Classroom Speaking Activities

Teaching speaking should be taught in attractive and communicative activities. There are many types of classroom speaking activities.11 Harmer states six classroom speaking activities. They are acting from script, communication games, discussion, prepared talks, questionnaires, simulation, and role play.

11 _{Harmer.2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Cambridge:} Longman. p.39

a) Acting from script

Playing scripts and acting out the dialogues are two kinds of acting scripts that should be considered by the teacher in the teaching and learning process. In the playing scripts, it is important for the students to teach it as real acting. The role of the teacher in this activity is as theatre directors, drawing attention to appropriate stress, intonation, and speed. This means that the lines they speak will have real meaning. By giving students practice in these things before they give their final performances, the teacher ensures that acting out is both a learning and language producing activity. In acting the dialogue, the students will be very helped if they are given time to rehearse their dialogues before the performance. The students will gain much more from the whole experience in the process.

b). Communication games

Games are designed to provoke communication between students. The games are made based on the principle of the information gap so that one student has to talk to a partner in order to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put a thing in the right order, or find similarities and differences between pictures. Television and radio games, imported into the classroom, often provide good fluency activities. c). Discussion

Discussion is probably the most commonly used activity in the oral skills class. Here, the students are allowed to express their real opinions. According to

Harmer discussion range is divided into several stages from highly formal, whole-

The first is the buzz groups that can be used for a whole range of discussion. For example, students are expected to predict the content of a reading text, or talk about their reactions after reading the text. The second is instant comments which can train students to respond fluently and immediately is to insert ‘instant comment’ mini activities into lessons. This involves showing them photographs or introducing topics at any stage of a lesson and nominating students to say the first thing that comes into their head. The last is formal debates. Students prepare arguments in favour or against various propositions. The debate will be started when those who are appointed as ‘panel speaker’ produce well- rehearsed ‘writing like’ arguments whereas others, the audience, pitch in as the debate progresses with their own thoughts on the subject.

d). Prepared talks

Students make a presentation on a topic of their own choice. Such talks are not designed for informal spontaneous conversations because they are prepared and more ‘writing like’. However, if possible students should speak from notes rather than from a script.

e). Questionnaires

Questionnaires are very useful because they ensure that both questioner and respondent have something to say to each other. Students can design questionnaires on any topic that is appropriate. As they do so the teacher can act as a resource,

helping them in the design process. The results obtained from questionnaires can

f). Simulation and Role play

Simulation and role play can be used to encourage general oral fluency, or to train students for specific situations. Students can act out simulation as them or take on the role of completely different character and express thoughts and feelings as they doing in the real world. Those activities can be used by teachers to teach speaking. Teachers can choose an activity that related to the topic and objective of the lesson. Besides, they must consider the situation, condition of the students and materials that will be taught. For example, they use simulation and role play activities when they teach expressions. Teachers can ask them to write some dialogues and after that they have to act them out in front of the class. It may be used by the teachers in using acting from script. In discussion, teachers can use some pictures or maybe videos in a certain situation. These activities can be used as the way to measure how far students can speak, say and express their feeling in English.

A. 9. Definition of Scaffolding Talk

Scaffolding Theory was introduced in the late 1950s by Jerome Bruner, a cognitive psychologist. He used the term to describe children's oral language acquisition that was helped by their parents when they first begins to speak.

Scaffolding as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and his concept of the zone of proximal development (1978) represents the relationship of the learner with the teacher support in learning with assistance or support until the learning is mastered and becomes independent of

can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance”.

Inherent in scaffolding from Lev Vygotsky’s (1978) idea of Zone of proximal development vygotsky suggests that there are two part of learner’s developmental level. 1. The actual developmental level; the zone of proximal development is “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving. It is the differences between the students actual development level determined by their capability to master the task independently 2. The potential developmental level; as determined through problem solving under the help of teacher, adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers .12 _{The ability to learn through instruction and}

help adults make students can understand and do a lot of things than if the students just learning independently.

