Нова українська школа: методика навчання англійської мови у 3-4 класах закладів загальної середньої освіти на засадах компетентнісного підходу - Крістіна Карпюк 2020

5.2. Speaking and pronunciation
5. Language Skills

Speaking means producing the information orally. As Thornbury (2013: 1) points out, it is «...so such a part of our daily life that we take it for granted» and we usually forget how we used to struggle to gain this skill until we need ’...to learn how to do it all over again in a foreign language». It is often put in contrast with fluency which is the ability to communicate in real-life conditions. Activities designed for developing this language skill give students a chance to do real-life speaking in the safety of the classroom, to use all or most of the lexis and grammar which they are familiar with and the more opportunities students get to practise that knowledge, the more automatic it becomes. Speaking also raises learners’ confidence if it is practised on a regular basis. This skill is important because no conversation can be done without it and many students believe that oral communication is the most significant one, since, as a rule, it is used most often in real life. Thus, it is necessary for them to talk as much as possible during the lesson. However, just as any other language skill, speaking includes its own difficulties:

✵ some pupils are shy or afraid by nature which makes speaking hard for them;

✵ not all learners can find a topic for discussion;

✵ only one person can talk at a time which means some students may have less time to speak than others;

✵ during some speaking tasks, pupils may use their first language instead of English.

In order to overcome these difficulties, the following principles should be included:

✵ inform students about the purpose and conditions of the speaking activity for them not to worry or be afraid to do it;

✵ pay attention to students’ interests when choosing the topic for speaking in order for them to be encouraged and motivated to talk;

✵ involve groupwork and pairwork so that all students will receive an opportunity to talk;

✵ make sure the speaking activity is suitable for their age and level and the language involved in it is not very hard.

There is a big variety of tasks which teachers can use in order to create a fine environment to practise speaking, for instance:

✵ simple greetings;

✵ games;

✵ conversations about yourself;

✵ mini-presentations;

✵ songs and rhymes;

✵ dialogues;

✵ drama activities;

✵ storytelling.

Simple greetings are usually not long and that is why it may sound strange to some teachers that they can actually help their students in their speaking. However, greetings are a great way of getting students ready to speak as well as starting and ending a lesson with enthusiasm. Games are a natural and most exciting way of foreign language learning for children and they often appear in groupwork or pairwork which means that there is a chance to involve more students in speaking and make talking more fun. As for the «conversations about yourself», young learners often love to talk about themselves and such conversations make them more confident as well as let them express themselves in a foreign language. Mini-presentations stimulate pupils to speak by the fact and they often involve creativity, discovering new information and many young learners find it exciting to share their data with others. Additionally, this form of speaking activity helps pupils to develop their presentation skills which are often needed later in life. In addition, they encourage learners to think more widely and develop their imagination. Songs and rhymes do provide learners not only with enthusiasm, but also with repetition (which is needed to remember the necessary vocabulary) and intonation practice. Dialogues involve pairwork, thus, they also ensure that all students have an opportunity to speak. Drama activities let pupils act and so they do not only make all students take part in speaking but also give them a chance to be someone else which is usually fun. Since some pupils can be shy or afraid to talk, both dialogues and drama activities can raise their bravery because it is often easier for them to talk to one or a few of their classmates instead of to the teacher in front of the whole class. Finally, storytelling is a part of many people’s daily life. Since it is natural, it can motivate students to speak. Primary pupils usually have a rich imagination and they can get creative and make their own stories which is quite stimulating for them at this time.

One of the main parts of speaking is pronunciation. This is an ability to produce words orally with the help of sounds and intonation. Many people associate good pronunciation with sounding like a native speaker. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is a challenge which needs to be considered. Because English is used in many different countries, there are many accents and dialects of it. The most popular ones in today’s world to teach are Southern British and American (this book is referred to the first one).

This part of speaking plays a significant role because mispronouncing different words can lead to misunderstanding or not understanding the speaker at all. In English, particularly, one sound can often change the meaning of the whole word (it /ɪt/ - eat /i:t/, think /θɪηk/ - sink /sɪηk/, chip /tʃɪp/ - ship /ʃɪp/, etc). The meaning of the word(s) can be saved by the context. However, if the number of the mispronounced words is rather big, even the context will not help. In addition, one of the features of a person who knows English well is his/her great pronunciation. As it was stated earlier, many learners, including children, consider that being a good foreign language user means sounding as a native speaker. That is why, as a rule, great pronunciation is as much important to them in speaking as grammar and vocabulary are.

The teacher is usually the first and main role model in good English to primary students. This is the reason why he/she should regularly practise his/her English (including the pronunciation), too. As for the pupils, they need to hear to someone’s speaking before taking action themselves. On one hand, they regularly listen to the teacher. On the other, they can listen to different recordings and watch videos with native speakers on a regular basis in order to hear how everything should be pronounced. Consequently, they start speaking themselves. Their pronunciation is not perfect right away, but with enough practice it can become so. In the last chapter of this book you will find some practical activities and exercises with the help of which you can make that happen.

Good pronunciation, grammar and rich vocabulary form good speaking. However, these are not the only things necessary for a pupil to be a fluent speaker. Many students may have good knowledge in those three spheres but still be scared or nervous to talk. Fluency means talking ’automatically’, without confusion and it is easier to achieve for children, since their brains are still quite ’flexible’. This means that learning English at a young age is the best time. That is why teachers should take the advantage of their primary pupils’ flexibility and let them listen to English and then practise it in speaking as much as possible.