LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:11 November 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Methods of Improving Speaking Ability in English in
L2 Classrooms –
A Case Study

B. S. Gomathi, M.A., M.Phil. and P. Kiruthika, M.A., M.Phil.

Abstract

The main focus of the study was to know English as a subject and as a language, the quality of the text books, opportunities of listening to good English with proper/correct pronunciation and to highlight that various exercises/activities, such as seminars, group discussions and debates, competitions, etc. were regularly being arranged or not. The study was descriptive in nature.

In this study 20 female students were selected from four Government schools in Erode district, Tamilnadu, India, studying in the first year and second year of higher secondary classes through stratified random sampling procedure. The data was collected through a questionnaire having alternate items. The questionnaire was designed by consulting experts in the concerned field. The main findings of this study recommend the following:

1. Teach English as a language to the students and not as a subject which leads to rote memory only to pass the examination.

2. Give enough time to various perform exercises and provide opportunities for the improvement of speaking ability.

3. Consider the students’ complaint that teachers scold them for poor performance in speaking and that this discourages students from participating fully in speaking activities.

4. Teachers and students are equally responsible for the poor speaking ability.

5. Improvement may be achieved through more stress on the quality of books at the basic level, through giving enough time to speaking, administering phonetic drills to students, by avoiding scolding, by creating friendly environment, by making practical and applicable strategies by teachers for students while teachers speak most of the time in English, by developing boldness and confidence in students for asking questions from their teachers, by organizing less crowded classes, by offering awards and motivation for students, and by using media like CNN and BBC for continuous uninterrupted listening.

Key words:English Language, Speaking ability, Teaching of English, Students’ perspective.

Introduction: Importance of Communication Skills

This paper deals with the improvement of speaking ability of the students in English. It is widely recognized that students in most colleges in India do not perform well when it comes to speaking English. Many reasons have been suggested for this continued poor performance. To improve upon the situation, the perspective of the students is very much important because the modern age is the age of media, propaganda and mass communication. Every person desirous to reap the full benefits of modern education, library use, research knowledge, science, commerce and trade, etc., should know how the students should have a sound knowledge of English language and good communication skills. The person who has not good communication skills will suffer badly in this era of competition in comparison to the person who has good communication skills who can soon catch the eyes of an authority to award him or her a higher positions or responsibility in order to increase his or her self-esteem and reputation.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

B. S. Gomathi, M.A., M.Phil.
Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)
Department of English
Erode Sengunthar Engineering College
Erode-638 057
Tamilnadu, India
gomathielt@gmail.com

P. Kiruthika, M.A., M.Phil.
Assistant Professor Department of English
Erode Sengunthar Engineering College
Erode-638 057
Tamilnadu
India
kiruthikaprsm42@gmail.com
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