Teaching Speaking inEFLEnvironments

Abstract

In the modern world of the 21st century, the ability to express oneself in English has become necessary for a successful career in almost any sphere. While foreign language teaching methods of the past largely focused on promoting writing and reading skills, today, most learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) are studying English in order to use it for real‐life communication. This change in focus puts the development of speaking skills at the center of a curriculum, and foreign language teachers need to design classes with sufficient amount of speaking practice. When teaching English as a second language (ESL), the task of developing speaking skills is easier as learners are surrounded by the target language outside of class. In an EFL context, opportunities for English use may exist only in the EFL classroom; consequently, in‐class interaction in the target language becomes crucial. This entry is aimed at informing teachers of EFL about effective strategies to improve teaching speaking through the use of active learning and online technologies.