Teachers perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for pre intermediate classes at academy of finance in the light of CLT

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ THU NHUNG TEACHERS' PERCEIVED DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL FOR PRE-INTERMEDIATE CLASSES AT ACADEMY OF FINANCE IN THE LIGHT OF CLT (KHÓ KHĂN CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRONG VIỆC DẠY KĨ NĂNG NÓI CHO CÁC LỚP KHƠNG CHUN TẠI HỌC VIỆN TÀI CHÍNH) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10 HANOI - 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ THU NHUNG TEACHERS' PERCEIVED DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL FOR PRE-INTERMEDIATE CLASSES AT ACADEMY OF FINANCE IN THE LIGHT OF CLT (KHÓ KHĂN CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRONG VIỆC DẠY KĨ NĂNG NÓI CHO CÁC LỚP KHƠNG CHUN TẠI HỌC VIỆN TÀI CHÍNH) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Hiền - MA HANOI - 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii List of abbreviations and tables .iii Table of contents iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Scope of the study Aims and research questions of the study Methods of the study Organzation of the study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The overview of CLT .4 2.2 Speaking skill in the light of CLT 2.2.1 The nature of speaking skill .5 2.2.2 The importance of teaching speaking skill 2.3 The role of the teacher and learners in a speaking lesson .6 2.3.1 The role of the teachers 2.3.2 The role of the learners 2.4 Speaking activities 2.4.1 The characteristics of speaking activities 2.4.2 The characteristics of a successful speaking activity 2.4.3 Categories of speaking activities .8 2.5 Organization of a speaking activity 11 2.5.1 Whole-class discussion .11 2.5.2 Group work .12 v 2.5.3 Pair work 13 2.5.4 Individual work 13 2.6 Teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill in the light of CLT.13 2.6.1 Difficulties from teachers 13 2.6.2 Difficulties from students 14 2.6.3 Difficulties from Educational system .17 2.7 Summary 27 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Setting of the study 19 3.2 Participants of the study 19 3.3 Data collection instruments 21 3.4 Procedures of data collection and data analysis .22 3.5 Summary 23 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 The results of the survey questionnaire and the semi-structure interview .24 4.1.1.Difficulties from students 25 4.1.2 Difficulties from teachers 29 4.1.3 Difficulties from educational system 31 4.2 The additional results of the semi-structure interview .33 4.2.1 Warm-up activities .33 4.2.2 Teachers' suggestions to motivate students 34 4.2.3 The formation of the groups .35 4.2.4 Teachers' suggestions to deal with disruptive behaviors 35 4.2.5 Teachers' suggestions in using the textbook Business Basics 36 4.2.6 Teachers' suggestions to deal with the problem of large-sized classes 36 vi 4.3 Sub-conclusion 36 CHAPTER FIVE: IMPLICATIONS TO COPE WITH TEACHERS' DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL 5.1 Suggestions for warm-up activities 38 5.2 Organization of group work and pair work 38 5.3 Some suggested speaking activities in the classroom 39 5.3.1 Information gap activities 39 5.3.2 Discussion 40 5.3.3 Interview 41 5.3.4 Role play 41 5.4 Creating a supportive and motivational speaking environment .42 5.4.1 Establishing a good relationship between teacher and students 42 5.5.2 Encourage students to speak 43 5.5 Suggestions for teaching speaking in large classes 43 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION 6.1 Summary 46 6.2 Limitations of the study 46 6.3 Suggestions for the further study .46 REFERENCES 47 APPENDICES I iii LIST OF FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS Figure 1: Teaching English experience Figure 2: Teachers' education and qualifications Figure 3: Average number of students in each class Figure 4: Reported difficulties in teaching speaking skill Figure 5: Difficulties from students Figure 6: Difficulties from teachers Figure 7: Difficulties from Educational system Figure 8: English teaching schedule for the first term Figure 9: Some teachers' suggested warm-up activities Figure 10: Teachers' suggestions to motivate students Figure 11: Teachers' suggestions to deal with disruptive behaviors AOF: Academy of Finance CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as Foreign Language SLA: Second Language Acquisition CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study In the trend of globalization, English – which is considered to be an international language – has become more and more popular and widely used in many countries in the world, including Vietnam In recent years, with the national policy of renovation and expansion of international relations, there has been an increasing need for learning English in Vietnam To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English in Vietnam have been trying to find out the most suitable and effective methods of teaching English They always try to catch up with the world’s latest frameworks of English Language Teaching Therefore, as in many other