Principles for Teaching Speaking
1 Elements Needed for Successful Language Learning in Classrooms
There are three elements needed for successful language learning in classrooms proposed by Harmer. The first one is engage. It is the point in a teaching
sequence where the teachers try to arouse the students’ interest, thus involving their emotions. Activities and materials that frequently engage the students include: games,
music, discussions, stimulating pictures, dramatic stories, and amusing anecdotes. The second one is study. It includes any activities where the students are
asked to focus on language or information and how it is constructed. An example of study activity in speaking class is the study and practice of inviting patterns ‘Would
you like to come to the cinemato a concert?’. The last one is activate. This element describes exercises and activities which
are designed to get the students using language as freely and ‘communicatively’ as they can. The objectives for the students is not to focus on language construction
andor specific bits of language grammar patterns, particular vocabulary items or functions but for them to use all and any language which may be appropriate for a
given situation or topic. Some examples of activate exercise are role-plays, debates, and discussions.
2 Type of Speaking Activity Students Should Do
It should be clear what kind of speaking activity the students are supposed to do. In this study, the main focus is not to make the students say a lot of sentences
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using a particular piece of grammar or a particular function, because that kind of speaking belongs to study. Here, the kind of speaking the students are expected to do
is almost always an activate exercise, where they use any and all the language at their command to perform some kind of oral task. The important thing is that there should
be a task to complete and that the students should want to complete it.
3 Encouraging Students to Do Speaking Tasks
There are three basic reasons why it is a good idea to give the students speaking tasks which provoke them to use all and any language at their command.
The first one is rehearsal. Getting the students to have free discussion gives them a chance to rehearse having discussions outside the classroom. It is important for the
students to ‘get the feel’ of what communicating in the foreign language really feels like.
The second one is feedback. Speaking tasks where the students are trying to use all and any language they know provide feedback for both the teachers and
students. The teachers can see how well their classes are doing and what language problems they are having, while the students can see how easy they find a particular
kind of speaking and what they need to do to improve. The last one is engagement. Good speaking activities can and should be
highly motivating. If all the students are participating fully and if the teacher has set up the activity properly and can then give sympathetic and useful feedback, they will
obtain tremendous satisfaction from it. 18
4 Teachers’ Corrections in Speaking
In correcting mistakes made in speaking activities, the teacher should consider the appropriate ways and time to do that in order not to destroy the purpose of
speaking activity. Many teachers watch and listen while speaking activities are taking place. They note down things that would be useful to discuss later after the activity
has been finished, such as the impressive way the students use in expressing their agreedisagreement or the important mistakes they make. The teachers then can
discuss those things with the students. One important thing is they should not single students out for particular criticism. Many teachers even deal with the mistakes they
have heard without saying who have made them.
5 Other Considerations for Teachers
In conducting a speaking activity, teachers should be careful in placing themselves and making decisions. They should not get too involved with the students
during the speaking activity. It is better to stand back so that they can watch and listen to what is going on. They also should be sensitive with the condition of the
class. They should know when the speaking activity should be stopped or be pushed forward.
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