Teaching of Speaking and Listening

Ultimately, speaking and listening, I feel are the two most important aspects of learning a langauge and improving one's oral proficiency in a language. Brown's chapters on the teaching of speaking and listening were very helpful in picking up strategies to help learners improve their listening and speaking skills. I found the table of techniques for teaching listening comprehension to be especially helpful for me in seeing the various levels of learners laid out and what the main focus was for each group. Also, I found interesting what makes speaking so difficult. Brown provides eight characteristics that he says can make oral performance easy as well as in some cases difficult. When thinking back to my experience learning my L2, Spanish, I found many characteristics to be true. For example, redundancy was huge for me in hearing things multiple times and being able to make meaning clearer of what was being said. 

The Cary article brought up some very important points that we as future educators need to keep in mind. The teacher took right step towards supporting and acknowledging the other cultures and languages in the classroom. It is so important in learning an L2 to keep the L1 stable and growing as well. It is our job to make sure our students are not losing where they came from and putting aside their native language and culture. The teacher communicated with parents in promoting the intactness of the native language. Diversity continues to grow and can be a very beautiful thing, especially in the classroom. Students can embrace where they come from and share their rich native culture and langauge with other students, creating a learning atmosphere for students as well as the teacher. In relation to the article, sparking an interest in speaking more than one language can add to a student's motivation. Therefore, I see a positive and a negative to the teacher having students wear stars. 

Kumar, in chapter five stresses again the importance of a relationship between students and teachers. In order to maximize instruction and facilitate negotioated interaction, the will and active cooperation from all participants (teacher, learner) is crucial. The idea of learner autonomy and promoting it in the classroom will help learners feel that they have the freedom and flexibility to contribute in discussion. As teachers, finding ways to maximize learning opportunities will come from knowing our students and their different learning styles.