Teaching speaking in English: from

theory to practice

Name: Φωτεινή Μανιάτη

ID Number: 1563201600108

ASSIGNMENT 1: Write a brief essay (about 250-300 wrds) commenting on the similarities
and differences in the way speaking is processed in L1 and L2 and how the
comparison/contrast of the characteristics of spoken discourse of the two languages is
important for foreign language teaching purposes. In your discussion refer also to the
rules of spoken interaction and the components of communicative competence especially
for teaching purposes.

Speaking is one of man’s most complex skills. It is an interactive process of constructing

meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. It requires extensive
interaction, in order to develop. Every developmentally healthy human being has a first
language (L1) and also most of the people nowadays possess a second/foreign language in
their linguistic repertoire.
Speaking is processed differently in L1 and L2. The acquisition of L1, happens naturally,
unimpeded, leading to true communicative competence and also the speaker builds his/her
phonological system based on concrete representations and then proceeds to abstractions. The
assimilation of the phonological rules is unconscious and takes place in a natural setting. The
speakers are more concerned with communication than the linguistic form. On the other
hand, L2 learning occurs in an artificial setting and the phonological system of the user is bult
on a number of abstract representations and then it moves to concreteness. The learners are
taught grammatical and phonological constraints in the form of generalized rules. Our
face to face interaction with other people are governed by a complex set of rule. These rules
of cource are different among culteres. The body posture,the facial expressions, the hand
movements and the speech intonation convey a signal to the interlocutor. Hesitations, turn
taking, turn giving and gestures are parts of the spoken interaction. The
ELT classroom during the 1980s and early 1990s focused on communicative materials which
catered less on structural input and more of scenarios to prompt natural dialogue. The focus
was on fluency rather than accuracy. The term ‘communicative competence’ is a term coined
by Dell Hymes in 1966 in reaction to Noam Chomsky’s ‘linguistic competence’ According to
communicative competence, learners should not only use the language correctly but also
appropriately. Communicative competence consists of the linguistic competence ( the
knowledge of the language code), the sociolinguistic competence (the knowledge of the
sociocultural rules of use), the semantic competence ( knowledge of linguistic and non
linguist features of spoken discourse) and the strategic competence (the knowledge of the
communicative strategies that speakers implement which accommodate an effective oral
interaction and stop breakdowns in oral communication.

MINI ASSIGNMENT 2 : (250-300 words) Consider a listening lesson from Think Teen (1st
grade, Junior High school, p 73). Evaluate tasks 1, 2 and comment on the amount, type of
speaking(including pronunciation) that these tasks promote.