The Speech Communication Process

Speaking is more than just a person talking to a group. Speech initiates a

communication process that links the speaker and listener in both verbal and non verbal

ways.

Important Elements of the Communication Process

Speaker

The speaker initiates the process by preparing a speech for a specific audience.

The speaker analyzes the audience, formulates a specific purpose, gathers and

organizes the information, and delivers the speech in a practical and confident

manner.

Message

The message is the speaker’s vehicle for communicating her ideas to the

audience. The message is determined by the speaker’s goal: that is, does the

speaker want to inform, to persuade, or to entertain? The main ideas are

arranged so they stand out and are strongly supported with evidence and visuals

to make them clear and interesting.

Channel

Words, voice, body language, and visual aids are the channels you use to

convey the message. You want to use these channels so your message is

presented clearly and effectively.

Listener

This is the person or audience for whom the message is intended. If the speech

is to be effective, the listener must be involved and capable of understanding.

Lack of interest or concentration and poor listening skills will cause the process

to break down and make the speech ineffective.

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Feedback

Feedback is the listener’s response to the speaker. Feedback influences the

direction, progress, and quality of the message. Being attentive, showing interest

through facial expression and posture encourages the speaker to communicate

effectively. Faking attention, showing disinterest, or just plain rudeness prevents

effective communication and can even stop communication altogether.

SPEAKING

IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING PRACTICE

At School

If you go to a language school, you should use the opportunity to speak to your teachers and other students. When you go home, you can still practise listening, reading and writing, but you probably can't practise speaking. If your teacher asks you a question, take the opportunity to answer. Try to say as much as possible. If your teacher asks you to speak in pairs or groups with other students, try to say as much as possible. Don't worry about your mistakes. Just speak!

Conversation Clubs

Many cities around the world have conversation clubs where people can exchange one language for another. Look in your local newspaper to find a conversation club near you. They are usually free although some may charge a small entrance fee.

Shopping

If you are living in an English-speaking country, you have a wonderful opportunity. Practise speaking to the local people such as shop assistants or taxi drivers. Even if you don't want to buy anything, you can ask questions about products that interest you in a shop. "How much does this cost?" "Can I pay by cheque?" "Which do you recommend?" Often you can start a real conversation - and it costs you nothing!

Pubs and Bars

Even if you don't live in an English-speaking country, there are often American, British, Irish and Australian pubs in many large cities. If you can find one of these pubs, you'll probably meet many people speaking English as a first or second language.

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Language is all around You

Everywhere you go you find language. Shop names, street names, advertisements, notices on buses and trains... Even if you are not in an English-speaking country, there are often a lot of English words you can see when walking in the street, especially in big cities. And there are always numbers. Car numbers, telephone numbers, house numbers... How can this help you? When you walk down the street, practise reading the words and numbers that you see. Say them to yourself. It's not exactly a conversation, but it will help you to "think" in English. For example, if you walk along a line of parked cars, say the number on each car quickly as you pass it. Test yourself, to see how fast you can walk and still say each number. But don't speak too loud!

Songs and Video

Listen to the words of an English-language song that you like. Then repeat them to yourself and try to sing with the music. Repeat the words as many times as possible until they become automatic. Soon you'll be singing the whole song. Or listen to one of your favourite actors on video and repeat one or two sentences that you like. Do it until it becomes automatic. It's good practice for your memory and for the mouth muscles that you need for English.

Above all, don't be afraid to speak. You must try to speak, even if you make mistakes. You cannot learn without mistakes. There is a saying: "The person who never made a mistake never made anything." So think of your mistakes as something positive and useful.

Speak as much as possible! Make as many mistakes as possible! When you know that you have made a mistake, you know that you have made progress.

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Language

Language is very important; without it, we would not be able to think and thinking is

talking silently to ourselves. To communicate our thinking to our listener, we need to

select words that are clear and appropriate not only to us, but also to our listeners. To

better choose and use words with maximum effectiveness, let us begin with some basic

concepts-the definition off language, its features and its characteristics.

Language is a system of sounds and symbols used to communicate ideas and feelings.

Features of Language

Language is a System

Language is a vehicle by which the individual is able to receive messages from

inside (himself) or outside (others). The individual processes the information

inside himself and responds by sending messages through language outside.

Language is Symbolic

Language is collection of symbols which possess certain properties. It contains of

letters of the alphabet along with punctuation marks such as commas, periods,

and so on. In mathematics, elements are integers zero to nine plus other

symbols like plus, minus, multiplication and division signs. The elements by

themselves have no meaning. In order to have meaning, they have to be

arranged in their proper sequence.

Language is Conventional

Language is the means accepted by large number of people. It is one of the

important means by which a group or culture identifies itself.

Language is Learned

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Each culture creates its own language to modify the general language to meet its

own needs.

Language Changes

Language is one of the ways groups identify themselves. Unique expressions,

new words and distinct language patterns are formed from language.

Language is a complex system of symbols shared and used for communication by

members of the same community, the same geographical area or the same cultural

tradition such as English, Spanish, Finnish, Tagalog, Ilocano, Ibanag, Cebuano and

Waray. People who use a language in communicating with one another constitute a

society-a language community-like the English language community, the Spanish

language community, and so on. Within that community, there are differences. When

people of the same native can understand one another but notices differences in each

other’s speech, we say they speak dialects of that language. Dialect differences can be

recognized by means of intonation, vocabulary differences or alternative ways of

forming certain questions.

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Characteristics of Language

o Language has Symbols

Each language contains elements which can create meaning when put together

in certain ways. For instance, the elements of written English language are letters

of the alphabet and punctuation marks. Those of the spoken language are

sounds, pauses, pitch, accent or stress and intonation.

o Language is Rule-Governed

It is a system and is, therefore, governed by rules. There are at least four rules:

Phonological Rules

Govern the information of sounds into words. For example, consonant

clusters such as str- in stream and –wth in growth are possible in English,

but not in Filipino; ng, on the other hand can occur in initial, medial and

final positions in Filipino.

Syntactic Rules

Govern the arrangement of words into sentences.

Semantic Rules

Govern the way in which the speakers of a language interpret or attach

meaning to a particular symbol.

Relative Rules

Govern the appropriate interpretation of a message in a given context.

o Language is a Creative Act

We are not born with a language; we must learn it. Each generation in one

language community learns the language from older meanings. Language

changes. So, some words and meanings cease to be useful and younger

generations invent new words and attach new meaning to existing ones.

o Meanings are in people, not words

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When words are transmitted between communicators, only sound and light

waves reach them. Meaning cannot be delivered like a bouquet of flowers or a

box of chocolates. Hence, when you say the “Filipino way of life”, four listeners

can interpret it in four different ways depending on their social, cultural, individual

orientations and schemata.

o Language is Culture Bound

Words do not have meanings, but are capable of conveying meaning to people of

the same culture-people who can perceive, identify, and interpret them. The point

is that commu8nication takes place among with a large culture background.

o Language develops Attitudes

The words we use actualize the way we look at the things around us; hence, they

affect the way we behave. For instance, the power of language extends to the

following:

Personal names, which are more than means of identification as they

shape the way others think of us, the way we view ourselves and the way

we act; hence more common names are better unusual ones.

Style of speaking/writing, so that scholarly speaking and academic

writing of high level professional jargon are usually judged as more

credible and competent than those spoken or written in more readable

English with shorter words and clearer sentences.

Speaker’s fluency in the language and his/her style of speech,

making listeners regard as more intelligent, employable, professionally

capable and socially acceptable speakers who communicate flawlessly in

standard English.

Names of people’s positions, role or function, so that stenographer or

a clerk is happier if he/she is called a “secretary”; a garbage collector’

morale is raised if he becomes a “sanitation engineer”; a repairman a

“maintenance expert”.

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Sexist and/or racist words, which result to offensive connotations, so

that the word “mankind” has been replaced by “humanity/human

race/people”; “man-made”, by “artificial/manufactured/synthetic”.

Labels, with other damaging potentials to be labeled-“dumb”, “lazy”,

“stubborn”, “pig”, “elephant”, “snake”.

o Language mirrors Attitudes

The way we used words show our feelings of control, attraction, responsibility

and the like.

o Effective oral language is clear and appropriate

Our language is clear when it is grammatically correct and when it uses exact,

simple and easy-to-understand words.

o Facility in the use of language can be developed

We can hone our language skills; we only need to have the determination,

willingness and patience to attain it.

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TEACHING SPEAKING

OPENINGS

Conversations do not simply begin at random; there are various ways of starting a

conversation and most of these are fairly ritualized as, for example, in different

sequences of greetings and introductions. There are also some accepted ways of how

to initiate a chat and various strategies (which students often don’t know) of how to turn

a brief actual exchange (e.g., buying something in a shop) into an informal

conversation.

TURN-TAKING

How do people know when to speak in conversations so that they do not talk at the

same time as the others? There are in fact, some subtle rules and signals to determine

who talks, when and for how long; if there were not, conversation would constantly

break down. Researchers have labeled these rules turn taking mechanisms since they

organize how participants in conversation take turns to speak. Unfortunately, the

language classroom does not offer too many opportunities for students to develop their

awareness of turn taking rules and to practice turn taking skills. However, for many

students turn taking ability does not come automatically and therefore needs to be

developed consciously.

INTERRUPTING

One special skills in turn taking is interrupting, which is a definite conversational don’t in

many cultures. In English, a certain amount of interruption is tolerated (especially when

the purpose is to sort out some problem of understanding), but to much appears rude.

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Interruptions are almost always introduced by set phrases, which provide polite and

natural ways of performing this rather delicate task. Students should be familiar with

these.

