Appendix A List of abbreviations

CLT

Communicative Language Teaching

EFL

English as a Foreign Language

ELT

English language teaching

FLA

first language acquisition

L1

mother tongue

L2

target language

LA

language acquisition

LT

language teaching

SLA

second language acquisition

TBLT task-based language teaching

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language

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Appendix B Glossary of terms

Accuracy: The ability to produce grammatically correct sentences.
Activity: A single exercise or game, etc.
Adjacency pair: A pair of utterances produced by different speakers that are
related in functional terms. For example: Theres more coffee in the pot. (Offer)
Im OK, thanks. (Decline)
Aims: Things that a teacher hopes will be done or achieved during an activity
or a lesson.
Authentic text: Natural or real teaching material; often this material is taken
from newspapers, magazines, radio, TV or podcasts.
Automaticity: A learners ability to recover a word automatically, without
straining to fetch it from memory.
Autonomy: The ability to take control of one's own learning, independently or
in collaboration with others. An autonomous learner will take more
responsibility for learning and is likely to be more effective than a learner who
is reliant on the teacher.
Brainstorming: The random generation of ideas based around a topic. There
is no editing or ordering of these ideas. They may then be used as the basis for
another activity such as writing or discussion. It is often very productive as a
whole-class activity.
Awareness-raising activity: An activity which aims to make learners more
aware of language and so improve their understanding, but does not involve

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learners in using the language themselves. As such, awareness-raising activities

are often the first stage of learning new language.
Chunk: A unit of language that is often perceived or used as a single unit.
Chunks include formulaic expressions such as thank you or Hi, how are you?
but also bits of language that frequently occur together, for example, ice cream
cone or bread and butter.
Communicative activity: An activity that has communication as its main aim
(as opposed to practice of particular language items).
Communicative competence: The ability to apply grammatical, discourse
and cultural knowledge to communicate effectively in particular contexts for
particular purposes.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): CLT is based on the premise
that successful language learning involves not only a knowledge of the
structures and forms of a language, but also the functions and purposes that a
language serves in different communicative settings. This approach to teaching
emphasizes the communication of meaning in interaction rather than the
practice and manipulation of grammatical forms in isolation.
Competence: The linguist Noam Chomsky used this term to refer to
knowledge of language. This is contrasted with performance, which is the way
a person actually uses languagewhether for speaking, listening, reading, or
writing. Because we cannot observe competence directly, we have to infer its
nature from performance.

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Comprehensible input: Messages addressed to the learner that, while they

may contain structures and grammar that are beyond the learners current
competence, are made understandable by the context in which they are
uttered. According to Krashens Comprehensible Input Hypothesis, acquisition
occurs when learners understand messages that are just beyond their current
stage of development.
Context: The linguistic and experiential situation in which a piece of language
occurs. The linguistic environment refers to the words, utterances, and
sentences surrounding a piece of text. The experiential environment refers to
the real-world context in which the text occurs.
Controlled activities (controlled practice): In these activities the language
available for the learners to use, hear or read has in some way been restricted
or controlled.
Conversation: An oral interaction between two or more people.
Corrective feedback (error correction): An indication to a learner that his
or her use of the target language is incorrect. Corrective feedback can be
explicit (for example, in response to the learner error He go No, you should
say goes, not go) or implicit (for example, Yes, he goes to school every
day), and may or may not include metalinguistic information (for example,
Dont forget to make the verb agree with the subject).
Deixis: Elements of discourse that serve to point the reader or listener to
particular point in space or time. Example: Put the boxes over there.

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Discourse: One of the four systems of language, the others being vocabulary,
grammar and phonology. Discourse has various definitions but one way of
thinking about it is as any piece of extended language, written or spoken, that
has unity and meaning and purpose. One possible way of understanding
'extended' is as language that is more than one sentence.
Discourse markers: Words and phrases used in speaking and writing to
'signpost' discourse. Discourse markers do this by showing turns, joining ideas
together, showing attitude, and generally controlling communication. Some
people regard discourse markers as a feature of spoken language only.
Drill: A common controlled activity, involving students in repetition or very
controlled oral practice.
Ellipsis: The omission of one or more words from a sentence, where they are
unnecessary because they have already been mentioned. Meaning can be
understood without these words. Ellipsis is one of the aspects of language that
gives text cohesion.
English as a Foreign Language (EFL): Learning and using English as an
additional language in a non-English speaking country. It can be compared with
ESL and ESOL, which refer mainly to learning English as a new resident in an
English-speaking country.
English Language Teaching (ELT): The activity and industry of teaching
English to non-native speakers.
Exposure: The contact that the learner has with the language that they are
trying to learn, either generally or with specific language points. Referring to

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the language in general, it often refers to contact outside the classroom.