Scaffolding in the form of guidance given by the teacher to the students in the learning to the process with the problem of focused problems and positive interaction, such as creating a relationship of students interaction with students and make the atmosphere more varied so that students can show their ability and courage to speak.

Scaffolding talks are expressions of the teacher to interact or give instruction to his or her students in the classroom. ‘scaffolding’ was developed to describe the type of assistance offered by a teacher or peer to support learning. In this process of scaffolding, the teacher helps the student master a skill that the student is initially unable to acquire it independently. The teacher offers assistance that is beyond the student’s ability. The teacher only helps the student with tasks that are just beyond his or her current ability. As Wood in Michael and Raymond

12 _{Jauhar, M.2011. Implementasi Paikem dari Behavioristik sampai} Konstruktivistik: sebuah Pengembangan Pembelajaran Berbasis CTL (Contextual Teaching Learning) Jakarta: Prestasi Pustaka. p.90

state that “scaffolding is a process that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task, or achieve a goal which would be beyond his or her unassisted efforts”.

The researcher conclude that scaffolding talk is teachers’ utterances that accompany his or her action in language classroom to provide guide, support in order to help the students understanding in assigning the students do some task by their instruction. Teacher usually try to use clear and concise words to make students understand what they have to do. Teacher support or assist students in the beginning of the learning and then give opportunity for students to take responsibility independently.

Concerning the definition of scaffolding talk above I want to unfold the characteristic of scaffolding talk according to Bruner there are six characteristics of scaffolding talk :

a) Provides clear direction and reduces students’ confusion – Educators anticipate problems that students might encounter and then develop step by step instructions, which explain what a student must do to meet expectations.

b). Keeps students on task – By providing structure, scaffolding lesson or research project, provides pathways for the learners. The student can make decisions about which path to choose or what things to explore along the path but they cannot wander off of the path, which is the designated task.

c). Giving hints: providing clues or suggestions but deliberately does not include the full solution,

d). Controlling the students frustrating during the task.

f). Demonstrating an idealized version of the task given.

Based on the characteristics scaffolding talk given by the expert above I can say that scaffolding talk in English teaching as a support, an assistance, a bridge or a guide provided by the teacher in order that the students are able to accomplish the target language in the ZPD area without any difficulties. According to Wood There are six types of Scaffolding Talk :

a. Modeling means that the teachers provide clear samples or models before the teachers ask the students to do the tasks and offering behavior for imitation including demonstrations of particular skill.

b. Explaining is necessary for the teachers to help the students to see the connection between things, make links between familiar and unfamiliar knowledge, and bridge gap between students’ previous knowledge and the new knowledge or experience. Describing, telling and bridging the students to promote students’ understanding.

c. inviting students participation : providing the student to able to participate in the learning process. Teachers provide opportunities to the students to be able to join in the teaching learning process through eliciting, for example: “how do you know and inviting to expand in meaningful ways, such as: “tell us more about that, “give more details” etc.

d. Instructing: the teacher tells the students what to do or explanation of how something must be done.

e. Questioning

Kind of questioning according Debra, Susan, and Hopper are:

1). Speculative : questions inviting a response with no predetermined answer, often opinions, imaginings, ideas. For example what do you think about Rahmadsyah’s Gallery?

2). Process : questions inviting students to articulate their understanding of learning processes/explain their thinking, like ‘can you explain why?

3). Procedural : questions relating to the organization and management of the lesson. In accordance with scaffolding talk theories mentioned above, it is also important to unfold The procedure of scaffolding talk according Vygotsky and Bruner in Corder are :

a. Teacher explain the materials,

b. Giving example of the task to the students related with the materials,

c. Modeling, showing students examples of work produce by teacher, provide assistance, guide, giving clues which provoke the students toward independent learning,

d. Demonstrating, illustrating the procedures from the teacher through work product, supporting the students as they learn and practice procedures,

A.10. Approach, Method, and Technique