Challenges in teaching and learning speaking skill with the new English textbook for grade 10 (Basic Stream) at Xuan Hoa High school, Vinh Phuc province and some solutions

Challenges in teaching and learning speaking
skill with the new English textbook for grade 10
(Basic Stream) at Xuan Hoa High school, Vinh
Phuc province and some solutions


Trần Thị Lan Anh

Trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ
Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Đỗ Bá Quý , MEd
Năm bảo vệ: 2010


Abstract: This research investigates the challenges in teaching and learning speaking skill with
the new English textbook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school – Vinh Phuc province- and
suggests some solutions to the problems.
The thesis is divided into 3 main parts: Part I presents the rationale, aims, methods, scope and
organization of the paper. Part II includes 4 chapters: Chapter 1 presents the theoretical
background of speaking, teaching and learning, and communicative language teaching approach;
Chapter 2 describes the methodology of the thesis. Specifically, the data for this research was
collected in the forms of survey questionnaires and interviews. The participants of the survey
questionnaires were 6 English teachers and 360 grade - 10 - students. After the results of the
survey questionnaires had been clarified, the interviews with 6 teachers and 20 students were
conducted to make the survey questionnaire results clearer; Chapter 3 analyses and discusses the
results from the survey questionnaires and interviews. A lot of challenges in teaching and
learning speaking skill with the new textbook were revealed through the data, such as the lack of
time and training in using the new textbook, the poor teaching and learning conditions, students’
low proficiency, etc; Chapter 4 mentions some pedagogical recommendations for both subjective
and objective problems. For example, the teachers should plan the speaking lessons more
carefully, conduct tests on speaking skill or organize English speaking clubs. As for the students,

they should practise speaking with their friends, participate in English speaking clubs or work
harder to improve their grammar and vocabulary. Finally, Part III gives the conclusions of this
paper, some limitations and recommendations for further study.


Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Phương pháp dạy học; Kỹ năng nói.


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Content:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration………………………………………………………………………………….i
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………… iii
List of tables and charts ………………………………………………………………… iv
List of abbreviations………………………………………………………………………. v
Table of contents……………………………………………………………………………vi

PART I: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….

1. Rationale of the study…………………………………………………………… 1
2. Aims of the study……………………………………………………………… 2
3. Method and procedure of the research………………………………………… 2
4. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………2
5. Organization of the paper………………………………………………………. 2

PART II: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………………… 3

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND……………………………………….3

1.1. Theoretical background of speaking ………………………………………… 3
1.1.1. Definitions of speaking……………………………………………… 3
1.1.2. The nature of speaking………………………………………………… 3
1.1.3. Aspects of Speaking…………………………………………………… 5

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1.2. Theoretical background of learning and teaching speaking skill…………… 7
1.2.1. Definition of teaching and learning……………………………………. 7
1.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching Approach ………………………. 8
1.2.3. Communicative Competence – The desired goal of CLT…………… 10
1.2.4. The necessity of teaching and learning ………………………………. 11
speaking skill in a communicative class
1.2.5. Problems in teaching and learning speaking skill ……………………. 12

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………… 13

2.1. The teaching and learning situation in Xuan Hoa High School…………… 13
2.2. The New English Textbook for Grade 10……………………………………. 13
2.2.1. The overall design of the textbook…………………………………… 13
2.2.2. The general features of the new textbook …………………………… 14
2.2.3. Description of the Speaking Section ………………………………… 15
2.3. Description of the study…………………………………………………………17
2.3.1. Kind of the research………………………………………………… 17
2.3.2. Participants…………………………………………………………… 17
2.3.3. The research questions……………………………………………… 18

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ………………………………… 19

3.1. Data analysis 19
3.1.1. Results of the survey questionnaires…………………… ………… 19
3.1.1.1. Questionnaire for teachers: ………………………………… 19
3.1.1.2. Questionnaire for students: ………………………………… 23
3.1.2. Results of the interviews………………………………………………27

