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Part of
Speaking in a Second Language
Edited by Rosa Alonso Alonso
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 17] 2018
► pp. 153–174

Chapter 7
Creating and using the space for speaking within the foreign language classroom

What, why and how?

| Lancaster University

Oral and written language differ in terms of the processing they involve, and the patterns of spoken and written discourse. These in turn imply differences in the challenges each presents to learners. I will consider how these can be distinctive to speaking, and suggest some implications for language teaching and research. I suggest that these characteristics imply a need to create ‘pedagogic spaces’ for the teaching of speaking, and that for these tasks are a crucial tool. Using examples I identify two particular ways in which tasks can contribute. Firstly the design of tasks can influence the kinds of oral discourse students engage in. Secondly tasks can be used to structure and motivate whole class talk through and across lessons.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background to the problem
  • Attempting to address the problem
    • The shape of spoken language
    • Speaking as process
    • Tasks for learning speaking
  • Constructing a task
    • Internal task structure
  • The use of oral tasks in relation to teacher-class discourse
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 12 April 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.17.07byg
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