Speakers of English, especially
where it a second laguage, will have to be able to speak in a range of
different genres and situations, and they will be able to use a range of
conversational and conversational strategies. They will also expected to be able
to survive in typical functional exchanges, too (Harmer, 2007). Having watched
the three video clips of speaking strategies in International English Language
Test System (IELTS), I would like to provide my opinions on the topic
discussion, the language and learning strategies. This video pictured Ms. Osi,
the teacher of the class, gave guidance and treatment to some students who are
getting their IELTS speaking test.
From
the observation, the class seems normal. In this case, Ms. Osi acted as a
observer as participant where her presence was known by the group she was
observing (Alwasilah, 2011). The discourse analysis particulary in taking turns
was fluent. Teacher talked and students listened, and vice versa. There seemed
no significant problems in discussion because the teacher encouraged the
students in speaking English. She presented strategies-based instructions, a
learner-centered approach to teaching that has two major components: (1) students
are explicitly taught how, when, and why strategies can be used to facilitate
language learning and language use tasks, and (2) strategies are integrated
into everyday class materials, and may be explicitly or implicitly embedded
into the language tasks. In other words, strategies-based instruction aims to
assist learners in becoming more responsible for their efforts in learning and
using the target language. It also aims to assist them in becoming more
effective learners by allowing them to individualize the language learning
experience.
However, she applied teacher-centered approach
instead of student-centered, which does not allow the students to improve their
speaking ability. It was noticed there were some passive students and only
several were actively responsed to the teacher’s stimulus. Students were seated
individually while for speaking learning, it is in best condition if students
are seated in pairwork or groupwork because it dramatically increases the
number of talking of opportunities for individual students. Also, it allows
teacher time to work with one or two pairs while the other students continue
working (Harmer, 2007).
One of the factors that influence
language learning is the age factors (Brown, 2007). The age of students is a major
factor in teachers’ decisions about how and what to teach (Harmer, 2007). The
students observed in the video can be categorized into adult learners. Their
characteristics are (1) they can engage with abstract thought, (2) they have a
whole range of life experience to draw on, (3) they have expectations about the
learning process, and they already have their own set patterns of learning, (4)
adults tend to be more disciplined than other age groups, and they are often
prepared to struggle on despite boredom, (5) they come into classroom with a
rich range of experiences which allow teachers to use a wide range of
activities with them, (6) they often have a clear understanding of why they are
learning and what they want to get out of it. Here, the teacher understood the
age factors. She encouraged their students to use their own life experience in the learning
process, too.
The
topic discussion was speaking strategies and learning how to use language. Strategies
for language learning and language use have been receiving evergrowing attention
in the areas of foreign language teaching and learning (Oxford 1990, Cohen
1990, O'Malley & Chamot 1990, Wenden 1991, Brown 1991, Rubin & Thompson
1994, Mendelsohn 1994, McDonough 1995
in Cohen, A. D. Weaver, S. J. and Li, T.Y. 1996). It is fair to say that language educators in many
different contexts have been seeking ways to help students become more successful
in their efforts to learn and communicate in foreign languages. A strategy is
considered to be "effective" if it provides positive support to the
students in their attempts to learn or use the foreign language. Seeing Ms. Osi
teaching, she was seen as a great supporter of her students by giving positive
feedback and when the students made mistakes, she corrected immediately without
embarassing them.
The
broad definition of foreign
language learning and use strategies consists
of the steps or actions selected by learners to improve the learning of a foreign language, the use of a foreign language, or both. Language learning strategies are used with the explicit goal
of helping learners improve their knowledge and understanding of a target
language. They are the conscious thoughts and behaviors used by students to
facilitate language learning tasks and to personalize the language learning
process. Language learning strategies have been differentiated into four
distinct categories: cognitive, metacognitive, social, and affective (based on
Chamot 1987, Oxford 1990). Cognitive
strategies usually involve the identification,
retention, storage, or retrieval of words, phrases, and other elements of the
target language (e.g., using prior knowledge to comprehend new language
material, applying grammar rules to a new context, or classifying vocabulary
according to topic). Metacognitive
strategies deal with pre-planning and
self-assessment, on-line planning, monitoring and evaluation, as well as
post-evaluation of language learning activities (e.g., previewing the language
materials for the day's lesson, organizing one's thoughts before speaking, or
reflecting on one's performance). Such strategies allow learners to control the
learning process by helping them coordinate their efforts to plan, organize, and
evaluate target language performance. Social
strategies include the actions that learners
select for interacting with other learners, a teacher, or with native speakers
(e.g., asking questions for clarification, helping a fellow student complete a
task, or cooperating with others). Affective
strategies serve to regulate learner
motivation, emotions, and attitudes (e.g., strategies for reducing anxiety, for
self-encouragement, and for self-reward).
Language use strategies, in turn, include both language performance and communication
strategies. Performance
strategies include strategies for
rehearsing target language structures, such as through form-focused practice.
In the case of communication
strategies, the focus is on getting a
message across in the target language despite gaps in target language knowledge.
For example, learners may use a new lexical item to communicate a thought in
class. In the case of communication strategies, in contrast to performance strategies,
the use of the language material (e.g., a new word) may purposefully be in order
to learn it, as well as to communicate a thought. There have been relatively
few studies investigating the benefits of providing second language learners
with formal training in the applications of strategies for speaking. In one study, O'Malley and Chamot (1990)
compared the improvement on certain language tasks for three groups of
learners, and related the learners performance to the strategy training they
had received. On the speaking task, the group given explicit training in
metacognitive, cognitive, and social-affective strategies improved
significantly more than the control group
In conclusion, Ms. Osi has been done a
good work as a teacher, motivator, supporter, corrector and she knows her
students quite well. However, a further elaboration of teaching speaking
strategies may be needed if she wants to continue her teaching on speaking
area, particulary on the teaching approach and class management. Knowing the
fact that learning strategies have become more and more popular among the
scholars nowadays, professionals on speaking specialist are urgently needed to
create an effective language learning and speaking strategies.
Bibliography
Alwasilah, A.C.
2011. Pokoknya Kualitatif. Jakarta:
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Brown. H. D. 2007. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching.
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Cohen, A. D. Weaver, S. J. and Li, T.Y. 1996. The Impact of Strategies-based
Instruction
on Speaking
A Foreign Language.
University of Minessota:
Center for Advanced Research
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Engleberg, I &
Raimes, A. 2004. Pocket Keys for Speakers
Lucas, S.E. (2001)
The Art of Public
Speaking (pp. 302-303)
Harmer, J. 2007. The Practice of English Language Teaching.
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