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606or gap-filling. Communicative teaching methodology brings with it a considerable emphasis on formative evaluation "with more use of descriptive records of learner development in language and learning which [track] language development along with other curricular abilities" [2, 151]. Therefore, assessment becomes a diagnostic tool that provides feedback to the learner and the teacher about the suitability of the curriculum and instructional materials, the effectiveness of the teaching methods, and the strengths and weaknesses of the students. Furthermore, it helps demonstrate to young learners that they are making progress in their linguistic development, which can boost motivation. This encourages students to do more and the teacher to work on refining the process of learning rather than its product.
Using formative assessment can help decrease the level of anxiety generated by concentration on linguistic accuracy and increase students' comfort zone and feeling of success by stressing communicative fluency. Some teachers and researchers call for allowing students to have a say not only in deciding the format of the test but also in deciding its content and the way it is administered. Thus, Mayerhof suggests allowing students to discuss questions during the test quietly as long as each writes his own answers; of course, she is referring to subjective types of questions [3, 45].
Murphey ventures beyond this concept to recommend that students make their own tests. He considers that studentmade tests are an effective "way to mine students' different perceptions and use them, building upon what a group knows as a whole and getting them to collaborate in their learning" [4, 12]. He suggests the following process: students choose the questions that will go into the test under the guidance of the teacher; a few days later, working in pairs, they ask each other questions during class; later on, the questions are asked again with a new partner to reinforce what is being learned. Students are graded by their partners or by the teacher for the correctness of their answers and for the appropriateness and correctness of their English.
A final characteristic of alternative assessment techniques for young learners is that they are performance-based, requiring students to perform authentic tasks using oral and/or written communication skills. These techniques can include traditional classroom activities, such as giving oral reports and writing essays, but they may also involve nontraditional tasks, such as cooperative group work and problem solving. Teachers score the task performances holistically. Student performance should be measured against standards previously discussed in class.
References
1. Pierce L. V. and O'Malley J.M., 1992. Performance and portfolio assessment for language minority students. Washington,.DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
2. Rea-Dickins P. and Rixon S., 1997. The assessment of young learners of English as a foreign language. In Encyclopedia of language and education, Vol. 7: Language testing and assessment, eds. C. Clapham and D. Carson. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
3. MayerhofE., 1992. Communication dynamics as test anxiety therapy. English Teaching Forum. 30, 1, Pp. 45-47.
4. Murphey T., 1994/1995. Tests: Learning through negotiated interaction. TESOL Journal, 4, 2, Pp. 12-16.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING SKILLS FOR EFL LEARNERS
Mustafayeva M.A.
Mustafayeva Mavlyuda Anvarovna — Teacher, ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT, BUKHARA ENGINEERING-TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, BUKHARA, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: speaking is one of the important skills in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). It shows the best influence when seeing goal of speaking learning process, especially in EFL. The goal of English teaching is to make students able to communicate well. Keywords: speaking, problems in speaking, methods in speaking.
Language skill separates into two kinds that are receptive and productive. Receptive consists of listening and reading skills. Productive consists of speaking and wring skills. All of the skills are important in communication, including English communication. That is how the four skills are taught in English as a Foreign Language (EFL).One of the most important skills in EFL is speaking skill.
According to Oxford dictionary, speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one's thoughts and feelings in spoken language. From the definition, it concludes that speaking is expression in sending messages from a speaker towards listeners. There are some problems in teaching speaking. The problems come from internal and external. Internal problems are native language, age, exposure, innate phonetic ability, identity and language ego, and motivation and concern for good speaking. An external problem is institutional context that puts English as second or foreign language in a nation .Each problem is connected with decision in choosing suitable method in teaching speaking. By the importance of speaking, the skill needs special method in teaching EFL. Some of method that support in teaching speaking are Direct Method, The Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Total Physical Response, and Communicative Language Teaching. It is beyond any doubt that English is becoming a universal language almost nobody can get along without these days. English is being spoken all over the world on a daily basis. All four skills can be practiced, sections with social English and conversational phrases can be found there as well as thematic vocabulary. The biggest problem of these textbooks is that they prefer the other three skills to speaking. It is usually up to the teacher to devise more of relevant speaking activities. Moreover, most of the textbooks are not very helpful in ESP classes, as they offer only too general topics. Speaking is one of four language skills in English which demanding the speakers to be productive to produce oral words and phrase into a sentence which finally can make people to communicate. Because of that, speaking and writing is called as productive skill. In fact, many of EFL students in university level do not well trained to practice the ability of speaking. This phenomenon found in the class where ESP handbook used as the focus of students material in the class. The four English language skills are taught in order the students of computer engineering program be able to listen, speak, read and write in English. Speaking for EFL students is a productive activity which takes high frequency of practice and training. In fact, for teaching speaking skill, the researcher finds obstacles in the class faced by both the lecturer and also the students. This research will discuss what the obstacles the best solutions so the process of teaching and learning speaking in the class can run successfully. Introduction Speaking is one of four language skills in English which demanding the speakers to be productive to produce oral words and phrase into a sentence which finally can make people to communicate. Because of that, speaking and writing is called as productive skill. In fact, many of EFL students in university level do not well trained to practice the ability of speaking. This phenomenon found in the class where ESP handbook used as the focus of students material in the class. The four English language skills are taught in order the students of computer engineering program be able to listen, speak, read and write in English [1, 134]. In the field, the researcher found that many of the computer engineering students who cannot speak English properly, it takes serious attention when the students cannot speak properly even for the basic general conversation so they will be very impossible to speak ESP materials properly as well. Speech plays a great role in our daily lives. Through speech we can express our feelings, ideas and points of view to others. In classrooms especially where second or foreign languages are taught the main thing for most of the students are to speak fluently with the target language. Speaking skill is an interactive process of constricting meaning that involves producing and processing information. The speaking skill involves a communicative ability to use language to chat and transmit messages in different and appropriate situations..That is to say speaking is an important skill which deserves more attention in both first and second language because it reflects people's thoughts and personalities. For speak effectively there are some features which is very necessary to both learner and teacher in order to speak fluently. Teaching speaking is a very important part of second language learning. The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learner in school and success later in every phase of life. Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking. Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired. With this aim, various speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a great deal to students in developing basic interactive skills necessary for life. These activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same time make their learning more meaningful and fun for them [2, 79].
References
1. Celce-Murcia. M. 2001. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. USA: Heinle&Heinle.
2. Chaney A.L. and Burk T.L., 1998. Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8. Boston: Allyn&Bacon.
