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Brown and Yule, Widdowson 1978: 96 states that speaking is commonly performed in face to face interaction and occurs as part of a dialogue or other form
of verbal exchange. Therefore, communication involves at least two people where both sender and receiver need to communicate to exchange information, ideas,
opinions, views, or feelings. From some theories of experts above, it can be inferred that speaking is a
process to have a conversation with someone using utterance and non-verbal language to send a meaning in target language. Besides, interaction with others
involves not only verbal language, but also paralinguistic elements of speech such as, pitch, stress, and intonation. In addition, nonlinguistic elements such as,
gestures, body language, posture, facial expression, and so on may accompany the
process of speaking.
b. The Nature of Speaking
The teacher and the students are expected to know about the nature of speaking in order to improve the speaking ability itself. It is divided into three
aspects. They are as follows: 1
Differences between spoken and written language Many people feel that speaking in a new language is harder than reading,
writing, or listening for two reasons. First, unlike reading or writing, speaking happens in real time. It means that the listener is waiting for the speaker’s respond
right then. Second, when the people speak, it cannot be edited or revised, as the
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people are writing. The other differences are proposed by Nunan 2003: 48 that is presented in table:
Table 1: The Differences between Spoken Language and Written Language
Spoken Language Written Language
Auditory Temporary; immediate reception
Prosody rhythm, stress, intonation Immediate feedback
Planning and editing limited by channel
Visual Permanent; delayed reception
Punctuation Delayed or no feedback
Unlimited planning, editing, revision
2 Speaking competence or speaking skill
Speaking is one of the four language skills that are taught in English teaching. The objective of teaching speaking is the ability of the students to
communicate with other speakers in the target language. In order to be able to communicate, language learners need to have communicative competence.
Communicative competence includes knowledge of grammar and the vocabulary of the language, knowledge of rules in speaking, knowing how to use and respond
to different types of speech acts, and knowing how to use language appropriately Richards in Nunan, 1999: 226.
Some other aspects such as, grammar, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension help students to improve and support the speaking ability of
the students. For example, grammar is generally thought to be a set of rules specifying the correct ordering of words at the sentence level. Sentences are
acceptable if they follow the rules set out by grammar of the language. So, it gives
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an effect towards the students’ accuracy in speaking. In addition, it also gives an effect towards the meaning that is conveyed by the speaker.
Second is fluency. Fluency and accuracy are both important to consider in speaking activities. Fluency is the ability to talk fairly freely, without too much
stopping or hesitating, while accuracy is emphasized on correct English Riddell, 2003: 118-119. Accuracy and fluency are equally important in speaking, but it
depends on who the learners are. Here, the teacher has to help the students to build their language accuracy little by little until they can speak more fluently.
Third is vocabulary. If the students want to use the language fluently and want to sound like native-speakers, they need to be able to put words together
quickly in typical combinations. For that, the students are expected to have rich vocabularies input to develop fluency.
Fourth is pronunciation. It is related to the sounds while the speaking. The students have to try how to listen carefully, repeat, memorize, and practice the
language samples in order to reproduce them automatically. A correct pronunciation and fluency is a good combination to have a good speaking skill.
Last is comprehension. Related to the speaking, for instance, the students know how to use language appropriately and understand how to respond the
sentence. Thus, in speaking activities, both of speaker and listener have the same perception about the topic of discussion.
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3 Function of speaking
The speaker has to know about the purpose of conversation. Richards 2008: 22-27 proposes some functions of speaking. Here are the functions of
speaking as proposed by him: 1
Talk as interaction Talk as interaction means people are doing normal conversation that is filled
a primarily social function. The focus is more on the speakers and how they present themselves to each other than on the message. For example: when
people meet they exchange greetings, engage in small talk, recount recent experiences, joking, turn-taking, interrupting, and so on.
2 Talk as transaction
Talk as transaction refers to situations where the focus is on what is said or done. The message and making oneself understood clearly and accurately is
the central focus, rather than the participants and how they interact socially with each other. Examples of talk as transaction are: classroom group
discussions problem-solving activities, discussing plans with a hotel clerk, making a telephone call, buying something in market, and so on.
3 Talk as performance
Talk as performance refers to public talk that transmits information before an audience, such as classroom presentations, public announcements, and
speeches.
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c. Elements of Speaking