ADJACENCY PAIRS

There are some utterances, e.g., questions, invitations, requests, apologies,

compliments, etc., which require an immediate response or reaction from the

communication partner. These utterances and their responses (together) are known by

linguistics as adjacency pairs. A special feature of adjacency pairs is that after the first

speaker’s utterance, two different reactions are usually possible from the other speaker:

1. an expected, polite reaction, e.g., accept an invitation, comply with a request,

2. an unexpected or less common reaction, e.g., turn down an invitation, refuse to

comply with a request.

The two types of reactions have been called preferred and dispreferred answers

respectively. Just like native speakers, language learners typically find dispreferred

answers much more difficult to produce, partly because they are more difficult

languagewise: in many cultures when you give dispreferred answer, you must be tactful,

must be indirect in order not to sound rude, you need to apologize and offer

justifications, and for language learners these require practice.

CONVERSATIONAL ROUTINES

A typical feature of natural conversation is the wide use of fixed expressions or

conversational routines. These are what make conversation rich. Polished

conversationalists are in command of hundreds, if not thousands, of such phrases and

use them, for example to break smoothly into a conversation, to hold the listeners

interest, to change the subject, to react to what others say, and to step elegantly out of

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the conversation when they wish. Such routines and structures can be taught explicitly,

and we have therefore made a special point of including comprehensive lists of them

throughout the book.

TOPIC SHIFT

A typical sample of situation when conversational routines come in very handy is when

you want to change the subject, either because you do not want to talk about a certain

thing any longer or because you want to introduce a new topic. In fact, skimming over a

considerable number of topics in a short span of time is a characteristic feature of

informal conversation.

CLOSINGS

Unless we want to be deliberately rude, we cannot end a conversation by simply saying,

“Well, that’s all I want to say, bye”, or just hung up the phone abruptly without any

notice. Instead, people typically apply a sequence or pre-closing and closing formulae to

prepare the ground for ending a conversation. Language learners can easily

misunderstand the closing signals other speakers make and they themselves often lack

a sufficient repertoire of such closing routines to be able to conclude and leave without

sounding abrupt. That is why it is important to teach closing strategies explicitly.

MESSAGE ADJUSTMENT OR AVOIDANCE

This involves tailoring your message to your competence, i.e., saying what you can say

rather than what you want to say. This can be done either through making a slight

alteration or reduction of the message, or even by avoiding it completely.

PARAPHRASING

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This involves describing or exemplifying the object or action whose name you do not

know.

USING APPROXIMATION

This means using an alternative term which expresses the meaning of the target word

as closely as possible, e.g., ship for sailing boat.

APPEAL FOR HELP

This includes eliciting the word you are looking for from your communication partner by

asking questions like “What’s the word for….? Other trouble spots in communication,

including misunderstandings and comprehension problems, can be sorted out by what

linguistics call repair, this involves asking questions to check and ensure understanding,

as well as correcting what one or the other speaker has said. Examples of repair are:

Asking the other speaker to repeat when you have not heard or understood

something.

Asking the other speaker to explain something you do not understand.

Checking whether the other person has understood what you have said.

Checking whether the other person is paying attention.

Reformulating what you or the other speaker have said.

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

A typical feature of language functions is that they involve a great number of set

phrases and structures, and these are usually taught thoroughly in contemporary course

books.

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SPEECH ACT

Speech acts are utterances which, rather than just conveying information, actually carry

out an action or language function. For example, the question, “Would you open the

window, please?” is a way of getting the listener to open the window and therefore is an

action. Similarly, “I pronounce you man and wife” or “You’re under arrest” are also

equivalent to actions.

Some speech acts are direct and straightforward, e.g., “Put that gun down!”, but the

majority in everyday conversation are indirect. For example, the sentence, “I wonder if

you could post this letter for me” does not mean “I’m curious whether you are able to

post this letter”, but is an indirect way of making the listener post the letter. Utterances

like these are usually termed indirect speech acts.

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Speech

Speech is a means of getting to know and understand people. It is a way of verbalizing

what you think and believe so that others can appreciate you. Speech is necessary on

your future job, but you also apply it in many ways today.

To Create Social Contact

In a social context, speech is used to greet friends, co-workers, and customers. It

is used to exchange social conversation, converse about illnesses and accidents,

chat about upcoming events, and maintain personal relationships. We also use

speech to report important information such as deadlines, promotions, special

occasions, and appointments.

To Exchange Information

Speech is critical in gathering and exchanging information. With speech, we can

ask for further explanation, outline an idea or process, clear up a difficult point,

illustrate a concept by giving an example, and answer or ask questions.

To Influence the Behavior of Others

We can use speech to stimulate appropriate attitudes, present new different

viewpoints, convince others to take action, or encourage an open exchange of

ideas. We can counsel or give advice, share personal convictions, praise the

work of others, reason with logic, cite evidence, and describe personal

experiences.

To Solve Business or personal Problems

In the workplace and in our personal lives, we use speech to identify and define

problems. We then use our speech to isolate causes, consider alternative

courses of action, and propose possible solutions.

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Reductions

Unemployed words become more and more reduced as speech becomes more raoid or

more informal. Not only do vowels reduce in length, but some consonants also reduce.

The sound “h” can even disappear completely.

Slow, formal Rapid, informal

I have gone I’ve gone

They have they’ve

Is he is (h)e (rhymes with busy)

Give her give (h)er (rhymes with liver)

Would he would (h)e (sounds like woody)

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Intonation

Intonation is often defined as speech melody, consisting of different tones. Obviously,

what melody (song) and intonation have in common is that in both we make our voice

go up or down at will, that is to say, the tones depend on the pitch of the voice.

Functions of Intonation

Emotional

Expression of attitudinal meanings such as excitement, surprise, etc.

Grammatical

Marking of grammatical contrasts, such as chunking into clauses and

sentences, or contrast between questions and statements, e.g. “Richard

phoned.” (statement-falling tone) vs. “Richard phoned?” (question-rising

tone).

Information Structure

Marking of distinction between what is already known and what is new; for

example, if someone says “I saw a blue car”, this presupposes that it is

already known that a car is being talked about, and “blue” is the new

information.

Textual

Marking of the structure of larger stretches of discourse, such as the

distinctive melodic shape which different paragraphs are given in news-

reading.

Psychological

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Organization of discourse into units that are more easily perceived and

memorized, for example, the tendency to divide telephone numbers into

rhythmical chunks.

Indexical

Markers of personal identity, and of group membership; for example,

members of certain occupations have distinctive ways of speaking, such

as preachers, sports commentators, street vendors, etc.

Word Stress

The highlighting of the salient syllables in polysyllabic words, is relatively

stable.

Arnold went to a specialist shop to buy some old records.

Arnold went to songs and also records them in a studio.

The noun here is stressed on the first syllable, and the verb on the second syllable, is

inherent in the language system. It is not the choice the speaker makes.

Prominence

Is a matter of speaker choice: it is an indication as to what the speaker

wants to make salient in the ongoing discourse, a reflection of how he or

she views the “state of conversational play”. What the speaker chooses to

highlight depends on the context, the situation, and what has happened in

the conversation so far.

Turn-Taking

Is the way in which speakers hold or pass the floor.

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Competent speakers achieve efficient turn taking, with very precise timing,

by taking into account many factors simultaneously: syntax and lexical

signals, eye contact, body position and movement, loudness and

intonation.

Factors which we juggle, seemingly without effort, whenever we engage in a

conversation, both as speakers and as listeners:

o Prominence

How to make salient the important points we make.

o Topic Management

How to signal and recognize where the topic ends and another begins.

o Turn-Taking

When to speak, and when to be silent, how (not) to yield the floor to

somebody else.

o Social Meanings and Roles

How to position ourselves vis-à-vis our interlocutor(s) in terms of status,

dominance/authority, politeness, solidarity, separateness.

o Degree of Involvement

How to convey our attitude, emotions, etc.

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Mechanisms Responsible for the Production of Speech Sounds

Motor

Respiratory muscles-general region of the diaphragm responsible for

regulation, expulsion and control of air.

Vibrator

Vocal bands or cords to produce sound waves through vibrations of air.

Resonators

Nose, mouth throat. Modulate sound waves thus resonance (production of

sound by proper breathing).

Articulators

Give definite shapes and character of sounds as air passes through the

mouth or nose, lips, teeth, tongue, upper gums, lower jaw, hard palate,

and uvula.

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LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

Level 1 Intrapersonal Communication

Level 2 Interpersonal Communication

Level 3 Group Communication

Level 4 Public Communication

Level 4 (public communication)

Level 3 (group communication)

Level 2 (interpersonal communication)

Level 1 (intrapersonal communication)

INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Is the first level of communication. It refers to communication with yourself-

whether you are talking to yourself aloud or in the privacy of your own brain. This

is a very personal communication where you are both the sender and the

receiver.

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

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The second level of communication and commonly called dyadic communication,

is communication that involves two persons or two groups of people who share

the roles of sender and receiver. It is interacting with one other person or in a

small and informal aggregate of people.

GROUP COMMUNICATION

The third level of communication, has much in common with interpersonal

communication. Group communication builds on the foundation of interpersonal

communication skills and interpersonal relationships often develop between

dyads of group members.

PUBLIC COMMUNICATION

Or one-to-many communication is the fourth level of communication. It refers to

that kind of communication where one person delivers his/her remarks to the

remaining members called the audience. It has two characteristics; 1) unequal

amount of speaking and 2) limited verbal feedback.