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3.1.2.1. Teachers’ interview: ………………………………………… 27
3.1.2.2. Students’ interview: ……………………………………… 29
3.2. Findings ………………………………………………………………………….30
3.2.1. Subjective difficulties:……………………………………………… 30
3.2.1.1. Difficulties from teachers ………………………………… 30
Teachers’ insufficient communicative competence………… 30
Teachers’ lack of training…………………………………….30
3.2.1.2. Difficulties from Students:…………………………………. 31
Learners’ level of English …………………………………….31
Learners’ traditional features…………………………………31
Mother tongue use…………………………………………… 32
Limited exposure to the target language…………………… 32
3.2.2. Objective difficulties ………………………………………………….32
3.2.2.1. Large class ………………………………………………… 32
3.2.2.2. Time pressure:……………………………………………… 33
3.2.2.3. The constraints brought by the innovations ………………… 33
on the curriculum and teaching method.
3.2.2.4. The testing system……………………………………………34
3.2.2.5. Lack of English teachers. ……………………………………34
3.2.2.6. Lack of teaching and learning facilities………………………35
3.2.3. Teachers’ and students’ solutions ………………………………… 35
3.2.3.1. Teachers’ solutions………………………………………… 35
Careful planning for the speaking section…………………….35

Testing students’ communicative competence……………… 35

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Organizing English speaking clubs……………………… 35
3.2.3.2. Students’ solutions……………………………………………36
Self – study…………………………………………………….36
Taking extra courses………………………………………….36
Practising speaking to friends……………………………… 36
Participating in English speaking clubs………………………36

CHAPTER 4: PEDAGOGICAL RECOMMENDATIONS:…………………………… 37

4.1. Pedagogical suggestions for subjective problems …………………………….37
4.1.1. A careful plan of the speaking lesson………………………………… 38
4.1.2. Various ways of testing speaking skill………………………………….38
4.1.3. The teacher’s self-improvement of speaking skill…………………… 39
4.1.4. The change in students’ speaking habits ……………………………….39
4.2. Pedagogical suggestions for objective problems………………………………40

PART III: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….41

1. Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………… 41
2. Limitations…………………………………………………………………………………41
3. Recommendations for further study………………………………………………….….41

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………… 43

APPENDICES
Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………….I
Appendix 2……………………………………………………………………………………IV

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Appendix 3………………… …………………………………………………………… VII
Appendix 4… …………………………………………………………………………… VIII

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
Language education, especially foreign language teaching and learning, is a compulsory
part in every country. With the development of the market economy and the globalization trend,
learning foreign languages has become not only an interest but also a great demand for most
people in Vietnam.
Since 2006, the Ministry of Education and training prescribed a new series of English
textbooks for all grades and school types from grade 6 through to grade 10. According to the
authors, the new textbooks are theme-based and skill-based, with the adoption of the two
currently popular teaching approaches, i.e. the learner-centered approach and the
communicative approach. A focus is on task-based teaching as the leading methodology.
Within the task-based framework of the new textbook series, students are expected to engage
with each other in meaningful interaction and negotiation of meaning within a specific context.
The curriculum innovations have brought a total change to the reality of teaching and learning
foreign language in Vietnam. In fact, most high-school students have at least four years of
learning with the new curriculum at secondary school which has been put in to use since 2002,
so they do not find the new textbook unfamiliar. Before the approval and institutionalization of
the new textbooks, the teachers have been prepared for the new methods of teaching and
learning. Therefore, they have thorough understanding about the nature of the new textbooks.
However, both the teachers and learners face a lot of challenges in the process of working with
the new English textbooks. It seems that they do not fulfill the requirements of the new
textbooks at all.
Of the four language skills, speaking is becoming the primary skill given to the students.
Introducing this vital skill, the teachers of Vietnamese schools in general and in Xuan Hoa high

school in particular have encountered plenty of difficulties. The first-year high school students
are also confused when learning this language skill. Hence, the author wishes to understand
more about this situation by conducting the study entitled “Challenges in teaching and learning
speaking skill with the new textbook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school, Vinh Phuc province
and some solutions”. With this study, the writer looks into the problems for both the teachers
and the students and suggests some solutions to those problems.

