Author note
This research work is carried on by me in the hope of answering many queries which posed a challenge in my service as a teacher. My students, specially in the rural areas where I served, always expressed their wish to speak in English and asked for solutions. The prescribed texts and curriculum could not answer their questions nor offer me any solutions. Hence, this research is designed in the hope of getting some guidance to the teaching and learning processes. As anticipated, it gave a big boost both to the teachers and learners.
Contribution Statement
I state that this research paper submitted by me is based on the empirical investigation conduced by me. I declare that this paper written by me is not submitted elsewhere.
Abstract
This paper aims to prove the relevance of communicative approach to teach Spoken English at tertiary level. It reviews the continuity and change in English language teaching and evaluates the place of Spoken English in the present English curriculum at the undergraduate level. It investigates the need of Spoken English in the curriculum, discusses the principles of communicative language teaching. It focuses the type of exercises designed, and the mode of evaluation to be followed to teach Spoken English. Consequently, a speech based course in Spoken English for the undergraduates is deduced. The paper reports the details of the pilot study conducted to show the effectiveness of the materials prepared, the approach and methodology used in the project. It explains the tools used, the sample involved in the experiment, the objectives aimed at, and the hypotheses assumed. Finally, the hypotheses are substantiated by interpreting the data.
1.0 Introduction
The present state of English studies in the institutions of higher education is not quite satisfactory as there has been a steady decline in the standards. The syllabuses are not keeping with the needs of the learners; the methods of teaching followed are not yielding much in terms of learning. Though General English Course is compulsory at the undergraduate level, the course is judged from the point of view of its content and does not focus upon the language skills. Unless the language skills are cultivated, the learners cannot use English as an effective tool of communication. This obviously demands oral skills. But, little thought has been given regarding its teaching and learning and very rarely is accepted as a component of undergraduate syllabus. As a result, learners with poor English speaking skills have long been a part of the education scene in the country. Even it is to be taught, it has traditionally meant the teaching of pronunciation of English.
Nevertheless, recently, various other factors like discourse, the role and relationship between the interactants, the knowledge of interaction management techniques etc., which in turn enhance the intelligibility and acceptability of a communicative utterance have been thought of.
This changed orientation has brought new perspectives of communicative interactions in the classroom and other learning processes like needs analysis, appropriate methods of teaching and learning, suitable evaluation methods. These modifications are to be brought forth if educational standards are to raise and speech has to be accomplished as a pleasant and lively experience in communication.
Hence, the present research has aimed at
- finding out the needs in Spoken English of the undergraduates
- designing and trying out the syllabus and course material for the development of oral skills using communicative syllabus design, teaching material and evaluation procedures
1.1 Communicative Approach
Communicative approach to language teaching starts from a theory of language as communication. The goal of language teaching is to develop a communicative competence according to Hymes, a socio-linguist. Learners are prepared and encouraged to exploit their communicative competence to participate in actual communication situations. It is on this level that such a language distinguishes itself from more traditional approaches where the emphasis is heavily on teaching structural competence. Many linguists like Wilkins, Widdowson, Candlin, Christopher Brumfit, Keith Johnson worked on this theory to develop a communicative or functional approach to language teaching. Since Hymes introduced the term communicative competence, it enjoyed increasing popularity among the teachers, researchers, and the others who are interested in the language. He recasts the notion of competence as communicative competence which reflects not only the speaker-listener’s grammatical competence but also psycho-linguistic competence, socio-linguistic competence, knowledge and ability for use. He asserts that, “there are rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless” Hymes (1972). He further says that it is not enough if the learner knows the rules of grammar but he should know when to use them and how and what to speak.
A more recent analysis of communicative competence is made by Canale and Swain (1980) in which four dimensions of communicative competence are identified: grammatical competence (grammatical and lexical capacity), socio-linguistic competence (social context in which communication takes place), discourse competence (interpretation of meaning in the entire message) and strategic competence (communicators coping strategies like initiate, terminate, maintain, repair and redirect) . Canale and Swain, further, gave five guiding characteristics of communicative approach. A communicative approach must
- integrate grammatical competence, socio-linguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence
- be based on learners’ communication needs
- create meaningful communicative interactions to learners
- make optimum use of the communication skills of learners’ native language that are common to second language
- provide practice for the learners to meet their communication needs
Thus communication involves much more than a simple knowledge of forms; it depends crucially on the ability to use forms in appropriate ways. In speech this means deciding what information is to be conveyed, finding a syntactically, lexically and phonologically appropriate form and uttering it spontaneously and fluently. Explicating this idea Keith Morrow (1981) suggests the five following principles for communication in the classroom.