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NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

involves those nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both

the source [speaker] and his or her use of the environment and that have potential

message value for the source or receiver [listener].   Basically it is sending and

receiving messages in a variety of ways without the use of verbal codes (words).  It is

both intentional and unintentional.  Most speakers / listeners are not conscious of this.  

It includes — but is not limited to:

touch

glance

eye contact (gaze)

volume

vocal nuance

proximity

gestures

facial expression ? pause (silence)

intonation

dress

posture

smell

word choice and syntax

sounds (paralanguage)

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Why is non-verbal communication important?

Basically, it is one of the key aspects of communication (and especially important

in a high-context culture).  It has multiple functions:

 

o Used to repeat the verbal message (e.g. point in a direction while stating

directions.

o Often used to accent a verbal message. (e.g. verbal tone indicates the

actual meaning of the specific words).

o Often complement the verbal message but also may contradict.  E.g.: a

nod reinforces a positive message (among Americans); a “wink” may

contradict a stated positive message.

o Regulate interactions (non-verbal cues covey when the other person

should speak or not speak).

o May substitute for the verbal message (especially if it is blocked by noise,

interruption, etc) — i.e. gestures (finger to lips to indicate need for quiet),

facial expressions (i.e. a nod instead of a yes).

Note the implications of the proverb: “Actions speak louder than words.”  In

essence, this underscores the importance of non-verbal communication.  Non-

verbal communication is especially significant in intercultural situations. Probably

non-verbal differences account for typical difficulties in communicating.

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Static Features

Distance.

Distance. The distance one stands from another frequently conveys a non-verbal

message. In some cultures it is a sign of attraction, while in others it may reflect status

or the intensity of the exchange.

Orientation. People may present themselves in various ways: face-to-face, side-to-

side, or even back-to-back. For example, cooperating people are likely to sit side-by-

side while competitors frequently face one another.

Posture. Obviously one can be lying down, seated, or standing. These are not the

elements of posture that convey messages. Are we slouched or erect ? Are our legs

crossed or our arms folded ? Such postures convey a degree of formality and the

degree of relaxation in the communication exchange.

Physical Contact. Shaking hands, touching, holding, embracing, pushing, or patting on

the back all convey messages. They reflect an element of intimacy or a feeling of (or

lack of) attraction.

Dynamic Features

Facial Expressions.

Facial Expressions. A smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn, and sneer all convey

information. Facial expressions continually change during interaction and are monitored

constantly by the recipient. There is evidence that the meaning of these expressions

may be similar across cultures.

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Gestures. One of the most frequently observed, but least understood, cues is a hand

movement. Most people use hand movements regularly when talking. While some

gestures (e.g., a clenched fist) have universal meanings, most of the others are

individually learned and idiosyncratic.

Looking. A major feature of social communication is eye contact. It can convey

emotion, signal when to talk or finish, or aversion. The frequency of contact may

suggest either interest or boredom.

The above list shows that both static features and dynamic features transmit important

information from the sender to the receiver.

Tortoriello, Blott, and DeWine have defined non-verbal communication as:

". . . the exchange of messages primarily through non-linguistic means, including:

kinesics (body language), facial expressions and eye contact, tactile communication,

space and territory, environment, paralanguage (vocal but non-linguistic cues), and the

use of silence and time."

Let's review these non-linguistic ways of exchanging messages in more detail.

Kinesics

Lamb believes the best way to access an executive's managerial potential is not to

listen to what he has to say, but to observe what he does when he is saying it. He calls

this new behavioral science "movement analysis." Some of the movements and

gestures he has analyzed follow:

Forward and Backward Movements. If you extend a hand straight forward during an

interview or tend to lean forward, Lamb considers you to be an "operator"- good for an

organization requiring an infusion of energy or dramatic change of course.

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Vertical Movements. If you tend to draw yourself up to your tallest during the

handshake, Lamb considers you to be a "presenter." You are a master at selling

yourself or the organization in which you are employed.

Side-to-Side Movements. If you take a lot of space while talking by moving your arms

about, you are a good informer and good listener. You are best suited for an

organization seeking a better sense of direction. Lamb believes there is a relationship

between positioning of the body and movements of the limbs and facial expressions. He

has observed harmony between the two. On the other hand, if certain gestures are

rehearsed, such as those made to impress others, there is a tendency to separate the

posture and the movements. The harmony disappears.

Studies by Lamb also indicate that communication comes about through our degree of

body flexibility. If you begin a movement with considerable force and then decelerate,

you are considered a "gentle-touch." By contrast, if you are a "pressurizer," you are firm

from beginning to end. The accuracy of Lamb's analyses is not fully known. However, it

is important that corporation executives are becoming so sensitive to the importance of

non-verbal messages that they are hiring consultants, such as Lamb, to analyze non-

verbal communications in their organizations.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions usually communicate emotions. The expressions tell the attitudes of

the communicator. Researchers have discovered that certain facial areas reveal our

emotional state better than others. For example, the eyes tend to reveal happiness or

sadness, and even surprise. The lower face also can reveal happiness or surprise; the

smile, for example, can communicate friendliness and cooperation. The lower face,

brows, and forehead can also reveal anger. Mehrabian believes verbal cues provide 7

percent of the meaning of the message; vocal cues, 38 percent; and facial expressions,

55 percent. This means that, as the receiver of a message, you can rely heavily on the

facial expressions of the sender because his expressions are a better indicator of the

meaning behind the message than his words.

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Eye Contact

Eye contact is a direct and powerful form of non-verbal communication. The superior in

the organization generally maintains eye contact longer than the subordinate. The direct

stare of the sender of the message conveys candor and openness. It elicits a feeling of

trust. Downward glances are generally associated with modesty. Eyes rolled upward are

associated with fatigue.

Tactile Communication

Communication through touch is obviously non-verbal. Used properly it can create a

more direct message than dozens of words; used improperly it can build barriers and

cause mistrust. You can easily invade someone's space through this type of

communication. If it is used reciprocally, it indicates solidarity; if not used reciprocally, it

tends to indicate differences in status. Touch not only facilitates the sending of the

message, but the emotional impact of the message as well.

Personal Space

Personal space is your "bubble" - the space you place between yourself and others.

This invisible boundary becomes apparent only when someone bumps or tries to enter

your bubble.

How you identify your personal space and use the environment in which you find

yourself influences your ability to send or receive messages. How close do you stand to

the one with whom you are communicating ? Where do you sit in the room ? How do

you position yourself with respect to others at a meeting ? All of these things affect your

level of comfort, and the level of comfort of those receiving your message.

Goldhaber says there are three basic principles that summarize the use of personal

space in an organization: The higher your position (status) in the organization,

(a) the more and better space you will have,

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(b) the better protected your territory will be, and

(c) the easier it will be to invade the territory of lower-status personnel.

The impact of use of space on the communication process is related directly to the

environment in which the space is maintained.

Environment

How do you arrange the objects in your environment - the desks, chairs, tables, and

bookcases? The design of your office, according to researchers, can greatly affect the

communications within it. Some managers divide their offices into personal and

impersonal areas. This can improve the communication process if the areas are used

for the purposes intended.

Your pecking-order in the organization is frequently determined by such things as the

size of your desk, square feet in your office, number of windows in the office, quality of

the carpet, and type of paintings (originals or copies) on the wall.

It is obvious that your personal space and environment affect the level of your comfort

and your status and facilitate or hinder the communication process.

Paralanguage

Is the content of your message contradicted by the attitude with which you are

communicating it? Researchers have found that the tone, pitch, quality of voice, and

rate of speaking convey emotions that can be accurately judged regardless of the

content of the message. The important thing to gain from this is that the voice is

important, not just as the conveyor of the message, but as a complement to the

message. As a communicator you should be sensitive to the influence of tone, pitch,

and quality of your voice on the interpretation of your message by the receiver.

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Silence and Time

Silence can be a positive or negative influence in the communications process. It can

provide a link between messages or sever relationships. It can create tension and

uneasiness or create a peaceful situation. Silence can also be judgmental by indicating

favor or disfavor - agreement or disagreement.

For example, suppose a manager finds a couple of his staff members resting.

If he believes these staff members are basically lazy, the idleness conveys to him that

they are "goofing off" and should be given additional assignments.

If he believes these staff members are self-motivated and good workers, the idleness

conveys to him that they are taking a well-deserved "break."

If he is personally insecure, the idleness conveys to him that they are threatening his

authority.

Time can be an indicator of status. How long will you give the staff member who wishes

to speak to you ? How long will you make him wait to see you ? Do you maintain a

schedule? Is your schedule such that your subordinates must arrange their schedules to

suit yours ? In a healthy organization, the manager and his subordinates use time to

communicate their mutual respect to each other.

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Factors Affecting English Speaking Skills

How does one acquire good English speaking skills? A lot of people aim to have an

American or British accent in order to impress other people, and for others to say that

they are indeed good in English. However, is this really the true measure of being a

good English speaker? Actually, there are several factors that affect our English

speaking skills. If we can honestly assess ourselves and say we are good in all of the

said factors, then we are good English speakers.

Factor # 1- Listening Comprehension

Factor # 2- Grammatical Accuracy

Factor # 3- Pronunciation

Factor # 4- Accent

Factor # 5- Vocabulary

Factor # 6- Appropriateness of Answers

Factor # 7- Organization of Ideas

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Factor # 8- Fluency

Factor # 9- Enthusiasm

Factor # 10- Self-confidence

Factor # 11- Paralinguistic Communication Skills

Factor # 12- Length of Answers

TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

To Improve Control of Breathing

o Practices expelling the air from your lungs in short, sharp gasps; place your hand

on your abdomen to make sure that there is a sharp inward contraction of the

muscle wall happening at the same time with the chest contraction on each

outgoing puff.

a. Then vocalize the puffs, saying, “hep!-hep!-hep!” with a great deal of force.

b. In the same manner, say, “Rah- rah!” with staccato accents and considerable

vigor.

