CHAPTER 6. Oracy Instruction That Builds on the First Language

My question: why do people learn foreign languages? I think the answer is as simple as ABC: to communicate. Right? Then "listening and speaking are integral to communicative competence." (p. 146). There are three purposes of listening activities in class: to repeat with an emphasis on correct pronunciation, to understand the main ides, or specific information, and to communicate. Academic listening might be classified as listening to understand. To teach listening, teachers should prepare an effective curriculum to expose students to "a variety of speakers for a variety of tasks on a variety of topics for a variety of purposes." (p. 151)

Listening is only half the work and one must also learn to speak. It is necessary to learn basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) to adjust to the routines at school and communicate with peer students without withdrawal. It is not the English mastery to be fluent in BICS, though. Pronunciation should be taught not to hinder communication. The development of academic aspects of English should be learned as well. Teachers could use Instructional Conversation(IC) model with preparation to offer students more chances to participate in oral practices.

Response to Julien Sanghyo Park

As Julien mentioned, speaking in second language could make people nervous and be quiet in class. Letting them use their first language and the comfortable class atmosphere could help them relax in class. When we think about speaking, first thing coming to mind is how to pronounce properly but actually the stress, intonation may hinder communication as well. As she mentioned, learning pronunciation and other sound rules is not to speak like the native speakers. But the goal of learning another language is definitely to communicate with little blunders and then teachers should help students articulate exotic sounds more correctly to support their communication ability.

Response to Yoolbin Kim

As Yoolbin chose this statement "Students learn best when they already know something about the subject matter and can draw from this prior knowledge…English learners process is knowledge of their first language and knowledge in their first language" (Diaz-Rico, 2008, p. 146), this statement makes us think what tool we have, what bases we could use, how we should approach students and what we could expect from them. By using the knowledge of learners' first language and knowledge in their first language, teachers could explain the second language better to help them understand more quickly and remember longer.