For anyone teaching English in either China or Korea the problem of speaking on the part the students is one that almost inevitably encountered. Very simply it is very difficult for students in these countries to speak English in a meaningful way. For those teachers who have experienced these problems I would like to make a few suggestions that might be helpful.
There are a lot of suggestions why systemically it is so difficult for students of China and Korea to speak English. One suggestion is that culturally students of these countries are particularly afraid of making mistakes. This usually falls under the rubric of the “saving face mentality”. In other words individuals in these cultures are particular affected by the public presentation of personal mistakes. Hence students in the above two mentioned countries won’t take the risk of making a mistake in speaking English. The second basic reason given for the lack of speaking ability of students in China and Korea is the Confucius structure of the educational system. This argument is mult –faceted. The first part of the argument is that the systems of education are hierarchical and test orientated. This means the systems of education in these two countries has nothing to do with what Westerners would call learning and everything to do with passing examinations and moving up the ladder so to speak. It follows then that English is taught to be tested, not to be used. Hence the system teaches English in a very passive testable way. There is a very heavy emphasis in both these countries of teaching English though grammar. Memory in the service of rote learning plays a critical part in the above learning style.
Before I begin to write about what teachers might consider as solutions to teaching speaking, I would like to frame my answer in an analogy. Psychology today has two broad general approaches. The first approach deals with the manifestations of the problem, and the second approach deals with the root of a problem. In other words to help a patient one can deal with the troubling behavior in the hopes of alleviating the problem, or a therapist can go to the roots of the problem, to alleviate it. I would suggest that any teacher who wants to be effective in teaching speaking focus and act very dynamically on the troubling behavior.
In the above sense a teacher who wants to improve the speaking of his class should slip out his traditional role and become more of a stage director or perhaps an orchestra director. In other words one should be prepared to direct, intervene and applaud when good results take place.
Here then are some things I might suggest in preparing a lesson of the above nature. 1. Explain to the students the situation that their speaking will take place in. If the situation is a dialogue dealing with a person asking directions, actively explain what the dialogue is about. This can be done though pantomime, drawings on the board or even a small bit of acting in front of the class. Try to underline the expected speech with some non-speech network. This will give the students an idea what they are talking about without entangling them in memorization of specific lines or words.
2. Give the students a short written dialogue. Make short the reading in the dialogue is reading that the students are capable of. After giving the dialogue let the students read the dialogue silently. The next step is for you to read the dialogue. Any words that you may think are problematical place on the board. Illicit the meaning of these words in their own native language. By eliciting the meaning of the words in the student’s own language you avoid the classical mistake of students mimicking words without understanding there meaning. After reading the dialogue place sentences on the board which have punctuations that call for different voice patterns in English. Make sure the students understand what do with their voice in relation to the punctuation. For instance ask the students what happens to their voice when they ask a question. After this demonstrate yourself through speaking the exact sentence on the board. Then have the class in unison say the sentence. Finally have the students in unison read the dialogue out loud.
3. For the next stage of the lesson it is important to have a bilingual teacher in the class with you. If you don’t team teach make sure you bring a bi-lingual teacher in your class with you for this stage of the lesson. The bi-lingual teacher should then proceed to interpret your instructions for the next part of the lesson.
You should instruct the class that they will have a short time to practice the dialogue with a partner. It is important that they only have a short time as you do not want to give them the time to facilitate memorization of the dialogue. Explain to the class that while this practice is going on you are going to walk through the class to hear their spoken English. Explain to them their English must be loud and clear. When you actually do this stop by students in the midst of their dialogues and ask them to make it louder and clearer. Finally tell the students that after a short amount of practice they will get up in front of the class and give the dialogue. Explain to the students that there will be a few rules in their presentation that they must adhere to. In this light make it clear to the students that you will intervene in their dialogues if they have difficulty in adhering to the rules. By this you are going to make the transition to the director mode. Here are the rules for the dialogue:
A. Talking in English in a dialogue is like talking in other languages. They must face each other when talking and make eye contact.
B. In the above light the students may look at the written dialogue (as a substitute for memory), but when talking they must abandon the paper and speak to each other. Tell the students that they are involved in a class in speaking, not reading. Demonstrate to the students the technique of reading and then talking. This technique is reading from the paper, and then fully looking at the other person and speaking.
C. Tell the students that you the teacher are going to sit in a certain place in the room to hear them. Tell the students that if their speech is not clear to you, they will be asked to do the dialogue over again. Tell them that just as in their own language, speaking means that you must be heard.
D. Tell the students to prepare themselves mentally before they get in front of the class. Any laughing (which usually comes from embarrassment,) will mean that the student (in this case students) will have to begin over.
If the students have problems in carrying out the above tasks (and they will,) like any director or a play or movie don’t be afraid to intervene. Intervene with humor, intervene, with kindness, and intervene positively. Intervene knowingly within the limits of
your students’ potential. Intervene as much as you can physically, using your physical activity as a complementary learning tool for your verbal instructions. For instance if a student is not facing the other when talking, you might gently “turn him” as you are asking him to do this. If a student is “talking into the paper” show him what he is doing as you remind him not to do it. Be a kind gentle, director, being careful not to offend. My experience is if you are a good director your “actors” in the class will become better speakers.