Teaching Speaking Skills in Secondery Schools: Attitudes, Perceptions and Practices
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Date
2009-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study was mainly intended to assess the attitudes, perceptions and practices of
teaching speaking skills at secondary schools in order to find out the classroom factors
that may account on the quality and effectiveness of students' participation in speaking
activities.
Pertaining to the study, the attitudes and perceptions of students and teachers towards
the relevance of the speaking skills' practices, the methodology used, the role of students'
personality factors ,and the pertinence of the speaking activities were examined by the
questionnaires and interviews, designed and employed for these purposes .Moreover,
classroom observation checklist wa.f" used in observing the actual speaking classroom
practices in the light of attentions given to purpose, supports, motivations and speaking
inputs which allowed the researcher closely examined the classroom factors in relation
with how they used (either in enhancing or inhibiting) to that of the quality and
effectiveness of students' participauon. Textbook evaluation checklists were also
employed as to evaluate the presence of the required elements and components in tile
speaking tasks to determine the appropriateness of the tasks or activities for the intended
students' participation.
The findings of the study indicate that the importance of teaching speaking skills is
undermined and teachers are not fully committed to teach. As seen in the results drawn
from teachers' altitudes and perceptions towards the relevance of teaching speaking,
using the method properly, and identifying and offering help for students with personality
problems, the majority of them expressed as practising to speak in English is considered
as the least important for their students, besides they think their students are not
interested in any speaking lesson presented in pairs/group modes. Moreover, the results
from the classroom practices affirm that teachers almost totally failed to provide
purpose, relevant speaking inputs like for example, strategies, traine with basic skills
needed by students to function as group/pair, support and motivate their students in most
cases. The findings, therefore, suggest that by neglecting the relevance of teaching
speaking and rendering their roles as sources of information, facilitators, participants
,councilors etc they not only undermine the importance of teaching speaking skills but
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also fail to meet the syllabus' intention in teaching speaking skills. By this the teachers'
attitude towards the importance of tea' 'hing speaking as one part of the language as well
as their perceptions towards the method and their communicative roles are not positive,
seen in the light of literature.
Similarly, the findings also indicate tha: practising to speak English is not prior to the
majority students. Students view practising to speak in group/pair as well as the speaking
activities they are supposed to work in group as they are irrelevant. The amount of
motivation, support, assistances they have received in the class is also unsatisfactory.
Moreover, the study shows that the inappropriateness of the speaking activities In
eliciting students' oral participation is one of the major factors that hamper pair/grouo
work in the classroom. Generally, th: findings suggested that factors related to teacher:
attitudes, and perceptions towards the importance of teaching speaking as part of the
language pedagogy, being communicative teacher and the relevance of implementing
group modes, likely to attribute to students' lack of purposes, motivation, orcl
communicative competences, cooperative skills, and positive awareness regarding oral
participation, and group/pair works. Therefore, the study recommended that efforts
should be made by teachers to provide their students with purpose, the required
strategies, support , motivation as well as able to create awareness regarding the
relevance of participation and cooperative learning a long with the necessary skill: s J
that students' participation in the speaking activities would show encouraging
change. Besides, the study also recommends the necessity of changing attitude ard
perception on the part of the teachers.
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Keywords
Teaching Speaking Skills in Secondery