A Study on Oral English Teaching in Primary Schools

Thesis statements：Teachers should adopt advanced teaching concepts and methods，and create a good oral English learning environment to stimulate students’ learning interest and improve their oral English ability.

Outline

Ⅰ.Introduction

Ⅱ.Studies on oral English

A.Characteristics of spoken language

B.Differences between spoken and written language

Ⅲ.Oral English teaching in primary schools

A.The characteristics of primary school students

B.The problems existing in oral English teaching

1.The traditional teaching environment；2.The problems with teachers；3.The problems with students

Ⅳ.The approaches in oral English teaching

A.Principles for teaching speaking

1.The combination of theory and practice；2.The combination of in-class and after-class practice；3.The combination of testing mode and modern technology

B.Approaches for teaching speaking

1.Using student-centered approach；2.Improving the qualities of English teachers；3.Stimulating students’ interest in oral English；4.Creating an English language environment

Ⅴ.Conclusion

A study on Oral English Teaching in Primary Schools

Ⅰ.Introduction

In the 21 century，with the swift development of the society and technology，the globalization is becoming a tendency.Therefore，as the most widely used language in the world affairs，English has become the important tool of communication and cooperation between nations.Moreover，China’s rapid development and its overall open-up to the world have brought about more frequent communications and dialogues with foreign countries in economy，politics，culture，education，science and technology.Consequently，the demand for people with higher education as well multilingual as skills is mounting up.And English has been given higher priority for Chinese students and the quality of English teaching has become one of the primary concerns of educators.

However，the actual situation of oral English teaching in primary schools is not so optimistic.Misled by exam-oriented education，teachers spend most of the time on the teaching of grammar and vocabulary.They provide few opportunities for students to practice oral English.The phenomenon of deaf-mute English among Chinese students has always existed，due to the neglect of oral English teaching.And the oral English teaching in China also has other problems and the imbalance phenomenon due to many factors，such as teaching environment，teacher’s level，student’s quality （the possess of lexical resources，the utilization of sentence，the grasp and use of grammar，the accuracy of tone and pronunciation，the general knowledge of cross-culture communication），psychology element，teaching material and equipment.

Through the analysis about the characteristics and importance of spoken English，the thesis points out the major problems in oral English teaching and aims to figure out the ways to improve student’s spoken English.

Ⅱ.Studies on oral English

First of all，we should figure out what oral English is and why it is different from other forms of language.Only if we understand the characteristics of spoken language and its distinction with written language，can we find the better methods of oral English teaching and learning.

A.Characteristics of spoken language

Oral English is also called spoken English.As one of the 4 skills in second language acquisition，speaking aims to ensure to the learners the abilities to “express himself’” in the target language，to cope with the basic interactive skills like exchanging greetings，thanks and apologies and to express his “need” ?request information，services and etc.（Brown amp; Yule，2000：134）.The basic goal in teaching the productive skill of speaking will be oral fluency.This can be defined as the ability to express oneself intelligibly，reasonably，accurately and without too much hesitation （Byrne，1986：89-11）.L.G.Alexander，the famous linguist，holds that：“Nothing should be spoken before it has been heard.Nothing should be read before it has been spoken.Nothing should be written before it has been read.” The significance of spoken English is very obvious.There are some characteristics of spoken language as follows.

According to Bygate （1987），there are four common features of spoken language：

Using less complex syntax；Taking short cuts e.g.incomplete sentence；Using fixed conventional phrase/chunk；Using devices such as fillers，hesitation device to give time to think before speaking.（ 1987：67-7）

Another point holds that spoken language has two characteristics.One of them is spontaneous.It means，in most situations，people do not plan ahead of time what they are going to say.The other aspect of producing spoken language is the time-constraint.It indicates that students must be able to produce unplanned utterance in real time，otherwise people will not have the patience to listen to them.

Based on above-mentioned views，characteristics of spoken language can be summarized as follows.

