Concept
of Speaking
1.
Definition
of Speaking
Thornbury and Slade (2006: 17) defined speaking
as a
social, multi-sensory speech
event, whose topic
is unpredictable. Speaking
is social, in the
sense that it establishes rapport and mutual agreement, maintains and modifies
social identity, and involves interpersonal skills. This social element
is expressed through
wishes, feelings, attitudes, opinions and
judgments, which can
clash with the
formal nature of the
classroom when teaching speaking
Gumperz (1999: 98) concluded speaking is
cooperatively constructed which
is based on contributions, assumptions, expectations, and interpretations of
the participants‘ utterance. Speaking is an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information Thornbury,
which Speaking is
also a multi-sensory
activity because it
involves paralinguistic features
such as eye-contact,
facial expressions, body language, tempo, pauses, voice quality
changes, and pitch variation affect conversational flow.
It seems that culture
is integral in how
speaking is constructed
which has implications
for how English
speaking is taught and learned.
2.
Function
of Speaking
What are
some of the
reasons why speaking
tests seem so
challenging? One reason is
that the nature
of the speaking
skill itself is
not usually well
defined. Understandably
then, there is
some disagreement on
just what criteria
to choose in evaluating
oral communication. Grammar,
vocabulary, and pronunciation
are often named as ingredients.
But matters such as fluency and
appropriateness of expression are usually regarded as equally important. Even
when a speaking criterion like fluency is
widely agreed upon,
there is some
question about how
to test it.
In brief, the elements
of speaking are
numerous and not
always easy to
identify. Also there
isn‘t very wide agreement on how to weight each factor. Other cocern
related to the testing of speaking include how to get students to speak and how
to evaluate so many things at once. There is also the practical problem of
having to test each student individually.
One way
that we can
simplify the task
of evaluating spoken
language is to limit
the range of
speaking activities tested.
It is suggested
that teachers be
cautious about using formal
tests of speaking
at very early
stages of instruction.
Instead, the relatively nonthreatening limited-response measures
that follow are
recommended (Harold, 1983: 148).
3.
Purpose
of Speaking.
Studying
English without practice speaking is
useless. A part of communication speaking is regarded more representing what
the speaker wants to say. Through speaking, one can express their minds, ideas
and thought freely and spontaneously. To
most people, mastering the art of speaking is the single most important aspect
of learning a second or foreign language, and success is measured in terms of the
ability to carry out a conversation in the language (Fauziati, Endang. 2002:
20).
Speaking
is making use words in an ordinary
voice, uttering words, knowing and being able to use language; expressing oneself in words;
making speech. While skill is the ability to do something well. Therefore, the
writer can infer that speaking is the ability to make use of words or a
language to express oneself in an ordinary voice. In short, the speaking skill
is the ability to perform the linguistics knowledge in actual communication.
The ability functions to express our ideas, feeling, thoughts, and need orally
(Hornby, A.S. 1995: 254)
Syakur.
(1987: 18) Speaking is also one of the language arts that is most frequently
used by people all over the world. The art of speaking is very complex. It
requires the simultaneous use of the number of abilities which often develop at
different rates. Generally, there are at least four components of speaking
skill concerned with comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and
fluency