Extensive reading: An activity involving reading texts for enjoyment and
developing general reading skills. It can be compared with intensive reading,
which means reading in detail with specific learning aims and tasks.
Face-threatening act (face-threatening situation): A term coming from
pragmatics referring to the fact that each person has a face or their self-image
that they want to protect. Face-threatening acts are those that would make
someone possibly lose face, or damage it in some way.
Fluency: The ability to produce language appropriately, effortlessly, and
efficiently without necessarily paying too much attention on accuracy.
First language (mother tongue, native language): The language first
learned. Many children learn more than one language from birth and may be
said to have more than one first language.
Form-focused language teaching (form-focused instruction):
Instruction that draws attention to the forms and structures of the language
within the context of communicative interaction. This may be done by giving
metalinguistic information, simply highlighting the form in question, or by
providing corrective feedback.
Formulaic language: Expressions or phrases that are often perceived and
learned as unanalysed wholes. For example, a child or second language learner
may first hear Whats that? as a single unit of language rather than as three
units.

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Free practice: Practice of activities that involve progressively less control by

the teacher.
Functional language: Fixed expressions used for specific communications
purposes, e.g. language related to making a suggestion.
Genre: A term used to classify types of spoken or written discourse. These are
normally classified by content, language, purpose and form.
Grammar translation: An approach to second language teaching
characterized by the explicit teaching of grammar rules and the use of
translation exercises.
Grammatical morphemes: Morphemes are the smallest units of langue that
carry meaning. A simple word is a morpheme (for example, book), but when
we talk about grammatical morphemes we are usually referring to smaller
units that are added to words to alter their meaning (for example, the s in
books indicates plural) or function words (for example, the) which are
ordinarily attached to another word.
Hypothesis: A statement of a possible fact that can be tested through
research. Most empirical research starts from one or more hypotheses and
involves the design of a study that can either show support for the hypothesis
or disprove it.
Information gap: One person knows something that the other does not. Such
gaps of information between people give learners need and desire to
communicate with each other.

159

Input: The language that the learner is exposed to (either written or spoken)
in the environment. See also exposure.
Interactional language: The language we use to build and maintain
relationships. It can be compared to transactional language, which normally
carries a message and is the language used to get things done. To maintain
interaction, speakers use interactional strategies.
Interactional hypothesis: According to this hypothesis, language is acquired
as learners actively engage in attempting to communicate in the target
language. The hypothesis is consistent with the experiential philosophy of
learning by doing. Acquisition will be maximized when learners engage in
tasks that push them to the limits of their current competence.
Interlocutor: A participant in a conversation.
Jigsaw: An information gap exercise. Learners hear or read different parts of a
text, then exchange information with others in order to complete a task.
Language acquisition: This term is most often used interchangeably with
language learning. However, for some researchers, most notably Stephen
Krashen, acquisition is contrasted with learning. According to Krashen,
acquisition represents unconscious learning, which takes place when attention
is focused on meaning rather than language form.
Language skills (the four skills): In language teaching, this refers to the
mode or manner in which language is used. Listening, speaking, reading and
writing are generally called the four language skills.
Lexis: The vocabulary of a language.

160

Linguistic: Related to language.

Likert scaling: A bipolar scaling method, called by Rensis Likert, measuring
either positive or negative response to a statement.
Modified input: Adapted speech that adults use to address children and
native speakers use to address language learners so that they will be able to
understand. Examples of modified input include shorter, simpler sentences, and
basic vocabulary.
Native-like: The ability to comprehend and produce a second language at a
level of performance that is indistinguishable from that of a native speaker.
Native speaker: A person who has learned a language from an early age and
who has full mastery of that language.
Negotiation of meaning: Interaction between speakers who make
adjustments to their speech and use other techniques to repair a breakdown in
communication.
Oral: Related to speaking.
Over-correction: Correcting so much that students become reluctant to try
out what they have learned.
Pair work: Students working with one other student. This may be to discuss
something, to check answers, to do a communicative activity, etc.
Performance: The way we use language in listening, speaking, reading,
writing. Performance is usually contrasted with competence, which is the
knowledge that underlies our ability to use language. Performance is subject to