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2. Aims of the study
This research mainly aims at clarifying the challenges in teaching and learning speaking
skill with the new textbook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school, Vinh Phuc province. The
author investigates the teachers‟ and learners‟ attitudes towards speaking skill and then put the
focus on the current difficulties in the application of the new textbook. The causes of their
difficulties are also examined so that the solutions to those problems can be given.
3. Method and procedure of the research
The data of this paper was collected through the survey questionnaires and interviews.
First, the author carried out the survey questionnaires to find out the attitudes towards the
teaching and learning of speaking skill with the new textbook and the difficulties of the teachers
and students in using the new textbook. Then the interviews with teachers and students were
conducted to clarify aspects which were inadequate and vague in the survey questionnaires.
4. Scope of the study
This research mainly covers the problems with the speaking skill that teachers and
learners have in the process of using the new textbook for grade 10. These problems were
discussed thoroughly in order to discover the causes and to offer the best solutions. The
subjects of the study are limited to the teachers and students at Xuan Hoa High School – Vinh
Phuc province.
5. Organization of the paper
The study includes 5 parts:
Part 1- Introduction presents the rationale, aims, method, scope and organization of the study.
Part II consists of 3 chapters:

Chapter 1- Literature review gives the theoretical background of speaking skill.
Chapter 2 - Methodology includes the description of Xuan Hoa high school context, the new
English textbook and the study (the instruments, the participants and the research questions).
Chapter 3- Data analysis and findings describes the data of the questionnaires and interviews,
then gives some findings through the data analysis.
Chapter 4 – Pedagogical Recommendations suggests some solutions to the current problems.
Part III - Conclusion focuses on the conclusions of the thesis, some limitations and
recommendations for further study.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Speaking is the vital skill of everyday communication. Speaking skill and teaching
speaking skill have received much attention from linguists all over the world. This chapter will
clarify the nature of speaking skill and popular ideas about teaching and learning this important
skill.
1.1. Theoretical background of speaking
1.1.1. Definition of speaking
Speaking is the productive skill in oral mode. It is, like the other skills, more
complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing the words.
1.1.2. The nature of speaking.
It is obvious that speaking is the key to communication and seems to be the vital skill in
comparison with reading, listening and writing. Everywhere people speak to each other to
exchange attitudes, cultural values, etc. Without it communication will become difficult to
proceed and our world will become as silent as a grave. Therefore, classroom activities aiming
at developing learners‟ ability to express themselves through speech are considered an
important component in a language course. Thus oral English becomes an essential part of the
senior – secondary school curriculum.
There have been many scholars discussing the nature of speaking. To Brown (1994),
Burn and Joyce, (1997), Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that

involves producing, receiving and processing information; Its form and meaning are dependent
on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective
experience, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking; It is often spontaneous,
open ended and evolving. However, speaking is not always unpredictable. Language functions
that tend to recur in certain discourse situations (declining an invitation, requesting time) can be
identified and charted. For example, when a salesman asks, “May I help you?”, the expected
discourse sequence include a statement of need , response to the need, offer of appreciation,
acknowledgements of appreciation, and a leave – taking exchange. Speaking requires that
learners not only know how to produce specific points of language, such as grammar,

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pronunciation or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that they understand when, why,
and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence).
According to Byrne (1976: 8), speaking is a two - way process between the speakers
and the hearers involving the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of
understanding. Both the listener and the speaker have a positive function to perform. The
speaker has to encode the message to be conveyed in appropriate language, while the listener
has to decode the message. The message itself in normal speech usually contains a great deal of
information that the listener needs.
It is perfectly true that speaking is active, or productive, and makes use of aural
medium. An act of speaking is commonly performed in face - to - face interaction. The act of
speaking involves not only the production of sounds but also the use of gestures, the
movements of the muscles and the face. Spoken language consists of short, often fragmentary
utterances, in a range of pronunciations. There is often a great deal of repetition and overlap
between one speaking and another. Speakers frequently use non - specific references.
Some of the micro-skills involved in speaking. The speaker has to:
*Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can
distinguish them. This includes making tonal distinctions.
*Use stress and rhythmic patterns and intonation patterns of the language clearly
enough so that people can understand what is said.

*Use the correct forms of words. This may mean, for example, changes in the tense,
case or gender.
*Put words together in correct word order.
*Use vocabulary appropriately.
*Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the
relationship to the conversation partner.
*Make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object,
by whatever means the language uses.
*Make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information.
*Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying.
1.1.3. Aspects of Speaking

