The Importance of Enhancing Oral English Classes in China

李維

【Abstract】This study addresses the issue of promoting effective Oral English of college students in China. It aims to identify the difficulties of learning English oral expression concerned and provides strategies for enhancing college students level of oral English.

【Key words】Oral English； University； English Teaching

1. The Rise of English in Globalization

Fair （2005） states that there is lack of clear teaching method in oral English teaching in China. Quite a lot of oral English classes are often taught by unqualified teachers with inadequate methodologies and assessment procedures. For example， many Chinese teachers often teach students to memorize new words and grammatical rules to the detriment of communicative skills in English.

As a result， the oral English teaching are often not effective. Many university students in China are unable to speak fluent English and this indeed becomes an obstacle in their English language acquisition. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the weakness and deficiencies in oral English teaching and find out relevant solutions in order to improve Chinese students proficiency in oral communication skills.

2. Strategies for Enhancing Business Communicative Competence

Quite a lot of college students often learn English with inadequate methodologies and assessment procedures. In most cases， they memorize new words and grammatical rules to the detriment of communicative skills in English. The difference between English and Mandarin causes the language interference errors. This mainly leads staff to make mistakes repetitively. Prins （2006） provides suggestions on how to conquer Chinese English in the ESL classroom. The research analyses the mistakes occurred in oral classes. And it also provides several solutions， such as peer-correction. The students could feel less anxious if they are corrected by people of the same age. Some other strategies are like students are given feedback from teachers individually. This helps to analyse the various mistakes made by different students more effectively. All these strategies help to limit language interference errors in oral communication classes. Obstacles of oral English learning of Students from upper-intermediate level are also of the same kind.

In spite of the English level of college students， obstacles can be met very often both in pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate learners. The learning of cultural background knowledge and pragmatic use of the target language is also needed. The problems Chinese students often meet in oral communication are firstly stated which are due to different language features and culture. Some teaching skills in oral English classes， such as word-guessing game and topic talking could enhance students verbal skills.

Counihan （1998） points out that students should be taught how to interact rather than just talk in oral English classes. The author states that very often the oral English classes are controlled by the teachers. The conversation between the teacher and students are within certain patterns which are quite artificial. This cannot really improve students communicative competence. Therefore， the author proposes that interaction should take place in oral English classes. Students should be given more time to talk spontaneously and freely in given background. Thus they can exchange thoughts and ideas rather than practice the same drills. The author gives two activities for the practical session of interaction which are quite supportive. But these activities are not sufficient. More activities need to be carried out for the purpose of better interaction in oral English classes.

The lack of English environment also leads to the inconvenient learning process. Many do not have the chance to communicate with native speakers. As a result， English learners are unable to speak fluent English and this indeed becomes an obstacle in their English language acquisition. Furthermore， this might do harm during the future career negotiation. As a result， a lot of practicing is definitely needed in the last process. Students could often communicate with each other in English during break； they can also hold a meeting in English only. Gradually， the atmosphere is formed to communicate in English. With more information to identify the difficulties of learning English oral expression in universities， the negotiation could be taken to the next level， which in turn would certainly be beneficial to the whole outlook of English learning in the world.

3. Conclusion

This research assesses the assessment of oral English teaching methods in universities and provides strategies for enhancing Chinese students communicative competence. Although much work has been done about English speaking， lots of them are too general and lack in-depth research in oral English teaching at university in China. More studies need to be conducted to find out the weakness and deficiencies in oral English teaching in universities of China.

References：

[1]Counihan，G.，1998.‘Teach Students to Interact，Not Just Talk The Internet TESL Journal，Vol.IV，No.7.