Teaching Speaking What I Agree with Jeremy Harmer

Taken from http://www.embassyenglish.com/courses/business-english/power-speaking

Teaching Speaking

What I Agree with Jeremy Harmer

By Claudia Elena Mora-Sandí

Pre-Service Teacher, School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Post 265

After reading Chapter 9 from Harmer’s (2007) book, “How to Teach English,” which deals with speaking, I have come to realize that the speaking skill is the most important part of learning a language. The purpose of this skill is to get people to communicate and transmit thoughts, feelings, ideas, and so on. It is then very important for teachers to pay attention to students in terms of speaking, if they are participating or not and if they have difficulties or not.

Why should instructors teach speaking? The reason seems to be evident; it is because we teachers want students to experience with rehearsal opportunities such as role plays to practice the language they are learning. The experience can have students feel less afraid to participating in the safety of the classroom. It also needs to be considered that because of the speaking tasks in which students try to use any or all of the language they know, the whole situation provides feedback for both the teacher and students. The more opportunities students have to activate the various elements of language they have learned, the easier the use of these elements will be.

I agree with everything this chapter written by Harmer (2207) says, especially because I am a brand new teacher getting to practice what I have been studying for almost three years. Activities need to catch students’ attention; they need to motivate learners. These learning moments should be engaging and clear for the students; they need to have a purpose that students can relate to their lives.

In order to make students learn, speaking activities have to prompt them to apply what “speaking as skill” is. It is that if there is a speaking task, the only way to be able to achieve is is speaking. I also agree that teachers should not correct the students a lot, because they will lose their motivation. If a student sees that every time he speaks he commits a mistake, he will stop participating.

In conclusion, teachers have to be very careful when students are speaking. They need to know how to encourage them and also, what things make them afraid to participate in order to improve their speaking.

References

Harmer, J. (2007). “Teaching speaking”. How to teach English Essex: Pearson.