Teacher’s Roles in Speaking Teaching
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Abstract
The purpose of this article is to present the teacher’s roles in speaking teaching. Speaking skill is considered to be the most important skill by language learners. Learners often measure their success in language learning by the extent to which they can use their spoken English. Notwithstanding, this skill is one of the most neglected skills in language instruction. Most students do not even have the opportunity to speak in the classroom or outside it.
Moreover, speaking is not a part of the examination in most language courses. As it has been discovered by many researchers, foreign language learning best occurs through interaction, teachers should provide learners with the opportunities to communicate in English at the lesson. Since many learners’ goal in language learning is to be able to communicate fluently in formal and informal interaction, classroom activities should be designed to promote oral fluency. However, the ability of speaking is a complex process in its nature; many of the learners feel anxious to speak in the classroom or outside it due to different social or psychological reasons, so they keep silent. Therefore, it is necessary for language teachers to implement some natural strategies such as: role plays, group work, projects, etc. to avoid shyness and unwillingness to speak English. Thus, the primary job of a language teacher is to encourage learners to use English not only in the classroom but also in their daily interaction with their classmates, with teachers or any other English speaking people, if possible. The present study aims at exploring the role of teachers in developing students’ speaking skill.
It also attempts to investigate how much the language learners are aware of natural strategies and how often they experience them in their classrooms in Thailand. Moreover, this study attempts to shed light on the importance of teachers’ role in establishing friendly and productive environment as an attempt to encourage students to use the language.