countries, teachers of English in Vietnam are now using Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) to teach English to students of all levels They hope that by using this teaching method, they can help their students improve their English and use it effectively and fluently in communication Having been aware of the necessity of good English knowledge of learners, the Academy of Finance (AOF) has paid considerable attention to update teaching methodologies Of all the teachers’ contribution, those following CLT are highly appreciated for its usefulness to students’ achievement The aspects of greatest concern are: syllabus design, learning strategies, methods of teaching four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking With the recognition of the importance of developing speaking skill in pre-intermediate students at AOF and hope of helping teachers of English deal better with teaching speaking skill, I would like to a research on teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for pre-intermediate classes at AOF in the light of CLT Scope of the study This study is aimed at meeting the need of the non major English first-year students at AOF on an appropriate way to practice speaking skill The data collection and data analysis therefore are based on the information provided by teachers at AOF who teach English to the first year students during their first semester Materials involved in the strategy training program include the students’ course book and workbook – “Business Basics” written by David Grant and Robert McLarty (1995) and other tasks developed by the teacher Within the framework of a minor thesis, the author only intends to study teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill to the first year students of Academy of Finance Then, this study also gives some suggestions to help the teachers at AOF in particular and at other universities in general to deal better with teaching speaking skill to non-major English students at pre-intermediate level Aims and research questions of the study Within the framework of a minor MA thesis, the study aims at studying the difficulties teachers perceive when they teach speaking skill to non-major English students of AOF at pre-intermediate level and providing some suggestions to overcome these difficulties The researcher wish to find out the questions as follows: - What are teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill to non-major English students of AOF at pre-intermediate level? - What are teachers' perceived causes of these difficulties? - What are teachers' suggestions to solve these problems? Methods of the study To complete the study, qualitative method was used A survey questionnaires and a semi-structure interview were conducted to collect information for the study All comments, remarks, suggestions and conclusion provided in the study based on the analysis of the data collected from the survey and the interview Organzation of the study My study is divided into six chapters: ► Chapter 1: Introduction briefly states the rationale for the study, aims and research questions, scope, methods and organization of the paper ► Chapter 2: Literature review discusses the literature on CLT, speaking skill, teaching speaking skill, speaking activities, perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill and causes of these difficulties ► Chapter 3: Methodology presents the methods used to find out data for the study In details, it includes the selection of participants, data collection instruments, procedures of data collection and data analysis ► Chapter 4: Results and discussion present and discuss the results of the questionnaire and semi-structure interview ► Chapter 5: Implication to cope with teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill presents useful suggestions to deal with these difficulties ► Chapter 6: Conclusion summarizes the findings, discusses the limitations of the study and provides suggestions for the further study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter briefly presents the overview of CLT, the nature of speaking skill and the importance of teaching speaking skill, the role of teachers and learners in speaking lessons, speaking activities and their characteristics, and difficulties in teaching speaking skill for non-major students of English 2.1 The overview of CLT Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s is currently the most favorite and the most widely-used method in English language classes in Vietnam Different authors view CLT differently However, most definitions of CLT come under its weak version which emphasizes the importance of opportunities to use English for communicative purposes Among the available definitions, the one given by Nunan (1989) seems to be the most widely-accepted and the most favorable on As for him, “CLT views language as a system for the expressions of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language, which is meaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the needs of the learners including functional skills as well as linguistic skills.” Nunan also asserts that in communication process, learners