language fluently and appropriately. Here are some factors affecting adult English as Foreign Language learners’ oral communication according to Richards 2002:
205:
a. Age or Maturational Constraints
As Richards cites, Krashen, Long, and Scarcella 1982 argue that acquirers who begin learning a second language in early childhood through
natural exposure achieve higher proficiency than those beginning as adults. Richards also add that Oyama’s study 1976 shows that many adults fail to reach
nativelike proficiency in a second language. This phenomenon is called fossilization, the permanent cessation of second language develepoment. This
shows that the aging process itself may affect or limit adult learners’ ability to pronounce the target langauge fluently with nativelike pronunciation Scarcella
Oxford, 1992.
b. Aural Medium
Richards says that listening plays an extremeliy important role in the development of speaking abilities. Speaking feeds on listening, which precedes it.
He cites Mendelson Rubin 1995: 35 “While listening, learners must comprehend the text by retaining information in memory, integrate it with what
follows, and continually adjust their understanding of what they hear in the light of prior knowledge and of incoming information.“ If one cannot understand what
is said, one is certainly unable to respond.
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c. Sociocultural Factors
To speak a language, one must konw how the language is used in a social context. It is well known that each langauge has its own rules of usage as to when,
how, and to what degree a speaker may impose a given verbal behavior on his conversational partner Berns, 1990. Because of the influence or interference of
their own cultural norms, it is hard for nonnative speakers to choose the forms appropriate to certain situations.
d. Affective Factors
The affective factors related to foreign language learning are emotions, self-esteem, empathy anxiety, attitude and motivation. Richards cites Brown
1994 mentions that foreign language learning is a complex task that is susceptible to human anxiety, which is associated with feelings of uneasiness,
frustration, self-doubt and apprehension. Unlike children, adults are concerned with how they are judged by others. Richards concludes that the sensitivity of
adult learners to making mistakes, or fear of “losing face”, has been the explanation for their inability to speak English without hesitation.
Knowing those factors, Richards 2002: 208 states that a key factor in foreign language development is the opportunity given to learners to speak in the
language-promoting interaction. Nunan 1991: 51 also says that the theory and research summarised in the preceding section suggest that learning to speak in a
second or foreign language will be facilitated when learners are actively engaged in attempting to communicate. He also cites what Swain suggests: we learn to
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read by reading, so also do we learn to speak by speaking.Therefore, English teachers should be creative in rising the students’ willingness to speak or at least
in giving them reason to speak in English. They can teach speaking with either attractive activities or interesting topics.
Here are some attractive speaking activities which are widely used in many schools, according to Harmer 2002: 348:
a Acting from a Script
English teachers can ask their students to act out scenes from plays andor their coursebooks. Perhaps students will often act out dialogues they have
written themselves. When students are working on plays, they should perform as ‘real’ acting. English teachers need to help them to go through the scripts as if the
teachers were theatre directors, direct the students in producing appropriate stress, intonation and speed when they are acting out dialogues or performing the plays.
b Communication Games
There are some popular games aimed to get students talking as quickly and fluently as possible. One of them is called guessing game. This game can be
used to make the students practice on describing people, things and animals.
c Discussion
Teachers can divide the students into some small or big groups then ask them to give comments on a reading passage they have read before or a statement
about certain topic. Teachers can also ask the students to prepare arguments in favour or against various topics. To make the debates successful, students need to
have time to plan their arguments, often in groups.
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d Prepared Talks
Another popular speaking activity is the prepared talk, where a student or a group of students makes a presentation on a topic. Teachers need to give
them time to prepare their talks and help them in the preparation, if necessary. The students also need a chance to rehearse their presentations. They can present each
other in pairs or small groups first.
e Questionnaires
By being planned before, questionnaires ensure both questioner and respondents have something to say to each other. Students can design
questionnaires on certain topics given. They work in pairs, one becomes a questioner and the other becomes a respondent. The results obtained can start a
discussion, then.
f Simulation and Role-Play
Simulation and role-play can encourage the students’ oral fluency in an interesting way. English teachers should allow them to be as creative as possible,
but they have to get enough information about the situation in the story. By broadening the world of the classroom to include the world outside, simulation
and role-play help students to use a wider range of language than other task- centred activities may do.
Richards cites that Hymes 1971 assumes that foreign language learners need to know not only the linguistic knowledge, but also the culturally acceptable
ways of interacting with others in different situations and relationships. His theory
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of communicative competence consists of the interaction of grammatical, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, and probabilistic language components. Being
influenced by Hymes’ theory, Canale and Swain 1980 mentions that communicative competence includes grammatical competence, discourse
competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence, that reflect the linguistic system and the functional aspects of
communication.
a Grammatical Competence
As Richards cites, Scarcella Oxford 1992: 141 says that “Grammatical competence is an umbrella concept that includes increasing
expertise in grammar morphology, syntax, vocabulary, and mechanics.” To convey meaning, foreign language learners should have knowledge of words and
sentences. They have to understand how words are segmented into various sounds and how sentences are stressed in particular ways. Therefore, grammatical
competence enables speakers to use English accurately and fluently.
b Discourse Competence
Richards 2002: 207 says that in communication, both the production and comprehension of a language require one’a ability to perceive and process
stretches of discourse, and to formulate representations of meaning from referents in both previous sentences and following sentences. Discourse competence
enables learners to manage turn taking in conversation.
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c Sociolinguistic Competence
Richards 2002: 207 mentions that learners must have competence which involves knowing what is expected socially and culturally by users of the
target language. Understanding the socilinguistic aspect of language will help learners to give appropriate comments or responses.
d Strategic Competence
As cited by Richards, Berns 1990 says strategic competence is the ability to compensate fot imperfect knowledge of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and
discourse rules. It refers to the ability to know how to keep the conversation going, how to start or take turn or end the conversation and how to clear up
communication breakdown as well as comprehension problems.
2. Communicative Approach