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According to Bygate (1987: 3), in order to achieve a communicative goal through
speaking, there are two aspects to be considered – knowledge of the language, and skill
in using this knowledge. It is not enough to possess a certain amount of knowledge, but
a speaker of the language should be able to use this knowledge in different situations: “We do
not merely know how to assemble sentences in the abstract: we have to produce them and adopt
to the circumstances. This means making decisions rapidly, implementing them smoothly, and
adjusting our conversation as unexpected problems appear in our path.” (Bygate, 1987: 3)
Being able to decide what to say on the spot, saying it clearly and being flexible during
a conversation as different situations come out is the ability to use the knowledge „in action‟,
which creates the second aspect of speaking - the skill. Bygate views the skill as comprising
two components: production skills and interaction skills, both of which can be affected by
two conditions: firstly, processing conditions, taking into consideration the fact that „a
speech takes place under the pressure of time‟; secondly, reciprocity conditions connected
with a mutual relationship between the interlocutors.
Production skills:
The processing conditions (time pressure) in certain ways limit or modify the
oral production; it means the use of production skills. For that reason, speakers are forced to

use devices which help them make the oral production possible or easier through „facilitation‟,
or enable them to change words they use in order to avoid or replace the difficult ones by
means of „compensation‟ (Bygate, 1987:14)
There are four elementary ways of facilitating that Bygate distinguishes:
simplifying structures, ellipsis, formulaic expressions, and using fillers and hesitation devices.
On the other hand, when a speaker needs to alter, correct or change what he or she
has said, they will need to make use of compensation devices. These include tools such
as substitution, rephrasing, reformulating, self-correction, false starts, and repetition and
hesitation.
Bygate concludes that incorporation of these features, facilitation and compensation, in
the teaching-learning process is of a considerate importance, in order to help students‟ oral
production and compensate for the problems they may face: “All these features may in fact help
learners to speak, and hence help them to learn to speak . . . In addition to helping learners to

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learn to speak, these features may also help learners to sound normal in their use of the foreign
language.” (Bygate 1987: 20-21)
Interaction skills
According to Bygate (1987:22), both speakers and listeners, besides being good at
processing spoken words should be „good communicators‟, which means „good at saying
what they want to say in a way which the listener finds understandable‟. This means being
able to possess interaction skills. Communication of meaning then depends on two kinds of
skill: routines, and negotiation skills.
Routines are the typical patterns in which speakers organize what they have to
communicate. There are two kinds of routines: information routines, and interaction routines.
The information routines include frequently recurring types of information structures involved
in, for example, stories, descriptions, comparisons, or instructions. Bygate further divides
information routines according to their function into evaluative routines (explanations,
predictions, justifications, preferences, decisions), and expository routines (narration,
descriptions, instructions). The interaction routines, on the other hand, present the

characteristic ways, in which interactions are organized dealing with the logical
organization and order of the parts of conversation. Interaction routines can typically be
observed in, for example, telephone conversations, interviews, or conversations at the party.
While routines present the typical patterns of conversation, negotiation skills, on
the other hand, solve communication problems and enable the speaker and listener to
make themselves clearly understood. In fact, according to Bygate, negotiation skills get
routines through by the management of interaction and negotiation of meaning. The first aspect
of negotiation skills „management of interaction‟ refers to „the business of agreeing who is
going to speak next, and what he or she is going to talk about‟. These are two aspects of
management of interaction: agenda of management and turn-taking. On one hand, participants‟
choice of the topic, how it is developed, its length, the beginning or the end is controlled by the
agenda of management. On the other hand, effective turn-taking requires five abilities: how to
signal that one wants to speak, recognizing the right moment to get a turn, how to use
appropriate turn structure in order to take one‟s turn properly and not to lose it before
finishing what one has to say, recognizing other people‟s signals of their desire to speak,

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and, finally, knowing how to let someone else have a turn. The second aspect of negotiation
skills - „the skill of communicating ideas clearly and signaling understanding or
misunderstanding during a conversation‟ - is referred to as negotiation of meaning.
According to Bygate (1987:29), there are two factors that ensure understanding during
oral communications; they are: the level of explicitness and procedures of negotiation. The
level of explicitness refers to the choice of expressions with regard to interlocutors‟ knowledge.
As regards the procedures of negotiation, i.e. how specific speakers are in what they say, this
aspect of negotiation of meaning involves the use of paraphrases, metaphors, on the use of
vocabulary varying the degree of precisions with which we communicate.
To sum up, there are two basic aspects that Bygate distinguishes when considering the
skill of speaking. These include the knowledge of the language and the skill in using this
knowledge. The knowledge of producing the language has to be used in different
circumstances as they appear during a conversation by means of the skill. The ability to use

