What is involved in speaking English competently?
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Basic distinction:
 accuracy-based exercises
 fluency-based exercises
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Distinguishing criterion: degree of control
Control
Performing memorized dialogues
Contextualized drills
Cued dialogues
Discourse chains
Role play
Creativity
Improvisation
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Distinguishing criterion: degree of authentic communication
Non-communicative activities
activities
Communicative
- no communicative desire
- a desire to communicate
- no communicative purpose
- a communicative purpose
- form not content
- content not form
- one language item
- variety of language
- teacher intervention
- no teacher intervention
- materials control
- no materials control
BUT:
“Creative” and “communicative” does not automatically
mean “good”!
Why?
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Control can be necessary for various reasons:
 reduction of stress / anxiety, especially for weaker
students
 students may not be used to classroom situations
where peers initiate the language exchanges →
reluctance or downright hostility
 students will often revert to using their mother tongue if
not under scrutiny by the teacher because
 they feel social unease at using a foreign language
with their peers
 they perceive the task as being difficult to complete
in any language
 affective involvement may lead them to use the
quickest and easiest way of communication
Therefore:
(1) Students need a reason for using English (→ purpose),
other than the teacher telling them to do the activity.
(2) Teachers should not be too ambitious at the beginning:
short periods of time + relatively easy tasks, then
gradual increase.
(3) Praise students who make an effort to use English.
(4) Point out that for this particular type of activity errors
are not so important.
(5) Ask students to discuss and reflect upon what they
used the mother tongue for during the exercise. Prove
that with a little more effort they could have found a way
of saying it in English.
Advisable in the early stages of fluency activities:
 lexical or textual input
 opportunity for feedback in the mother tongue.