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24CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MILITARY STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILLS
Malika Soatova
Uzbekistan Ministry of Defence Partnership for Peace Training Centre English
Language Department Senior Teacher
ABSTRACT
The principal focus of the article is clarification of some challenges in teaching military students speaking skills in the English language and presenting one of the efficient methods to improve the students' monologic discourse skills
Keywords: Challenge, monologue, monologic discourse skills, preparative, practical, reproductive period, prepared speech, spontaneous speech
Challenges of teaching military students speaking skills
Speaking a foreign language is the most challenging part in language learning and teaching. The very challenge we PFP center teachers also face every time when we engage the students in a conversation.
From my experience, the first challenge which we initially run into is their passivity and modesty as they are already adult English learners who cannot allow themselves to be lively or even make an effort to respond correctly or incorrectly. Furthermore, this passivity has been inherited from their school which was probably very teacher-centered. Learners were expected to be quiet and listen to the teacher and then, when asked, to respond to the teacher in unison with the one correct answer. Because of this, some adult English language learners may be initially disconcerted when their English teachers begin asking them to get up and move around, work in pairs or groups, and talk to one another.
Another challenge is how to get students to put aside their urge to use their native language while practicing a foreign language. The adult language learners usually acquire the foreign language mainly based on their first language mechanisms which later confuse them mostly in learning grammar patterns and making up a speech. Overcoming this is quite complicated as long as students know that when going outside, the target language they are practicing will become secondary. However, it does not mean that acquisition is impossible; this is certainly time-consuming and requires being specially formed and developed gradually by the means of special methods and techniques.
Besides, the stimuli the teacher can use are often feeble and artificial. Consequently, it causes lack of opportunities to practice the target language as well as ebbs of learners' motivation to converse. In addition, the students repeat the sentence they hear, they complete sentences that are in the book, and they construct sentences on the pattern of a
given one. These mechanical drill exercises are, of course, necessary; however, when they go on and on without any other real language practice, this destroys the students' enthusiasm and imagination. There must be occasions when the students feel the necessity to inform someone of something, to explain something, and to prove something to someone. This is a psychological factor which must be taken into account when teaching students to speak a foreign language.
Another factor of no less importance is a psycho-linguistic one; the students need words, phrases, sentence patterns, and grammatical forms and structures stored up in their memory ready to be used for expressing any thoughts they want to. In teaching speaking, therefore, the teacher should stimulate his students' speech by supplying them with the subject and by teaching them the words and grammar they need to speak about the suggested topic or situation. The teacher should lead his students to unprepared speaking through prepared speaking.
A few challenges that are ranged above have been partly clarified in general. To overcome these difficulties and improve the students' speaking skills, there are several methods and techniques. For instance, one of the efficient methods for teaching prepared speaking is teaching monologue. Acquiring adequate monologic discourse skills gives the students self-confidence in speaking and this further eliminates their passivity in conversation. Besides, those obtained skills can help students gradually achieve spontaneous speech which later enables them to perform freely in all conversing situations.
Monologic speech plays a valuable role in a broad range of communication situations which take place in the academic life of the students or which will take in their future professional careers. According to Gez N.I and others (1982) this organized type of speech supposes existence of ability that can program not only separate utterance or sentence, but the whole message. As for S. D. Kasnelson, a speaker should be able to reproduce different gradation of affirmation, request, suggestion, agreement, different types of refusal, questions, such emotions as assumption, unexpectedness, refutation and persuasion, conflict and etc.
Thus, taking into account the lack of students' monologic discourse skills, it is desirable to organize the teaching course step by step; that is to say, there will be three teaching periods: preparative, practical and reproductive ones.
In preparative period, students are given some special phrases that expressing opinions, preferences, and attitudes, and reasons on the given topic. For instance:
Expressing opinion
I think (that)... In my opinion ... To my mind ...
I enjoy x (much) more than y
I (much) prefer ... I'd (much) rather
Expressing preferences
Expressing attitudes
Giving reasons
I don't (really) like I'm interested in ...
It's because......
One reason is that . The main reason is (that)
Expressing feelings
A TV programme, event, festival, book, film etc: The effect it produces on me:
It was/is surprising It was/is amazing It was/is shocking It was/is scary It was/is interesting It was/is fascinating It was/is frightening It was/is terrifying It was/is boring I'm/was very/really surprised I was/am really/absolutely amazed
Besides, it is more desirable to teach students the most commonly used connective words and phrases, namely metadiscourse (as Blakemore (2002) highlighs) in the speech such as
Sequencing/listing: First of all; In the first place;
First(ly); Second(ly); Third(ly);
First, Next, Then, After that;
Reinforcing: Also; Besides; Futhermore; In addition; Moreover;
Eqauting: In the same way; Likewise; Similarly;
Summerising: In conclusion; In summary; To conclude; To sum up;
Reffering: For example; For instance; In particular; such as;
Showing results: As a result; Consequently; Hence; So; Therefore; Thus;
Giving alternatives: Alternatively; On the other hand; Then again;
Restating: In other In other words; That is to say; To put it simply;
Contrasting: Conversly; In comparison; Instead; On the contrary; whereas;
Conceding: Althouh; Though; Even though; However; Even if; After explanation of these phrases and words by a teacher, students learn them by heart and make up their own examples. By this way they practice to use them in their speech. In Practical Period students study how to express their opinions on the given topic. First of all, special topic cards are prepared. Here, it is important to emphasize that themes in cards should be acceptable and interesting. Because, such kinds of topics can profoundly help them imagine and describe situation and express it. Furthermore, students should be explained how to take notes about what they will say, how they will
say and why they will say. Additionally, the time for speech preparation and speaking should be fixed by a teacher. Here is some samples for Topic Card below: Describe the best present you have received
1) Who sent it to you?
2) When did you receive it?
3) Detailed information about the present
11. Describe a happy event in your life?
1) When did it happen?
2) Where did it happen?
3) What was it?
The main thing is Speech. Therefore it should sound reasonable to have a detailed and effective speech, students should prepare according to these criteria in making up monologue:
■ addressing the topic
■ organization
■ details and arguments
■ using accurate grammar
■ vocabulary
After speaking, to provide students with sample answers of the given topics also bring positive results. Because, while they are studying the samples, they will be able to get more information about grammar, variety of structure, vocabulary, coherence and cohesion. Besides, they can realize their mistakes they have made in their discourse. In Reproductive period, students are given different kind of Topic Cards and they should automatically take notes and communicate according to the topic regarding all criteria mentioned above.
To conclude, gradual monologue teaching process such as preparative, practical and reproductive periods yield a good result that students can be able to improve their monologue discourse skills steadily and gradually; monologic speech can serve as a convenient transition from prepared discourse to spontaneous -or non-prepared-speech. In addition, during a period of teaching military students a foriegn language, a teacher and those students encounter some challenges. In that case, understanding military life and thier stressful career, the teacher should not forget to help them academically, to create a caring classroom environment, and always assessing their needs.
SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS VOLUME 2 I ISSUE 4 I 2021
ISSN: 2181-1601
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