1.Spontaneous

In fact，the external language or message and the internal mind are identical and spontaneous.The speech is just the externalization of thought.

2.Brief and scattered

In the real world，people do not have much time to plan their words or sentences during the speech but always use simple and short utterance because it can totally express people themselves.The fact is that speech is full of 1 starts，repetitions，incomplete sentences，and short phrases.So it is not necessary for teachers to require students to always produce complete sentence.The complete accuracy is not the key point in oral English teaching.

3.Temporary

The speech is transmitted by the voice，or sound wave.And it usually stays in mind，according to scientists，about 7-8 seconds.That demonstrates speech disappear soon and hardly stay.So it was noticed that we should balance the speech speed to make sure audiences can understand us.Speaking too fast will make opposite lost some message.

4.Contextual

In spoken language，much of the meaning is determined by the context.First，when people have speech or communication，the time and space is specific，and the situation is contextual.Second，the speaker has his/her audiences，which are also specific.The expressing object is contextual.And the atmosphere of speech will be different from each other，too.For example，the lecture in school and conversation in family have many differences.

5.Comprehensive

First，the comprehensive system.Speaking is not just a process of producing the sound.In fact，spoken language contains listening and speaking，while written language contains reading and writing.Spoken and written also have the links.This is an entire process of communication，or we can say，in spoken.Second，the comprehensive procedure.The oral expressing is a process，which contains life，environment，thinking mode of the person who speaks，because speaking is the externalization of one’s internal.Different people have their own speaking style，for the speech needs them to use their own knowledge，ability，life experience，and so on.Third，the comprehensive ways.The speech not only means opening the mouth and saying the words，but also the other ways with this form to help speaker express，such as the face，the gesture，even the tone and intonation，the manner of speaking.

B.Differences between spoken and written language

Language is the tool for people to express meanings and communicate thoughts.Linguists define it as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.During the development of language，there formed different styles for different contents，objects，scales，and goals.Spoken language and written language are two forms of language.And the relationship between them is complex.

Spoken language emerges before written forms.The appearance of written language is based on the speech.So，the two forms have some uniformity and coherence.They influence and promote each other when they develop.The spoken language is the base and source of the written language.It is also the impetus for written language’s further development.

Although the relation between spoken and written language is intimate，they are two different forms of language.So the differences between them are obvious.

1.Media

Spoken and written languages are two varieties of language.The major difference between them is the different media.Speaking is transmitted by voice，and the communication progress takes place in the specific context while the media of written language is script，which makes people free from barriers caused by separation in time and place.In other words，speech is an activity in a specific situation.The speaker and listener have the same time-space continuum，and they can communicate and contact directly.In the face-to-face condition，speaking can have the help of variational tone，facial expression and gesture，while written language does not have this characteristic.

2.Style

People speak while they are thinking.They don’t have too much time to plan or prepare.So the utterances they make are always short or incomplete.And they often repeat or stress to make audiences understand them.But when people write，they have enough time to think and organize，so the sentence in written language is more complete，and the structure is more logical.In one word，written language is more compact and logical than speech，while spoken language is more lively and vivid.

3.Diction

In spoken language，slangs，idioms，dialects are commonly used.And people will use exclamation，modal particle or fillers to express their emotion or get time to think.In written language，these kinds of words are rare.Written words are more formal.They contain some conceptual words or terms.Sometimes，ancient words will be used in writing.

4.Function

Spoken language exists in everyday life.People can’t live without speaking in their life，study，work and entertainment.When we have daily conversation，speech，even dialogue，we need spoken language.A person，from birth to death，can’t depart from it.While written language does not have such a wide range of use.It is usually utilized for books，newspaper，documents，reports，etc.Speaking is the most direct，common and convenient way of communication and is one of the primary language skills.So teachers should attach importance to oral English teaching and adopt effective teaching methods according to the characteristics of spoken English.