Teach English in Jianchi Zhen - Ankang Shi

Speaking and writing are called productive skills. Both are used for the same purpose which is communication. When we learn a language, we listen to those around us at first (Listening). Then, we try to make utterances (Speaking) and finally we learn to read and write in that language. Speaking: To make students speak, the teacher must create a desire and need for them to communicate. Accuracy is the correct usage of grammar and fluency is the ability to use language quickly and to speak without stopping to think. Accuracy activity is used in study phase of the ESA lesson. The aim is to concentrate on producing correct language. These activities are usually controlled to ensure the accurate reproduction of language and to check how much the students have understood the grammar and language point. Fluency activity is used in the activate phase. This allows students to be creative and experiment with language. These activities are more concerned with the flow of communication and not on accuracy. Controlled activities such as drilling, or prompting are used in the study phase. Guided activities can either be used in the study or activate phase of the lesson. These are also accuracy based but unlike controlled activities they are little more creative and productive. Activities such as guided role play, model dialogues can be used where the output is controlled but the exact language is not. Creative communications are fluency based. The scenario is created by the teacher, but the content of the language is not. Activities such as free role play, discussions, debates, information gaps are examples of creative activities which can be used in the activate phase of the lesson. Some of the factors that stop students from speaking are lack of confidence, their fear of making mistakes and being reluctant. Sometimes the students lack interest in the topic that has been given. To make students speak, the teacher must encourage the students and create a comfortable atmosphere where the students can enjoy communicating. By giving them pair-work or group work, we can allow them to have interactions and reduce the stress of speaking alone. Plenty of controlled and guided practice must be given before starting any fluency activity. By giving them time to think, we can make them have a flow of thoughts before they start speaking. Before giving any speaking activity, we must make sure that the student have the language knowledge and we must have thought them patterns of real interactions. Guided preparations should be done by giving situations and several key phrases. Sentence stress, intonation and appropriate words must be taught to encourage and initiate dialogues, responding and giving follow ups. Use of tape scripts and other technologies can help the students in organizing thoughts and using language as a means of expression. As teachers, it is our duty to maximize opportunities for the students to speak by reducing teacher talk time. We must step back and observe. Pronunciation mistakes must not be corrected often while they are speaking. We can encourage speaking by asking eliciting questions such as “What do you mean?”, “Can you explain it?”. We can offer choices in topic for discussion as every student might not be comfortable with one topic. Through effective training, the students will learn to organize a logical sequence of thoughts and will effectively communicate ideas, feelings and expressions without causing any confusion in message delivery due to faulty pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary. Writing: Writing skill is often neglected and not developed as it is the most difficult skill most of the times. Writing is given as homework and not done in class due to lack of time. Writing is different from speaking as we cannot use contracted forms and vocabularies are formal. Factors that affect writing are handwriting, spelling, layout and punctuation. Handwriting is personal issue, but poor handwriting may influence the reader in a negative way. We must encourage students to improve the handwriting and special training will be needed for students whose native language used different alphabetical system. Incorrect spellings can not only create misunderstandings but also reflect the lack of education. Spellings in English are difficult because some words are pronounced the same but written differently (desert, dessert). Whereas some words are written the same but pronounced differently (read, read). This is because English is not a phonetic language. The best way to help students is through extensive reading. Layout and punctuation can be difficult to students as they might differ from those of their native language. Some languages have no punctuation, some have no gaps between words and some are written from right to left. Using punctuation is a matter of personal style, but totally incorrect usage can lead to awkward and clumsy looking piece of writing. For creative writing, the students must have a need or desire to write. They must be exposed to such writings and given chances to practice and time for planning. Creative writing such as poetry, stories and plays can give students a sense of pride and boost their self-confidence. To make writing meaningful, spellings and sentence construction must be taught. Pairing or group work can also be done and peer correction can also be encouraged. Situational writings such as postcards, formal letters or emails can be taught by giving plenty of samples. Choosing topics that are fun such as favorite movies, actors can motivate students and emphasize creative writing. Interesting homework can be given, and students should be encouraged to take risks without fear of mistakes. With proper techniques and practice, teaching productive skills can be quite effective and rewarding.