are negotiators and integrators whereas teachers are facilitators Whatever its definition is, its goal still remains the same, that is communicative competence The concept of communicative competence was first introduced by Hymes in 1972 and continued to be developed by Canale and Swain (1980), Canale (1983), Bachman (1990), Bachman and Palmer (1996) Canale and Swain (1980) expanded on the theoretical basis of CLT for both teaching and testing In their reaction against an over emphasis on function and a lack of emphasis on grammatical complexity (as was reflected in Wilkin's functional/notional syllabus and Munby's communicative syllabus), they pointed out that externally oriented communication is not necessarily more essential than other purposes of language such as self-expression, verbal thinking, problem solving, and creative writing In addition, CLT is usually characterized as an approach to teaching, rather than as a teaching method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices As such, it is most 41 5.3.3 Interview Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with other students in class It is a good idea that teachers provide careful guidance so that students know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow; however, students also should prepare their own interview questions Teachers should ask students to take notes what they find out about the interviewees Conducting interviews gives students a chance to practise their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them becoming socialized For example, in part 4, Unit one, exercise F: Practice (see appendix 4), before students the task, the teacher focus on questions that students can ask their friends about their leisure activities, how often they these activities, with whom and for how long, etc Eg: "Do you go jogging?", "When you go?", "How many kilometres you go?", "How often you go?" After that the teacher tell students to form groups of four or five One will be a journalist who wants to interview others about their leisure activities The journalist has to fill in the table given by the teacher to take notes what he/she has found out When students are doing the task, the teacher goes round observing, offering help and collecting any mistakes for later correction 5.3.4 Role-play Role-play, if performed properly, brings many advantages because students can participate in a real life conversation with a clear purpose Therefore, role-play is very motivational to students Like other activities, teachers need to give clear instructions before students perform role-play activities Teachers should give students flashcards on which their roles are written clearly After that, teachers need to give students time to work in pairs or groups For example, in Unit 2.2, exercise E: Pair work (see appendix 5), the teacher can design two cards: Card A Card B You are the receptionist at The Plaza Hotel, You want to book a double room for New York yourself at The Plaza Hotel, New York A guest call to book a room in your hotel, Make a phone call to the hotel answer the phone and note the name of the Your name: Hans Loeffner caller and the reservation dates Dates: From April 23rd to 25th Prices: Single $250; Double $315 Check the price: How much ? 42 Ask the caller to confirm booking by fax Check the fax number: Could you ? Your fax number is: 212-759 3167 Before students perform the task, the teacher let them to listen to the similiar conservation on the tape or CDs, ask students to take notes of expressions of each role as the caller and the receptionist while listening Once students get familiar with vocabulary and specific expressions, they can act their role better The teacher will then call some pairs to perform the role play in front of class, and ask other pairs to listen and notes some of their friends' mistakes, and ask some students to comment and the teacher will lastly give feedback 5.4 Creating a supportive and motivational speaking environment A supportive and motivational environment can help two things: First, it helps to motivate students to speak in English in class, especially shy students Second, it maintains the discipline in the classroom and prevents disruptive behaviors 5.4.1 Establishing a good relationship between the teacher and students ♦ Teacher's behavior and attitude: The teacher should have a positive attitude to learning A teacher who does not really care and who is insensitive to the students' reactions to what is happening in the classroom will lose the respect of the students - and the first step to problems is disruptive behaviors The teacher needs to appear to be enthusiastic in teaching students ♦ Learning students' names: This also helps a lot in managing class When teachers know students' names, the students will feel more responsible for their action in the class Moreover, they feel that they are paid attention to Before teaching, the teachers should spend a little time in the first period of the first lesson to get to know the students ♦ Listening to and paying attention to students: According to Wlodkowski (1986, p.28, cited in Harmer, 1991, p.250), "the way we listen tells