Characteristic of Spoken Language

20 c. Responsive This responsive assessment tasks include interaction and test comprehension but the speaking level on this type employs the use of very short conversations, standard greetings and small talk, simple requests and comments, and the like. d. Interactive Similar to the responsive type, this type also includes interaction to perform. The difference between responsive and interactive speaking lies on the length and complexity of the interaction. This interaction on this type sometimes includes multiple exchanges and or multiple participants. Also, interaction can take the two forms of transactional language, which have the purpose of maintaining social relationships. In interpersonal exchanges, oral production can become pragmatically complex with the need to speak in a casual register and use colloquial language, ellipsis, slang, humor, and other sociolinguistic conversations. e. Extensive monologue This extensive oral production tasks include speeches, oral presentations, and story-telling. The oral interaction from listeners is limited because this type of speaking is in the form of monologue which has been planned by the speakers. Language style is deliberately and formally planned by the speakers. However, there is no rule which is 21 carried out for certain informal monologues such as casually delivered speech. By concerning to the types of speaking performance, the teachers are expected to create effective classroom activities especially in teaching and learning process of speaking. Determining the type of speaking activities should be based on the students’ needs, level and competence. This effort should be done to generate appropriate speaking classroom activities that can assist the students in learning speaking optimally.

7. Language Features in Speaking

The knowledge of language elements in speaking must be had by teachers in constructing teaching and learning process of speaking. As the reference for the teachers, Harmer 2001: 269 points out four language elements in speaking. Those are described as follows: a. Connected speech In term of connected speech, the speakers of English need to be able to produce the individual phonemes and use fluent connected speech. In connected speech, sounds are modified assimilation, omitted elision, added linking or weakened through contractions and stress patterning. b. Expressive devices Native speaker of English use devices in speaking such as pitch, stress, volume, speed, and other physical and non-verbal. These devices are used to