1 ORAL COMMUNICATION
2 way process between speaker and listener involving the productive skill or speaking and the receptive skill of understanding.
SPEECH AND WRITING
There is a tendency to give priority to speech over writing (1st stages) to develop automatic speech habits.
Arguments in favour of speech over writing:
1 It reflects the way children learn native language. (chomsky).
2 Writing is a secondary language, (not in importance), but it is a codification of speech.
Arguments in favour of writing over speech:
1 The spelling system of English, contains useful morphological information which is not present in the spoken language.
2 Speech is not useful, for advanced (derivative vocabulary, compounds, etc), and more complex sentences.
2 ELEMENTOS Y NORMAS QUE RIGEN EL DISCURSO ORAL
CHARACTERISTICS:
1 Formed by SPEECH ACTS.
J. L. Austin, 60s. Infinite sentences in a finite set of functions.
Speech acts, or illocutionary acts…
expressives representatives directives commisives declaratives
2 sequencing:
ordering of contributions to negotiations of meanings
openings developments closings interrupting turn-taking
3 implicature
H.P Grice quantity, truth, clarity, relevance
Implicature when a hearer notices that the speaker has deliberately flouted one of the maxims
3 RUTINAS Y FORMULAS HABITUALES
SPEECH EVENTS bridge between speech acts and the higher level of communication system. How people use speech acts in a larger context (speech event).
Compliments:
Expressive expressions of like and dislike
Complaints:
Contrast what it is with what it should be:
Advice:
4 ESTRATEGIAS PROPIAS DE LA COMUNICACIÓN ORAL
NEGOTIATION OF MEANING
When learners of a second language interact with native speakers or other learners, they often experience considerable difficulty in communicating. This leads to interactional efforts by both parts to get mutual understanding. This work is called negotiation of meaning.
Negotiation of meaning has implications in the acquisition of a new language:
Use of strategies to avoid trouble: checking comprehension, selecting salient topics…
Use of tactics to repair trouble: requests for clarification, slow pace, repetition, stressing key words, using gestures…
Speech ones:
Avoid communication. Go to the counter, take it…
Adjust the message I have to hang a picture on the wall.
Paraphrase the thing you use to hang…
Approximation a tool
New words knocker
Switch to native language martillo
Non linguistic resources
Help dictionary.
Learning strategies:
Silent period
Not only through conscious effort.
5 ORAL COMMUNICATION AND TEACHING PRACTICE
1 RECEPTIVE SKILLS
Listening comprehension
Problems not found with reading material.
Written can be looked at more than once. Spoken word cannot be repeated.
Spontaneous conversation not very organized.
Listening to a teacher or to a tape recorder is not the same as real life listening.
Exercises
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Perception exercises. It is the only category where actual comprehension is a secondary consideration, the emphasis being on aural perception. Visual clues to meaning are eliminated or kept to a minimum in order to induce the learner to rely upon his hear. |
Comprehension exercises |
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Word level: At early stages. Learning new sounds is not a particularly intellectual activity. It is a matter of acquiring habits. The process of teaching them, therefore, is mostly based on a behaviourist model. The teacher demonstrates the sounds he wishes to teach and encourages students to imitate them with a fair degree of accuracy. |
Sentence level: Once words are integrated into sentences, it is more difficult recognizing them: Contraction and disappearance of weak forms Elision of consonants Ill defined word division Consequence: acoustic blur, out of which the student has to try to reconstruct what words the speaker actually meant. |
No response Can be an excellent framework for the students to be exposed to a large amount to English input |
Short responses |
Longer responses |
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Repetition. Same or different. Checking understanding. English or not |
Repetition Same or different Checking understanding Ticking off items (bingo with verbs, vocabulary, etc) |
Listening to a familiar text Listening aided by visuals. (classroom, pictures, student…) Following a written text |
Obeying instructions Picture dictation Notin specific information Detecting mistakes |
Paraphrase (simplification avoids repetition) Answering questions Guessing definitions filling gaps summarizing discussion and debate problem solving |
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2 DRILLS
They help to assimilate facts about new language and enable the student to produce the new language for the first time by helping him master the basic structural patterns of the language. They are usually very controlled and have a fairly limited potential. They should not be used either too frequently or for too long. Insist on accuracy, correcting.
Positive:
They gain some confidence and fluency.
They improve pronunciation.
Negative:
Pupils can repeat one sentence numberless times and still they may not know how to construct a new one with the same structure.
PROCEDURE
The model sentence for the drills should always be contextualized and wherever possible an element of contextualization will be sustained through the drill.
The partition of the class in groups or the use of choral drilling permits a longer time of exposition, and increases the confidence of the pupil.
A good idea is to let pupils think about the answer mentally, and then select a pupil.
TYPES
Mechanical drills:
Substitution: A new word or phrase is substituted in the same position with each response. The teacher gives the substitution word (prompt) orally, using a series of pictures, or with realia, and the students incorporates it in the preceding response.
I can play the guitar
Piano
I can play the piano
Ride a horse
I can ride a horse
Bike
I can ride a bike
Want to
I want to ride a bike
Meaningful drills:
Open-ended responses
Peter was thirsty so he….
Guessing drills
Guess who he is
Is he tall?
Is he fat?
Imaginary situations.
I am thirsty, what can I do?
Why don´t you have a glass of water?
3 COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES
In this kind of activities the focus will be on the success of the communication. The students use the language as a vehicle of communication rather than being an end itself. They say what they want to say rather than what they are directed to say. The teacher´s attitude to error and mistake will be completely different.
Not only in advanced levels.
Problems of the learners:
Linguistic. The linguistic errors are not so important here as the success of the learner in communicating what he tries to communicate. When errors are corrected, we will try not to make him lose his confidence, nor distract him.
Psychological.
1 inhibition from students to express themselves in the presence of a whole class, and also the fear of making mistakes. Better begining at early stages. Only correcting when essential, and depending on pupils.
2 motivation. Need to communicate. Group work. Every a fragment of a history.
Cognitive
Provide the learners with something to talk about, a theme, a topic, a problem. Stimulus not need to be verbal: picture. General (not technical nor specialised knowledge), and interesting.