Authors: Smita Domnic Rosario, Pyarelal Singh
Abstract: Acquiring the English speaking skills has been one of the primary aims of the English language teaching in India but classroom conditions such as large classes, exam oriented learning, language repertoire, lack of oral practice and fear of speaking the right English usually inhibit the ability of learners to speak. Based on the task-based language teaching, communicative language teaching, the interactionist perspectives of second language development, and the research on affect (anxiety, willingness to communicate), the paper will analyze how orally fluent, interactional competence, and confidence can be reinforced in learners through the use of structured Indian classroom activities. A quasi-experimental study design is presented and exemplified by realistic, classroom-realistic data: an intervention group will get 8 weeks of instruction in speaking, based on activities (role-play, information-gap activities, group discussion, task repetition with planning, peer feedback and brief presentations), and comparison group will receive traditional textbook-led instruction. Findings indicate significant positive improvements in fluency and comprehensibility in the intervention group, moderate positive effects in the accuracy and less speaking anxiety. The results indicate that the low-cost high-frequency speaking routines, in particular, the tasks that involve a planning time, repetitions, and supportive feedback may be used to motivate participation and enhance performance even in the Indian classroom with the limited resources. Such pedagogical implications are to plan predictable speaking on a weekly basis, create psychological safety, employ multilingual scaffold strategically, and assess speaking on the basis of clear rubrics instead of relying solely on written exams.
