Abstract
<p>Developing the ability to speak English is a daunting task that has long been omitted in a test-driven pedagogy context (Chang, 2011; Li, 2012a, 2012b; Chen &amp; Tsai, 2012; Katchen, 1989, 1995). Since speaking is not tested for school admissions, most students are not motivated to learn it (Chang, 2011; Chen &amp; Tsai, 2012). Now, globalization makes English Lingua Franca; speaking English is definitely bound to be one key capability to connect oneself with the world (Graddol, 2007). Thus, teachers strive to help learenrs learn English by selecting appropriate and interesting topics to motivate them to learn more effectively (Dörnyei &amp; Csizér, 1998; Spratt, Pulverness &amp; Williams, 2011), especially in speaking. However, with only one internationally published research on Taiwanese college students’ topics preference (Chen, 2012) and none on high school students, selecting appropriate topics seems challenging. Consequently, this study intended to investigate the potential topics that motivated learners to practice speaking and their oral performance. The results show that learners preferred topics related to their daily life and their speaking improved in terms of speech unit, clause unit, and words uttered.</p>
Highlights
Taiwanese students are required to learn English to succeed on the exams for school admissions or even to pass tests for certain certificates (i.e. CSEPT, GEPT, TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, BULATS) to gain some competitiveness to seek, later, advancement in the job market (Chang, 2011; Chung, 2013; Chen & Tsai, 2012)
Developing the ability to speak English is a daunting task that has long been omitted in a test-driven pedagogy context (Chang, 2011; Li, 2012a, 2012b; Chen & Tsai, 2012; Katchen, 1989, 1995)
The results show that learners preferred topics related to their daily life and their speaking improved in terms of speech unit, clause unit, and words uttered
Summary
Taiwanese students are required to learn English to succeed on the exams for school admissions or even to pass tests for certain certificates (i.e. CSEPT, GEPT, TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, BULATS) to gain some competitiveness to seek, later, advancement in the job market (Chang, 2011; Chung, 2013; Chen & Tsai, 2012). Having a good command of English becomes an essential ability to connect oneself with the world (Graddol, 2007), and government in 2002 declared to promote English as a quasi-official language and a part of life among the general population (Executive yuan; Challenge 2008: National Development Plan; Lin, 2004). As a guide for the nation to gain competition internationally, the Ministry of Education, has been adjusting the education system to support this policy since . A decade after the promulgation of the policy that has brought some disappointments, a top priority of the English teaching/learning movement, is to reveal more innovative ideas to inspire learners to use English orally and to shed some light of what learners should do to face the challenge of globalization
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