Introduction to Teaching Speaking

Course content

Speaking is a skill which poses a great challenge for most language learners. As research suggests, speaking needs to be developed independently from the grammar curriculum. It is a skill that is highly interactive and requires the ability to cooperate as well as to take turns under time-pressure without careful planning. This course will first review the state of the art in developing speaking skills. We will discuss the most important research findings on the processes involved in oral language production in a foreign language in addition to different approaches to skill development. Materials for teaching speaking will be critically examined. The succeeding sessions will be used to examine approaches to the assessment of speak-ing critically, and you will be able to take part actively in the “Language Village Project” at a school