Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills

Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills

PROBLEM: I have very poor pronunciation. Native speakers often don’t understand me.

Imitate the rhythm and intonation of the language you are studying

Compare your pronunciation to the model(s) on the recordings

Look at the format

Listen carefully and repeat aloud after your teacher or a native speaker

Ask your teacher how certain sounds are formed

Practise a sound separately at first; then use it progressively in words and sentences

Make a list of words that give you pronunciation trouble and practise them

PROBLEM: I keep making the same mistakes over and over again

Distinguish, whenever possible, between a casual slip and a recurring error

Try to understand why you consistently make a certain kind of error

Note the relative seriousness of your errors

Accept some corrections on faith

Determine how much error is tolerated in a particular language

PROBLEM: I have very few opportunities to speak in the foreign language

Perform every classroom activity

Interact with native and skilled speakers, including your teacher

Interact with classmates or other students in your language programme

PROBLEM: I don’t say much because I am not sure that I know how to say something correctly

Be prepared and practise on your own

Rehearse silently in the foreign language

Learn to live with uncertainty

Avoid the vicious circle of not saying things because you are worried about mistakes

PROBLEM: Sometimes I get stuck in the middle of a conversation and can’t get myself out of trouble

Involve the person you are speaking with

Get help

Use your own resources

Paraphrase

Use synonyms

Gamble on cognates

Use gestures

Avoid problem areas

PROBLEM: I’m so slow in conversation that my conversational partner(s) usually take(s) over

Use hesitation fillers

Warn your partner

Buy your time with certain expressions

PROBLEM: I find that native speakers don’t understand me at all

Learn expressions from dialogues and texts

Learn idioms or expressions for future use

PROBLEM: I don’t think native speakers enjoy talking to me in the foreign language

Learn some phrases for beginning and ending conversations

Learn expressions that show you are paying attention and following the conversation

Learn how to express your reactions

Learn to involve the other person

Learn ways of managing a conversation

Learn some routines for refusing and accepting invitations

Rubin & Thompson (1994: 100-109)