Spoken English

3.3.2 Spoken English

CEFR level

According to the baseline study, Speaking is the weakest of the four skills. Table B.3 shows the results compiled from tables in the C2 1 1 Results Report (pp. 18 – 29).

The majority group progresses from A1 for Year 6 and Form 3 C1 1 4 5 to A1/A2 for Form 5 and A2/B1 for Form 6. The majority group

in Form 6 includes only 51% for Speaking in comparison with 61% B2 4 11 13 in A2/B1 for Listening and 79% for Reading, and 82% in B1/B2 for Writing. The concentration of effort has clearly been on the B1 5 11 19 27 written rather than the spoken language. However, Table B.3 also shows a group who never get to A1 for speaking, and after reaching

a minimum of 7% in Form 3, the figure then rises to 16% in Form 6. A2 20 21 24 24 The comparable figures for Writing, which is the most successful

skill, are 14% below A1 in Year 6 and 27% in Form 3, falling to A1 59 56 31 15 18% below A2 in Form 5 and just 5% below A2 in Form 6. After a

possible problem in lower secondary school, most students attain

<A1

16 7 10 16 some level of literacy in English.

An important question to ask is why there should be such a difference in success in producing spoken and written English. The Cambridge Baseline has not so far provided a clear answer.

Speaking skills at

Table B.3

However, it is quite possible to learn a written language without

different educational levels bothering with the spoken language at all. Some deaf people, for

example, pair the written language not with the spoken language but with a sign language. Scholars have long studied texts written example, pair the written language not with the spoken language but with a sign language. Scholars have long studied texts written

and intonation. However, teachers have to understand what they with the possibility that some Malaysian learners of English learn

are teaching. Rhythms and rhymes can be used very effectively in almost nothing at all about spoken English.

the teaching of spoken English, but children given inappropriate input can also be induced to speak English in a manner unrelated

The Cambridge Baseline results, together with routine to the prosody of normal spoken English. The unskilled teaching of

references to the poor Speaking skills of students and even of the language arts can actually do damage and make it much more their teachers, give a clear indication that something fundamental difficult for the students to acquire appropriate English prosody is missing in the teaching of spoken English. One such lacuna later on. Unless teachers develop for themselves the necessary has already been discussed, and concerns the speech sounds or awareness of spoken English and acquire spoken English skills, we phonemes that correspond to the letters of the written language. are never going to solve the problem of students leaving school and Just as it is impossible to spell a word without knowing all the even university without being able to speak English properly. letters that make up the spelling, so it is impossible to pronounce a

word properly without knowing all the phonemes that make up the The learning of spoken English is an area in which improvements pronunciation. Teachers need sufficient basic phonemic awareness

are urgently required in order to achieve national ambitions and for themselves in order to teach their students how to pronounce

to increase levels of graduate employability. In order to make English words.

themselves employable in sectors that require English, graduates and also school leavers need to speak English at the appropriate

To enable students to develop the spoken language skills needed level of proficiency. Some students will have independent access at secondary level, teachers need more advanced phonological to good models of spoken English to imitate, but many will have no awareness, including relevant aspects of English prosody. Teachers

choice but to learn from their teachers.

who frequently read samples of English aloud in class need specific training in how to read English aloud. Otherwise they provide their

This puts the teachers themselves in the difficult position of students with poor models of spoken English.

having to rely in large measure on their own performance, even if their spoken English is poor. If the teacher’s spoken English is

The language arts have the advantage of being enjoyable for poor, this initiates or continues the cycle whereby students whose students and no doubt also for teachers, and if properly taught

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

command of spoken English is inadequate grow up to become It is because phonics correctly taught lays the foundation for English teachers and pass their own poor English on to their both literacy and spoken English that priority must be given to the students. This is a cycle that has to be broken.

development of a high quality phonics programme designed for the needs of learners for whom English is not the first language. The

A fundamental question that has to be raised concerns the

teaching of literacy goes on to develop text understanding, and nature of the means whereby Malaysian students are expected

the teaching of spoken English goes on to develop more advanced to develop proficiency in spoken English. The national curriculum aspects of phonological awareness. For this reason, the teaching includes such means as the language arts, reading aloud and of phonics needs to be integrated into the structured teaching of classroom conversations; but these are designed to enhance

spoken English more generally, in order to produce school leavers proficiency that is already developing. The primary means of

and graduates who can speak English properly. initialising the development of spoken English proficiency in the

national curriculum is in fact synthetic phonics, which has already been identified as an area of difficulty. There is no other means