Unit 8 · Speaking

Speaking is one of the four language skills and, like writing, a productive skill: it involves producing language rather than receiving it. Very simply, speaking involves using speech to communicate meanings to other people.

◆What is speaking?

Speaking is one of the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Speaking and writing are productive skillsIn language teaching we talk about the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Speaking and writing are productive skills because learners produce language. Reading and listening and not productive skills. See receptive skills. click to keep open · see glossary. That means that unlike listening and reading, they involve producing language rather than receiving it. Very simply, we can say that speaking involves using speech to communicate meanings to other people. In this unit we look at how we do this.

◆Key concepts

Tick the things on this list which we often do when we speak:

1. pronounce words
2. answer questions
3. use intonation
4. ask for clarification and/or explanation
5. monitor and correct ourselves
6. take part in discussions
7. use an appropriate register
8. take part in conversations
9. greet people
10. plan what we will say
11. smile
12. ask for and give information
13. use grammar and vocabulary
14. use word and sentence stress
15. start speaking when someone else stops
16. tell stories
17. use language accurately
18. paraphrase, i.e. find other ways of saying things
19. interrupt other speakers
20. hesitate

When we speak we usually do all these things, except we don't usually plan what we will say, nor do we use language completely accurately, i.e. use correct forms of grammar and vocabulary. As we saw in Unit 7 Listening, pressure of time does not allow us to do these things when speaking, unless we make prepared speeches or presentations. You can see from this list that speaking involves several subskills:

• making use of grammar, vocabulary and functionsFunctions are a way of describing how we use language. click to keep open · see glossary
• making use of registerThe formality or informality of language used in a particular situation. Formal register or formal language is language which is used in serious or important situations, e.g. in a job application. Informal register or informal language is language used in rela… click to keep open · see glossary to speak appropriately
• using features of connected speechSpoken language in which the words join to form a connected stream of sounds. In connected speech some sounds in words may be left out or some sounds may be pronounced in a weak way or some words might join together, e.g. Is he busy  /ɪzibɪzi/. See linking, w… click to keep open · see glossary
• using body languageThe use of gestures, facial expressions and movements of the body to communicate meaning. click to keep open · see glossary
• producing different text typesText types is something else good readers can do. click to keep open · see glossary
• oral fluencySee fluency. click to keep open · see glossary (speaking at a normal speed, with little hesitation, repetition or self-correction, and with smooth use of connected speech)
• using interactive strategiesInteraction is two-way communication between listener and speaker, or reader and text. Interactive strategies are the ways used, especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said or to keep communication going, e.g. eye contact, us… click to keep open · see glossary (ways of keeping people interested and involved in what we are saying).

Our purpose in speaking is to communicate meaning and we do all these things to achieve this.

We can see that speaking involves a lot more than just using grammar and vocabulary accurately in speech. When we speak we constantly have in mind the person we are speaking to and our wish to communicate our meaning successfully to them. We use interactive strategies to help us achieve this. These include using body language such as gestures, eye contact, facial expressions and movement to put our message across more strongly and clearly, and functions such as clarifying our meaning (e.g. 'I mean ...', 'What I'm trying to say is ...'), asking for opinions (e.g. 'What do you think?'), agreeing (e.g. 'Yes, that's right') to keep the interactionInteraction is two-way communication between listener and speaker, or reader and text. Interactive strategies are the ways used, especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said or to keep communication going, e.g. eye contact, us… click to keep open · see glossary (communication) going and check that it is successful. Turn-takingWhen someone speaks in a conversation this is called a turn. Speaking and then allowing another person to speak in reply is called ‘turn-taking’. Teachers teach learners language they can use in turn-taking, e.g. What do you think? Do you agree with John? click to keep open · see glossary is another interactive strategy we use. It involves using intonation, language or body language to show you want to join a conversation or end one, keep speaking or invite other participants to join in. We use it to make sure we get our message across. Paraphrasing can also be thought of as an interactive strategy. We paraphrase when we judge our communication cannot be or has not been understood. We use other words to say the same thing in order to get our message across.

Speaking also involves making use of all the features of connected speech to convey our message. We use intonation, word and sentence stress, accurate individual sounds, linking and contractions to help convey our meaning.