Pitch

Pitch is the highness or lowness of a person’s voice. For example, some people have

naturally low pitched voice, such as baritones; others have high pitched voices, such as

sopranos. But none use only one note when they are speaking. They change their pitch

according to the meaning of what they are saying. This changing of pitch is called

inflection.

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Articulation

Clarity of Speech

If your speech sounds are indistinct, slurred, half-swallowed, clipped short, muffled, or

mumbled, then you need to practice enunciation. For as the saying goes, words are the

tools of speech. Without them, there is no such thing as speech. But, what good is the

use of the most apt word if the sound is not clear? Good enunciation depends on four

factors: jaw, lips, tongue and teeth. You should not have a locked jaw or lazy lips if you

are to be a fluent speaker. Activate your articulators. Here are some tongue twisters that

will test you on different sounds.

Sister Susie went to see the sea you see

So the sea she saw you see was a saucy sea.

The sea she saw was a saucy sea,

A sort of saucy sea she saw, saw she!

Sixty-six slick seals

Shining siphons childishly signing.

The death doth threaten frightens these thieves

Zigzagging zephyrs zooming zestily zenithward.

Care of Voice

o Avoid Strain. When others speak too loudly, don’t try to drown out their voices

with your own. Get attention by some mechanical means, such as rapping the

table, then speak with quiet emphasis.

o If you have cold that has affected your chest, speak as little as possible. The

strain may cause nodes (callouses), resulting in permanent hoarseness.

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o Don’t clear throat by force. Try panting to remove the phlegm. Keep your voice

vital or animated. A vital voice will keep you vital.

Phrasing

Phrasing simply means the splitting up of a sentence into thought groups and rhythm

units by means of pauses. A thought group is made up of closely connected words. It

contains what the speaker considers to be a single thought. Thought groups are often

composed of rhythm units, that is, smaller groups which are pronounced in a single

breath steam.

Pauses are usually made in a sentence for one of three reasons: to make the meaning

clear, to emphasize an idea and to enable the speaker to catch his breath when saying

a long sentence.

Rhythm

Languages have different rhythm or tempo. The kind of rhythm varies from language to

language. In some, there is a regular beat. In English, the rhythm or timing can be said

to be irregular. The rhythm in English seems to be governed by the primary, secondary,

and weak stresses. The weak stressed words or syllables are very short and they are

said very quickly. The addition of syllables with weak stress is made without disrupting

the rhythm or adding to the total time it take to say something. This means that English

rhythm is stressed-time. In effect, this suggests that the length of time needed to say an

utterance depends upon the number of stressed syllable.

In the following sentences, notice that the rhythm is the same in each pair of sentences

even though the second sentence has one more syllable with a weak stress.

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Drigo’s book is old. Dirgo’s blue book is old.

Robert’s car is new. Robert’s red car is new.

Intonation

Intonation is the modulation of the speaking voice or the tune or melodic pattern of what

you say. It involves primarily the variations in pitch levels as well as word stress.

Intonation is as much a part of the language as the correct pronunciation of vowels and

consonants.

Intonation is determined partly by the mind and attitude of the speaker, and partly by the

grammatical structure of his speech.

Pitch, a component of intonation, is the highness or lowness of tone.

Four pitch levels are normally used in English

o Low-pitch level 1-tone generally used to end sentences in normal speaking

situation.

o Normal-pitch level 2-tone used in starting any normal speaking situation.

o High-pitch level 3-suspened tone used after a question or in series.

o Extra high-pitch level 4-higher than high pitch by two tones, used to express

strong emotions as excitement, fear, etc.

Consonant Points of Articulation

1 2

Back of tongue and velum ng k g

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Front of tongue and back of alveolar ridge ch j sh zh

Front of tongue and alveolar ridge n t d l s z

Tip of tongue and upper teeth

Lower lip and tips of upper teeth

Upper lip and lower lip m p b f v

Vowel Tongue Positions: Vietor Triangle

For the vowel sounds, there is no point of contact between the articulators. Instead, the

mouth passage is shaped into different positions, thus giving definite shape and

character to sounds. Most significant articulators are the tongue and the lips. The

relationship of the vowels to one another may be seen in their approximate positions in

the chart.

front of tongue center back

iy u

I Ʊ

ε o

æ ɔ

a

Key:

/iy/ lead

/I/ lid

/e/ led

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/ae/ lad

/ Ə / but

/a/ bottle

/u/ boot

/U/ book

/o/ boat

/O/ bought

Consonants and their Classification

Voiced consonants are the consonants pronounced with the vibration of the vocal

chords. Voiceless consonants are pronounced without the vibration of the vocal chords.

Place your fingers on your larynx or Adam’s apple, as you say the following pairs. Take

note of the presence and absence of the vibration of the vocal chords.

Voiceless Voiced

p pin h head

t ten b bin

g gay d den

k key v vase

f face th this

th thick z zip

s sip zh asian

sh nation j joke

ch choke m dim

n din

ng ding

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l low

Facial Diagram

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General Stress Rule

Nouns may receive stress on the first syllable of two syllable words. And verbs may

receive stress on the second syllable, although there are frequent exceptions.

Noun Verb

‘con duct con ‘duct

‘com mune com ‘mune

‘in crease in ‘crease

‘in sult in ‘sult

‘in dent in ‘dent

‘ob ject ob ‘ject

‘per mit per ‘mit

‘pre sent pre ‘sent

‘re cord re ‘cord

Examples of exceptions:

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Stress always on first syllable:

distance, purchase, promise, puncture, reason, season

Stress always on second syllable

demand, result, release, remark

Equal Stress

In compound, two-syllable words or special two-word combinations, both syllables or

words receive equal stress. Examples: house, wish bone, no show, red ball, World’s

cup, top dog, mount black, last days.

Multisyllabic Words

Obviously, many words in the English language are made up of more than two

syllables. Some may have three, four, five, or more syllables. It would be nice to be able

to say that the stress is always on the first syllable, but there are no general rules

regarding syllabic stress in multisyllabic words. You will note in the following examples

that the stress may occur at different places in the words.

Three Syllables Four Syllables Five Syllables

Accident application auditorium

Elevation conversation exploratory

Hesitate impossible intelligible

Relative mechanical organization

Understand relaxation vocabulary

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9 Tips to Improve Your Voice

6 Tips to a Better Voice

1. Feel your throat muscles and jaw when you are speaking. Note the tenseness.

2. Open mouth wide. Yawn and say "Ho Hum." Close your lips. As you do, drop your

jaw and waggle it from side to side.

3. Repeat the yawning and humming. Note how the throat muscles loosen & Removes

strain.

4. Open mouth wide, drop your jaw, exaggerate your lip and jaw movements. Say the

following words slowly: Prolong the sounds. Annunciate carefully. HANG, HARM, LANE,

MAIN, LONE, LOOM.

5. Lightly massage your throat muscles with your fingers to check for tightness.

6. Drop your jaw and relax the throat. Prolong the sounds. Open wide and use a

monotone voice. Say: NAH, HAY, NEE, NO, NOO.

Try this several times a day. You should see an improvement. in your speaking voice.

1 - Tummy Bounce

Take a breath through the mouth for three seconds, and immediately let it out as you

say 10 "Ha's" in succession, using one breath. Keep the back of your throat open.

2 - Ka-Ga-Ha

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Open mouth wide and open back of your throat.

Say "ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-" As many times as you can with one breath.

Again Say; "Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga" - As many times as you can with one breath.

Again With; "ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha" - As many times as you can with one breath.

Now With "ka-ga-ha", "ka-ga-ha", "ka-ga-ha", "ka-ga-ha" - As many times as you can

with one breath.

3 -Vitalic Breath

1-Inhale a few short quick breaths through the nose

2-Open mouth, expel quickly with one blast.

2 or 3 times only, or you will get dizzy.

Exercising the Muscles in Face

A. Tongue

Thomas a Tattamus

Thomas a Tattamus took two T’s

To tie two tups to two tall trees

To frighten the terrible

Thomas a Tattamus

Tell me how nay T’s there are in all that.

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Dotting the Roof

My tongue can dot

The roof of my mouth

Dot_Dot_Dot.

It touches the front

And middle and back;

Dot_Dot_Dot.

Can your tongue dot

The roof of your mouth?

Dot_Dot_Dot.

Can it touch front,

And middle and back?

Dot_Dot_Dot.

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B. Lips

Tu-whit’. Tu-whoo’

The owl by day cant see, ‘tis said!

OOoo, OOoo, OOoo!

He sits and blinks, turns his head,

OOoo, OOoo, OOoo!

But when the stars come out at night,

Tu-whit, tu-whoo, tu-whoo!

He calls his mate with all his might,

Tu-whit, tu-whoo, tu-whoo!

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C. Jaw

John Cook’s Grey Mare

John Cook had a little grey mare,

Hee, haw, hum;

Her legs were long and her back was bare,

Hee, haw, hum;

John Cook was riding up Shooter’s Bank,

Hee, haw, hum;

The mare she began to kick and to prank,

Hee, haw, hum;

His mare fell down and made her will,

Hee, haw, hum;

The bridle and saddle were laid on the shelf,

Hee, haw, hum;

If you want anymore, you may sing it yourself,

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Hee, haw, hum;

Rhymes and Songs

One, two, three, four, five

I caught a fish alive.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten

I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bite?

The little finger on the right.

