Hence, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking. Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a
rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired. Teacher also must create the best situation for real communication in the
classroom.
5. Kinds of Speaking Activities
It is important to give the students a variety of speaking activities so that they will be able to cope with different situations in reality. Variety
also helps keep motivation high. The next reason for designing a variety of activities is that the students have different learning styles, so some kinds
of activities may suit some students, while other activities may suit other students.
The following activities are all designed to provoke spoken communication between students andor between the teacher and the
students. We will divide the activities into seven categories: Reaching a consensus, discussion, relying instructions, communication games,
problem solving, talking about yourself, simulation and role play.
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Here are the explanations of numerous techniques concerned with speaking activities:
a. Reaching a consensus
In consensus activities students have to agree with each other after a certain amount of discussion. The task is not complete until they do.
These activities have been successful in promoting free and spontaneous language use.
b. Discussion
Discussion is one of the most usual speaking activities. Pictures are an ideal stimulus for initiating discussion. Especially cultural differences
are most likely to provoke discussion. It can help the students to arrive
22
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching; New Edition, New York: Longman, 1991 , p. 122-125.
at any conclusion, share any ideas and look for some solutions at final. Besides, they can get involved in an “agree or disagree” discussion.
c. Relying instruction
In this type of activity students have to give each other instruction. The success of the activity depend on whether the students to whom
instruction are being given perform the tasks successfully. d.
Communication games These games are designed to provoke communication between
frequently depend on an information gap, so that one student has to talk to his partner in order to solve the puzzle, draw a picture, put
things in the right order, or find similarities and differences between pictures.
e. Problem solving
Problem solving activities encourage students to talk together to find a solution to a set of problems or tasks.
These activities demand the student to communicate with each other to find out the best solution of the problem in order to can solve the
problem and can complete the task. f.
Talking about yourself This activity uses the students’ lives and feelings for any number of
interpersonal exchanges. g.
Simulation and Role Play Simulations and role-play involve a lot of conversations and
discussions. Thus it may not be very suitable for a large class. The teacher has to spend a lot of time on interactions of students and he is
not able to predict the process in the class. In this activity, students simulate a real life encounter, as if they were doing so in the real
world.
When students felt speaking learning is too difficult, they start to lose their interest and motivation. Teachers know that learners like being
physically active as they learn by doing. Moreover, they are imaginative and creative and they learn without being aware of it. They also have to able in
mastering speaking skill for their communication and relation to each other. Thus, the teacher decided that communication games are one of the
appropriate techniques which help students to reduce boredom, meanwhile achieving teaching learning goal of speaking subject.
B. Communication Games
1. The Understanding of Games
Games have become crucially important for English language learners and teachers not only because they provide enjoyment and
relaxation, but also as they encourage students to use their language in a creative and communicative manner.
Wright, Betteridge and Buckby stated “…. ‘game’ to mean an activity in which the learners play and usually interact with others”. They
also said that “Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work”. Next, their opinion is “Games also help the teacher to
create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what
others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information”.
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Based on Elizabeth Rowell in her Journal of reading, Games for Language Learning are an excellent aid to the teacher who wants to make
language learning more meaningful and more fun.
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Likewise, Hadfield defined games as “an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun”.
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A similar opinion expressed by LEE, “games are enjoyable. Enjoyable
23
Andrew Wright, et.al. Games for Language Learning, Third Edition, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006 p. 1-2
25
Jill Hadfield, Intermediate Communication Games, Edinburg: longman, 1996, p. v