the knowledge requires two kinds of skills, according to Bygate – production skills, and
interaction skills. Production skills involve two aspects – facilitation and compensation,
brought about by processing conditions. Both devices help students, besides making the oral
production easier or possible, sound more naturally. Interaction skills, on the other hand,
involve routines and negotiation skills. Routines present the typical patterns of conversation
including interaction and information routines. Negotiation skills serve as a means for enabling
the speaker and listener to make themselves clearly understood. This is achieved by two
aspects: management of interaction and turn-taking.
1.2. Theoretical background of learning and teaching speaking skill
1.2.1. Definition of teaching and learning
In contemporary dictionaries, learning is defined as acquiring or getting of knowledge
of a subject or a skill by study, experience or instruction. A more specialized definition states
that learning is a relatively permanent change in the behavioral tendency and is the result of
reinforced practice (Kimble and Garmezy, 1963:133). Language learning is a long and complex
undertaking: “Your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach beyond the confines of
your first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling and
acting. Total commitment, total involvement, a total physical, intellectual and emotional

8
response are necessary to successfully send and receive messages in a second language. Many
variables are involved in the acquisition process.” (Brown, H D. 2010: 1)
Similarly, teaching, which is implied in the first definition of learning, may be defined
as “showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in
the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand.” Teaching
is also defined as one of the means by which education is achieved (if it is) and education is a
common purpose of teaching. Teaching is the process of carrying out those activities that
experience has shown to be effective in getting students to learn. A teacher is defined as a
person whose professional activities involve the transmission of knowledge, attitudes and skills
that are stimulated in a formal curriculum to students enrolled in an educational programme.
Teaching and learning have a close relationship. We cannot define teaching apart from

learning. Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learners to learn, setting the
conditions for learning. Your understanding of how the learners learn will determine your
philosophy of education, your teaching style, your approach, methods and classroom
techniques. If you look at learning as a process of operant conditioning, through a carefully
paced program of reinforcement, you will teach accordingly. If you view second language
learning as a deductive rather than an inductive process, you will probably choose to present
copious rules and paradigms to your students rather than let them “discover” those rules
inductively.
1.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching Approach
The history of language learning and teaching methods has experienced many changes
with many approaches, such as Grammar - Translation Method, Reading Method,
Audiolingualism, and Affective - Humanistic Approach and, etc. CLT is the latest influence on
teaching methodology which has been put forth around the world as a new or innovative
approach to teach English as a second or foreign language. CLT appeared in the late 1960s due
to the changes in the British language teaching tradition. Until then, situational language
teaching remained the major approach in British approach to teaching. The need for
communicative proficiency rather than mere mastery of structures made scholars advocate this
view of language teaching.
*David Nunan‟s definition of CLT:

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CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve oral
communication, carrying out meaningful tasks and using language that is meaningful to
learners. Objectives reflect the need of the learners: they include functional skills as well as
linguistic objectives. The learners‟ role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teachers‟ role is as
a facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative language use;
they are task – based and authentic. (David Nunan, 1989:194)
*Characteristics of CLT:
CLT has six features for most modern approaches and methods, which are learner –
centered teaching, cooperative learning, interactive learning, whole – language education,

content – centered education and task – based learning. Besides, Littlewood (1981:1) states:
“one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays a
systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language”. For other theorists,
communicative language teaching means using procedures where learners work in pairs or
groups employing available language resources in problem solving tasks.
David Nunan (1991:279) offers five characteristic features of CLT:
-An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.
-The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
-The provision of opportunities for learners to focus not only on language but also on the
learning process itself.
-An enhancement of the learners‟ own experience as important contributing elements to
classroom learning.
-An attempt to link classroom language with language activation outside the classroom.
These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very
interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the
language as it is taught in their class and as it used outside the classroom. Under this broad
umbrella definition, any teaching practice that helps students develop their communicative
competence in an authentic context is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction.
Thus, in the classroom CLT often takes the form of pair and group work requiring negotiation
and cooperation between learners, fluency-based activities that encourage learners to develop