161

variations due to inattention or fatigue whereas competence, at least for the

mature native speaker, is more stable.
Proficiency: General language ability. The concept of language proficiency, its
structure, and measurement continue to be controversial in language testing.
Quantitative research: An approach that requires precise counts or numeric
measurements of variables. In a quantitative study, both the variable that is
believed to affect learning and the learning itself are measured or quantified.
Quantitative research requires careful selection of the measurements that will
be used to represent the variables being studied.
Realia: Objects and teaching props from the world outside the classroom
that are used for teaching and learning.
Register: A style or way of using language that is typical of or appropriate for
a particular setting. For example, speaking and writing usually require different
registers; the register used in writing a research report is different from that
used writing a letter to a friend.
Role play: An activity in which learners take on a character or make use of
given information or ideas in order to get speaking practice.
Second language: Here, the term refers to any language other than the first
language learned. Thus, it may refer to the third or fourth language.
Second language acquisition (SLA): This term has two meanings. In a
general sense it is a term to describe learning a second language. More
specifically, it is the name of the theory of the process by which we acquire - or
pick up - a second language. This is mainly a subconscious process which

162

happens while we focus on communication. It can be compared with second

language learning, which describes how formal language education helps us
learn language through more conscious processes.
Significant difference: This is a technical term that refers to differences
between groups which, according to a variety of statistical test, are unlikely to
have happened by chance. Such differences can be small or large. Their
significance is due to the consistency of the differences as well as their size.
Skimming: Reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning. It can be
contrasted with scanning, which is reading in order to find specific information,
e.g. figures or names.
Socio-cultural context: The idea that language, rather than existing in
isolation, is closely linked to the culture and society in which it is used. This
means when language is learnt, the socio-cultural context in which it is used
needs to be taken into consideration as well.
Speech act: An utterance seen in terms of its propositions (meanings) and
functions.
Syllabus (curriculum): The longer-term teaching plan; includes topics that
will be covered and the order in which they will be covered in a course or
program of studies.
Syntax: Sometimes called word order; how words combine to form sentences
and the rules governing sentence formation.
Target language: The language being learned, whether it is the first language
or a second (or third or fourth) language.

163

Task: A pedagogic task is a piece of classroom work having a beginning,

middle and an end, and a focus principally (although not exclusively) on
meaning.
Task based language teaching/learning (task-based approach):
Language teaching/learning in which classroom activities are tasks similar to
those learners might engage in outside the second or foreign language
classroom. Tasks may be complex, for example, creating a school newspaper,
or more limited, for example, making a phone call to reserve a train ticket.
Teacher Talking Time (TTT): The amount of time the teacher talks within
the lesson. Usually contrasted with STT (Student Talking Time), the amount of
time that students get to talk within the lesson.
Technique: Any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the
language classroom for realizing lesson objectives.
Transactional language: Language which is used to make a transaction and
which has a result. It can be compared with interactional language, which is
used to maintain relationships.
Transcript (transcript): A written text which accompanies listening material.
Transfer: The influence of a learners first language knowledge in the second
language.
Turn-taking: A turn is the time when a speaker is talking and turn-taking is
the skill of knowing when to start and finish a turn in a conversation. It is an
important organisational tool in spoken discourse.

164

Resources:
Lightbown and Spada 2006
Nunan 2010
Scrivener 1994
British Council. BBC Teaching English. Teaching knowledge database.1
ELT World Wiki. Glossary of Terms.2
My English Pages. Reflections On New Teaching Horizons. Glossary for
ESL/EFL teaching.3

British Council. BBC Teaching English. Teaching knowledge database. Webpage:

www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database Last access: 10 December 2011.

2

ELT World Wiki. Glossary of Terms. Webpage: http://elt.wikia.com/wiki/Glossary_of_terms

Last access: 10 December 2011.

3

My English Pages. Reflections On New Teaching Horizons. Glossary for ESL/EFL teaching.

Webpage: http://myenglishpages.com/blog/glossary-eslefl-teaching Last access: 10

December 2011.

165

Appendix C Activities
Activity 1 Transactional task
(Cunningham and Moor 2007: 57)

166

Activity 2 Transactional tasks (Redston and Cunningham 2009: 105, 113)

167

Activity 3 Transactional tasks (BBC & British Council 2005)

Procedure
Put the learners into pairs.
If you can, organise pairs of chairs back to back. If not, ask learners to stand back to
back. This means they cannot see their partners' faces or gestures.
Hand out pairs of role cards, e.g. 1a and 1b, to each pair. Demonstrate one situation
with two volunteers if you wish.
Ask your learners to role-play each situation. As they finish one situation, take the cards
back and give them another. Don't worry if some pairs finish quickly - some situations are
shorter than others.
Keep this rolling role-play going as long as you wish. Monitor and note mistakes or
interesting language for discussion afterwards if you can.

