definition of speaking?, how many various forms of speaking is?, what is the goal of speaking?, what are the characteristics of good speaking activities? and finally,
what are the types of speaking activity that can promote speaking skill?
1. The Definition of Speaking
There are many various definition of speaking from many English language experts, but it is impossible to discuss all of them. Therefore, the
writer only chooses several definitions that based on her opinion are important to talk about.
The first definition is from MCDonough and Shaw, they wrote”…as a
skill which enables us to produce utterances, when genuinely communicate, speaking is desire and purpose-driven, in other words we genuinely want to
communicate something to achieve a particular end. This may involve expressing ideas and opinions; expressing a wish or a desire to do something;
negotiating andor solving particular problem; or establishing and maintaining social relationships and friendships.
3
Another expert Brudden, st ates that “…
speaking is an activity which is done by a person to communicate with others in order to express ideas, feeling, as well as opinions to achieve a particular
goal.
4
Furthermore, Thornbury suggests various dimensions of different speaking between transactional and interpersonal functions. Transactional
function has as its main purpose conveying information and facilitating the exchange of goods and services, whereas the interpersonal function is all about
maintaining and sustaining good relations between people.
5
Speaking is human
3
Jo MCDonough and Christopher Shaw, Material and Methods …, p.152.
4
Philips M. Brudden, Effective English Teaching Second Edition, New York: The Bob’s
Merril Company, 1995, p. 85.
5
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching …,p. 343.
verbal communication which set out with the ability of utilizing mechanism that will involve oral production language. It is the main concern in speaking.
6
Based on the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, speaking, from the word of speak, is say words.
7
Based on some various definitions above, the writer concludes the definition of speaking as the essential skill of language is naturally the way
human communicate to express ideas, feelings, as well as opinions to achieve a particular goal while to maintain social relation between people.
2. The Forms of Speaking