FluencyOral fluency – being able to speak at a natural speed without stopping, repeating, or self-correcting. In oral fluency activities, learners are encouraged to focus on communicating meaning and ideas, rather than trying to be correct. click to keep open · see glossary, accuracyThe ability to do something without making mistakes. Accuracy is the use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an accuracy activity, teachers and learners usually focus on using and producing language correctly. See fluency. click to keep open · see glossary and appropriacyLanguage which is suitable in a particular situation; e.g. it might be appropriate to say Hi in one situation but Good morning in another. See inappropriate, formal language, informal language, register. click to keep open · see glossary also play a major part in successful oral communication. Fluency helps ensure that our listener will keep on listening to us without getting bored or irritated by too many hesitations or too slow a pace of speaking. Accuracy of grammar, use of vocabulary and the production of sounds help keep our message clear, and appropriacy is another way of keeping our listeners involved. We use the right register to treat our listener with the appropriate degree of formality or informality in order not to upset them or make them feel uncomfortable.

Finally, as with the other language skills, speaking also involves being able to deal with different text types, e.g. taking part in conversations, discussions or telephone calls, giving presentations, telling stories. All these text types have different features. Buying sweets in a shop, for example, involves different speaking skills from telling your friends about the exciting thing that happened to you at the weekend or presenting the results of project work to classmates. They involve using different functions, different levels of formality, different amounts of speaking, different amounts of interaction, different structures and vocabulary.

There are many aspects of speaking for a learner to learn. We can see that as with the other language skills, speaking is a complex activity.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you:

• Speaking involves a range of different subskills. Learners can benefit from practice in each of these to develop their speaking. We can help our learners get this practice by focusing regularly on particular aspects of speaking, e.g. fluency, pronunciation, register, grammatical accuracy, body language, interactive strategies, interactive speaking (e.g. conversations, discussions), speaking at length (e.g. presentations, giving points of view, etc.).
• In many classrooms, controlled practiceSee practice. click to keep open · see glossary activities (activities in which the learners are required to repeatedly use the language that they have just been taught) make up a large part of speaking practice. These activities include drills, repetition and saying things learnt by heart (things that are memorised). They focus on accuracy in speaking by helping students to use grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation correctly. They can motivate learners by giving them confidence that what they are saying is right. Controlled practice activities provide useful, if limited, preparation for speaking, as they do not give practice in fluency, interaction or successfully communicating a message.
• Fluency activities allow learners to choose the language they use to speak. They include tasks such as information-gap activities, problem solving, project work, discussions, explaining solutions. All these tasks involve learners in communicating new information with one another. As they speak, learners need to try to get their message across to one another. These activities give learners the opportunity to practise communication, interaction and fluency.
• Pair and group work increase the opportunity for communication in the classroom as more people speak than if just one learner is speaking to the teacher while the rest of the class listens. In bigger classes, and in classes that are not used to working in pairs and groups, the teacher may need to introduce these activities carefully to make sure learners see the point of them and make good use of them.
• In controlled practice activities, the teacher usually corrects learners' accuracy, as accuracy is the purpose of these activities. In fluency activities it is advisable not to correct learners immediately. In this way learners are given the opportunity to focus on communicating their message. The teacher can note down mistakes and work on them with the class after the activity.
• Because speaking is such a complex skill, learners in the classroom may need a lot of help in preparing for speaking, e.g. practice of necessary vocabulary, time to organise their ideas and what they want to say, practice in pronouncing new words and expressions, practice in carrying out a task, before they speak freely. Or teachers may prefer to ask learners to carry out tasks and then focus on language problems afterwards. Some experts believe that focusing on language after rather than before a task makes learners more interested in learning about the language, as it helps them see the purpose of focusing on the language.
• Learners, especially beginners and children, may need time to take in and process all the new language they hear before they produce it in speaking. In some classrooms, especially primary ones, learners are allowed a silent periodThe time when learners who are beginning to learn a first (or second) language prefer to listen (or read) before producing the language; e.g. babies have a silent period when they listen to their parents before starting to try to speak themselves. click to keep open · see glossary at the beginning of a course, so that they have time to listen to and process the language first.

The activities in a speaking lesson often follow this pattern:

1. Lead-inThe activity or activities used to prepare learners to work on a text, topic or task. A lead-in often includes an introduction to the topic of the text or task and possibly study of some new key language required for the text or task. click to keep open · see glossary: an introduction to the topic of the lesson plus activities including a focus on the new language.
2. Practice activities or tasks in which learners have opportunities to use the new language — these activities may move from controlled to freer activities or a teacher may choose to do them in the opposite order, depending on the class and learning context.
3. Post-task activities: activities in which learners do free speaking activities on the topic and/or work on the language used in the tasks.

Reading, listening and integrated skillsA lesson or activity that combines several language skills, e.g. reading a text and then discussing it. click to keep open · see glossary lessons (lessons combining use of several language skills) also give opportunities for speaking practice as learners focus on language before the text and discuss its topic, and then after they have worked on understanding the text they can go on to do speaking activities related to its topic.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.