The Speaking Process Teaching Speaking a. Elements in Teaching Speaking

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b. The Speaking Process

According to Instructional Resources Unit Curriculum and E-Learning Branch Saskatchewan Learning 2006, as cited in www.sasked.gov.sk.cadocsmlaspeak.html , there are three speaking processes in speaking. The first is pre-speaking. The second is speaking-going public. The third is post speaking. 1 Pre-speaking: Planning and Organizing In the pre-speaking, first the speakers have to choose a speaking topic. Here is a variety of pre-speaking activities that the students can generate and explore ideas for speaking topics; constructing thought webs and graphic organizers, reading, and researching, listening to music, viewing a video, listening to a speaker, jotting down ideas, and reflecting upon personal experiences. Through one of those pre-speaking activities, the students can explore ideas and express it when speaking. Second, the speakers have to determine the purpose. The speakers have to ask themselves whether they speak to express ideas, emotions, opinions, and to share information. In this case, every speaker has hisher own purpose for speaking. Speaking may be aimed to express ideas, emotions, opinions, and to share information. Next, they can determine the audience. There are some possible audiences. The audience can be familiar audiences, known audiences self, friends, peers, family, and teachers, and extended, known audiences community, student body. The audience can also be from extended, unknown audiences local media. By 21 knowing the audience, the speaker can determine what heshe wants to speak that is appropriate for the audiences. Heshe may choose a certain topic and expression which is appropriate for the audience. Finally, in the pre-speaking the speakers have to determine the format. Speaking has many different formats. Some possible formats are conversation, discussion, formal speech, dramatic presentation, monologue, and Readers Theatre. Therefore, the students as the speakers may use one of those formats. 2 Speaking: Going Public When people speak, there are some possible purposes for their speaking. The following are the discussions of the purposes. One of the possible purposes of speaking is to express personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints. The students may speak to express their personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints. Thereby, through the speaking, the students can learn and know from the speaker about personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints. In this case, they may share their personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints with each other. The second possibility of the purposes of speaking is to tell a story. In the speaking class, the students also learn to tell stories. It is not an easy task; however, the speakers have to possess good speaking skills in telling stories so that the stories are clear and understandable. Third, speaking can also be aimed to entertain or amuse the listeners. For instance, through speaking the speakers may express their sympathy to entertain or amuse the listeners. It is in relation to the social function of speaking that the 22 speakers may do speaking in the society to entertain or amuse. Another possible purpose for speaking is to describe something. The speaker describes and explains the description to the listeners. For example, the speaker can do speaking when heshe wants to describe people or objects that heshe meets. Next, when speakers want to inform or explain something, through speaking they transfer the information and explanation. By speaking to inform and explain, the listeners can gain important knowledge and information. In this case, in the speaking class, the teacher is supposed to teach the students how to convey information and explanation in a right way. Fifth, by speaking, the speaker can reveal what heshe wants to and request it. Here, in the speaking class the students may be given a model of the expressions to be used for a request. Next, in communication, it is often that people cannot understand what the other speakers want to convey. People may also not understand something that they meet in this world. Here, people often do speaking to inquire or question. By speaking to inquire or question, they may clarify something that they do not know and verify the information about it. In communication, sometimes there is something that is unclear. In this case, people need to do speaking to clarify the unclear part, to clarify the thinking. As a result, they can understand what the other speakers think and want to convey. Speaking is also meant to explore and experience the variety of ideas and formats. Thereby, the speaker can explore a variety of ideas and format and experience it. Here, the speaker can exchange the ideas with the other speakers. 23 Finally, it is the most commonly usage of speaking; to converse and discuss. In this case, they also can exchange and explore ideas with one another. That is why in a speaking class, sometimes the teacher asks the students to have a discussion about a certain topic. It is one of the ways to encourage the students to speak and express their personal feelings, points of view, and ideas. In speaking-going public there are some scaffolds to support speaking. First, there is a criterion for speaking formats. In teaching speaking, the teacher may discuss and develop with students criteria for a variety of formal and informal speaking formats e.g., conversation, group discussion, role play, and post the formats on a bulletin board or have the students record them in their notebooks for reference. Second, the teacher should use modelling with a variety of formal and informal speaking formats for students. The modelling is important to provide for the students with the devices that the students need in order to be proficient speakers. As an example, the modelling can provide the students with sufficient knowledge, information and format. Therefore, before the students do speaking, the students have already had something to say or convey to the listeners. It is the knowledge, the ideas. When they speak, they may not confuse how to convey the ideas because they have learnt through the examples in the modelling. Moreover, the modelling also helps the students learn the speaking formats. Hence, the modelling can help the students to acquire the communicative competence. Third, if possible, the teacher may make available to students audio and video equipment so that they can practise prior to formal speaking situations. It is also a 24 positive way to make available to the students audio and video equipment so that the students can practise prior for formal speaking situations. In this research, the teacher used audio equipment. In addition, the teacher also distributed some handouts related to the modelling. The teacher wanted to provide for the students sufficient information and examples about formal speaking situations. In this case, the teacher wanted the students to be able to learn from the modelling using audio equipment audio recording and later can practice it. 3 Post-speaking: A Time for Reflection and Setting Goals In the post-speaking, the students can reflect upon performance and set goals for improvement. For the post-speaking activity, the students may reflect upon their performances. The students may do a type of reflection. The students may learn from their own and others’ mistakes and succeeses. It may also be acquired from the other students’ and teacher’s comments and inputs. After learning from himherself and other students from the reflection the students may have a description of what being a good speaker involves. Therefore, the students can set goals for improvement.

c. Supporting and Managing the Speaking Process