Funny the Way Different Cars Start

Funny the way different cars start.

Some with a chunk and a jerk,

Some with a cough and a puff of smoke

Out of the back.

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Some with only a click-

With hardly any noise.

Funny the way different cars run.

Some rattle and bang.

Some whirrrrrr,

Some knock and knock.

Some purrrrrrrr,

Some hmmmmmmmmmm

Smoothly on with hardly any noise.

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Teaching Speaking & Conversation

In what ways can conversation be regarded as a skill? How might this influence our

approach to teaching it?

Both motor-perceptive skills and interaction adeptness are usually required in

conversation. Many times this pairing calls upon effective understanding of the two in

order to implement oral exercises in an effective manner. Motor skills involve perceiving,

recalling, and articulating in the correct order sounds and structures of the language.

Interaction skills involve making decisions about communication, such as what to say

and how to say it. Keeping in mind the difference, the class level should play a large

part in determining which of the two skills are predominately used during the course.

Generally the situation or setting makes a difference in the way the speaker uses the

language, for example, time limitations. Does the speaker have time to "process" his or

her thoughts before speaking out loud? Other conditions can also affect the use of

language. Does it make a difference whether the speaker is interacting with one person

or with a group? Differing situations do have distinct aspects and thus can influence the

way in which the speaker uses language.

But how do speakers facilitate oral production? Speakers can ease the oral production

of speech in the following manner:

a) Simplifying structure: Simplifications can be found mainly in the tendency to tack new

sentences on to previous ones by the use of coordinating conjunctions: like, and, or but.

b) The ellipsis technique: By using the ellipsis technique when conversing the speaker

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is able to omit parts of speech in order to speak economically. In order to understand

the listener must have a good idea of the background knowledge assumed by the

speaker.

c) Formulaic expressions: Formulaic expressions are found in speech patterns

consisting of conventional colloquial or idiomatic expressions. Idiomatic expressions

consist of all kinds of set phrases and although such sayings usually flow together in a

set conversation pattern, they may lose their meaning when taken outside such context.

d) Fillers and hesitation devices: Fillers as well as hesitation devices such as, "you see",

"kind of", "you know" can used in order to give the speakers more time to formulate and

organize their ideas while speaking. In addition to using simple methods of speech, the

speaker can avoid complex noun groups and as a result oral language tends to become

less dense than the written language.

The following are examples of speech routinely used in conversation which an instructor

should be aware of while teaching in the classroom:

(a) Interaction routines typically occur in any given situation and are likely to occur in a

specific sequence. For example: casual encounter and conversations at parties all tend

to be organized in characteristic ways.

(b) Descriptions of places and people: demonstration of facts, or comparisons all refer

to "information routines." Such routines do not just concern speech, they also occur in

written language.

(c) Negotiation of meaning refers to the skill of communicating ideas clearly and

includes the way participants signal their understanding during an exchange. This

aspect of spoken interaction contrasts most sharply with the written word.

(d) Feedback is the method of examining comprehension as the interaction unfolds.

From the speaker's position, this may include some of the following: asking the other

person's opinion, defining one's meaning or intent with a summarization. From the

listener's point of view there is a comparable group of reactions which complement the

speaker's opinion, such as: indicating understanding by gestures or facial expression as

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well as indicating uncertainty by interrupting the speaker where necessary to express

one's reservation with the exchange in dialogue.

(e) Turn-taking is the knowledge which comes with negotiating the control of a

conversation. A speaker has to be efficient at getting a turn and to be proficient at letting

another speaker have a turn. Practical turn-taking requires five abilities:

1. Knowing how to signal that one wants to speak.

2. Recognizing the right moment to get a turn.

3. How to use this structure in order to get one's turn properly and not lose it. 4. The

ability to recognize other people's signals or desire to speak.

5. The ability to acknowledge other people's signals and let them take a turn.

(f) Communication strategies are approaches designed to deal with conversation

difficulties.

Two such approaches to conversational difficulties are the achievement and the

reduction strategies. Both are aimed to compensate for the problem of expression. If the

learner uses an achievement strategy, he or she will attempt to compensate for

language disparity by improvising a substitute through guess-work or intuition. In using

achievement strategies, speakers do not lose or alter any of their message. On the

other hand, when using the reduction approach, the learners may reduce their message

in order to bring it within the scope of their knowledge or else to abandon their central

idea and attempt something more manageable.

In addition to being aware of the differing kinds of speech it might also be advantageous

to develop a list of some of the important speaking skills you think need to be taught to

both elementary and intermediate learners: For elementary students we might consider

the following speaking skills of importance:

a) The ability to reproduce sounds.

b) The knowledge and use of a practical vocabulary.

c) The use of idioms (for example: Hi, instead of Hello).

d) The ability to respond in sentences.

e) The ability to condense verbs (for example: replacing did not with didn't).

f) A vocabulary which enables the student to play games.

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g) Knowing and using familiar "native speaker" greetings.

h) The ability to carry on a limited conversation.

When teaching an intermediate level the following speaking skills might be seen as

significant:

a) The ability to agree or disagree.

b) The ability to identify people and places.

c) The capability to express preferences.

d) The skill to expresses opinions.

e) The ability to ask for and give suggestions.

f) The ability to report on what people are asking and saying.

g) The ability to summarize a conversation.

Also of importance are interaction activities which can be used in a speaking class. For

example, the processing of information by engaging in problem solving tasks. Such an

activity may include placing items in a hierarchy of importance, deciding itineraries,

deciding a price range to spend on gifts, developing a story from random picture cues.

Problems may arise from the restricted cooperation because of the students' limited

vocabulary. However, as students move towards a monologue (or one person speaking,

as learners they may begin by not speaking smoothly. The teacher must focus on

having students use language in order to complete a task rather than practicing

language for its own sake.

Another example of an interaction activity may be the development and usage of role

playing. Learners first take part in a preliminary activity which introduces the topic and

the situation as well as some background information. Such activities may include

brainstorming or ranking exercises. An example might be a role play where the students

prepare to rent an apartment. Students first interview one another about the available

accommodations and their desired living arrangements.

Yet, problems can arise when using interaction activities in the classroom, such as a

student's inexperience in focusing on a particular topic or a limited vocabulary for

developing the necessary explanation. Different cultural backgrounds at times may also

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interfere with the uniform picture of the situation. For example, apartment searching in

Japan varies considerably from that same activity in the U.S. Teachers must carefully

monitor its effectiveness when promoting conversational fluency.

What is the role of accuracy in a speaking class? How can accuracy be included as a

component of a speaking class? Accuracy in a speaking class includes the control of

grammar and pronunciation as a part of learning language fluency. For speech to be

free of errors the speaker must process and produce comprehensible information. This

requires the speaker to generate speech that is acceptable in both content and form.

The role of accuracy in a speaking class is created by the teacher's providing

opportunities for learners to engage in natural interaction in conversation through the

use of communicative tasks and activities. Teachers should generally sit back and let

learners engage in the natural interaction process whenever possible.

An instructor’s ability to recognize cues in speech patterns and conversation goes a

long way in developing one’s classroom skills. Conversation is regarded as a skill

requiring the speaker to generate speech that is acceptable in both content and form.

Speakers learn to facilitate ease in the oral production of speech in many ways and the

instructor must plan communication strategies to deal with conversation difficulties.

Activities to Promote Speaking

Discussions

After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons. The

students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions

in their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the

discussion activity is set by the teacher. In this way, the discussion points are relevant

to this purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other about

irrelevant things. For example, students can become involved in agree/disagree

discussions. In this type of discussions, the teacher can form groups of students,

preferably 4 or 5 in each group, and provide controversial sentences like “people learn

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best when they read vs. people learn best when they travel”. Then each group works on

their topic for a given time period, and presents their opinions to the class. It is essential

that the speaking should be equally divided among group members. At the end, the

class decides on the winning group who defended the idea in the best way. This activity

fosters critical thinking and quick decision making, and students learn how to express

and justify themselves in polite ways while disagreeing with the others. For efficient

group discussions, it is always better not to form large groups, because quiet students

may avoid contributing in large groups. The group members can be either assigned by

the teacher or the students may determine it by themselves, but groups should be

rearranged in every discussion activity so that students can work with various people

and learn to be open to different ideas. Lastly, in class or group discussions, whatever

the aim is, the students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase

ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on.

Role Play

One other way of getting students to speak is role-playing. Students pretend they are in

various social contexts and have a variety of social roles. In role-play activities, the

teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are and what they think or

feel. Thus, the teacher can tell the student that "You are David, you go to the doctor and

tell him what happened last night, and…" (Harmer, 1984)

Simulations

Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes simulations different than role

plays is that they are more elaborate. In simulations, students can bring items to the

class to create a realistic environment. For instance, if a student is acting as a singer,

she brings a microphone to sing and so on. Role plays and simulations have many

advantages. First, since they are entertaining, they motivate the students. Second, as

Harmer (1984) suggests, they increase the self-confidence of hesitant students,

because in role play and simulation activities, they will have a different role and do not

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have to speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the same

responsibility.

Information Gap

In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs. One student will have the

information that other partner does not have and the partners will share their

information. Information gap activities serve many purposes such as solving a problem

or collecting information.  Also, each partner plays an important role because the task

cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the others need.

These activities are effective because everybody has the opportunity to talk extensively

in the target language.

Brainstorming

On a given topic, students can produce ideas in a limited time. Depending on the

context, either individual or group brainstorming is effective and learners generate ideas

quickly and freely. The good characteristics of brainstorming is that the students are not

criticized for their ideas so students will be open to sharing new ideas.