168

Activity 4 Interactional task4

Activity 5 Interactional task (Lebedov et al. 2007: 6)

My own design. Picture prompts taken from the Internet.

169

Activity 6 Transactional & interactional tasks (Lebedov et al. 2007)

170

Activity 7 Accuracy-focused task (Kay 1999: 21)

171

Activity 8 Information-gap activity: a split information arrangement

(Gammidge 2004: 37)

172

Activity 9 Information-gap activity: a split information arrangement5

A crossword created with the Crossword Maker from Oxford Teachers Club

Retrieved from: http://elt.oup.com/teachers/headway/?cc=global&selLanguage=en&mode=hub

173

Activity 10 Information-gap activity: a superior-inferior arrangement

Drawing a picture6

Activity 11 Information-gap activity: a superior-inferior arrangement

A treasure map7

The picture downloaded from the Internet (www.google.com pictures drawing).

The complete map downloaded from the Internet as a free colouring picture

(www.google.com). The blank map self-made by deleting the drawings in the original version.

174

Activity 12 Information-gap activity: problem solving (Crace et al. 2002:

69)

175

Activity 13 Cooperative activity: a ranking activity8

Activity 14 Cooperative activity: a ranking activity9

The resource: EnglishClub.com. Retrieved from http://www.englishclub.com/esl-

worksheets/conversation/TP_Stress.pdf The illustrations added from the Internet.

9

My own design. The pictures downloaded from the Internet.

176

Activity 15 Cooperative activity: a joint task (Newbrook and Wilson 2004:

123)

177

Activity 16 Interviews: questions (Roth and Aberson 2008: 82)

178

Activity 17 Interviews: a map completion (Gammidge 2004: 13)

179

Activity 18 Interviews: a questionnaire (Berman 1996: 9)

180

Activity 19 Storytelling: classical tales (Seymour and Popova 2003: 36)

Activity 20 Storytelling: using visual input (Haines and Stewart 2000: 155)

181

Activity 21 Storytelling: using sequential pictures (Gammidge 2004: 73)

182

Activity 22 Storytelling: using cards (Gammidge 2004: 103)

183

Activity 23 Storytelling: using mind maps10

Activity 24 Storytelling: using mind maps11

10

My own mind map created with the software iMindMap4 by ThinkBuzan.

11

My own mind map created in Word MS Office.

184

Activity 25 Role play (Castle et al. 2002: 69)

185

Activity 26 Role play12

IM A FISH: You are now a fish. Spend one minute thinking about your life as
a fish. Walk around the class and talk to the other fish about being a fish.
What do you do all day? What do you worry about? What are your plans for the
weekend? What do you think about global warming and hotter water?

Activity 27 Discussions and debates: up-to-date issues13

12

The resource: Breaking News English: Climate Change. Retrieved from:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0511/051119-climate_change-e.html
13

My own production. The picture downloaded from the Internet.

186

Activity 28 Discussions and debates: culture-specific debates14

Activity 29 Discussions and debates: advantages and disadvantages20

14

My own design. The illustrations downloaded from the Internet.

187

Activity 30 Discussions and debates: controversial statements

(Cunningham and Moor 2007: 117)

188

Activity 31 Discussions and debates: the same task and different roles
(Redston et al. 2007: 147-148)

189

Activity 32 Discussions and debates: opposing views15

Activity 33 Creative tasks: designing an advert (Seymour and Popova

2003: 38)

15

My own production. The illustrations downloaded from the Internet.

190

Activity 34 Creative tasks: designing rooms (Gammidge 2004: 29)

191

Activity 35 Creative tasks: designing a magazine (Gammidge 2004: 79)

192

Activity 36 Creative tasks: musical impressions16

Activity 37 Games: miming (Seymour and Popova 2003: 51)

16

The resource: ESL Partyland. Retrieved from:

http://www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/music/musicimpressions.htm

193

Activity 38 Games: guessing

194

Activity 39 Games: a board game17

17

A self-made board game designed to accompany the subject matter covered by the

coursebook.

195

Activity 40 Games: a board game using cards (Gammidge 2004: 101)

196

Appendix D Questionnaire
Teaching English survey
This survey explores teaching habits of Czech and Austrian teachers of English.
It takes cca 15 minutes to complete this survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

To start click on "Next page" below.

Are you an English teacher?

( ) yes
( ) no

What nationality are you?

( ) Czech
( ) Austrian
( ) Other

How big is the town or city where your school is based?

- It is ...
( ) a small town (less than 10.000 inhabitants)
( ) a medium-sized town (10.000 50.000 inhabitants)
( ) a big town (50.000 100.000 inhabitants)
( ) a city (more than 100.000 inhabitants)
( ) a capital city

197

What are your qualifications for the job of an English teacher?