- know what you are doing
- the whole is more than the sum of the parts
- the processes are as important as the forms
- to learn it, do it
Concomitantly, the researcher too has considered these five principles in designing materials for teaching Spoken English so that an appropriate framework and syllabus would be evolved to suit the contemporary Indian classroom.
1.2 Relevance of communicative approach to Spoken English
As reviewed, the main implication and specific objectives of teaching, then, would be to determine the classroom teaching on communicative needs of the learner. The aim of communicative language teaching is to produce in learners the ability to create and to construct utterances (spoken and written) which have the desired social value or purpose i.e., an individual in the process of communication, conceives a message and is able to construct and utter the linguistic form which conveys that message. In speech, this means deciding what information is to be conveyed, finding a syntactically, lexically and phonologically appropriate form and uttering it spontaneously and fluently. This process is to be carried under the pressure imposed by the need to communicate in real time and by the need to focus on the content or purpose of the communication rather than its form. The ability to perform is a matter of selecting accurately from the repertoire of language possessed by at that stage. Communicative language teaching is taken to be any form of language teaching which incorporates a reasonable proportion of activities that meet this general condition.
Wilkins (1976) notes the following features of communicability in language learning:
- priority of conversational interaction over other modes
- a syllabus expressed in terms of notions and functions rather than structures
- learning based on individual group needs rather than generalized
- authentic materials
- emphasis on process rather than product
- genuine communication rather than pedagogically motivated and structured activities
Thus, learning in communicative process grows out of the interaction between learners, teachers, texts and activities. While facilitating communication, the classroom activities involve participants in meta communication. Meta communication implies the learner’s activity in analyzing, monitoring and evaluating those knowledge systems that are implicit within the various text-types and confront him/her during learning. Such meta communication occurs within the communicative performance of the classroom as a sociolinguistic activity in its own right. Through this ongoing communication and meta communication, learners not only become participants in the procedures and activities, but may also become critically sensitized to the potential and richness of the unified system of knowledge, affects and abilities upon which their communication depends. Further this process is likely to exploit the productive relationship between using the language and learning the language. Hence, is the relevance of communicative approach to teach Spoken English.
2.0 Course Design
The researcher, for all these reasons reviewed, proposes to develop a methodology and curriculum which is more dynamic and interactive – a course which encourages real language use in classrooms and helps to build communication skills by providing incremental learning experiences through tasks and activities. The curriculum proposed is very flexible to meet the challenging demands of the learner. It also reflects a more serious commitment towards integration with listening as an integral part of oral fluency activities. Accordingly, a syllabus and course material is prepared and tried out to prove its effectiveness. The programme proceeds in two stages. Stage One concerns itself with all the preliminary activities to develop a syllabus and course material and Stage Two concerns with verifying their suitability and effectiveness.
To arrive at the needs and relevant data, the researcher, proceeded with certain objectives that led her to formulate hypotheses. Based on these assumptions, the tools were prepared and data were collected. These data furnished the communicative needs of the learners with regard to Spoken English. To specify appropriate skills in order to realize these needs, the researcher operated the Communicative Needs Processing Model by Munby (1978).
2.1. Processing of needs
The Communication Needs Processing Model proposed by Munby (1978:73) is used with necessary modifications to assess the needs in Spoken English of the undergraduates. This model helped the researcher to process communicative events which in turn lead to the realization of needs in terms of activities and micro skills. Based on these skills the researcher has developed a course in Spoken English. The general principles of curriculum organization like simple to complex, known to unknown, selection and gradation of items are followed. The procedures that are to be followed by the teacher and the method of evaluation are specified. The details of each stage and the steps followed are described in the flow chart as shown in figure 1.
In a curriculum, the say of the teachers is as important as the role of the learners. Hence, the researcher, to support the needs analysis obtained from the learners, has served a different questionnaire to the teachers. Further, it is true that the parents play a positive role in deciding what course their children would pursue. The researcher, hence, to substantiate the needs of the learners and to have thorough analysis of the needs for this course has served a third questionnaire to the parents/the well informed citizens.
2.1.1 Objectives and tools of investigation
The researcher has enumerated the following objectives to find out from the learners, teachers, parents/well informed citizens their opinion on:
- the communicative ability of the undergraduates in Spoken English
- the needs of undergraduates in spoken English for different purposes
- the various methods and strategies followed to teach Spoken English
- the provision of suitable course material in Spoken English
- the conversation subtlety and management skills in Spoken English
- the importance of phonetics, intonation patterns and usage in Spoken English
- the usefulness of Spoken English in personality development
To substantiate these objectives, the investigator has served three different questionnaires and administered at three levels – learners, teachers and parents/well informed citizens of the society.
