 states that there are some characteristics of spoken
language that can make the speaker easily to convey the meaning, but in contrast, they also can make the speaker difficult to speak.
1 Clustering: Learners can organize their output both cognitively and physically in
breath groups through clustering. It will be difficult for the junior high school students since they still confuse about the vocabulary used.
2 Redundancy: The speaker has to make meaning clearer through the redundancy
of language. 3
Reduced forms: Contractions, elisions, reduced vowels, etc., all form special problems in teaching speaking.
4 Performance variables: One of the most salient differences between native and
nonnative speakers of a language is in their hesitation phenomena. 5
Colloquial language: Students are not well acquainted with the words, idioms, and phrases of colloquial language.
6 Rate of delivery: Learners are difficult to achieve an acceptable speed along with
other attributes of fluency. 7
Stress, rhythm, and intonation: The stress-timed rhythm of spoken English and its intonation patterns convey important messages.