( ) a degree in English teaching
( ) a degree in English language/translation or similar + additional course in
pedagogy
( ) other:
( ) none
How many years of experience in teaching English do you have?
( ) less than 2 years
( ) 2 - 5 years
( ) 6 - 10 years
( ) 11 - 15 years
( ) more than 15 years

1) How often do your students practise English through the following

activities? Give 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1 = very often, 5 = never

translation
information gap activities
role plays
discussions and debates
brainstorming
dictation
interviews
storytelling
picture describing (orally)
picture narrating by several
sequential pictures

(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)

(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)

(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)

(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)

(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)
(
)

198

I don't know what this

category stands for
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()

2) How often do your students express themselves in English in the

following ways in your classes?
very often
(many times
during a lesson)
()

in pairs
in small groups
()
(36 students)
in an open-class
()
discussion
as individuals
after being
()
asked

often (at least

1x or 2x every
lesson)
()

sometimes rarely never

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

3) To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

I speak English in my
classes at all times.
I often adapt the tasks
or instructions in the
book so that they
better suit my students'
needs.
I design my own
activities and/or
teaching materials.
I include authentic
materials in my
lessons.

strongly
agree

rather
agree

neither
agree nor
disagree

rather
disagree

strongly
disagree

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

4) How likely are you to teach or do the following in your lessons?

past continuous, going to x will,

passive voice, should / shouldn't
animals, school subjects, body,
clothes
past perfect simple, present perfect
continuous, 3rd conditional
making a poster, doing a survey,
planning a trip

Completely
likely. +++

Very
likely.
++

Slightly
likely. +

Not at
all
likely. -

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

199

writing a formal letter, writing a

description of a place
booking a hotel room, buying a bus
ticket, ordering a meal, buying
medicine
listening for main ideas, reading for
specific information, writing using
linking words, skimming
avoiding an issue, ways of getting
thinking time when speaking (e.g.
using fillers such as well, as a
matter of fact, kind of, etc.), using
all-purpose words like stuff and

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

things

asking for advice, paying

compliments, ways of apologizing
reading a magazine article,
watching or listening to a broadcast

5) When teaching speaking skills, do you aim for the standards of

written texts, such as grammatical accuracy, full sentences, etc.?
( ) Yes, I do. I don't like when students make too many mistakes and use
vague language or gesticulate instead of using good grammar and vocabulary.
( ) It depends. - Please explain:
( ) No, the form is not important to me as long as students can get their
message across.

6a) At what stage do you usually work with transcripts of recordings

with your students?
(
(
(
(

)
)
)
)

Before an activity.
During an activity.
After an activity.
Never.

6b) How often do you use transcripts of recordings to teach the

following?
very often often sometimes rarely never
listening skills ( )
()
()
()
()
speaking skills ( )
()
()
()
()

200

7) Do you agree with the following statements?

When students interact

freely in pairs or groups,
they copy each other's
mistakes and therefore pair
work should not be used
very often.
Teaching English in the
students' mother tongue is
effective because students
can better understand the
teacher.
The most important thing
when learning to speak a
foreign language is to
speak a lot.
To become fluent in a
foreign language one
needs to learn it for many
years (usually more than
eight) and spend some
time abroad.
Learning vocabulary
through vocabulary lists is
systematic and therefore
effective for language
learning.
Reading and listening to a
foreign language can help
students improve their
speaking skills.
It is especially important
for English teachers to
equip students with good
foundations of grammar
and vocabulary. These will
help students later when
using English while
travelling, communicating
at work, etc.

strongly
agree

rather
agree

neither
agree
nor
disagree

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

201

rather
disagree

strongly
disagree

8a) Is teaching and practising speaking skills a difficult thing to do at

schools?
( ) Yes, very difficult.
( ) Yes, somewhat difficult.
( ) No, it's OK.
8b) Can you explain why? What obstacles do you face when teaching
speaking?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
9) Give 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to these statements. 1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly
disagree.
1
I correct errors as soon as I hear them.
()
We have an error correcting segment after an activity. ( )
Students correct each other.
()
Most students' errors are treated in my classes.
()

2
()
()
()
()

3
()
()
()
()

4
()
()
()
()

5
()
()
()
()

10) What does your decision for or against immediate error correction
depend on? You can choose more options if they apply.
[
[
[
[

]
]
]
]

the type of mistake

the type of activity
the student's attitude to error correction
something else - Please specify:

11) Look at the following speakers. Would you like your students to
speak like Speaker 1 or Speaker 2?
( ) Speaker 1: Well, I kind of get on with all my neighbours er... except one.
They've er.. got a teenage son, you see, and he's... he's, like, learning to play
the drums. They're really loud and er .... it drives us crazy!
( ) Speaker 2: I get on with all my neighbours except one. They've got a
teenage son and he's learning to play the drums. They're really loud and it
drives us crazy!

