3. The Researcher. The study is expected to be a useful input for the resercher to
fulfill his ‘skripsi’ requirement, and to help the researcher to teach better than before.
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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Speaking Skill 1. Definition of Speaking
Speaking is often considered to be the most difficult skill to be acquired in learning English against listening, reading and writing skill.
However, the question is what is speaking? Why does speaking become the most difficult skill to be acquired?
Speaking is simply an ability of person to express their ideas in the form of speech.
1
Brown drew attention to speaking, he states that speaking as a productive skill that can be directly and empirically observed, those
observations are invariably colored by the accuracy and the effectiveness of a test-takers’ listening skill, which necessarily compromises the reliability and
validity of an oral production test”.
2
According to Nunan, the terms of language skill are related to their direction. Language produced by the learners is known as productive skill.
Language specified to the learners is known as receptive skill.
3
Thus, speaking skill is a productive skill because the learner is producing a spoken
language to convey meaning. Furthermore, speaking English claimed as a difficult skill to be
acquired. It caused by two reasons. First, it is because speaking is a real time skill. Unlike reading, listening and writing, when you are talking, the person
1
Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University, 1996, p. 117.
2
H. Dauglas Brown, Language Assessment-Principle and Classroom Practice. New York: Person Education,Inc. 2004, p. 140
3
David Nunan. Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill Contemporary, 2003. p. 48
you talks to is waiting for you to speak right then. Second, you cannot change the words you wish to say when you are speaking like in writing.
Based on some theories above, it can be synthesized that speaking is an activity involving 2 or more people in whom the participants are both the
listeners and the speakers having to act what they listen and make their contribution at high speed. This skill is important because it regards learners
to the measure of knowing language. The fluency of learners in conversation is defined as the success of acquiring the ability of language rather than to
write, read, and comprehend oral language.
2. The Features of Speaking Skill
The ability to speak fluently presupposes not only knowledge of language features, but also the ability to process information and language
‘on the spot’. Harmer proposes four language features that are necessary for spoken production, these are:
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a Connected speech. In connected speech individual sounds of English are not
pronounced in their full forms. They are liable to changes due to the influence of surrounding sounds, stress patterns and other aspects of
spoken language. Thus they may be subject to assimilation, omission, addition of another sounds in linking, weakening. In order to sound
naturally, learners should be engaged in practising the aspects of connected speech.
b The use of expressive devices. Spoken interaction comprises not only the spoken word verbal
expression but also the use of non-verbal expression the “body language” and paralinguistic aspects e.g. features such as stress,
intonation or changes in intensity of voice. Speakers employ these
4
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching :Third Edition. England, Longman, 2001, p. 269-271
