Speaking is considered an essential skill in all four languages to communicate well in this global world. Thus, the classroom is the ideal platform to acquire good communication skills, especially speaking skills. At the beginning of the academic year, the students expressed their difficulties in speaking English. This best practice is worth sharing because I believe that it can provide a reference and an alternative for other teachers who have the same problem in their class. In this best practice, I played the role of the English teacher responsible for facilitating learning to make the students feel comfortable and improve their speaking skills.
There were some challenges that I encountered. The students in my classrooms had diverse speaking abilities. They had low self-confidence in speaking English. Also, they had limited vocabulary and understanding of the language expressions in speaking. In addition, they might not have adequate exposure the speaking activities.
There were some actions taken to respond to the problems. Students became the center of all learning activities. Students watched the audiovisual media to investigate a dialog sample using language expressions to ask and give opinions. They were asked to find information about the language expressions for asking and giving opinions from the video. They listened to the teacher’s explanation related to the language expression in asking and giving opinions. Then, they completed the exercise in the worksheets and practiced a dialog. Next, they worked in pairs and chose one issue among several issues selected by the teacher.
In the learning process, we utilized features like a QR code scanner, a voice recorder on the smartphone, and an internet connection to access videos and other relevant information. Students used a QR code scanner on their handphones to scan the instruction and information presented in the QR code. They brainstormed ideas, discussed the issue, and searched for additional supporting information. Then, they collaborated to create a dialog according to the topic and wrote the dialog on a piece of paper. Next, they practiced the dialog and used the voice recording application on their handphones to record their conversations. They submitted their audio files in Padlet. Students received feedback from peers and the teacher in Padlet.
As a reflection, allowing students to practice a conversation in pairs and to record their voice using the voice recording application on smartphones provided a more relaxed and comfortable situation that effectively reduced students’ anxiety in speaking English. Students admitted that practicing the dialog independently and recording their conversation using an audio recording application could reduce their fear and anxiety about speaking English. Also, the use of an audio recording application provided opportunities for students to do a self-evaluation. Using QR codes to present the instructions and information could engage the students in the learning process. As a result, students could demonstrate their speaking skills in using language expression to ask, give and respond to opinions in a conversation well.