202

12) Do you agree with the following statements?

strongly
agree
My lessons are effective
in helping students to
learn how to
()
communicate in
English.
My students have
plenty of opportunities
()
to practise speaking in
class.
My students are
generally successful at
()
expressing themselves
in a foreign language.

rather
agree

neither
agree nor
disagree

rather
disagree

strongly
disagree

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

()

Look at the following task and answer the questions bellow.

203

13a) How much time (in minutes) would you allow for this or a similar
speaking task in your lesson?
Put in numbers only.
...................
13b) How much time (in minutes) would you spend on pre-teaching
useful language? (e.g. grammar, vocabulary, phrases, etc.)
Put in numbers only. (Write 0 if you wouldn't do this at all.)
...................
13c) How much time (in minutes) would you allow your students for
discussing their ideas?
Put in numbers only.
...................
13d) How much time (in minutes) would you allow your students for
presenting their end product to the others?
Put in numbers only. (Write 0 if you wouldn't do this at all.)
...................
13e) Would you pre-teach any language?
If you put in "Yes" or "Maybe", give an example of what you would preteach.
( ) Yes.
( ) Maybe.
( ) No.
13f) At what stage should your students draw their ideas on paper?
( ) During the activity while discussing their ideas.
( ) After the activity when finished with discussing their ideas.
( ) Never. I wouldn't ask them to do this.
( ) At home - as homework.
13g) Have you ever done anything similar like this in your class?
( ) Yes, many times.
( ) Yes, a few times.
( ) No, never.

204

14) What are your most favourite activities for teaching speaking
skills?
You can name several types of activities or describe your favourite activities in
your own words.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

This is the end of the survey. Click on the submit button to complete
it.
If you would like to see the results, type your email address below and they will
be sent to you in January.
............................................
Thank you. That completes the survey.
Your participation is greatly appreciated!

205

Appendix E Charts and tables

Chart 4 Frequency of various activities in English tuition (all respondents)

Q 1: How often do your students practise English through the following activities?

Give 1,2,3,4,5. 1 = very often, 5 = never

206

Frequency of activities in English tuition significant differences

(Czech vs. Austrian respondents)

Q 1: How often do your students practise English through the following activities?

Give 1,2,3,4,5. 1 = very often, 5 = never

Chart 5 - translation:

Chart 6 - discussions and debates:

Chart 7 - picture description (orally):

207

Frequency of activities in English tuition less significant or marginal

differences (Czech vs. Austrian respondents)
Q 1: How often do your students practise English through the following activities?

Give 1,2,3,4,5. 1 = very often, 5 = never

Chart 8 - picture narrating by several sequential pictures:

Chart 9 - role plays:

Chart 10 - brainstorming:

* = I dont know what this category stands for

208

Chart 11 - information gap activities:

* = I dont know what this category stands for

Frequency of activities in English tuition - similarities

(Czech vs. Austrian respondents)

Q 1: How often do your students practise English through the following activities?

Give 1,2,3,4,5. 1 = very often, 5 = never

Chart 12 - interviews:

Chart 13 - storytelling:

209

Chart 14 - dictation:

210

Likelihood of teaching certain aspects

Q 4: How likely are you to teach or do the following in your lessons?
Chart 15 Czech respondents

Chart 16 Austrian respondents

211

Likelihood of teaching skills - significant differences

Q 4: How likely are you to do the following in your lessons?

Chart 17 The four skills

listening for main ideas, reading for specific information, writing using linking
words, skimming

Chart 18 Skills: writing / Written production

writing a formal letter, writing a description of a place

212

Chart 19 using authentic materials and/or receptive skills

reading a magazine article, watching or listening to a broadcast

Likelihood of teaching grammar and vocabulary less significant

differences
Q 4: How likely are you to do the following in your lessons?

Chart 20 Vocabulary
animals, school subjects, body, clothes

213

Q 4: How likely are you to do the following in your lessons?

Chart 21 Grammar
past continuous, going to x will, passive voice, should / shouldn't

Chart 22 Complex grammar / grammar used rarely in spoken interaction

past perfect simple, present perfect continuous, 3rd conditional

214

Likelihood of teaching other aspects of language similarities

Q 4: How likely are you to do the following in your lessons?

