Speaking - The ability to communicate in a second language helps learners deliver the message successfully in their

day-to-day interaction.

Speaking as an expressive skill is important for personal and professional success.

An effective speaker captures attention and successfully gets the message across. Effective speaking reflects clear
thinking.

Dale Carnegie said, "There are always three speeches.

1. The One You Practiced

2. The One You Gave
3. The One You Wish You Gave
" His words show the importance of speaking skills to convey accurate communication.

Speaking and its Importance

Chaney, 1998 - Speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal
symbols, in a variety of contexts.

Johnson, 1996 - Speaking is complex because speakers are involved in a rapid and dynamic process incurring a high
element of doing various things at the same time.

Further, Johnson (1996) describes speaking as a “combinatorial skill” that involves doing various things at the same
time including non-verbal communication skills like listening, eye contact, and body language.

Why do we speak? People speak for the following reasons:

1. Convey thoughts

2. Persuade people

3. Inspire people and spur them into action

What could be the other reasons why people speak? Share your thoughts in the class.

The Following Skills Need To Be Developed For Effective Speaking In A Second Language.

1. Vocabulary - To be able to speak effectively, you have to acquire enough words to say what you want to say
and to make you more capable of delivering exactly what you want to convey. Being a good speaker means
constantly expanding your vocabulary.

Reading is an effective way to improve your vocabulary. The more you read, the more you learn unfamiliar
words. Watching movies is another way to improve your English vocabulary. Movies provide you with the
opportunity to learn many words, phrases, and grammar as used in real-life conversations. Playing word
games is effective and fun. At the same time, it improves your vocabulary. There are several classic board
games or online word games that will enhance your vocabulary.
 2. Grammar

The fewer grammar mistakes you make, the more effective is your speech. However, your grammar
doesn’t need to be 100% accurate to be an effective speaker. What is important is the accuracy of the message that
you convey while speaking. You may need to learn specific grammatical structures like the different tenses,
comparative forms, relative clauses, conditionals, passive and active voice, to name a few.

3. Pronunciation

Pronunciation is divided into two large categories: segmental and suprasegmental.

Segmental are also called ‘phonemes. Individual sounds of the consonants and vowels are segmental.

The segmental features of speech are discrete units that can be auditorily identified in the speech stream such as
consonants and vowels (Crystal, 2015).

Suprasegmental are speech techniques that apply to multiple segments such as stress, intonation, and rhythm. The
suprasegmental features (also known as prosodic features refer to "the phonetic and phonological aspects of spoken
language that cannot necessarily be reduced to individual consonants and vowels but generally extend across several
segments or syllables" (Fletcher, 2013).

Suprasegmental are the musical aspects of pronunciation. They are important for marking all kinds of meanings, in
particular speakers' attitudes or stances to what they are saying (or the person they are saying it to) and in marking
out how one utterance relates to another (Ogden, 2009).

Competent speakers possess various skills of pronunciation to emphasize and make the communicative effect of their
speech more effective.

Speech Register

As people speak, they use different speech registers.

Speech registers refer to the level of formality and style in speaking anchored on different situations and contexts.

In Determining The Type Of Speech Register, you have to consider:

1. purpose of your speech (Why am I speaking?),

2. audience (Who am I speaking to?)
3. occasion (What is the event?).
The Following Are The Types Of Speech Registers:

1. Frozen or Fixed Register

 This type of register is often used in very formal ceremonies and must be said the same each time we say it.
 This register is frozen in time, form, and content.
Some examples are:

 Shakespearean plays
 Philippine National Anthem
 Lord's prayer
 Preamble of the Philippine Constitution
 Laws.

2. Formal Register

 This type often follows a prescriptive format.

 It is used in formal settings and is usually impersonal.
 This includes academic language.
 The speaker uses technical and academic vocabulary, uses complete sentences and avoids slang.
Formal registers are:

 Speeches
 Announcements
 Sermons
 Pronouncements By The Judges.

3. Consultative Register

 This is the standard form of communication.

 The speaker uses the participation and feedback of the listener.
Situations using consultative registers are:

 Doctor And Patient

 Lawyer And Client
 Teacher And Student
 Counselor And Client.

4. Casual Register

 This is an informal speech, usually used between friends, or colleagues who have things to share.
 There is free and easy participation of both speaker and listener.
 Casual registers happen among buddies, teammates, group chats, blogs, and messages to friends.

5. Intimate Register

 The last type is a conversation between two very close individuals.

 It is described by an economy of words, with a high chance of nonverbal communication.
 Intimate registers usually occur between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, parents and
children, and siblings.
Speech Act

Speech act refers to an utterance expressed by an individual that presents information and performs an action as
well.

The Speech Act Theory Of Austin And Searle (1971) captures all the possible functions of language by classifying
the kinds of action that can be performed by speech. It is categorized as locutionary, illocutionary, and
perlocutionary.

The Locutionary Act is the act of making an expressive meaning. This is an utterance that produces literal meaning
based on what is said by the speaker.

An illocutionary act (force) is the meaning one wishes to convey. It is an utterance that has a social function in
mind. In an illocutionary act, it is not just the act of saying something but the act of saying something for the
purpose of:

 Stating An Opinion
 Confirming Or Denying Something
 Making A Prediction
 A Promise
 Request
 Issuing An Order Or A Decision
 Giving Advice Or Permission.

A Perlocutionary Act is the effect of our words that entails a person to do something. This is what the hearer
does in response to the utterance.

Speech Delivery

One Way Of Categorizing A Speech Is The Way It Is Delivered.

The types of speech delivery are impromptu, extemporaneous, manuscript, and memorized.

Impromptu speaking involves delivering a message on the spur of the moment without preparation and
predetermination.

Extemporaneous speaking consists of delivering a speech in a conversational fashion using notes. This is planned
and prepared but the speaker uses an outline only as a reference while speaking. This is the style most professional
and experienced public speakers prefer since the extemporaneous method of delivery has a more natural flow.

This is also the style of speech delivery for speaking contests. Speakers are given topics 20 minutes prior to their
speech after which they deliver a five (5) minute talk (depends on the guidelines set for the extemporaneous contest.)

Manuscript speaking consists of reading a fully scripted speech. It is useful when a message needs to be delivered
in precise words like the state of the nation address of the President of the Philippines. This is used when people
read important statements or when people deliver reports in public that would require exact words in the correct order.

Memorized speaking is delivering a scripted speech from memory. Memorization allows the speaker to be free of
notes. However, there is stress associated with it since it will entail the speaker to commit to memory what she/he has
to say.