xxvi
c. communicative activities Communicative activities are those which exhibit the characteristics at the
communicative end of the lesson. Students are involved in activities that give them both the desire to communicate and a purpose which involve them in a
varied use of language. Another opinion about speaking is stated by Widdowson 1978: 58. He
says that speaking has two meanings. First, it refers to the manner in which language is manifested. Second, it refers to the manner in which language is
realized as communication. Mackey 2007: 13 states that speaking is oral expression that involves not
only the use of the right patterns of rhythm and intonation but also right order to convey the right meaning. In addition, Nunan 1991: 390 states that mastering the
art of speaking is the single most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language and success is measured in term of the ability to carry out a conversation
in the language.
2. Types of Classroom Speaking Skill
According to Brown 1994: 266, there are six types of speaking skill that the students are expected to carry out in the classroom. In this section, the six
types of speaking skill are presented as follows: a. Imitative
In this type of performance, the students are asked to repeat or imitate the teachers’ speech or speech of tape recorder. Imitation of this kind is carried out
xxvii
not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on some particular elements of language form. In other words, this activity focuses more on form
rather than on meaning. Such activity is also called “drilling”. Drills offer students an opportunity to listen and to orally repeat certain strings of language that may
pose some linguistic difficulties- either phonological or grammatical. They offer limited practice through repetition. Furthermore, Brown says that drills can help
to establish certain psychomotor pattern and to associate selected grammatical forms with their appropriate context.
Brown’s statement above can be interpreted that drilling is still important and for teaching speaking, mainly pronunciation and intonation as long as it is not
overused and students know why they are doing the drill. b. Intensive
In this type of skill, students deal with their linguistic difficulties-either phonological or grammatical aspect of language. Brown states that intensive
speaking goes one step beyond imitative to include any speaking performance that is designed to practice some phonological or grammatical aspects of language.
Intensive speaking can be in form of self-initiated or it can be part of some pair work activity, where learners are ‘going over’ certain forms of language.
c. Responsive In this type, students may give short replies to teacher or even students
have an initiative for asking questions or comments. Students’ responses are
xxviii
usually sufficient and do not extend into dialogues. However, such speech can be meaningful and authentic.
d. Transactional dialogue Here, students are involved in exchanging specific information with their
conversational partners. This activity is carried out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specific information. Brown 1994: 266 says that transactional
language is an extended form of responsive language. It may have more of a negotiate nature than merely responsive speech.
e. Interpersonal dialogue The students actively participate in the authentic give and take of
communicative interchange. This type of activity is carried out more for the purpose of maintaining social relationships than for the transmission of facts and
information. It deals with the factors of casual register, colloquial language, emotionally charged language, slang, ellipsis, sarcasm, and a covert agenda.
f. Extensive monologue The students are called on to give extended monologues in the form of oral
reports, summaries, or perhaps short speeches. This skill is used to develop students’ global oral ability of producing spoken language which is more formal
deliberative.
3. Characteristics of Successful Speaking Activity