Storytelling

Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody beforehand,

or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates. Story telling fosters creative

thinking. It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development,

and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have. Students also can

tell riddles or jokes. For instance, at the very beginning of each class session, the

teacher may call a few students to tell short riddles or jokes as an opening. In this way,

not only will the teacher address students’ speaking ability, but also get the attention of

the class.

Interviews

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Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people. It is a good

idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what type of

questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own

interview questions. Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to

practice their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them

becoming socialized. After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the

class. Moreover, students can interview each other and "introduce" his or her partner to

the class.

Story Completion

This is a very enjoyable, whole-class, free-speaking activity for which students sit in a

circle. For this activity, a teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or

she stops narrating. Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the

previous one stopped. Each student is supposed to add from four to ten sentences.

Students can add new characters, events, descriptions and so on.

Reporting

Before coming to class, students are asked to read a newspaper or magazine and, in

class, they report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news. Students

can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth telling their friends in

their daily lives before class.

Playing Cards

In this game, students should form groups of four. Each suit will represent a topic. For

instance:

Diamonds: Earning money

Hearts: Love and relationships

Spades: An unforgettable memory

Clubs: Best teacher

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Each student in a group will choose a card. Then, each student will write 4-5 questions

about that topic to ask the other people in the group. For example:

If the topic "Diamonds: Earning Money" is selected, here are some possible questions:

Is money important in your life? Why?

What is the easiest way of earning money?

What do you think about lottery? Etc.

However, the teacher should state at the very beginning of the activity that students are

not allowed to prepare yes-no questions, because by saying yes or no students get little

practice in spoken language production.  Rather, students ask open-ended questions to

each other so that they reply in complete sentences.

Picture Narrating

This activity is based on several sequential pictures. Students are asked to tell the story

taking place in the sequential pictures by paying attention to the criteria provided by the

teacher as a rubric. Rubrics can include the vocabulary or structures they need to use

while narrating.

Picture Describing

Another way to make use of pictures in a speaking activity is to give students just one

picture and having them describe what it is in the picture. For this activity students can

form groups and each group is given a different picture. Students discuss the picture

with their groups, then a spokesperson for each group describes the picture to the

whole class. This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as

their public speaking skills.

Find the Difference

For this activity students can work in pairs and each couple is given two different

pictures, for example, picture of boys playing football and another picture of girls playing

55

tennis. Students in pairs discuss the similarities and/or differences in the pictures.

The Essentials of a Good Speaking Voice

The human voice can be seen as a mirror which reflects a speaker's attitudes and

feelings. An extremely weak voice may indicate a weak or timid personality. When

someone is seriously ill their voice shows that. If they are happy the person's voice

normally corresponds. When they feel other emotions their voice will usually respond

also.

A truly effective public speaker is too busy communicating their ideas, feelings and

earnestly they don't think about his voice as a speaker. However, they can form good

vocal habits in private practice that will help them when they are speaking in public.

The essentials of a good speaking voice required for effective speaking are;

1. Voice projection

Everyone in the back row should be able to easily hear the speaker. To achieve this, the

mouth needs to open wide enough and the lips move so that the tones come out freely.

Speak twice as loud as you normally would in personal conversation.

2. Vary in pitch and inflection

Your tones should vary in pitch and inflection to naturally reflect the thoughts and

feelings you are expressing. This will give freedom from the monotony that the

sameness of tone induces. By thoroughly feeling the ideas and by letting those feelings

show a speaker puts variety into their tones.

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3. A good average rate

A good average rate should be set at the rate that is comfortable for the speaker's

temperament, the audience and the nature of the speech. Too slow and you will

encourage the audience's attention to wander. Too fast and the audience can't keep up

and they will not get the full meaning of the speech.

4. Vary rate

Although a speaker should have a good average rate of speaking, a good speaker will

vary the rate of delivery when the ideas or information being discussed call for a

change. But, do not vary the speed of delivery mechanically but naturally in keeping

with the idea being expressed.

5. Emphasize Key Words

The key words in a sentence need more force than the other words. The emphasis

involves increased vocal force as well as more spirit.

6. Good diction

The words should be spoken clearly, but not spoken too precisely or exacting because

the words themselves become the focus and not the content of the speech. Nor is loose

careless speech useful, it may lead the audience to the conclusion that you are lazy.

By recording a speech and listening carefully to it will reveal any monotonous speaking

and any other vocal bad habits such as ums and ahs. A speaker can invite other

listeners to feedback on their speech delivery, too. Then the speaker should get busy

and practice putting more vocal color into their voice, being sure he speaks in a

conversational tone.

Every day there are numerous opportunities to practice public speaking, because

ordinary conversation is very much like public speaking. Why not make every

conversation more vital and interesting by improving your speaking voice. The

improvement in your speaking voice, will improve the effectiveness of your

communication in conversation, meetings, etc, as well as your public speaking.

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Three Components of Communication

Content - Research has it that what you say otherwise referred to as the content of

your speech is only 7% of your total communication. The important thing to note here is

that it is not what you say alone that matters, how you say it is just as important. While

the content is very important, it will be foolhardy for any speaker to concentrate solely

on content seeing how it accounts for just 7% of the message. This means there is still

93% to look out for when making your presentation.

Vocal - This component is a reference to your voice. It also involves how you use this

voice to project your message, this second aspect of the vocal component of

communication deals with vocal variety, which is a statement of how well you vary your

voice in speech making. This vocal component accounts for 38% of total

communication.

Non-verbal - The third component is non-verbal communication simply because it is not

voiced even though it is an essential part of communicating with people. This is what I

like to call, what you are not saying audibly though people can perceive it loudly and

clearly. Body language is an integral part of non-verbal communication and public

speakers need to know how to use body language to add value to their presentation

and how to interpret the body language of others especially those in their audience.

Research has put the value of this as 55% of total communication.

By way of repetition, the golden rule in presentation is this: It is not what you say but

how you say it. This statement and its attendant implementation separate great

presenters from average ones.

Finally, the best form of communication is one in which all three components of

communication agree completely. If there is a disconnection between these

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components, it will no doubt affect the veracity of your message, as you will send

confusing signals to your audience. What you say must match how you say it and what

you are not saying. That is the purest and most reliable form of communicating with

people. When what you say aligns with how you say it and also what you are not

saying, your believability level, as a public speaker will only increase and this will

ultimately enhance your message.

Dialogues

Dialogues are effective devices in learning a language because they furnish students a

social context in which to practice the language. Sentences come to life in the context of

the dialogue because it represents real communication of ideas from one person to

another.

Sample Dialogue

Grade One

Rudy: hello, how are you?

Eddy: fine. Thank you. How are you?

Rudy: Fine, thanks. Oh, excuse me-here’s my mother.

Eddy: Goodbye.

Rudy: Goodbye.

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Primary:

A. This is an interesting picture.

B. That’s me on my motorcycle.

C. And who are these people?

D. They’re my friends from school.

Intermediate:

E. Where did Tita go?

Or

I hear you have been ill.

F. Well, I had the flu for a couple of days, but I’m fine now.

Or

She went to the drug store.

A. To the bookstore?

Or

You’re looking well. By the way, did you hear about Miss Cruz?

B. No, what about he?

Or

No, I said he went to the drugstore.

A. Oh, I misunderstood you. I thought you said bookstore.

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Or

She had such a bad case of the flu that they had to take her to the

hospital.

B. Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that!

Or

How could you make a mistake like that?

Weren’t you paying attention?

Introducing Choral Speaking in the Classroom

I. Procedures

A. Preparation before reading

1) Careful reading of the selection

a) Enjoy the though of the poem

b) Fell the rhythm without falling into sing-song

c) Watch pronunciation of difficult words

d) Note where enunciation must be especially clear

2) Noting tempo and tones called for

a) Reflect the mood of the poem

b) Plan variety of tempo, tone, and arrangement, emphasis

c) Note words to be emphasized

3) Marking the lines of the poem to indicate readers

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a) A for all unison

b) BC, GC, for boys’ or girls’ chorus

c) BS1, BS2, etc., for solo parts for boy

B. Reading the poem

1. Start together on the first syllable at a sign form the teacher

2. Speak in natural voice

3. Subdue physical motions and emphasize the vocal inflection

II. Materials

A. Selection according to purpose

1. For young children, an activity rhyme and antiphonal reading

B: Jennie come tie my

Jennie come tie my (tying motion)

Jennie come tie my bonnie cravat

G: I’ve tied it behind

I’ve tied it before (tying motion)I’ve tied it so often I’ll toe it no more (finger

shaking)

B: “Where are you going my pretty maid?” (bowing)

G: “I’m going to a milking sir,” (curtsying)

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B: “May I go with you, my pretty maid?”

G: You’re kindly welcome sir,” she said

B: “What is your father, my pretty maid?”

G: “My father’s a farmer sir”, she said.

B: “What is your fortune, my pretty maid?”

G: “What face is my fortune sir”, she said.

B: “Then I cant marry you, my pretty maid.”

G: “Nobody asked you, sir,” she said.

63

SPEAKING

ACTIVITIES

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Intonation Patterns that Change the Meaning

Level: Intermediate

Procedure:

1. The teacher will give an example of a sentence that changes meaning

through intonation.

a. She’s a doctor. = statement or fact

b. She’s a doctor? = echo question, or statement of surprise or disbelief.

2. The teacher will distribute copies of worksheets to students where sentences

are written. The teacher will dictate the words in each sentence in which the

dot will be placed.

3. The class will practice saying each one, first as a statement, and then as a

question, or as a statement of surprise or disbelief.