2.1.2 Analysis and interpretation of the data
The following are the data analyzed after administering the questionnaires at three levels. The analysis has made clear that there is a close understanding about the needs of Spoken English among learners, teachers and parents. They expressed that learners have to understand, discuss, and present their learning experiences in real life situations. Most of the respondents opined that
- Spoken English is an important skill
- Spoken English is needed for higher studies, profession and personal purposes
- learners are poor in Spoken English
- Spoken English should be a part of English study at the undergraduate level
- oral skills integrated in a speech based course results in perfection in Spoken English
- discourse principles in teaching Spoken English should precede usage and mechanical articulation
- pronunciation and formal grammar too are important to speak in English
- frequency of Spoken English exercises should be increased
- specially planned and comprehensive teaching/learning procedures should be followed
- there is no enough feedback to emphasize oral skills in learning
- there are no specific norms for correction of Spoken English
- importance should be given to those items of Spoken English which would be immediately useful in a job
- proficiency in Spoken English improves confidence and competence of a learner
The data corresponds with the study of Zhengdong Gan (2012) who traces the
difficulties of ESL learners in learning oral skills.
3.0 Design of the Experiment
Taking the above presented data into consideration, the course in Spoken English was planned for 50 periods. A single group method with a batch of 12 learners was used to assess the effectiveness of the course material, methodology of teaching and evaluation procedures.
3.1 Objectives of the experiment
The investigation aims at finding out the effect of:
- the communicative syllabus designed to develop Spoken English among the undergraduates
- maximum exposure to informal English supplemented by analytic, selective, and judicious practical work — analyzing its effective communicative skills
- the instruction in the skills of eliciting and responding in a transactional task
- the greater awareness among the learners of the features, rules and processes in Spoken English and how they may be used
- the communicative language teaching strategies on free oral expression which builds up explicitness in a message and not a test speak
- evaluate ( not grading) – comment – interact a different task – discussion as a mode of correction in Spoken English
- short turns which are less demanding and communicative; later, long turns which are more demanding in expressing oneself
3.2 Statement of Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are formulated in order to achieve the objectives stated and prove the effectiveness of course material, methodology of teaching and evaluation procedures that are used.
- The use of communicative language teaching strategies will achieve better performance in the use of spoken skills.
- The breaking out of the learners from written mode will foster spontaneous expression in Spoken English.
- The instruction based on cooperative learning and information gap tasks with dyads and small group of learners will ensure appropriate interaction and understanding in oral skills.
- Learning strategies of reviewing and processing will improve learners’ expression in course of time.
3.3 Tools of investigation and mode of implementation
The following tools are used to accomplish the proposed research.
- attitude evaluation task
- an informal conversation
- a pre and post testcourse material
- written mode (multiple choice type)
- spoken mode (information transfer and information gap activities)
3.3.1 Attitude evaluation task
The attitude evaluation task is framed to know the attitude of the learners towards Spoken English. These closed questions are modified on the basis of the activities/techniques derived from the learning strategies for oral communication (Xiao-Hua Huang and Margret Van Naerssen,1987). These learning strategies imply formal practice, functional practice, and monitoring. It was served twice to the learners (the try out sample) before and after the experiment. The questions are designed to know their
- difficulty level in Spoken English
- number of chances for interaction and exposure in classroom
- listening practice and comprehension
- interest in group activities
- awareness in problem solving activities
- delight and pleasure in carrying out role play and interactions
These questions ensure that the techniques are, in fact, the ones that the learners choose to use and not the ones that the teachers impose. It contains scaled questions in which the learners are asked about the frequency with which they employ a particular strategy.
A variation, if any, in the comparisons of the responses obtained by this attitude evaluation task (both before and after the experiment) is expected to account for the explanation of the change in their attitude towards Spoken English.
3.3.2 Informal conversation
The main aim of conducting an informal conversation is to test the realistic learning of the learners in a normal tension free environment. The learners are expected to exhibit the appropriateness of their performance in a meaningful way while conversing with each other. The average of both the scores (one given by the researcher and the other by the second examiner, an experienced teacher) are marked as the final scores.
The learners were divided into three groups of four learners each. The time allowed for conversation was 15 minutes. The five items which were marked for the test were: sounds, stress and intonation, vocabulary, conversational syntax (openings, closings, pausing, hesitation, question tags, incomplete expressions) and negotiation skills (what to say, how to say, when to say and agreeing on who is going to speak next and what he or she is going to talk about – Martin Bygate, 1987) This additional test component is designed by the researcher based on the RSS (Reciprocal Speech Situation) suggested by Andrew Wilkinson (1965). The assessment was done both before and after the experiment and the changes, if any, are interpreted in the findings and discussion.
