Journal Article Critique - 5

Citation: Liao, Guoqiang. (2009). Improvement of Speaking Ability Through Interlated Skills, English Language Teaching, Vol. 02/ No. 03: 11-14.

This journal discusses about hot to improve students' speaking ability. The researcher write this journal because he found most of his students could not communicate freely and express their ideas clearly in English. The researcher explains there are some reasons that make the students' could not improve their speaking ability. First, the teacher said that most of teacher at the previous year was using teacher-centered method to teach his students and that method just focus on the reading and writing skill, while the speaking skill was not teach seiously. Second, most of the teachers use traditional modes of teaching activies, such as reading dialog, reciting text, doing translation,  and the material which used in teaching learning activity is non-authentic material. By giving these kinds of activities make the students getting bored with the class. The next reason is speaking never be included into the examination, only writing and reading skill which tested in examination. The last reason comes from the students' side. The students never practice their speaking properly in the class, so they never know how far their capabilities in speak english. Then, when the students are in a situation that makes them should speak English they will be afraid of making some mistakes and almost of the students think that only writing and reading are skills which needed to apply in a college or university, but the fact said that the speaking is the most important skill needed.
Based on the some reasons above, the writer of this journal article recomended some activities to improve the students' speaking abilities. The writer writes some activies which can be done in paris of groups, that are:
a. Communication activities
     The kind of this activity is make a pairs of students, give them a topic about something and aks them to discuss it. After they are disscus about the topic, they should share their ideas to other member of the group.
     By using this activity the researcher believes that the students' speaaing abilities can be improved.
b. Quistionaire
    The students can work in pair to make their own quistionare, then they should interview other group using that quistionare. The researcher believes this activity provides an additional source of talk, so the students speaking ability will get better.
c. Quiz
    It is almost same with the quistionare. The students work in pair and make their own quiz questions. Each pairs should ask another pair of students to answer their questions orally. This activity involves some speaking, writing, and listening. When the quiz is done, the pair of students who have answered the questions will get reading and speaking integreted.

    After reading this journal article, I am strongly agree with the writer's sugestion how to improve the students' speaking skill. The first thing that should be fixed is the teacher method or the way the teacher delivers the materials. The teacher should choose the appropriate method to his students, so the teaching learning activity will be more interesting. Then, the materials chosen for the students should be up to date and authentic, the teacher should choose the interesting material for his students for example he can choose material from what's going on in our environment. It can develop students' interest to the teching learning activity. The last that the teacher should change is the activities during teaching learning activity. If at the lrevious year the teacher give a reading dialog activity, the can change it into role play, so, the students not only reading the text but they shoukd now the main information of the text and then practice it in front of the class. Also, the teacher can include speaking into the exam so the students have more chance to practice their speaking ability.