4. The students will work with a partner. One person reads each sentence,

either as a statement or as a question. The other listens and says, “Oh” or

‘O.k.” if it’s a statement. If a question, the response will be “that’s right”.

List of words

1. The hike starts at 6:00 am.

2. My check bounced.

3. This is what you wanted.

4. There’s a midterm next week.

5. We’re finally finished with this.

6. My fever’s 102°.

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7. We have to take a taxi.

8. Class has been cancelled.

Test the Teacher

Focus: Sound Contrasts

Level: Beginner

Procedure:

1. The teacher will write the following on the board.

Oh Or

So saw

Low law

Coal call

Coat caught

Boat bought

2. Students, one by one, will say one of the words on the board. The teacher will

point to the word that she hears and the students should say “yes” if that was

the word they said and “no” if it wasn’t.

3. If the teacher is not sure of what she heard, point in between of two. If she

heard something different, point somewhere else on the board.

4. If one of the students says “no” to the teachers response, either give them

more time away to try t refine their intended pronunciation, or let them wait a

while until they are ready.

Variation:

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Instead of just two-way sound contrast, the teacher could use three or four

confusing sounds for this activity.

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Phonemic Scrabble

Purpose: to improve students’ knowledge of phonemic script

Level: Advance

Procedure:

1. The teacher will divide the class into four groups. Each group will be given a

game board and set of tiles.

2. The teacher will demonstrate the game to one group. Put all the phonemic

tiles face downwards on the table, and tell each member of the group to take

a given number unseen (seven tiles). The first player looks at his/her

phonemes and tries to make an English word in sound ex. /si/ for “see”. If

he/she can do so, he/she lays down this word on the game board. The next

player looks at his/her phonemes and does the same. If player cannot make a

word, they pick up another tile from the pool.

3. All the groups will begin simultaneously.

4. After twenty minutes, the players count one point for each tile left in their

hand. The player with the smallest number wins.

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Game Board (sample)

w e n z d ei

I u

θ æ ŋ k s

Λ əu

k æ n æ

w d r I ŋ k

s i g Λ n

b e n t ə m Λ ŋ

t t

l

d

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Telephoning

A. Objectives:

1. To speak with clarity and expressiveness.

2. To use correct form in answering the phone.

3. To use correct form in: calling home, calling a friend, calling the school.

4. To distinguish between correct forms used in business and social calls.

B. Activities

1. View one or more films such as:

Speech: Conversation

Young America Films

Telephone courtesy

Thanks for Listening

2. Have the class draw up a code “code for using the telephone” which

combines courtesy and efficiency.

3. Dramatize emergency situations.

a. Calling in a fire-alarm.

b. Calling an ambulance.

c. Reporting to the proper city official the presence of the stray dog on

the playground.

d. Calling the family doctor.

e. Reporting a fire.

4. Dramatize social situations.

a. Inviting a friend to a party.

b. Asking a friend to a homework assignment.

c. Calling mother to get permission to purchase a ticket to the play.

d. Calling a friend to talk about a party, a movie, a new dress, a hockey

game.

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Developing Skills in Conversation

A. Objectives

1. To instruct pupils in conversational techniques.

2. To help pupils use conversational skills in their social contacts.

3. To help pupils identify and correct their weaknesses.

B. Techniques

1. Have children dramatize some situations requiring conversation.

2. Discuss the attributes of good conversation; .spontaneity, fluency, expect for

other’s ideas, alert listening, pleasant voice.

3. Discuss conversation as an informal speech activity.

a. importance of conversation

b. Consideration of others in conversation.

c. What to talk about.

d. Keeping well informal about happenings

e. How to avoid awkward pauses

f. Learning from conversationalists

C. Activities

1. dramatize specific situations

2. Divide into pairs and select an interesting problem for the dialogue.

3. Have the students suggest appropriate topics for conversation.

4. compose an imaginary conversation with an imaginary character of one’s choice

5. Have pupils listen to and evaluate television programs involving conversations

and/or dialogues on subjects of general interest.

6. Have each student bring to class, to be read aloud, the best conversation that he

has focused on his reading recently.

7. Have the class draw up a list of ways to become better class conversationalists.

8. Tape several of the best conversations. Have the class listen to them and

evaluate them on the basis of the criteria set up.

9. Have the students report to the class on a conversation in which they took part.

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Social Situations

A. Objectives

1. To help children improve their skills in human relations.

2. To instruct students in social situations in a functional setting.

3. To give students practical experience through dramatizing situations.

B. Techniques of the Teacher

1. Point out to the students the social amenities.

2. View a film which demonstrates correct social behavior.

3. Discuss the needs for knowing what to do in specific situations.

4. Use creative dramatics as a preparation for the “real” experience.

5. Have children introduce parents, relatives, visitors, friends.

C. Activities

1. draw up a list of suggestions for making introductions

2. practice the procedure for making introductions by introducing the following

people:

a. a classmate to your mother

b. a relative to your teacher

c. your mother to your teacher

d. a boy to a girl

e. two girls to each other

f. one group to another group

3. dramatize the following introductions:

a. the premier of the province or mayor of the town to the class

b. Judge Brown, senior student, to your teacher

c. A friend to a member of your family

4. view a film demonstrating correct procedure for making introductions and note

how well the introduction were cued in to start a conversation, how well the cues

picked up, and so forth.

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5. Dramatize: you are setting at your desk and your mother comes to the door. You

present your teacher to her.

6. Have students pair off and select types of introductions they wish to demonstrate

for the class.

Order of Introduction

Manner of introduction

Introduce first the person who because of age or gender is entitled to greater

respect. A girl is introduced first when being introduced to a person of the opposite sex.

“Mary, this is Dan Mabrey. Dan, this is my cousin, Mary Davis.”

Correct Phrases

“May I present?” “This is my mother”.

Response

“How do you do?” not “I’m pleased to metcha” or “charmed”.

When to shake hands

If a boy is introduced to a girl, he waits to initiate the action of shaking hands.

Men always shake hands.

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When to rise

In the presence of older or distinguished guest one always rises. A boy always

rises in the presence of a girl or woman.

How to introduce a person to a group

Present the honored person to the entire group at once.

How to proceed easily from the introduction into conversation

Add a comment telling something about the individual you are introducing that

will give a clue to or springboard for conversation. For example, “Miss Jenson, this is my

friend Alice. She has just moved to Manitoba. She lived in Ohio before she came here”.

“How do you do, Ann? Do you find the climate here quite contrast to that of Ohio?”

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Relax and Chat

Purpose: Develop ability to start and keep up informal conversation.

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Procedure:

1. Find a short exchange, and prepare a sample version of it in which

the speakers do not stop once the purpose of the dialogue has

been fulfilled but rather carry on chatting.

2. Collect a number of typical phrases or sentences which people

might use to strike up a conversation with a stranger.

Sample Dialogue

Original

Customer: Two pounds of tomatoes please.

Greengrocer: Here you are, sir. That’ll be 90p please.

Customer: Thank you.

Greengrocer: 10p change. Thank you sir. Goodbye.

Customer: Goodbye.

Extended, chatty version

Customer: Two pounds of tomatoes please.

Greengrocer: Here you are, sir. That’ll be 90p and cheap at the price!

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Customer: Yes, they look like good ones. It would be cheaper still if I grew

my own. My garden’s just about big enough.

Greengrocer: Well, you could, sir, but it’s a lot of trouble, you know. You

need special soil, fertilizers and a greenhouse.

Customer: Well, yes, and I suppose that would cost money.

Greengrocer: It certainly would, sir and why bother when you can get two

pounds of tomatoes from me for only 90p, eh?

Variation

Keep the conversation going

Sitting in a circle, students practice strategies to keep the conversation

going by following one or more of the following four conversational

patterns.

1. Students 1 asks question; S2 answers it, elaborates on

the answer, then asks a related question; S3 answers it,

etc.

2. S1 expresses an opinion, S2 agrees with it and

expresses a related opinion, S3 agrees, etc.

3. S1 relates something interesting facts or news; S2 reacts

to it and then adds his/her own facts, news, etc.

4. S1 says a sentence which can be anything; S2 reacts to

it and asks a question concerning this sentence; S3

answers and elaborates on the subject; S4 reacts asks a

further question about the same topic, etc.

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By The Way that Reminds Me

Purpose: Develop ability to change the subject naturally.

Level: Intermediate to Advance

Procedure:

1. Ask the students to describe in one sentence what the dialogue is

all about. Then get them to brainstorm some other, perhaps more

unusual, topics which they would like to see dealt with in a course

book. Make a list on the board.

2. point out that during the course of real life conversation, people

often keep moving on to different topics and usually use set

phrases to do this, e.g. “by the way”. Elicit more such phrases from

them and suggest some for yourself. Draw up a list on the board.

3. Get the students into small groups or pairs (depending on the

number of characters in the dialogue). To make the activity more

challenging, each group is to pick out one topic from the board for

another group, e.g. with three groups Group A for B etc., and the

groups prepare a new version of the dialogue by including the topic

they have been given.

1. The groups extend the dialogue by making the

characters introduce and start talking about the topic they

have been given, using one or more of the phrases listed

on the board.

2. Students perform their extended versions of the dialogue.

The audience notes down which phrases they chose to

change the subject and what subjects were covered.

77

Sorry to Interrupt

Purpose: Develop turn taking skills in conversation, practice

smooth interruptions.

Level: Elementary and above

Procedure:

1. Find or make a recorded monologue.

2. Prepare a list of 4-5 phrases your students can use when they

want to interrupt a conversation and when they want to return to

the original topic.

