Spoken English Classes Research Articles

Exploring Integrated Vocabulary and Speaking Learning in “Spoken English Vocabulary and Corpus” Class

This article explores the strategy of integrating vocabulary and speaking learning in spoken English classes and investigates how lecturers teach these skills. The integration of vocabulary and speaking is essential as speaking is a productive skill that requires input (vocabulary) and output (spoken English). This study aims to delve into how this integration enhances speaking skills by providing language exposure through contextually relevant vocabulary usage. The lecturer's approach involves situational learning videos, focusing on pronunciation and contextual understanding. Moreover, the incorporation of corpus data, depicting vocabulary usage in various speaking contexts, aids students in practicing vocabulary in appropriate situations. The results showcase a spectrum of student responses, ranging from natural speakers to those reliant on scripted preparation. Assignments, including role-plays and conversational scenarios, foster vocabulary utilization in congruent contexts. Student interviews reflect improved understanding of spoken English through vocabulary exploration strategies, facilitating comprehension and communication. The study concludes that integrating vocabulary and speaking learning enhances spoken English proficiency, guiding educators to develop more effective teaching methodologies. Future research recommendations include expanding participant numbers for richer data insights.

The Role of Vlog Project in Facilitating Authentic Speaking Assessment

To date, video blog (vlog) has been identified as a convenient learning tool to develop learners’ speaking skill. In language assessment, especially speaking, vlog has met the criteria for assessing learners’ speaking skill authentically since it provides real-life situations in the process of creating the video. This study aimed at investigating how vlog facilitates authentic assessment in measuring students’ speaking skill. This study is guided under a descriptive qualitative method using interview guidelines to collect the data and observation checklist in analysing the data. Two lecturers and six tertiary students from spoken English class were involved. The findings illustrate that the vlog project has acquired the criteria of authenticity of a speaking assessment as well as students’ preference in speaking assessment. The vlog project, therefore, can be advantageous media to assess students’ speaking skills authentically.

SPEAKING CLASS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

In recent years the process of reform and innovation in higher education has been witnessed. Indonesia has also implemented the problem of based assessment almost throughout college in the fatherland, focusing on human resource development. Methods adopted to follow the qualitative study principle against ten students at one of the schools in Bogor. This research is limited to the students without even seeing the washback effect on the teachers. The objective of this report was to observe the washback effect during teaching activities in a spoken English class. The study proved that a student's point of view assessment affects the teaching process and the speaking skills in the classroom.

Communicative Competence of the Saudi Learners of English at the Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University

Saudi students of English at the tertiary level King Khalid University, encounter so many difficulties in real communicative situations due to the influence of the traditional methods of teaching English at the intermediate and secondary schools. The researcher conducted a questionnaire consists of eight questions in order to find out the main difficulties of the learners. The sample of the pilot study was ten students and the actual population of the study was ninety students from level four and eight. The learners' responses indicate that they lack the needed skills of communication strategies which usually lead to communication breakdown. For example, they change the topic when they feel there are some gaps in their speech. This literally means that students resort to risk-avoiding instead of risk-taking. The findings of the study point out the extent to which the Saudi students' first language influences their tendency of using some of the target language communication strategies. It is recommended that the linguistic competence should be taught implicitly whereas the functional competence should be taught explicitly during spoken English classes which may compensate for their lack of exposure to the target language.

Influence of Contextual Factors on Chinese Private College Students’ Spoken English

Spoken English has long been a bottleneck for Chinese English learners, which is caused by not only the exam-oriented teaching mode, but also the negative psychological factors of shyness and timidness. Besides, in private colleges, high student-teacher ratio and less class hours also hinder the effect and efficiency of spoken English class. To improve spoken English ability, contextual factors including situational factors and personal factors were tested by a questionnaire with 201 students from a private college in Guangdong Province. Then an SPSS analyses were conducted on the correlation of spoken English and contextual factors. Special attention was given to the students who were good at writing but poor at spoken English, whose communicative mode, psychology and motives of spoken English acquisition were analyzed. The results indicated that non-verbal contextual factors related closely to students’ speaking ability, among which psychological factors were the most remarkable. In addition, the students’ autonomy was the weakest part and demand attention from teachers. Therefore, apart from language ability, cultivating positive psychology and autonomous learning could be break-throughs for spoken-English ability. The teachers should be more creative in creating a relaxing and interesting class by using multi-modality input in class. Besides, as mobile phone has become an indispensable learning tool, teachers should recommend more effective Apps and encourage ubiquitous learning. As a stimulus, teachers may use the Apps to assess students’ progressive grades. To increase students’ confidence in speaking English, pronunciation and fluency should be the focus of training, using Apps such as dubbing English movies. Furthermore, teachers should explain cultural differences and pragmatic aspect of English, such as body languages, customs, politeness and pertinence in expression to enhance students’ cross-cultural communicative skills. Through such training, students can not only become a fluent English speaker, but also a cultural expert which is beneficial to their future career.

Spoken English and New Teaching and Learning Approaches Used in Spoken English Class in China

With people’s frequent communicative activities occurred among different countries, how some new teaching approaches are employed in Spoken English teaching and learning becomes a heated problem. The traditional methods of teaching Spoken English confines learners to following some patterns to speak based on an oral textbook, which hinders learners’ improving their abilities to speak English. This article aims to solve this problem and also offer some new recognitions of this problem as well as some new approaches of teaching Spoken English in class to make an exploration a new way of improving habits of Spoken English teaching and learning.

Is Language Proficiency Taken Care of at Higher Education Level? Need for Self Efficacy of Post Graduate Students

English language is known for its global communication. As a link language and the migration of people from different parts of the world to various places, for pursuing their higher education, trade contacts and better living (Saraithong & Chancharoenchai, 2012) a proficiency in this language has received a paramount importance. ICT also demands the knowledge of this language as most of the resources are in this English language. Spoken English classes are more prominent in India among young people who are in their verge of job hunt. But huge sum of money are bagged by these proprietors of these classes without, any change in the pupil’s ability. A proper teaching methodology along with appropriate curriculum introduced from the primary level to the tertiary level in education can fill these gaps of expectations and swindle. At this backdrop the investigators underwent this study of finding the language proficiency of post graduate students the results of which can be used for revision of curriculum, teaching methodology, identifying grey areas in the education system on the whole, so that every stakeholder can witness their goals and objectives being achieved. A written inventory comprising of 15 situational tasks was developed by the investigators and administered in two colleges for 64 participants. The responses were scored using analytical rubrics and statistically analyzed. The results convey the need for in depth revision in sowing the skills of English language among college students in a vigorous manner, so that the students grow and glow in the English language dominant world.