Abstract
Speaking has historically been overlooked in the L2 classrooms as it was thought to have less prominence compared to reading and writing (McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, 2013). This perception was gradually changed by the advent of the communicative approach. Speaking skills – like listening ones – are now acknowledged for the important role they exercise in SLA processes. As a result, a lot of curricula strive to give speaking skills a central role. This paper explores the role of speaking skills within the Cypriot Primary School Curriculum of English. It focuses on some of its strong points, pinpoints some of its limitations and suggests possible ways forward. English teachers in the Cypriot primary schools are encouraged to support students’ oracy development. Teacher guides and lesson plans as well as recommendations offered to teachers during on-service training sessions put particular emphasis on developing students’ speaking within a broader communicative approach. Consequently, primary school students in Cyprus are invited to speak at several parts of the lesson and their active participation is adamant in the way the lesson plays out from beginning to end, offering, thus, ample opportunities for practice. Yet, consistent with international research (Derwing and Munro, 2005; Nair, Krishnasamy and De Mello, 2017), pronunciation does not appear to be actively incorporated in the teaching of oral skills in Cypriot Primary School TESOL classrooms. Pronunciation is only implicitly taught via ‘listen and repeat’ exercises but children are not made aware of any processes of pronunciation improvement.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
TESOL, SPEAKING SKILLS, CYPRUS, ENGLISH CURRICULLUM, PRONUNCIATION
