Speaking means natural output
Oral language is not simply written language spoken out loud. Oral language, in L1 or L2 (second language), has its own rules, its own vocabulary, its own structure. The type of communications we enter into can be classed as transactional (expressing content, communicating information) or interactional (expressing social relations, having a 'conversation'). Oral language frequently falls more naturally into the second category:
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It seems reasonable to suggest that, whereas in daily life in a literate culture, we use speech largely for the establishment and maintenance of human relations (primarily interactional use), we use written language largely for the working out of a transference of information (primarily transactional use). |
Often classes involving students with lower levels of language may concentrate on transactional uses - a trip to the chemist's, booking a hotel reservation over the telephone. Although we are in part training our students to survive in a foreign country, in which they will be required to communicate information effectively, we should also ensure that at least some of the focus falls upon the interactional uses of the spoken utterance. Consider the definition of 'spoken language proficiency' offered by student 9 in Activity 3: 'I don't feel that proficient - I feel that I can discuss certain issues, but not carry out a general conversation'.
