The Primacy of Spoken English

Recent emphasis on spoken language in course materials

Most textbooks published in recent years place considerable emphasis on spoken language and embody a methodology that is largely oral.

Traditional approaches to language teaching often involved teachers talking about language in the learners' first language, setting written translation exercises and relying heavily on written grammatical exercises. Such approaches tended to neglect an important principle of learning:

"On the whole, people learn what they do. Do something enough times and you will become competent in doing it thereafter."

Students certainly had plenty to do, but there was often a mismatch between the activities they were actually carrying out and the skill they were supposedly learning. If the objective was to speak a foreign language, learners needed opportunities to rehearse and practise speaking.

I became particularly aware of this when I arrived in France after having passed my school French examination. Despite my success in the examination, I had very few French utterances to offer a native French speaker. I had done a great deal of written work, but I was almost completely unrehearsed in the speaking skill.

The emphasis on spoken language is not entirely recent

It would, however, be an exaggeration to claim that courses emphasising speaking are a recent innovation. Psychologists such as Skinner contributed to the behaviourist tradition in linguistics through their work on learning theory. For much of the twentieth century, behaviourists and structuralists emphasised the mastery of grammatical patterns through constant, step-by-step repetition of utterances.

Language laboratory practice drills are particularly associated with this approach. The better exercises included elements of choice which could be used to check whether learners understood the meaning of what they were repeating. They also imposed time limits, encouraging learners to produce an accurate response without having unlimited time to construct it.

One weakness of many written materials for practising grammar is precisely that they impose no such time limits. They allow learners to proceed slowly and carefully, while their speech organs remain unused. The language laboratory, by contrast, was never entirely passive.

The formation of correct language habits was thought to depend on principles such as exercise, effect and shaping. Whatever the limitations of this theory, it implies an important element of doing: actually producing language.

Functionalist and notional-functional principles

A further contribution came from linguists who described themselves as "functionalists". They argued that structural practice alone could be an inefficient way of learning what students actually need. Repeated manipulation of grammatical patterns can produce what might be called "structurespeech" rather than language appropriate to the situation in which it is used.

Communicative functions and categories of language use

With oral English in mind, researchers such as D. A. Wilkins, drawing on developments associated with Austin's and Searle's work on speech acts, and authors such as Wilga Rivers, identified categories of communicative function and language use. Examples include:

1. establishing and maintaining social relations
2. expressing one's reactions
3. hiding one's intentions
4. talking one's way out of trouble
5. seeking and giving information
6. learning or teaching others to do or make something

I include these categories because of their close relationship with spoken language and, more broadly, with communication.

Examining such categories helps to explain why an oral approach may be particularly appropriate when teaching English to adults. Many learners, including tourists, executives, receptionists and university students, share a desire to use spoken English for practical purposes.

Circumstances in which the oral approach will not suffice

Having argued in general terms for an oral approach, I am fully aware that speaking is not the only desirable objective. It should certainly not be treated as the primary objective when a group of learners has some other clearly defined need, such as passing written examinations.

Many public examinations, including B2 First (formerly Cambridge FCE) and C2 Proficiency examinations, place considerable emphasis on listening, reading and writing. These skills therefore cannot be ignored in examination classes.

Language schools also regularly encounter learners with highly specific needs. The spoken English and vocabulary required by a tourist, for example, will be very different from those required by a receptionist or switchboard operator.

Despite the close relationship between speaking and listening, a learner may be particularly interested in listening. Participants at international conferences, for example, may be permitted to speak in their native language while being expected to understand English.

Similarly, reading may be the major requirement of a learner who wants to read modern English literature, a technician who services equipment made in the U.S.A., or a chemist, doctor or optician who wants to keep up with research.

Once highly specific needs have been identified, however, it is important to recognise that learners' needs are usually mixed and that the four skills rarely exist in complete isolation.

Tourists may need to speak English, but they also need to read menus, signs, bills, receipts and "what's on" columns. They may need sufficient writing to complete cheques, embarkation cards and booking forms. A longer-term visitor may also need to read and write messages.

Conclusion: balance in the language curriculum

In conclusion, a student's eventual repertoire of language skills is likely to reflect the proportions of time spent on different language activities.

The fact that more time may need to be spent on productive skills —speaking and writing—than on receptive skills—listening and reading—if an equivalent level of proficiency is to be achieved reflects the fact that comprehension generally outstrips productive capacity.

A large receptive repertoire may therefore be regarded as one desirable outcome of giving appropriate attention to all four skills. At the same time, the balance required will depend on the learners' needs. Under some examination systems, for example, listening and speaking have traditionally received relatively little attention. Krashen's emphasis on the "silent period" also reminds us that learners may need time to develop receptive competence before they are ready to produce language extensively.

The nature of oral practice must also be considered carefully. Reading a text aloud in class, or doing an exercise orally in preparation for written homework, may provide practice in producing sounds, but audible language does not necessarily constitute speech.

Speech involves composing sentences, selecting appropriate grammatical forms and vocabulary, and expressing them in sound in order to communicate a desired meaning.

It must therefore be considered within the broader context of communication, which involves both listening and speaking.

A survey of even a few basic categories of communicative function is enough to demonstrate the validity of an oral approach in relation to the needs and objectives of many language learners.

Reading also has an important role to play, particularly as an aid to vocabulary learning. Some learners can recognise the written form of a word without being able to recognise the same word when they hear it spoken. Knowledge of phonics can, however, help learners connect written forms with their pronunciation.

In Western educational establishments, reading and writing are traditionally regarded as essential tools of learning: books, papers, email and the Internet all depend heavily upon them. Nevertheless, the oral tradition can also transmit language through songs, stories and other forms of spoken communication.

Listening comprehension is also aided by knowledge of vocabulary and phraseology, as well as by an awareness of the differences between spoken prose and conversation.

The pedagogical use of reading and writing in the classroom therefore deserves careful consideration. Many adults prefer the support of the written word when learning languages. Programmes for children in which reading and writing were deliberately excluded during the first year or two may therefore be open to question.