Teaching Speaking Skill
in Secondary school
Lesia Khablo
Cherkassy district
School of Bilozirya №2
What is Speaking?
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).
Speaking is an interactive process
of constructing meaning that
involves producing and receiving
and processing information
(Brown, 1994. Burns & Joyce,
1997).
What Is "Teaching Speaking"?
 Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns.
 Use word and sentence stress, intonation and the rhythm.
 Select appropriate words and sentences according to the audience,
situation and subject matter.
 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence.
 Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
 Use the language quickly and confidently.
Teaching Speaking Skills
Listening
Receptive skills
Speaking
Reading
Productive skills
Writing
Oral
communication
Written
communication
Developing Oral
Communication Skills
Main problems:
 syllabus requirements
 language and speech
2 types:
 physiological and linguistic
characteristics of speech
 ways of creating situations
 prepared, unprepared and inner
speech
 types of exercises.
productivespeaking
receptivelistening
Language and Speech
Language
Philological
Logical
Speech
Psychological
Linguistic
Psychological
Characteristics of Speech
 Speech must be motivated;
 Speech is always addressed to an interlocutor;
 Speech is always emotionally coloured;
 Speech is always situational.
Linguistic Characteristics
of dialogue Speech
1. The use of incomplete sentences (ellipses) in
response:
e.g. Where do you live? - In Cherkassy.
How many books do you have? – One.
2. The use of contracted forms: doesn’t, won’t, haven’t,
can’t.
3. The use of some abbreviations: lab, bike, math’s,
fridge, comp, etc.
4. The use of conversational tags.
Prepared and Unprepared Speech
Types of Classroom Speaking
Performance
 1.
Imitative
 2. Intensive
 3.
Responsive
 4.
Transactional (dialogue)
 5.
Interpersonal (dialogue)
Imitative type
• Keep them short (a few minutes of a class hour
only).
•Keep them simple (preferably just one point at a
time).
•Make sure students know why they are doing the
drill.
•Limit them to phonology or grammar points.
•Make sure they ultimately lead to communicative
goals.
•Don't overuse them.
Responsive type
T: How are you today?
S: Pretty good, thanks, and you?
T: What is the main idea in this essay?
S: The United Nations should have more authority.
S1 So, what did you write for question number one?
S2: Well, I wasn't sure, so I left it blank.
Transactional (dialogue)
T: What is the main idea in this essay?
S: The United Nations should have more authority.
T: More authority than what?
S: Than it does right now.
T: What do you mean?
S: Well, for example, the UN should have the power to
force a country like Iraq to destroy its nuclear
weapons.
Interpersonal (dialogue)
•
•
•
•
•
a casual register;
colloquial language;
emotionally charged language;
slang;
ellipsis, etc.
Teaching Two Forms of Speaking
Teaching
Monologue
Teaching
Dialogue
3 stages in teaching
monologue
The statement level
 We are proud of…
 Pupil 1: We are
proud of our
country.
 Pupil 2: We are
proud of our
sportsmen.
 Pupil 3: We are
proud of our
school.
 Substitution: I have a 
book (a pen, a ruler)

 Extention: I have an
interesting book;
 I have an interesting 
book at home
 Transformation: He 
has a book; he has
no book.

 Completion: If I have
time I’ll…
eg. a) give it a name:
We write with… - It is
a pen.
b) say the
opposite:
I live in… - I don’t live
in … .
He likes to play… - I
don’t like to play…
The utterance level
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teacher: She cut her finger.
Pupil: Who cut her finger?
Class: Ann.
When did she cut it?
Yesterday.
What did she cut it with?
With a knife.
Why did she cut her finger?
Because the knife was sharp.
Pupil: yesterday Ann cut her finger. She cut it with a
knife. The knife was sharp.
The discourse level
 pupils are asked to speak on a picture, film
 comment on a text they have read or heard
 make up a story of their own.
The teacher supplies the pupils with “what to speak
about.”
e.g. “The farmer’s treasure” …
Teaching Dialogue
A conversation between 2 interlocutors.
It is always situational and emotionally
coloured.
Dialogue is generally unprepared.
3 stages in teaching dialogue
1. Receptive.
2. Reproduction:
immediate;
delayed;
modified.
3. Constructive or creative.
4 main dialogue structures:
 1. Question - response

eg. -When did you visit your dentist?

- Last week.
2. Statement - question

e.g. – We are going to travel to Crimea.

- What kind of transport will you choose?
 3. Statement - statement

e.g. – I’d like to go to the cinema on Saturday.

- I advise you to visit the cinema on Monday or Tuesday.
4. Question - question
e.g. – Can I help you?
- How can I get to the hotel?
Organizing Communicative Activities
Picture difference tasks
Group planning tasks
List sequencing tasks
Pyramid discussion
Role Play
Simulations
Brainstorming
Story Completion
Suggestions For Teachers in
Teaching Speaking






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Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak;
Try to involve each student in every speaking activity;
Reduce teacher speaking time in class;
Indicate positive signs;
Do not correct students' pronunciation mistakes very;
Involve speaking activities not only in class but also out of class;
Circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right
track;
 Provide the vocabulary beforehand and diagnose problems.
Conclusion
Teaching speaking is a very important part of
language learning. The ability to communicate
clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of
the learner in school and success later in every
phase of life. It makes students more active in the
learning process and at the same time makes their
learning more meaningful and fun for them.
References
1.
Brown, G. and G. Yule. 1983. Teaching the Spoken Language.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. Burns, Anne. 1998. Teaching speaking. Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics 18, 102-123.
3. Green, F.E. Christopher and J.Lam. Developing discussion skills in
the ESL classroom. Methodology in Language Teaching. New
York: Cambridge University Press. 225-234
4. http://itesij.org