The Teaching of Speaking

The present curriculum used is KTSP. The standard competence of the first grade of Junior High School students is to enable the students to communicate in oral and written form using the appropriate language fluently and accurately in the interaction texts and short monologs especially in narrative, descriptive, and simple recount text. The curriculum explains that there are different characteristics that the oral and written language have. Unfortunately, the phenomenon happens that there are still many students who do not have ability in producing some sentences. Their style in speaking is still in surface area. They cannot differentiate to communicate English in oral and written form. By considering this fact, an English teacher should create appropriate technique to teach speaking. She or he must be able to make a new teaching method so that his/ her style in teaching is not monotonous.
There have been so many ways and theories found to help teacher to develop students’ capabilities in using English. Cross (1992: 281) stated that various kinds of speaking activities, such as role play and drama that can be done both in pairs and in groups, or games that is usually favorable to the students, hopefully, can be applied in English class. Teachers are expected to gain fresh insight into the nature of classroom communication and learn how to create materials that will engage the learners in meaningful face to face interaction. The objective of teaching speaking is to enable the English learners to use the foreign language as a medium of oneself conscious expression, then teacher needs to include activities which offer practice in negotiation and self-expression.
Richard (2003: 214) explains that there are three techniques in teaching speaking that can make the students improve their ability to produce the target language, acquire many of its nonverbal nuances, improve the ability to work cooperatively in group situations, and effectively deal affective issues. Those three techniques are:
1.Story telling
Stories have traditionally been used to teach, to entertain, and to explain the unknown. The activities are more appropriate to beginning levels, others, to more advanced levels. Exposing the students to a story before fully understanding the words can be highly motivating for beginning at any age. The same story can be used from time to time in different ways until a full understanding is achieved over a period of perhaps several months.
2.Role Play
Role play has high appeal for students because it allows them to be creative and to put themselves in another person’s place for a while. It can be tightly controlled; perhaps a s a logical development of dialogue in the textbook, or it can be relatively free, with considerable scope for imagination and creativity. When teacher uses this technique, the students as if are in the real life. They use their creativity in their acts. Hopefully, they can use their experience in the real situation.
3.Drama
Drama, even though an integral part of story telling and role play, constitutes its own separate category. It includes activities involving roles, plots, and dialogues which are written in play form to be memorized and acted on the stage or read aloud. Drama helps explore the world of emotions and nonverbal communication in the ESL/ EFL classroom.
Drama not only kelps the students to internalize language patterns by memorizing dialogue or to enhance listening skills by attending dramatized stories but also to express themselves despite the frustration of learning a new language. Drama helps the students to use reading to find meaning and act that meaning in an interpersonal context. Drama in the classroom usually takes on variety of forms, such as use of play scripts as literary text, Reader Theater, puppetry, etc.
References:
Cross, David. 1992. A Practical Handbook of Language Teaching. UK: Prentice Hall International Ltd.
Richard, Patricia A. 2003. Making It Happen – From Interactive to Participatory Language Teaching. New York: Pearson Education Inc.