WHAT IS SPEAKING?!

WHAT IS SPEAKING ?

Speaking is an interactive activity using a language done by speakers by combining codes and messages. By speaking, people are able to know what kinds of situations in the world. Speaking in a foreign language itself is more difficult than speaking in a native language. According to Burns and Joyce, speaking is an interactive process of meaning construction which includes receiving, processing, and producing information (as cited in Abrar, Mukminin, Habibi, Asyrafi, Makmur & Marzulina, 2018, p.130). From those statements above, it can be concluded that people should be aware and ready to have English speaking ability when they wants to communicate effectively with others. Among all of the skills taught, speaking is considered as one of the important skills that have to be mastered. Speaking skill involves four domains: linguistic competence, communicative, competence, strategic competence and social competence (Littlewood, 1981, p.18). 

    That is because speaking is an interactive activity between two or more people and usually the person you are talking to is writing for you to speak right away to them. Meanwhile, Harmer (2007) proposes that if students want to be able to speak fluently in English, hey need to be able to pronounce phonemes, correctly, use appropriate stress and intonation patterns and speak in connected speech. In addition, Brown (2000) states that “teaching is guiding 2 and facilitating learning, enabling the students to learn, setting condition for learning” (as cited in Putra Hedyan and Marzulina, 2011, p. 188). So, speaking is also an activity delivering language and communicating ideas, thought orally, therefore speaking always relates to communication. 

  The ability of students to speak will improve if they want to practice it. Learning by doing is the concept of being master in speaking. A good speaker hence synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speech act. Florez (1999) highlights the following skills underlying speaking: 

a. Using grammar structures accurately; 

b. Assessing characteristics of the target audience, including shared knowledge, status and power relations, or differences in perspectives; 

c. Selecting vocabulary that is understandable and appropriate for the audience, the topic being discussed, and the setting in which the speech act occurs; 

d. Applying strategies to enhance comprehensibility, such as emphasizing key words, rephrasing, or checking for listener's comprehension; 

e. Paying attention to the success of the interaction and adjusting components of speech such as vocabulary, rate of speech, and complexity of grammar structures to maximize listener's comprehension and involvement.

THE ELEMENTS OF SPEAKING

Speaking is an important skill as it is considered the bridge that connects people talking the same language. It helps people express their thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions to others. According to Brown (2004), the following six components of speaking are generally recognized in analysis of speech process such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, task and comprehension. 

a. Pronunciation (including the segmental features-vowels and consonants and the stress and intonation patterns) As stated in Harmer (2007), if students want to be able to speak fluently in English, they need to be able to pronounce the phonemes correctly, use the appropriate stress and intonation patterns and speak in connected speech. 

b. Grammar Bygate (1997), describes that it is obvious that in order to be able to speak foreign language, it is necessary to know a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary. 

c. Vocabulary As we know, vocabulary is the basic element in a language. Folse (2004), comments that vocabulary is single words, set phrases, variable phrases, phrasal verbs, and idioms. 

 

d. Fluency In simple terms, fluency is the ability to talk freely without too much stopping or hesitating (Riddel, 2001, p. 32). Meanwhile, according to Gower et al (1995), fluency can be thought of as the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously. 

e. Comprehension The last speaking element is speaking comprehension. Comprehension is discussed by both speakers because comprehension can make people get the information they want. Comprehension is defined as the ability to understand something by a reasonable comprehension of the subject or as the knowledge of what a situation is really like.