the social context in which the interaction takes place. Then, role-playing and simulation become important techniques for creating social situation
and relationships. Activities of this type are called social interaction activities.
b. The Nature of Speaking
Rivers 1968: 160 stated that students in a foreign language class will not learn to speak fluently merely by hearing speech, although this is
important in familiarizing them with the acceptable forms of the code. The teacher will need to give students many opportunities to practice the speaking
skills; he will need use his imagination in devising situations which provoke students to the use of the language in the expression of his own meaning
within the limits of what he has been learning. Widdowson 1976: 58 states that speaking is a kind of active and
productive characteristic that makes use of aural media. The interaction of speaking is face-to-face interaction that emphasizes on the dialogue,
discussion, or other forms of verbal exchange as an act of communication. The important thing is that the learners get more opportunities to practice
their speaking skill so that they can speak fluently. In authentic communication, the process is not always an initiatory
one. The form of the utterance a person is generating as frequently been determined for him by some utterances which he has just perceived and to
which he is reacting. Typically, this occurs when one is answering a question.
As well as sentence type, the speaker must choose the style of language in which he is going to express himself; this is sometimes called the register or
level of discourse Rivers, 1968: 162-163. In order to have a clear understanding on the process of speaking, it is
important to know the model of communication system. Rivers 1968: 158 states that learning a language is more than learning a description of it, we
have to know the process of speaking and listening and can be seen in Figure below.
5
signal received signal
Figure 2.7. The Process of Communication System Rivers, 1968: 158
From the model, information source emits a message, which is encoded for transmission as a signal. This signal passes through a channel to
a receiver that decodes the message for use as its destination. Brown and Yule as cited in Nunan 1989: 26 define that spoken
language consists of short, often fragmentary utterances, in a range of pronunciations. There is often a great deal of repetition and overlap between
one speaker and another. Brown and Yule as cited in Nunan, 1989: 27 suggest that, in contrast
with the teaching of written language, teachers concerned with teaching spoken language must confront the following types of questions:
Signal
Noise Source Information
Source Transmitter
Receiver Destination
- What is the appropriate form of spoken language to teach? - From the point of view of pronunciation, what is a reasonable model?
- How important is pronunciation? - Is it any more important than teaching appropriate handwriting in the
foreign language? - If so, why?
- From the point of view of the structures taught, is it all right to teach spoken language as if it were exactly like the written language, but with a
few „spoken expressions’ thrown in? - Are those structures which are described in standard grammars the
structures which our students should be expected to produce when they speak English?
- How is it possible to give students any sort of meaningful practice in producing spoken English?
Brown and Yule also draw a useful distinction between two basic language functions. These are the transactional function, which is primarily
concerned with the transfer of information, and the interactional function, in which the primary purpose of speech is the maintenance of social
relationships.
c. Teaching Speaking in CLT