the learners more than anything else how much consideration we are really giving them" That is, students need to feel that teachers pay attention to them There are some suggestions that not take up much time but be very effective such as smiling at students, sharing with students by asking them about their lives outside school, and showing interest in their hobbies 43 5.4.2 Encouraging students to speak ♦ Giving sufficient guide: Generally, the lower the level of students the more controlled and guided practice, compared with freer practice It is a good idea for teachers to provide students with vocabulary to speak and give more chance for students to practise grammar structures and expressions before using them for real ♦ Giving clear instructions: If teacher's instructions are not clear, students will be confused, and as a consequence, they cannot perform the activities properly and successfully In addition to this, it also creates a noisy classroom Therefore, teacher's instructions should be clear and short in simple language Make sure that students understand the instructions by asking some students what they are going to ♦ Giving out praise as much as possible: It is simple that teachers tell students how to well they are doing For example, "This is a very good answer.", "Well done!", "I like your ways of expressing ideas That's really good" ♦ Giving constructive feedback: ► When assessing and giving feedback to students on speaking tasks, sensistivity should be shown Students need to be encouraged and assured by positive feedback on what they are doing right, as well as being focused on what needs improvement ► It is best to keep feedback until the task is finished If teachers interrupt to correct when tasks are being performed, the students will be distracted form the development of ideas and natural interaction will be disrupted 5.5 Suggestions for teaching speaking in large classes As I have already mentioned in chapter three, most of English classes at AOF often consist of 40-50 students In these classes, it is really hard for teachers to organize activities, to control the class and to put an eye on every student In order to make speaking lessons more effective, Haddad C (2006) suggests top some tips for teaching large classes: ► Plan ahead and prepare thoroughly; problems can be magnified in large classes, but they can also be dealt with effectively ► Maximize classroom space by removing unnecessary furniture, and use space outside of the classroom as learning and activity centres Ask your students for suggestions on arranging the classroom in a comfortable manner ► Do everything possible to get to know your students A positive relationship with your students builds a willingness on their part to actively participate in class 44 ► Have your students introduce themselves to everyone in an interactive manner You introduce yourself, as well ►Move around the class when talking – this engages students more actively, and it can reduce the physical and social distance between you and your students ►Be natural and personal in class and outside of it – be yourself! Tell your students you will be available before and after class to answer any questions they might have ►Keep track of frequently asked questions or common mistakes Use these to develop lessons and help students avoid making mistakes ►Be aware of the class If you notice or even feel that there is something wrong, ask a student what is going on Invite small groups of students to visit you to discuss important class issues When necessary, involve students and use positive discipline to deal with misbehaviour ►Give a background questionnaire or a diagnostic test to check the content of your lessons and the knowledge and skills of your students, to identify those students that need special attention, as well as to make connections to students’ life experiences ► Recognize the attention span of students is limited: 15 minutes of lecture followed by an activity and then additional lecture if needed is an ideal timeline ► Determine what information can be delivered in a form other than lecture and develop these methods For instance, group work, role-playing, student presentations, outside readings, and in-class writing can be excellent ways to vary classroom routine and stimulate learning ► Develop a formal lesson plan as a way to organize your teaching in a large class setting; a way to monitor whether or not your students are understanding what is taught; and a chance for you to think about what to next and how to improve your teaching In your plan, identify what topic is to be taught, the learning objectives, teaching methods, classroom arrangement, main activities, resources, and assessment methods ► Explain to your students exactly how and why you are teaching the class or a specific lesson in the manner that you For example, “This is why I give quizzes at the end of class.” ► Develop a visual display of the outline of the day’s topics and learning objectives (for instance, a list on a chalkboard) This will make following the flow of the class 45 much easier for you and your students Plan for a clear beginning, middle, and end to the class