3.3.3 The pre and post tests
A single group method is preferred by the researcher and single test is designed for both pre and post tests. The following objectives are taken into consideration:
- assessment of the entry and terminal behaviour in relation to the specific skills
- verification of the effectiveness and appropriateness of the methods and materials with the help of the scores obtained
The test is of two parts, part A tests the theoretical knowledge in written mode and part B tests the fluency of the learners in spoken interactions. The time given for part A and part B tests was 30 minutes. A tape recorder was used to tape the conversations of the learners and later evaluated. Some pictures and cues were given while the learners proceeded to the different activities of the test. The test activities are designed based on the activities of RTE ( Rhetorical Task Examination) suggested by Anne Lazarton and Heidi Rigenbash (1990).
3.3.4 The course material
The researcher, in consonance with the needs analysis, arrived at a syllabus and designed a course material. The course material is designed only for the first year degree course due to constraint of time and resources. The researcher tried to draw communicative principles where in the learner has to internalize and use various notional/semantic categories which offer systematic basis for learning. The following features were prioritized while designing the material:
- principles of course design like grading, sequencing and integrating
- provision of comprehensible input for more generalized rehearsal of skills and activation of learners’ repertoire
- raising of learners awareness about language, communication and learning
- practice in sub-skills
- experiences of communication in similar areas which are likely to be encountered beyond learning situation
- testing and self -assessment
- motivation, fun and reduction of barriers to learning
To suit these principles, the researcher has fused diverse instructional material, learning activities, interaction patterns in the course material. These materials are carefully designed in the framework of communicative activity called communicative events. The learning is directed in four phases: preparation, practice, production and review, where the review sessions are feedback to the learning practices. Each unit has a range of 10 to 15 appropriate tasks which involve the learners in use of competence through communicative acts. They are designed on the principles of communicative principles like information transfer, information gap and communicative drills. They require an exchange of information among all participants, each of whom passes some piece of information not known to, but needed by, all other participants to solve the problem. These tasks also reflect the principle of learning by doing as the learners make their own choices at the conceptual as well as the linguistic levels. They tasks are designed differently, so that they learn different things, at different times, in different ways. A maximum use of everyday authentic material such as pictures, photographs, maps, charts, sign boards etc. is made which creates the right kind of pressure to call into active use of learners’ latent knowledge of the language. Challenges that reflect in some game like features, competition between pairs, memory in order to retell, a hidden solution, questioning, group discussions, team debates, interviews, oral presentation and impromptu etc. too are added to these activities in order to involve them in group interaction, role plays and simulation. Thus, these conversations extend from casual chat to formal discussion on informal occasions, where there is no pressure from outside for the learners to be self-conscious about how they are speaking. These activities help the learners say what they want to say and give a satisfying feeling of achievement.
3.4 The Sample
The sample selected for the experiment consisted of 12 learners (seven girls and five boys selected at random) representing five different colleges in twin cities. As they were selected from different colleges, they represented a cross section of the student population at large.
All the 12 learners were in the first year degree course at the academic level. These learners were preferred because:
- they were at a terminal point in their education and would need English for different purposes
- they would have had enough exposure in the target language, both at +10 and +2 stage of the curriculum
- the group was ready to go through the course regularly for the entire period of the experiment
3.5 Directing the Experiment and the Course Designed to Teach Spoken English
The researcher has applied communicative approach and its principles to the course design to bring about a change in the learning situation. She proceeds with the following criteria that a course in Spoken English should:
- integrate the four language skills
- exploit the conventions of use both in accuracy and fluency activities
- boost a cooperative group work along with teacher fronted activities
- consider the relative productivity, simplicity and contrastive difficulty of needs of the learners to make the course more appropriate and communicative
- assist the learners by helping them overcome stage fright and communicative stress
To achieve these principles of teaching-learning processes in Spoken English, the researcher has designed certain procedures. The Instructional Model followed is shown in figure 2.
The Instruction Model which is designed by the researcher is modified on the methods
suggested by C.J. Brumfit and K. Johnson (1979) and willis and willis (1985). Certain
aspects are also similar to the model proposed by Katheleen M. Bailey (2012) which
depicts different elements involved in teaching speaking to adult ESOL learners.
The first stage, preparation, gives an intensive exposure to the learners where the language items are presented matching with meaning and structure. The first session of every unit concentrates on giving simple and clear models because the researcher believes that it would be difficult for the second language learners to venture a task unless they are provided with a good model of what is expected of them.