Chart 23 Real-life situations

booking a hotel room, buying a bus ticket, ordering a meal, buying medicine

Chart 24 Functional language

asking for advice, paying compliments, ways of apologizing

215

Q 4: How likely are you to do the following in your lessons?

Chart 25 Strategic competence / communication strategies

avoiding an issue, ways of getting thinking time when speaking (e.g. using
fillers such as well, as a matter of fact, kind of, etc.), using all-purpose words
like stuff and things

Chart 26 Creative tasks

making a poster, doing a survey, planning a trip

216

Frequency of students expressing themselves in English in class

(Czech vs. Austrian respondents)

Q 2: How often do your students express themselves in English in the following ways
in your classes?

Chart 27 Czech

Chart 28 Austrian

217

Self-evaluation - differences
Pie charts 29 and 30 My lessons are effective in helping students to learn
how to communicate in English.
Q 12: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

Pie chart 31 and 32 My students have plenty of opportunities to speak.

Q 12: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

218

Evaluating students significant differences

Pie charts 33 and 34 My students are generally successful at expressing
themselves in a foreign language.
Q 12: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 35 and 36 Difficulty of teaching speaking skills at schools

Q 8a: Is teaching and practising speaking skills a difficult thing to do at schools?

Czech

Austrian

219

Tables 6 and 7 Obstacles when teaching speaking

Q 8b: What obstacles do you face when teaching speaking?

Number of respondents answering the question:18

Czech: 37
Austrian: 27
Some respondents named more factors than one.

external factors

Table 6

large groups
unauthentic situations,
inappropriate material or topics
fixed syllabus or too many other
priorities
lack of time

Austrian

14
5

school atmosphere

Czech

Austrian

students are uncooperative or

unwilling to speak

10

low SS's interest or motivation

lack of discipline

students are shy or afraid to speak

11

SS are afraid of making mistakes

SS not able to use the knowledge

they have

lack of vocabulary

don't remember things / don't

learn at home

students turning to L1

Table 7

students themselves or factors closely

related to students

Czech

personal factors:
cooperativeness,
motivation and
discipline

fear

knowledge

5
L1

interference with L1

other

18

other

This was a contingency question. Only the respondents who reported to find teaching
speaking rather or completely difficult answered it.

220

English in classes and authentic materials significant differences

Pie charts 37 and 38 I speak English in my classes at all times.
Q 3: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 39 and 40 I include authentic materials in my lessons.

Q 3: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

221

Adapting tasks and designing materials similarities

Chart 41 I often adapt the tasks or instructions in the book so that they
better suit my students needs.
Q 3: Do you agree with the statement?

Chart 42 I design my own activities and/or teaching materials.

Q 3: Do you agree with the statement?

222

Pie charts 43 and 44 Using transcripts of recordings

Q 6a : At what stage do you usually work with transcripts of recordings with your
students?

Czech

Austrian

223

Using transcripts of recordings

for listening / speaking skills practice

Q 6b: How often do you use transcripts of recordings to teach the following?

Chart 45 Czech (N: 41)19

Chart 46 Austrian (N: 33)

19

N = a number of respondents (This was a contingency question.)

224

Pie charts 47 and 48 Aiming for the standards of written texts

Q 5: When teaching speaking skills, do you aim for the standards of written texts, such
as grammatical accuracy, full sentences, etc.?
Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 49 and 50 Spoken vs. written nature of language in oral

production
Q 11: Look at the following speakers. Would you like your students to speak like
Speaker 1 or Speaker 2?
Well, I kind of get on with all my neighbours er... except one. They've er.. got
a teenage son, you see, and he's... he's, like, learning to play the drums. They're really loud
and er .... it drives us crazy!
I get on with all my neighbours except one. They've got a teenage son and
he's learning to play the drums. They're really loud and it drives us crazy!

Czech

Austrian

225

Charts 51 and 52 Error correction

Q 9: Give 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to these statements. 1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree.
Chart 51 - Czech

Chart 52 - Austrian

Pie charts 53 and 54 - I correct errors as soon as I hear them.

Q: Give 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to these statements. 1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree.

Czech

Austrian

226

Chart 55 Decision for correction

Q 10: What does your decision for or against immediate error correction depend on?

You can choose more options if they apply.

Table 8 - something else:

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 56 and 57 When student interact freely they copy each others
mistakes.
Q 7: Do you agree with the statement?
Czech

Austrian

227

Pie charts 58 and 59 Teaching English in the students mother tongue is

effective ...
Q 7: Do you agree with the following statement?
Teaching English in the students mother tongue is effective because
students can better understand the teacher.