Use “prompts” to develop students’ question and answer skills, and count to 10 after you ask a question to give time for the student(s) to answer 46 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION 6.1 Summary This study has been done to find out perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for non-major classes at AOF in the light of CLT The results of the questionnaire reveal that almost teachers have difficulties belonging to three categories: difficulties from students, from teachers themselves and from educational system, in which from students seem to be the most problematic It is also shown in the questionnaire's results that some of biggest obstacles in teaching speaking skill for the first year students at AOF are lack of student motivation, their low level of English proficiency, their hesistance to speak because of shyness and being afraid of making mistakes, as well as the lack of time for performing speaking activities in the class or classes are too large In the scope of this thesis, some suggestions are given to help to deal with these difficulties Hopefully, to some extent, this study can contribute to facilitate teachers of English of AOF in particular and teachers of Universities in Vietnam in general 6.2 Limitations of the study Due to the limitations of time, knowledge and ability, mistakes and errors are unavoidable in this study First, the number of participants of this study is limited Moreover, not all participants doing the questionnaire participate in the interviews Second, the study fails to have a deep insight into problems remaining in teaching speaking skill to non-major English classes at AOF Therefore, all comments and suggestions are highly appreciated 6.3 Suggestions for the further study It is hoped that who are interested in this thesis can widen the scale of study on other Universities with more participants Apart from speaking skill, further research can also investigate perceived difficulties in teaching other skills such as reading and writing skills I hope that this study will be a basic knowledge and a reference material for the further study 47 REFERENCES Ballard, B & Clanchy, J (1991) Teaching students from overseas: A brief guide for lecturers and supervisors Melbourne: Longman Cheshire Bock, G (2000) Difficulties in implementing communicative theory in Vietnam Retrieved from http://nzdl.sadl.uleth.ca/gsdl/collect/literatu/index/assoc/HASH2e47.dir/doc.pdf Breen, M.P & Candlin, C (1980) The essentials of a communicative curriculum in language teaching Applied linguistics (2): 89-112 Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents Burke, E & Smith, C.W (2009) Academic and Non-academic difficulties: Perceptions of graduate non-English speaking background students Retrieved from http://teslej.org/ej05/al.html Byrne, D (1980) Teaching oral English New York: London Byrne, D (1987) Techniques for classroom interaction England: Longman group UK limited, Longman house, England Canale, M and Swain, M (1980) Approaches to Communicative Competence Singapore:RELC Dalle T and Thrush E (2003) Practicing oral skills in large classes Teacher's Edition 245 (13): 4-8 Haddad, C (2006) Practical Tips for Teaching Large Classes: A Teacher’s Guide Bangkok: Unesco Press Hall, D.R & Hewings A (2001) Innovation in English language teaching London: Routledge Press 48 Harmer, J (2001) The practice of language teaching New York: Longman Huong, T.T (2006) EFL Methodology I: Recommended readings Hanoi: CFL, VNU Huong, T.T (2006) EFL Methodology II: Course book (volume 1) Hanoi: CFL, VNU Huong, T.T (2007) EFL Methodology II: Course book (volume 2) Hanoi: CFL, VNU Kayi, H (2006) Teaching speaking: Activities to promote speaking in a second language Retrieved Autumn 10, 2009 from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-Teaching Speaking.html Kripple, F (1991) Keep talking: Communicative fluency activities for language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lazaraton, A., (n.d) Teaching oral skills In Celce-Murcia (2001) (Ed) "Teaching English as a second or foreign language" (p.103-115) Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publisher Lawtie, F (2009) Teaching speaking skills - overcoming classroom problems Retrieved from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk Lightbown, P.M & Spada, N (1999) How languages are learnt Oxford: Oxford University Press Matthews, A., Spratt, M and Les Dangerfield (1990) Practical techniques in language teaching London: Edward Arnold Publishers Moore, K.D (2007) Classroom teaching skills New York: Longman Nunan, D (1989), Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom Cambridge:Cambridge University Press Nunan, D (1991), Language teaching methodology UK: Prentice-Hall International Richards, J.C & Rodgers, T.S (2001) Approaches and methods in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press I APPENDICES APPENDIX Teachers Questionnaire This questionnaire is conducted to collect data for my thesis on "Perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for pre-intermediate classes at Academy of Finance in the light of CLT" Your completion of this questionnaire