Introduction to Spoken English

Part-I
Semester I

Prof. Younnes ELKHADIRI

 Introduction
• Speaking is “the process of building and sharing
meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal
symbols, in a variety of contexts”. (Chaney, 1998, P.
13)
• Language Learners equate mastery of the langauge
with a command of speaking.
• "Many if not most foreign language learners are
interested in learning to speak" (Ur, 1984, P.120)
• “Success is measured in terms of the ability to
carry out a conversation in the (target) language”
(Nunan 1991)
 Course Objectives
Spoken English Course is designed to make students
more conscious of the actual functioning of spoken
English: its stress and its pronunciation; the course is
also intended to practice and improve the students’
ability to speak English and to listen to and understand
spoken English.
The course consists one and half lesson each week which
is taught in small groups to encourage as much
individual active participation by the students as
possible.
 Cont.
The course involves practical oral work of a more
theoretical nature. The theoretical work consists of:
 Phonetics: the phonetic alphabet will be introduced and
there will be considerable practice in the use of phonetic
transcription; by the end of the year, the students should be
able to use phonetic transcription.
 Word stress: students will learn how to distinguish patterns
of stress in different words. These words will also be
transcribed in phonetics.
 Sentence stress: students will learn how to distinguish and
reproduce the stress patterns used in English sentences; these
sentences will also be transcribed into phonetics.
 The practical work will include discussions, debates, oral
comprehension/presentation, dictation and note taking.
 Learning Outcomes
• By the end of this course, students should be
able to:
 Become aware of the differences that exist between the
American and British pronunciations and hence acquire an
accurate accent.
 Develop basic speaking skills.
 Transcribe English sounds.
 Get engaged in basic oral discussions on different topics.
 Understand English idioms and proverbs
 Reading Materials!

• Hancock, M. (2003). English Pronunciation

in Use-Introduction. Cambridge University
Press
• Marks, J. (2007). English Pronunciation in
Use. Cambridge University Press
• Kreidler Charles, W. (2004). Charles, The
Pronunciation of English: A Course
Book. Cornwall: Blackwell Publishing.
 The importance of Speaking!

• Speaking is an act of making vocal sounds. We can

say that speaking means to converse, or expressing
one's thoughts and feelings in spoken language.
• To speak often implies conveying information. It
may be from an informal remark to a scholarly
presentation to a formal address.
 Speaking skills:
 Speaking skills are the skills that give us the ability
to communicate effectively.
 These skills allow the speaker, to convey his
message in a passionate, thoughtful, and convincing
manner.
 Speaking skills also help to assure that one won't be
misunderstood by those who are listening.
 Speaking skills allow us to:
• Engage with our peers through discussion of readings,
thoughts, and ideas
• Deepen our thinking on a topic and strengthen our
arguments by putting forward our own ideas and opinions
• Work together with other people in our field who share
our interests to exchange ideas and advance knowledge
• Create an active and lively space for learning and
thinking, where knowledge can be developed and ideas
can be tested and refined
 Speaking Situations!
I- Interactive speaking

Situations include face-to-face conversations and

telephone calls, in which we are alternately
listening and speaking, and in which we have a
chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or
slower speech from our conversation partner.
 II- Partially interactive
Such as when giving a speech to a live audience,
where the convention is that the audience does
not interrupt the speech.
The speaker, nevertheless, can see the audience
and judge from the expressions on their faces
and body language whether or not he or she is
being understood.
 III-Non-interactive

Such as when recording a speech for a radio

broadcast or recording a video.
 Before Speaking!
Be an active listener
Be a quick organizer of thoughts
Structure your speech in your mind
Do some deep breathing.
Practice the first minute in your mind
Nervousness Is Normal. Just go!
Transform your fear into energy.
 Tips for Speaking!
1. Be prepared and practice
2. Know your audience
3. Keep it short and simple
4. Interact with your audience
5. Speak with sincerity and passion
6.Stay focused
7. Close your speech in a memorable way
8. Fluency
 Barriers while speaking!
• Unclear messages.
• Lack of consistency in the communication process.
• Incomplete sentences.
• Not understanding the receiver.
• Words can have different meanings to different
listener.
• Use of negative words.
• LACK OF CONFIDENCE
• POOR VACABULARY
• SHYNESS
• BAD PRONOUNCIATION SKILLS
What can make speaking difficult?
 Difficulty 1: listening
A conversation is only 50% YOU. The other 50%.....

?
If you don’t understand what someone is saying,
it is difficult to reply.

• Decoding: individual words & main message

• Speed of the other speaker
• Accents
 So what can you do? Step 1
• Practise listening every day: 10 – 15 minutes.

• Learn phrases for when you don’t understand.

XQQQQME?
 Useful phrases!
• I do not quite follow.
• Excuse me?
• I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that.
• Could you repeat that, please?
• Could you say that again, please?
• Could you slow down a bit, please?
• Do you mean…?
• If I understand correctly,…?
• Could you rephrase that, please?
 Difficulty 2: vocabulary

“What I mean is… uh……. that thingy that sort of does

something when you do a kind of… I mean…”
 So what can you do? Step 2
• Learn new vocabulary and revise regularly.

• Use a “filler” > gives you time to think.

• Rephrase: use words you do know.

• Activate your existing vocabulary.

 Activating vocabulary
- Running commentary in your head
- Word games: mind maps, puzzles, crosswords…
Difficulty 3: grammar
 What can you do? Step 3
• Do NOT worry about mistakes. We all make them.

• You are a learner: you are allowed to make mistakes.

Lucky you!
 But do…
• Improve your grammar & vocabulary by reading.

• Tip: choose something you like!

 Difficulty 4: pronunciation

– pronunciation
 So what can you do? Step 4
• Again: do your listening!

• Practise your pronunciation (10-15 min. a day):

- concentrated practice
- fluency (reading aloud)
Difficulty 5: confidence
 Step 5

• Speak! Practice makes perfect Improvement!

• Set up a discussion group.
• Skype with someone in English.
 Non-stop
talking

• Choose a topic and speak about it for as long as you can.

• Your partner will time how long you speak.
• Silences do not count, so use a “filler”!
 Speaking game
• Pretend you are meeting for the first time.
• Start a conversation and try to slip in the sentence you have
been given (try to sound natural).
• Your partner has to spot which sentence you were given.

Talk together for at least 3 minutes. You’ll get:

• 1 point for spotting your partner’s sentence.
• 2 points for slipping in your own sentence without the other
person noticing it.
So to become more fluent, you need to….

• Do plenty of listening
• Use fillers to give you time to think
• Activate your vocabulary
• Read as much as you can
• Practise your pronunciation & read aloud
• Not worry about making mistakes

• But most of all…

Speak out!