Page 80 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

Listening and Speaking

velopment of speaking skills we need to expose YLs to a range of contexts in
which language is used meaningfully and purposefully. Kırkgöz (2018, p. 174)
also stresses that for this age group it is especially important to involve ‘real
here-and-now experiences.’ Activities which involve games, stories, drama,
and role play in real-life situations (at the doctor’s, in the restaurant, etc.) pro-
vide ample opportunities for learners to gradually move from listening into
speaking in a holistic and enjoyable way.
From the YLs’ perspective, speaking is one of the most useful skills as it en-
ables them to communicate in their everyday life. However, it is considered
by teachers to be the most difficult skill to teach (Kırkgöz, 2018; Scott & Ytre-
berg, 1990). In fact, learning to speak in an FL is considered to be one of the
greatest challenges for the learners (Pinter, 2006), especially considering that
some YLs are still in their silent period. This is why in planning activities for
the development of YLs’ speaking skills teachers should have a clear idea as
to what they can expect from them. It would be unrealistic to expect pupils in
the early stages of learning to produce extensive spontaneous speech, for in-
stance. Especially at the beginning, speaking activities will probably involve
reproductive and imitative language, such as learning some simple vocabu-
lary items (e.g. numbers and colours), some set phrases and language pat-
terns, as well as a few songs and rhymes. In addition, the spoken language
needs to be continuously repeated and reused in different context.

Chunking
In initial stages, pupils will learn to produce mostly formulaic language, usu-
ally whole chunks of language which can be used for different purposes
(Brewster et al., 2002, pp. 105–106):

1. Simple greetings: Good morning! Hello! How are you?
2. Social English: Have a nice day! See you tomorrow!
3. Routines: What’s the weather like today? Who is absent today?
4. Classroom language: Listen. Repeat. Open your books on page 4.
5. Asking permission: Can/May I go to the toilet? May I borrow your pen?
6. Communication strategies: How do you say ‘opica’ in English? I don’t
understand.

Therearetwo typesofchunks:fullyfixedchunksarereadyto use,complete
messages (such as ‘See you tomorrow.’, ‘How are you?’, or ‘Great job.’), while
partially fixed chunks require additional elements (for example, ‘Can I ...?’
as in ‘Can I go to the toilet/borrow your pen/leave?’). Pinter (2006) argues

80