Problems and strategies of teaching English productive skills

Annotation: This article deals with problems and their solutions of teaching productive skills in English.

Key words: teacher, learner, speaking, writing, English, skill, second language.

Данная статья связана с проблемами и их решениями в области обучения продуктивных навыков в английском языке.

Ключевые слова: учитель, ученик, разговорный, письменный, английский, второй язык.

The development of speaking skill is not paid enough attention in most of the English classes, because the teacher does not feel confident and competence to do it or learners do not feel the need for the skills. In most of time classes or school or college, we have found that the teacher that only speaks and the learner hardly gets opportunities to speak in front of the audience or class or school; if they speak, it is often repeating what the teacher says.

In English spoken classes or school, learners should have given opportunities to speak, because speaking skills can be developed only through engaging the learners in the act of speaking and interacting only. Most of the time we ponder over the classes’ teacher tends to neglect the speaking skill that has to use by learner. The teacher should give more opportunity to interact only in English language not mother tongue.

The ability to use a language is called language skill. When learners learn a language they usually learn four language skills for communicating in that language. When they learn their first language, learners usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write. These are called the four language skills. So, for learning a second or a foreign language they also need to follow these steps.

Teachers tend to talk about the way learners use language in terms of four skills- reading, writing, speaking and listening. They are often divided into two types. Receptive skill is a term used for reading and listening, skills where meaning is extracted from the discourse. Productive skill is the term for speaking and writing, skills where students actually have to produce language themselves.

The productive skills are speaking and writing, because learners need to articulate words and write to produce language. Learners receive language by listening to conversation, music, video and also by reading comprehension, newspaper, poem, book, etc. Then they move on to the next stage where they produce the language to express their thoughts by using productive skills. Speaking is an oral production of language. McDonough and Shaw stated that, speaking involves expressing ideas and opinions, expressing a wish or desire to do something, negotiating or solving problems or establishing and maintaining social relations[1] . So, speaking is the oral process to produce language. On the other hand, writing is a productive skill in written mode. When scientists talk about writing there is usually two-way distinction of writing: institutional and personal writing. Institutional writing includes textbooks, reports, applications, business correspondence whereas personal writing covers personal letters and creative writing.

Ur said that, “Speaking is the productive aural/oral skill. It consists of producing systematic verbal utterance to convey meaning”[2]. According to Gower, Philips and Walters every opportunity for speaking in classroom should be taken. It can be done by trying to communicate that students realize their need for language and by speaking that they increase their fluency and confidence. At first students may be self-conscious and reluctant to speak in front of people. However, there are ways (repetition work and pair work activities) of providing a safer, less public environment in which the students can begin to practice speaking. As a productive skill speaking is very important. Previously speaking was not a popular activity to practice in our classrooms. But nowadays the process of speaking activity has changed a lot. Teachers now try to encourage the students to improve their communication skills through speaking. According to Nunan , to be successful in acquiring the speaking skill in the target language, the following sub skills should be developed:

 Expertise on stress, rhythm, intonation patterns,

 An acceptance degree of fluency,

 . Transactional and interpersonal skills,

 Skills in talking short and long speaking turns,

 Skills in the management of interaction,

 Using appropriate formulae and fillers”.

According to Gower, “Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. In controlled and guided activities the focus is usually on accuracy and the teacher makes it clear from feedback that accuracy is important”[3]. In speaking, accuracy is very important and teachers should encourage the students for the correct use of language.

He also added, “Fluency is the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously ”. As the main aim of fluency is to give the students the opportunity to speak so, Scrivener suggested that, teachers should reduce their talking time to give the students more space to talk. He also added that, if the teachers correct students middle of a fluency task it can interrupt the flow of speaking and students often find it hard to continue after a correction, whilst others in class may become more reluctant to speak for fear of similar interruption. So, teachers should give a proper instruction before an accuracy-focused work or a fluency-focused work.

To conclude, the above mentioned ideas, we may say that, teaching productive skills as speaking and writing require the teachers a hard work. It is necessary to get information about strategies of teaching productive skills in order to teach them step by step. Language acquisition works better if teachers are well informed about the theoretical background teaching productive skills and can exploit them in the classroom perfectly.

Reference

1. Magdalena Aleksandrzak.Problems and challenges in teaching and learning speaking at advanced level. Adam Mickiewicz University Press Poznań Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu GLOTTODIDACTICA XXXVII (2011)
2. Syeda Dishari Bashrin. Productive Skills: Teaching Beginners in English Medium School;BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of English and Humanities: August, 2013
3. Agung Darwanto; Strategies For Developing Speaking Skill Used By Students Of English Education Department: A Case Study Publication Articles; Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Getting Bachelor Degree of Education in English Department; School of teacher training and education muhammadiyah university of surakarta; 2014.

Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu GLOTTODIDACTICA XXXVII (2011)

[2] Syeda Dishari Bashrin. Productive Skills: Teaching Beginners in English Medium School;BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Department of English and Humanities: August, 2013

[3] Agung Darwanto ; Strategies For Developing Speaking Skill Used By Students Of English Education Department: A Case Study Publication Articles ; Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Getting Bachelor Degree of Education in English Department;

School of teacher training and education muhammadiyah university of surakarta; 2014 .