The second session, practice, leads the learners to work on a task in groups. Here, they interact with the help of the cues/pictures which are given. There is a contribution of each learner in completing the task. They are given easy warm-up exercises which increase the level of difficulty progressively. Dyadic interactions and group activities which are the pivotal features of the method emphasize the learners’ function as both listeners and speakers at separate points of time. This makes the learners more attentive, inventive and emphatic while interacting in tasks.
The role of the researcher, here, is flexible. She too interacts with the learners, explains the tasks, makes them interact. She joins with them only to keep the activity going. She, occasionally, gives prompts which provides them with opportunities for developing awareness of the learning strategies.
The third session, production, directs the performance of the learners. The activities are planned to get the learners use the language freely and to express their own ideas. They are given more opportunities to talk and engage themselves in pursuit of problem solving tasks which demand from them skills like: giving reasons, offering suggestions and alternatives, arguing issues, choosing solutions, explaining things and processes, defining concepts.
The last session, review, is a quick marking of the learners’ individual work and gives some feedback on their level of success. The provision of review gives the researcher an excellent opportunity to find out how good the learners really are as they would talk freely by then. This session is followed by assignments which are carefully selected to revise and reinforce the skills that are practiced. Some of the activities are sometimes of spoken mode and sometimes of written mode. Some are based on individual effort and some on group effort. Thus, the whole Instruction Model aimed at achieving the general ends: to instruct, to explore, to stimulate and to persuade. At the end of the course, a post-test is administered to the learners.
4.0 Findings and discussion
The communicative syllabus designed to develop spoken skills includes a set of topics/units for study, related materials for use in teaching/learning, and approaches for evaluation. The researcher uses a lucid mode of evaluation – comment-interact a different task and discussion as a mode of correction in all spoken interactions. The effectiveness of the course is proved in terms of difference in scores between the pre and the post-test; consequently, the command in spoken skills is assumed to be a direct function of using communicative language teaching materials and strategies.
4.1 Effective of communicative syllabus on the development of spoken skills of the undergraduates
A Single Group Method is chosen for the experiment. The researcher, administered the same test for both pre and post-tests. The score obtained for both the tests are tabulated and analyzed applying different statistical procedures. the details of the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data of mean and standard deviation are presented in table 1.
The following is the discussion that is reviewed after the scrutiny and analysis of the statistical measures which indicate the effectiveness of the communicative language teaching materials and strategies.
The Pre-Test
The mean of the pre-test scores is quite low, i.e. 26.16. Usually a student is considered passed when he secures 36 marks. But, the scores ranging from 18-35 (with a difference of 18 scores) assert the group to be heterogeneous. A standard deviation of 5.76 for a small group of 12 learners is high; but it is justified in terms of the small mean and the heterogeneous nature of the group. To confirm the trustworthiness of the mean obtained in the pre-test, significance of the mean at 0.95 and 0.99 levels of confidence is computed. The range of the means, i.e., 22.9 to 29.41 for 0.95 level of confidence and 21.87 to 30.44 for 0.99 level of confidence show that the mean is significant at both the levels.
The Post-test
The mean of the post-test scores is quite high, i.e., 70.41. It accounts to a growth of 44.25 scores on the average. The scores ranging from 63 to 78 (with a difference of 16 scores) assert the group to be heterogeneous. A standard deviation of 5.64 for a small group type is high enough. But, in the context of a heterogeneous group with scores ranging from 63 to 78, it is justified. To estimate the trust worthiness of the mean obtained, the significance of the mean is calculated at 0.95 and 0.99 levels of confidence. The range of means i.e., 67.23 to 73.58 for 0.95 level of confidence and 66.23 to 74.58 for 0.99 level of confidence show that the mean is significant at both the levels.
Growth in achievement
Details of the statistical analysis and interpretation of the mean improvement and correlation are shown in table 2.
As seen from the table a very high growth from the point of view of statistical gains is perceived between the pre-test and pot-test. The difference of the mean calculated as 44.25 accounts for a steep rise in achievement of the group. This confirms a significant gain in the acquisition of communicative skills in Spoken English.
This group of learners who exhibited a highest functional ability during 50 session of instruction is perhaps something unique. This, however, can be attributed to the yardstick of rating scale of some of the items of the test. Secondly, as the group had already a latent knowledge in the language, they could easily exhibit their proficiency in the performance of the oral skills in question. Besides, the group was totally conditioned at the time of post-test.
The correlation rated for the scores of pre-test and pot-test is quite high, i.e., 0.93. This testifies that there was an identical growth virtually in all the learners of the group, though a few of them may have accomplished excellence over the others. The correlation is significant 0.95 level with the confidence intervals marked off by the limits of 0.76 to 0.98 and at 0.99 level with the confidence intervals marked off by 0.66 to 0.98.
