Speaking Of Speaking: Developing Fluency through Effective Teaching Strategies

Abstract

English occupies a place of prestige in the whole world simply because it is the linguafranca. In the EFL context, mastering the ability to speak English fluently and properly is the target of language teaching and the process remains incomplete if one does not achieve competence in speaking it. Therefore, the reflection of success in language teaching is seen and measured in learners’ ability to carry out a complete conversation in the target language. Like all languages, English lays out many difficulties for non native speakers which intervene in shaping their skills. In this vein, the purpose of this work and the main concern, than, was to demonstrate the possible solutions and the effectiveness of implementing the appropriate teaching strategies in promoting master one EFL students’ speaking fluency and reducing serious speaking difficulties. The main threefold objectives of the work are, discussing the main problems learners encounter which may hinder their oral performance and provide strategies to help EFL students go beyond them, detecting the constraints that teachers face when applying several strategies to foster learners' motivation for ameliorating the speaking performance. To reach this end, a case study research was conducted at the Department of Foreign Languages at Ibn khaldoun University of Tiaret, relying on two questionnaires as instruments of research. The analysis of results reveals that it is true to say that speaking frequently occurs in class, but it is less frequently taught and consequently if EFL teachers were aware of the suitable activities which would enhance learners speaking skill, that they will certainly decrease most of the difficulties they face when speaking. From another perspective, EFL teachers consent that using diverse teaching strategies and techniques would level up learners’ awareness, motivates them, and enrich their vocabulary. Finally, this extended essay ends up by suggesting some efficient and fruitful recommendations for EFL teachers and learners to flourish and evolve in their way toward fluency.