3. Go through the dialogue you will be using with your students

and think of some possible characters who could be added to

the play the role of nuisance and constantly interrupt the others;

some possibilities are: a clever teenager, a know-all relative, the

boss or a nosy colleague, a drunk person sitting nearby.

Input:

To Interrupt

(I’m) sorry to interrupt…

Sorry to break in, but…

Sorry, can/may I interrupt you for a second…

Excuse me…/Pardon me…

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Excuse/pardon me for interrupting, but…

If I may interrupt for a second…

Sorry, but did I hear you say…?

I couldn’t help overhearing…

To Return

As I was saying…

(Now) what was I saying/ what were we talking about…?

Where was I…?

Going back to…

To return to/going back to what I was saying before…

To get back to what we were talking about…

Let’s get back to..

(Yes, well) anyway…

In any case…

Variation

The Interrupting Game

Students get into two groups and both are given a short text. Someone

from group A reading out the text; group B’s job is to stop them getting to

the end for as long as possible by constantly interrupting. After each

interruption, group A must react and turn to the text. Afterwards, group B

79

has to a go to reading. The winning team is the one who can delay the

end of the other team’s text for longer.

I Haven’t Got All Day!

Purpose: Provide combined practice in skills for initiating a conversation,

changing the subject and interrupting

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Procedure:

1. Ask students whether they have ever been in a situation where they

were waiting o be served while the salesperson/attendant was

engaged in a lengthy conversation with another customer. Tell

them that they are going to reproduce a scene like this.

2. Present the sample sentences you have prepared and quickly

revise how one can go about striking up a conversation with

somebody, carrying it on by introducing new topics, and how

another person can try to interrupt this conversation.

3. Get your students into groups of three. In each group, two students

will take the role of the customer and the salesperson in the original

dialogue, while the third student will be the new character who is

another customer waiting for his/her turn.

4. Students prepare an extended version of the original dialogue

along the lines.

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Dialogue Halves

Purpose: Explore how conversation is structured and sequenced

Level: Elementary and above

Procedure:

1. Students get into pairs. Hand out the dialogue skeletons you have

prepared; some pairs should be given only Skeleton 1, the others

only Skeleton 2.

2. Ask the pairs to write in the missing parts in their dialogue

skeletons.

3. Get students into new pairs by joining a student who had skeleton 1

with another who had skeleton 2. Ask them to put together dialogue

halves, i.e., the parts they have written, and see if the new hybrid

dialogue makes any sense. If not, they should make changes that

will join the parts together smoothly.

4. Each pair reads out the original hybrid dialogue, then their changed

version.

5. After each performance discuss why changes were necessary.

Sample dialogue skeletons

Skeleton 1 Skeleton 2

A: ………………………… A: What’s the time?

B: Half past seven. B: …………………………..

A: ………………………… A: Is it that late already?

B: I’m afraid so. B: …………………………..

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Sample dialogue skeletons

Skeleton 1 Skeleton 2 New hybrid

A: When is your mother A: What’s the time? A: when is your

coming? mother coming?

B: Half past seven? B: It’ll be dark soon. B: It’ll be dark soon.

A: Is she bringing you’re A: Is it that late already? A: Is she brining aunt too? your aunt too?

B: I’m afraid do. B: Why don’t you relax? B: Why don’t you

relax?

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Jumbled Dialogue

Purpose: Develop the awareness of the natural and logical organization within conversation.

Level: Elementary and above

Procedure:

1. Students get into groups of three. Give each group an envelope.2. Ask students to shuffle the slips and divide them among themselves. Tell them

that they must not show their slips to the other two.3. The students’ task is to put the slips in the right order by

a. First deciding the possible order of their slips,b. Each reading out their slip in turn,c. Discussing the sequence and agreeing on the order of the slips (without

actually showing them to each other),d. Writing a sequence number on each slip.

4. When all the slips have been numbered, students out together the slips on the table in the right order, and read them out to check whether their version and the other groups’ versions are correct.

Variation

Human dialogue chain

Split up the dialogue so that there is a section (or speaker’s turn) for every student in the class; write these on separate cards and hand them out to the students. Give them thirty seconds to memorize the section they have got. They then put the slips away, get up and wander around repeating their sequence over and over, and listening carefully to others. Their task is to fine people whose bit could logically come immediately before or after their own. Whenever they hear a possibility, they should jot down that person’s name.

Next, the students are asked to form a human dialogue chain, i.e., stand in a line according to the order they think the utterances should come in. this might involve some

83

lively negotiation. When they are satisfied with the chain, each student in turn says their line so that they hear the complete dialogue for the first time.

Again, using two unrelated dialogues to form two human dialogue chains gives the exercise an interesting twist.

Turn-taking in Conversation

Purpose: Identify the signals people give to coordinate turn taking in conversation.

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Procedure:

1. Discuss with the class why it is that people in conversation hardly ever talk at the same time-they take it in turns. How do they know whose turn it is to speak? Listen to the beginning of the recording of the dialogue, stopping after each change of turn, and discuss what turn taking signals the speakers received/gave.

2. Get students to think about other possible signals. Hand out the turn taking observation sheets and go through the items to see if there is anything they have not mentioned or anything then can add.

3. The students’ next task is to listen to the dialogue again and fill in the observation sheet by putting a mark in the proper slot every time a particular turn taking signal occurs. Point out that one change of turn may involve more than one signal.

4. After listening to the recordings, discuss the results and sort out the ambiguous points, e.g., whether something is an interruption or just moving briskly into a gap, etc.

5. Play the authentic recording. Students continue filling in their observation sheets.6. Compare and contrast the results obtained from the instructional and the

authentic conversation.

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What Do You Mean?

Purpose: Provide practice in asking for explanations.

Level: Elementary and above

Procedure:

1. To start with, turn to a student and say something which includes a very difficult or even an imaginary word. Can the student ask you in English to explain the word? If not, try another student. This should lead to a discussion of different ways of asking for explanations. Make a list of these on the board.

2. Practice using these phrases by saying one or two difficult sentences and getting students to ask for an explanation; when they do, you reformulate the sentence in simpler language.

3. Students get into pairs. Hand out the dialogue halves and give them time to look over their own part.

4. Hand out the sue cards. Using the dialogue halves, students perform the dialogue, but they must say the difficult word or phrase on their cue card instead of the original and simpler version. When the other speakers hear a difficult part, he/she should ask for an explanation, using the phrases learnt.

5. After some students have had some practice, get one or two pairs to volunteer to perform the dialogue for the class, but this time the speakers should include imaginary words to elicit requests for explanation.

Sample dialogue

Original

A: There’s lots of traffic on this road today, isn’t there?

B: Yes, it’s because they’re doing some repair work on K’s Road.

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New Version

A: There’s an ambulance of vehicles on this road today, isn’t there?

B: Sorry, I’m afraid I don’t understand…

A: There’s lots of traffic.

B: Oh, yes. That’s because road works are in progress on King’s Road.

A: Sorry, what do you mean by ‘road works are in progress’?

More of the Same

Purpose: Focus on the new language function presented in the dialogue.

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Procedure:

1. Tell the students that in this activity they will be working as textbook writers.

2. Introduce the dialogue and ask them to examine it from the teaching point of view:

what is the dialogue trying to teach? How many different structures are introduced to

carry out that function? Altogether how may times does the language function appear in

the dialogue?

3. tell them that the publishers are not satisfied with the dialogue because they believe

that it could be made more useful. In fact, they would like to offer a contract to the team

which can produce the best rewritten version, i. e., with the most functional expression

in terms of types and total number.

86

4. get the students to form teams of co-authors (groups of two or three) and ask them to

prepare their proposals; these should contain the author’s names, the suggested title of

the book, and the rewritten dialogue. While writing, students can refer to the list of

expressions you have put on the board for further ideas.

5. when students have finished, ask the teams to read out their proposals in turn. Write

the authors’ names and the book title on the board, and during each reading record the

number of expression types and the total number of expressions used.

6. now students turn into an editorial board and, by secret vote, decide on the version to

be published.

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OTHER

SPEAKING

ACTIVITIES

REFERENCE:

Pangilinan, E. & Dilig, M. 1991. Sppech and Drama. MC Reprographics. Metro Manila.

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Lucas, S. 1989. The Art of Public Speaking. Random House Inc. USA.

Gilbert, J. 1084. Clear Speech. Cambridge University Press. USA.

Aquino, Fe. 2002. Effective Speech Communication. Katha Publishing Co., Inc. Quezon

City.

Streeter, D. 1969. A Speech Handbook for Teachers. Prentice-Hall, Inc. New Jersey.

Byrns, J. 1004. Speak for Yourself. McGraw-Hill, Inc. USA.

O’Connor, J. D. 1986. Better English Pronunciation. Cambridge University Press. USA.

Richard, G. & Carol, C. 1981. Basic Oral Communication. Prentice-Hall, Inc. New

Jersey.

Brown, G. 1983. Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge University Press. Great

Britain.

Dalton, C. & Seidhofer, B. 1994. Pronunciation. Oxford University Press. Hong Kong.

Jeroski, S. 1990. Speak for Yourself. A Division of International Limited. Ontario.

Alcantara, R. et al. 1996. Teaching Strategies I. Katha Publishing Co., Inc. Quezon City.

Iogan, L. et al. 1972. Creative Communication: Teaching the Language Art. McGraw-Hill

Ryeston Limited. Canada.

Quattrini, J. 1950. Speaking by Doing. National Textbook Company. USA.

Bailey, K. & Savage, L. 1994. New Ways in Teaching Speaking. New Ways in TESOL Series:

Innovative Classroom Techniques. John Benjamins Publishing Co . Virginia, USA.

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