The value of ‘t’ is presented in table 3.
An observation of table 3 reveals that there is vast difference between the performances of mean of pre and post-tests. The calculated value of ‘t’ (by difference method) is significant beyond 0.01 level of probability (for 11df the table value of ‘t’ at 0.01 level for one tailed test is 2.72). Therefore, the hypothesis that “the use of communicative language teaching strategies will achieve better performance in the use of spoken skills” is accepted.
The results of the test are in congruence with that of Anne Lazaraton and Heidi Reggenbach (1990). Further, the tasks used by the investigator are parallel to that of RTE (Rhetorical Task Examination) tasks and patterns that are introduced, analyzed and practiced by them. These tasks ascertain both the functional ability and the linguistic competence (Canale and Swain, 1980) displayed in the performance. These results are again substantiated with the results of Dedi Efrizal (2012) who records learners’ improvement in speaking by using communicative approach. Thus, the growth in the achievement i.e., the ability of a learner to use communicative skills in Spoken English is supported and accomplished.
4.2 Effect of communicative language teaching strategies in fostering spontaneous expression in oral skills
The attitude of all the 12 learners in learning Spoken English is obtained through the ‘Attitude Evaluation Task’ which was administered both before and after the experiment.
The data is computed and the following observations are recorded. The data of the pre test records that
- the learners are poor in Spoken English
- they think that speaking is a difficult task
- practice in Spoken English is very rare
- they speak English only with the teachers
- practice of listening to English is inadequate
- they do not think in English
- re-telling of spoken texts is infrequent
- the learners’ attention towards others’ expression is quite low
- the learners are unaware of meaning in interactions
- the learners are unaware of the importance of practice in learning spoken skills
- the learners do not know the significance of pair work and group activities
- the learners have hardly any acquaintance with the techniques of learning oral skills
The evidence given by the learners speaks that there is no exposure to oral skills; no awareness of processes within Spoken English that effect communicative skills, and also no teaching strategy that builds ‘explicitness’ in expression and not a ‘test speak’. The learners, therefore, apprehend to speak in English, and hence, are uptight in oral expression. This probably results in speaking as if writing.
The same ‘Attitude Evaluation Task’ was administered after the course.
A comparison of the data, before and after the investigation, reveals that
- there is a change in the learners’ abilities to speak
- none of the learners think that speaking English is difficult
- there is an increased liking to speak in English
- the learners started speaking in English with their parents and friends, some even with officials
- the learners now tune in radio and tape
- a few learners made an effort to think in English
- all the learners started re-telling spoken texts
- the learners’ attention towards others’ expression is increased
- the learners now believe that meaning is important than structure in Spoken English
- the learners also believe that practice improves their oral skills
- pair work/group activities help in acquiring interaction skills
- the learners accepted that they can speak well with the help of pictures, cue cards, and language games
Obviously, the change noticed in the attitude of the learners emphasizes that a fine distinction between spoken form and written form, a stress on oral skills in the instances of use, the interactive experiences (which are different from written mode) in language use will all go long way in stimulating oral fluency. These oral skills are also emphasized by Hayriye Kayi (2006) in his research.
Hence, the hypothesis of the investigator that “the breaking out of the learners from written mode will foster spontaneous expression in Spoken English” is validated.
4.3 Effect of information gap tasks in facilitating interaction skill
One of the main aims of communicative language teaching is to provide opportunities for learners to participate in interaction where the primary goal is to exchange meaning. This can be achieved by constructing various problem-solving tasks that require learners to consciously analyze for authentic communication.
The investigator, therefore, to promote the acquisition of oral skills has designed two-way tasks that facilitate more negotiation of meaning, promote thinking of the learners, before they speak, help them to arrive at a decision with more interaction, pressurize them to agree on a solution with reciprocity.
The gain in the mean of the post-test plus the change in the attitude of the learners as presented in the items: 9, 10, 11, 12, of the ‘Attitude Evaluation Task’ reveal that group and dyad interaction patterns produce more modification than the teacher-fronted situation. This evidence which suggests an information exchange to generate conversational modification is significant in the light of the current theory that conversational modification occurring during interaction is instrumental in second language acquisition.
The results of this study can be compared with a survey on pair/group work conducted by Doughty and Pica (1986) which indicate that learners produce more in pair/group work and negotiate meaning more than the teacher-fronted lessons, provided that the task requires information exchange. Besides, the inferences of the investigation are also in corroboration with the results of Rod Ellis (1991) who proposed that formal instruction and communicative language teaching could be integrated through the use of grammar tasks designed to promote communication about grammar.