is highly appreciated The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for any other purposes Thank you for your cooperation Section 1: General information (Please circle the letter before your choice or write your answers in the provided space) Age: Levels Taught: How long have you been teaching English? A less than five years B from to 10 years C more than 10 years How long have you been teaching "Business Basics"? A less than two years B from to years How many first-year classes are you teaching this term (The first term of schoolyear 2009-2010) which the number of students are of: A less than 30 students? B from 30 to 39 students? C from 40 to 49 students? D more than 50 students? II Section 2: Perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for pre-intermediate classes at Academy of Finance in the light of CLT (Please circle the letter before your choice or write your answers in the provided space) Sources Difficulties students Difficulties from A Lack of student motivation for speaking activities B Student use of the mother-tongue during group work or pair work C Student resistance to class participation D Low level of English language proficiency E Student different levels of English proficiency F Student lack of background knowledge on business G Student different interests H Student passive learning style I Influences of student previous English courses J Others Difficulties teachers from A Misconceptions about what CLT actually is B Few opportunities to learn how to use CLT C Inadequacy to implement in CLT D Deep-routed habits of traditional teaching methods E Others: III Difficulties from educational system the A The grammar-based exams not justify using CLT B Too little time for speaking lessons C Class sizes are too large D Lack of teaching facilities E Fixed layout of desks and chairs F No people with expertise to turn to for advice G Others: Thank you for your support! IV APPENDIX Questions for semi-structure interview What you think is the biggest difficulties in teaching speaking skill to non-major English students at AOF? In your opinion, what might be the causes for the lack of student motivation for speaking activities? How you think teachers should motivate students in speaking lessons? Do you think warm-up activities are important in teaching speaking skill to the first year students? What are your warmers? Do you think that teachers should follow speaking activities in the textbook or in their own ways? How should teachers form the groups in speaking lessons? When students have disruptive behaviors, what should teachers do? How should teachers deal with the problem of large-sized classes? What should teachers to use textbook Business Basics effectively? V APPENDIX Unit 1.2.E: Work in pair Card A: Your partner works for a big company Ask your partner questions to get more information Complete this table Company Activity Location Turnover Employees Card B: You work for the company below Answer your partner's questions The company is ITT It employs a total of 110,000 people It has its headquarters in the USA, but 30% of its employees work in Europe It specializes in products for the defence, electronics, and motor industries It has annual sales of more than $20 billion VI APPENDIX Unit 1.4.F: Practice The teacher ask students to work in groups of four or five One of them is the interviewer who will interview the rest of the group about their leisure activites Some grids are given to the interviewer: Grid Student #1 Student #2 Student #3 Student #4 Student #1 Student #2 Student #3 Student #4 Do you often go jogging? When you go? How often you go? How kilometres many you go? Grid Do you listen to music? What kinds of music you often listen to? When you listen to? VII APPENDIX Unit 2.2.E: Role play The teacher ask students to work in pairs One of the students play the role of a receptionist at The Plaza Hotel, New York, and answer the phone call from a guest The other act in the role of a guest who call the hotel to book a double room Two cards are as follows: Card A Card B You are the receptionist at The Plaza Hotel, You want to book a double room for New York yourself at The Plaza Hotel, New York A guest call to book a room in your hotel, Make a phone call to the hotel answer the phone and note the name of the Your name: Hans Loeffner caller and the reservation dates Dates: From April 23rd to 25th Prices: Single $250; Double $315 Check the price: How much ? Ask the caller to confirm booking by fax Check the fax number: Could you ? Your fax number is: 212-759 3167 ... teachers' perceived difficulties in teaching speaking skill for preintermediate classes at AOF in the light of CLT as well as the possible reasons for these problems The results of the two instruments... briefly presents the overview of CLT, the nature of speaking skill and the importance of teaching speaking skill, the role of teachers and learners in speaking lessons, speaking activities and their... learning strategies, methods of teaching four skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking With the recognition of the importance of developing speaking skill in pre- intermediate students at