The Nature of Speaking The Principles of Teaching Speaking

1 Be aware of the differences between second language and foreign language learning context. People learn speaking in two broad contexts: foreign language and second language situations. A foreign language FL context is one where the target language is not the language of communication in the society, such as learning English in Japan. A second language SL context is one where the target language is the language of communication in the society, such as English in Singapore. Indonesia only uses Bahasa Indonesia as the language of communication in the society. Therefore, Indonesian students learn speaking in English in the foreign language context. Learning speaking in this context is very challenging since the students have few opportunities to use English outside the classroom. 2 Give students practice with both fluency and accuracy. According to Riddell 2003: 118, fluency is the ability to talk fairly, freely, without too much stopping or hesitating. It also requires that listeners understand what is being said, so there must be intelligibility and meaning. While in accuracy, the emphasis is on ‘correct English’ – the right grammar, the right vocabulary, etc. Sometimes teachers tend to correct when students make mistakes while they are speaking. As a result, many students think deeply about the accuracy while they are speaking. They fail to achieve the fluency even the accuracy. Therefore, teachers should understand when and how to give correction and give chances to practice their fluency as well as their accuracy. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 3 Provide opportunities for students to talk by using group work or pair work, and limiting teacher talk. In many situations, teachers tend to talk a lot to give lectures or explain about the learning materials. However, in teaching speaking, teachers should be aware of their talk so that students can have enough time to practice speaking. Teachers can use pair work or group work to encourage the students to speak and the teachers can increase the amount of time used by the students in speaking. 4 Plan speaking tasks that involve negotiating for meaning. In communicating, students do an interaction which involves trying to understand and make yourself understood. This process is called negotiating for meaning. Teachers can plan a task which involves process of asking for clarification, repetition, or explanation. By doing the process during a conversation, learners will be able to convey meaning and get the meaning of others’ utterances. 5 Design classroom activities that involve guidance and practice in both transactional and interactional speaking. Interactional speech is communicating with someone for social purposes. It includes both establishing and maintaining social relationship. Transactional speech involves communicating to get something done, including the exchange of goods andor services. Learners will use English in both speeches; therefore, teachers should design activities that embody both interactional and transactional purposes.

c. Types of Speaking Activities Using Task-Based Learning

In order to encourage students to speak, teachers need to design interesting and enjoyable activities. Many linguists have provided activities that can be conducted in speaking class. Some of them are information gap, role-plays and simulations, discussion, and problem solving. The writer will explain each activity according to some linguists’ theories. 1 Information Gap Information gap is a useful activity in which one person has information that the other lack Nunan, 2003: 54. Students have to use the target language to share information they have to others who lack of the information. 2 Role-Plays and Simulations There are two kinds of role-play and simulation: scripted and unscripted role-play and simulation. The effective way to encourage students to speak is by providing the unscripted role-play or simulation. The students will only get the description of situation without any model script. The students will be then encouraged to speak and improvise the situation. 3 Discussion Teachers should be able to create interesting topic for students’ discussion. Riddell 2003 wrote that discussion on topics of interest, or maybe in the news, is a relaxed way to promote fluency, but make sure the students have something specific to talk about, and that teachers do not end up doing more speaking than the students do p. 127. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 4 Problem Solving Teachers can describe a problem to the students, or give them a written description and situation. The teachers then get the students, in groups, to decide what the best course of action is Davies, 2000: 86.

2. Writing Skill

There will be three aspects discussed in this part. They are the nature of writing, the principles of teaching writing, and types of writing activities using task-based learning.

a. The Nature of Writing

Unlike speaking which seems come naturally to human, writing is a skill that needs much practice. At the most basic level, writing is the physical act of committing words or ideas to some medium. Bailey 1994 in Nunan’s book 2003, p.88 wrote that writing is the mental work of inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader. A good writing is produced by a consideration of subject, purpose, and audience. Knowing ‘what’ we want to say, ‘why’ we want to say it, and to ‘whom’ we want to say it are crucial first step to successful writing Ellis Reed, 2003: p. 9. There are four common purposes of writing. People do writing to express an idea or share feelings, to teach someone how to do something, to persuade someone to agree with their point of view or to do something, and to explain or clarify a position or topic.