Thus, it is evident that pair/group work eminently provides learners with opportunities to produce the target language and modify interaction. So, the hypothesis that “the instruction based co-operative learning and information gap tasks with dyads and small group of learners will ensure appropriate interaction and understanding in oral skills” is supported.
4.4 Effect of communicative language teaching strategies of reviewing and processing in stimulating spoken interactions – receptive and productive fronts.
As a concomitant to the application of communicative language teaching strategies, change in spoken interactions of the sample of the learners is studied. An informal conversation of the learners which is analyzed both before and after the experiment serves as the basis for the data and inferences. The receptive front includes a reasonable interpretation of the speaker’s intended meaning in a conversation, i.e., being ‘in tune’ with the behaviour, language patterns and presuppositions of whoever he is talking to and with the social situation in which the conversation is taking place. The productive front includes a reasonable expression to respond in an appropriate way using language along with other forms. These interactive abilities include the motor-perceptive skills (sounds, stress and intonation patterns and interactions, skills (negotiation of meaning and management of interaction, i.e., who to say, how to say it and when to say it).
For the purpose of investigation both motor perceptive skills and interaction skills which are more manipulative and explorative in promoting learners use of Spoken English are studied. The average number of changes accomplished through reviewing and processing in each of the skills by each of the learner, both before and after the experiment, is analyzed in table 4.
A close look at table 4 shows that the learning strategies of reviewing and processing before the experiment were mainly concerned with motor-perceptive skills in promoting Spoken English. But, after the experiment the learning strategies of reviewing and processing include both motor-perceptive and interaction skills as there is a noticeable gain in the performance of each skill. Further, the learners also exhibited proper reciprocity and appropriacy while speaking. Thus, these findings reveal a qualitative and quantitative change in the interaction skills.
The results are strengthened with the findings of Anne Lazaraton (1992) as far as conversational features are concerned. She implies conversational analysis technique as a best methodology to interview process and declares that these informal conversational sequences reflect real-life problems and real-life situations for the participants. With a similar gain in conversational skills, the hypothesis that “learning strategies of reviewing and processing will improve learners’ oral expression in course of time” is confirmed.
4.5 A conclusion on the Investigation
Finally, when the analysis and inferences of the findings are viewed, it is interesting to indicate that a well-designed communicative syllabus incorporating the needs of the learners can, in a tension-free interactive classroom, effect conversational and oral skills of the learners through meaningful interactions. Hence, the course may be implemented on a large scale.
Appendix
Rating Scale of the Oral Situation Tests
|
Sl. No. |
Communicative event |
Skills tested |
Rating scale |
Marks allotted |
|
| 1 | 1.1 | Expressing information explicitly |
|
2 1 0 |
|
| 1.2 | Transcoding pictures into action |
|
2 0 |
||
| 1.3 | Skill in narrating sustaining interest |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 1.4 | Fluency in expression |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 1.5 | Articulating sounds |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 1.6 | Selecting suitable articles |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 1.7 | Using right tense forms |
|
3 2 1 0 |
||
| II | 2.1 | Expressing information explicitly |
|
2 1
0 |
|
| 2.2 | Transcoding diagrammatic display into speech |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 2.3 | Organizing the relevant details |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 2.4 | Expressing the change of state involved in process |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| 2.5 | Selecting suitable connectives |
|
2 1 0 |
||
| III | Carrying out a conversation |
3.1 | Using formulaic greetings and expressing gratitude |
|
3 0 |
| 3.2 | Maintaining the discourse (respond, turn take, continue etc.) |
|
3 2 1 0 |
||
| 3.3 | Expressing information explicitly |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| 3.4 | Maintaining conversation |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| 3.5 | Asking for information |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| 3.6 | Giving relevant responses |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| IV | Holding a discussion | 4.1 | Initiating in discourse (elicit inform, direct, etc.) |
|
3 1 |
| 4.2 | Organizing, developing, emphasizing information |
|
3 0 |
||
| 4.3 | Expressing conceptual meaning |
|
3 1 |
||
| 4.4 | Maintaining coherence and relevance in arguments |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| 4.5 | Classifying and clarifying ideas |
|
3 2 1 |
||
| 4.6 | Terminating the discourse, marking boundaries summing up etc. |
|
3 1 |
||
| 4.7 | Articulating stress patterns |
|
2 1 0 |
||
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Prof. R. Venkataeshwar Rao (retd.) Department of Education, IASE, OsmaniaUniversity for his guidance and invaluable advice in accomplishing my research.
My gratitude to Prof. V. Sudhaker, EFLU, Hyderabad for his useful and worthy suggestions in my work. people for their cooperation in
My heartfelt gratitude to my students for inspiring me to find a solution to their problems in Spoken English and for cooperating with me in conducting the experiment
Finally, I thank my parents for showing their concern about the progress of my research and supporting me all through the work.