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their confidence, role-plays in which students practice and develop language functions, as well
as judicious use of grammar and pronunciation focused activities.
1.2.3. Communicative Competence – The desired goal of CLT
When teaching a language, the most important goal is to help the pupils to obtain the
ability to communicate. Therefore, as an effective approach in language teaching, CLT puts
communicative competence on the top of its objectives.
The concept of communicative competence was introduced in 1964 and since then it has
caught much attention from linguists all over the world. Communicative language teaching is

an approach that aims to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching. That
is to help students use language appropriately in real communication. Rivers (1981:15) and
those who work with foreign language teaching in U.S tend to define communicative
competence as simply linguistic interaction in the target language: “The ability to function in a
truly communicative setting; that is in a spontaneous transaction involving one or more other
persons”. People who work in ESL, on the other hand, tend to use communicative competence
in Hymes‟sense. In his view, a person who acquires communicative competence acquires both
knowledge and ability for language use with respect to
*Whether (and to what degree) something is formally possible.
*Whether (and to what degree) something is feasible in virtue of the means of implementation
available.
*Whether (and to what degree) something is appropriate (adequate, happy, successful) in
relation to a context in which it is used and evaluated)
*Whether (and to what degree) something is in fact done, actually performed and what its doing
entails.
A more recent but related analysis of communicative competence is found in Canale and
Swain (1980), which identified four dimensions of communicative competence: Grammatical
competence, Sociolinguistic competence, Discourse competence and Strategic competence.
To sum up, communicative competence is the ability to use the language correctly,
appropriately in any particular circumstances of communication. It is the goal of language
teaching and it makes CLT different in scope and status from any other approaches.


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1.2.4. The necessity of Teaching and Learning Speaking Skill in a Communicative Class
Speaking is fundamental to human communication. Just think of all the different
conversations we have in one day and compare that with how much written communication we
do in one day. Which do we do more of? In our daily lives most of us speak more than we
write. Therefore, if the goal of the language course is truly to enable the students to
communicate in English, then speaking skill should be taught and practised in the language

classroom. Speaking is a skill which deserves attention in both first and second languages. The
learners often need to be able to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their most
basic transactions. It is the skill by which they are most frequently judged. It is the vehicle par
excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business.
It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and which for many is particularly
conductive for learning. Therefore, the teaching of speaking merits more thought.
Many language learners regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing a language.
These learners define fluency as the ability to converse with others, much more than the ability
to read, write, or comprehend oral language. They regard speaking as the most important skill
they can acquire, and they assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments in spoken
communication. The necessity of learning and teaching speaking skill was emphasized by
Nunan (1991): "success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the
(target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak or do not get any
opportunity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-motivated and lose
interest in learning. On the other hand, if the right activities are taught in the right way,
speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivation and making the English
language classroom a fun and dynamic place to be.
In the communicative model of language teaching, instructors help their students
develop this body of knowledge by providing authentic practice that prepares students for real-
life communication situations. They help their students develop the ability to produce
grammatically correct, logically connected sentences that are appropriate to specific contexts,
and to do so using acceptable (that is, comprehensible) pronunciation. The goal of teaching
speaking skills is communicative efficiency. Learners should be able to make themselves
understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in

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the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and
cultural rules that apply in each communication situation.
1.2.5. Problems in teaching and learning speaking skill
If the aim of the English course is to enable the students to communicate in English,

then speaking skills should be taught and practised in the language classroom. However, it is
true that when teaching speaking skill, the teachers can encounter many problems. The most
popular ones can be listed as follows: First, the class size is one of the major concerns.
Teaching the target language for a class of 40 or 45 students is quite a hard job and not
effective. The teachers have to deal with many problems of large class, so the results of
teaching and learning speaking skill are unsatisfactory. Second, students‟ lack of motivation
also prevents the success of the speaking activities in class. They almost have no interest in
learning the foreign language. They just take part in the communicative activities because of the
teachers‟ presence, the requirements of the exams, etc. Another difficulty in teaching and
learning speaking skill is mother-tongue use. In classes where all learners share the same
mother-tongue, they tend to use it because: it is easier, it is unnatural to communicate in a
foreign language and they feel less exposed in their mother-tongue. If the students work in
small groups, it can be quite challenging to get them - especially the less disciplined and
motivated ones- to speak the target language. Many other problems in the process of teaching
and learning speaking skill will be discussed carefully in later part of this study.
In conclusion, this chapter has mentioned popular ideas about the nature of speaking,
the newly approved teaching approach - CLT, and the necessity of teaching and learning
speaking skill in a communicative class. These concepts and ideas will serve as the theoretical
background for all the analysis and discussions of the data in the following chapter.






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