?What is Speaking

Speaking is the skill that makes human beings different from and superior to the species of living beings. Speaking is a complex cognitive and linguistic skill. A child learns to speak through interaction with the people around him/her in their native language. Every normal adult can speak in his/her native language without effort and this skill is a natural one. But speaking in a foreign language is not natural and it requires conscious effort throughout the whole process.

:Speaking is a verbal skill that involves words and sounds. It also involves

Meaning: connotation, denotation, grammar

Sociality, Relationship, Affect: formal, informal, slang, turn-taking

Cultural Issues: class, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, dialect

Performance: articulation, projection, pronunciation

Sound Elements: how volume, pitch, pace, and nature of sound complement/contradict/replace words 

Speaking is a production skill that involves listening skill. Without listening, speaking is not possible and the relationship between these two skills is corresponding

 

:Functions of Speaking

There are a lot of functions of speaking in human lives every day. However, these functions can be divided into three main categories

Interaction

Transaction

Performance

 

Speaking as Interaction

The role of speaking as interaction is mostly of a social conversation. It reflects the roles and the relationships of the speaker in a social setting. For example, chatting to a fellow passenger, telling a friend about an amusing experience, etc. are the interaction that we conduct through speaking

Speaking as Transaction

The role of speaking as transaction is to make someone understood the message that we want to give to him/her. The focus of this type of speaking is giving and receiving information and obtaining goods/services. For example, classroom group discussions, shopping, making a telephone call, ordering food from a menu in a restaurant, etc. use speaking as transaction of information

 

Speaking as Performance

The role of speaking as performance is to transmit information before an audience. It generally incorporates public speaking. It focuses on form, accuracy, organization, and sequencing, etc. of speaking. For example, political speeches, conducting a class debate, giving a lecture, etc. use speaking as performance

 

The Four Speaking Skills