References
- Hymes, D.H. “On Communicative Competence.” Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings. Eds. Pride J.B and.Holmes J. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972. 269-293. Print.
- Canale, M., and Swain, M. “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing.” Applied Linguistics, Vol.1:1 (1980): 1-47. Print.
- Marrow, Keith. “Communicative Language Testing Revolution or Evolution? Issues in Language Testing.” ELT Journal. o. 111 (1981): 9-35. Print.
- Xiao- Hun Huang and Margaret Van Naerssen. “Learning Strategies for Oral Communication.” Applied Linguistics Vol.8:3 (1987): 287-307. Print.
- Bygate, Martin. Speaking. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1987. Print.
- Wilkinson, Andrew. Spoken English. Birmingham: University of Birmingham, 1965. Print.
- Anne Lazaraton and Riggenbach Heidi. “Oral Skills Testing: A rhetorical Task Approach.” Issues in Applied Linguistics Vol.1:2 (1990): 196-217. Print
- Wilkins, D.A. Notional Syllabus: A taxonomy and its relevance to foreign language curriculum development. London: OxfordUniversity Press, 1976. Print.
- Munby, John. Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity, 1978. Print.
- Brumfit, C.J., and Johnson, K. The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press,1979. Print.
- Doughty Catherine and Teresa Pica. “Information Gap Tasks: Do They facilitate Second Language Acquisition?” TESOL Quarterly. Vol. 20:2 (1986): 305-323. Print.
- Ellis Rod. “Talking Shop, Second Language Acquisition Research: How does it help teachers?” ELT Journal. Vol. 47 (1993): 3-11. Print.
- Dedi Efrizal. “Improving Students’ Speaking through Communicative Language Method.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. 2:20 (October 2012): 127-134. www.ijhssnet.com. 6 April. 2013.
- Hayriye Kayi. “Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language.” The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. XII:11 (11 Nov.2006):iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html. 1 April. 2013.
- Zhengdong Gan. ‘Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications for ESL Curriculum Development in a Teacher Training Institution in Hong Kong.” Australian Journal of Teacher Education. Vol. 37 (1 Jan. 2012): ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent. 6 April. 2013.
- Katheleen M. Bailey. “Issues in Teaching Speaking Skills to Adult ESOL Leareners.” Language in India. Vol. 12:2 (2 Feb. 2012): http://www.languageinindia.com. 29 Mar. 2013.
Tables
Table 1 showing mean and S.D. of both the pre and post-tests
|
Measures of the pre-test |
Measures of the post-test |
|||||||||
|
N |
Mean |
Range |
S.D. |
Confidence intervals of |
Mean |
Range |
S.D. |
Confidence intervals of Pre-test mean |
||
|
|
|
|
|
0.95 level |
0.99 level |
|
|
|
0.95 level |
0.99 level |
|
12 |
26.16 |
18 |
5.76 |
22.9 |
21.87 |
70.14 |
16 |
5.64 |
67.23 |
66.23 |
Table 2 showing mean improvement and correlation
|
Mean improvement |
Correlation |
Confidence intervals |
|
|
0.95 levels |
0.99 levels |
||
|
44.25 |
0.93 |
0.76 |
0.66 |
Table 3 showing the ‘t’ value
|
Mean |
S.D. |
‘t’ value |
|
| Pre-test |
26.16 |
5.76 |
55.72 |
| Posttest |
70.41 |
5.64 |
|
Table 4 showing the reviewing and processing in spoken interactions of the learners, before and after the experiment
| Sl. No. | The skill reviewed and processed |
Average changes, per learner |
|
|
before the experiment |
after the experiment |
||
| 1) | Sounds and stress |
1.25 |
1.75 |
| 2) | Intonation patterns |
0.92 |
1.83 |
| 3) | Vocabulary |
1.08 |
1.67 |
| 4) | Conversational syntax |
0.0 |
1.92 |
| 5) | Negotiation skills |
0.96 |
2.08 |
Figures
Figure 1 showing the different stages of the Communicative Course Design
Figure 2 showing the Instructional Model
About the author
D. Vasundhara works as the Principal, Govt.DegreeCollege, Shadnagar. She has been for past 36 years. She has conducted Orientation Programmes for High School Teachers, Junior Lecturers and Degree Lecturers.She worked as Prof of English for 4 years at EIT, Asmara, Eritrea (N.E. Africa). She has Co-authored Methodology of Teaching English (2003) & Methods of Teaching English (2010) Telugu Akaademi, Hyderabad. She has designed a website for undergraduates, www.writeenglish.net.