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 60 and 61 Learning vocabulary through vocabulary lists is

systematic ...
Q 7: Do you agree with the following statement?
Learning vocabulary through vocabulary lists is systematic and therefore
effective for language learning.

Czech

Austrian

228

Pie charts 62 and 63 To become fluent in a foreign language one needs to

learn it for many years (usually more than eight) and spend some time
abroad.
Q 7: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 64 and 65 It is especially important for English teachers to

equip students with good foundations of grammar and vocabulary. These
will help students later when using English while travelling, communicating
at work, etc.
Q 7: Do you agree with the statement?

Czech

Austrian

229

Chart 66 The most important thing when learning to speak a foreign

language is to speak a lot.
Q 7: Do you agree with the statement?

Chart 67 Reading and listening to a foreign language can help students

improve their speaking skills.
Q 7: Do you agree with the statement?

230

Speaking task from Cunningham and Moor (2007: 85)

Section 13 in the questionnaire

Table 9 total time

Table 10 pre-teaching language

How much time (in minutes) would

you allow for this or a similar
speaking task in your lesson?
Number of
minutes
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
100
Average number
of minutes

% of
Czech
6%
14%
16%
18%
16%
14%
2%
10%
4%

% of
Austrian

22'

33'

2%
10%
18%
8%
20%
4%
14%
8%
14%
2%

Table 11 SS discussing ideas

How much time (in minutes) would
you allow your students for
discussing their ideas?
Number of
minutes
0
5
7
10
15
20
25
30
50
Average number
of minutes

% of
Czech
10%
14%
4%
36%
30%
4%
2%
10'30''

How much time (in minutes) would

you spend on pre-teaching
useful language? (e.g. grammar,
vocabulary, phrases, etc.)
Number of
% of
% of
minutes
Czech
Austrian
0
16%
8%
1-2
8%
2%
3
4%
2%
5
40%
34%
7
2%
2%
10
22%
34%
15
6%
12%
20
2%
45
2%
50
2%
60
2%
Average number
of minutes

5'30''

10'00''

Table 12 presentation of end-product

How much time (in minutes) would
you allow your students for presenting
their end product to the others?

% of
Austrian
2%
8%
2%
24%
24%
32%
2%
4%
2%

Number of
minutes
0
2-3
5
6-8
10
15
20
25
30

15'30''

Average number
of minutes

231

% of
Czech
6%
6%
40%
8%
20%
16%
4%

% of
Austrian

8'00''

13'30''

2%
20%
6%
20%
24%
18%
2%
8%

Speaking task from Cunningham and Moor (2007: 85)

Pie chart 68 and 69 - Pre-teaching language
Q 13e: Would you pre-teach any language?
Czech

Austrian

Table 13 What would you pre-teach?

If you put in Yes or Maybe, give an example of what you would pre-teach.

Language pre-taught:

Czech

Austrian

vocabulary

22

17

grammar and structures

12

functions

linking words

it depends on students

other

comment on instructions

Number of respondents answering the question:20

Czech: 34

20 20

Austrian: 37

This was a contingency question. Only the respondents who reported to find teaching

speaking rather or completely difficult answered it. Some of the learners referred to teaching
more items on the list. The question was not compulsory, however, and some respondents
chose not to answer it therefore the numbers do not correspond with the number of
respondents.

232

Pie charts 70 and 71 Drawing

Q 13f: At what stage should your students draw their ideas on paper?

Czech

Austrian

Pie charts 72 and 73 Frequency of use of similar creative tasks

Q 13g: Have you ever done anything similar like this in your class

Czech

Austrian

233

Czech resume
Tato prce zkoum vuku komunikativnch jazykovch dovednost ze irho
hlediska s ohledem na komunikativn kompetenci. Prce je rozdlena do ty
st. V prvn sti autorka pedstavuje svj zmr, v druh sti nsledn
nastiuje teoretick hlediska a jejich vazby na praktickou vuku, dle pak nabz
irok spektrum praktickch ukzek aktivit pro vuku mluven a prci uzavr
empirickm vzkumem, kter srovnv vuku komunikativnch dovednost tak,
jak jsou vyuovny v esk republice a v Rakousku.
Na zatku prce pojednv o jednotlivch aspektech, kter odliuj
mluvenou e od psan, a podtrhuje jejich odlin d. Dle pak zdrazuje
dleitost kontextu a rozliuje mezi dvma typy komunikace. Prce klade draz
na skutenost, e vuku komunikativnch dovednost je teba nahlet ze ir
perspektivy, kter zohleduje vechny rozmry komunikativn kompetence:
lingvistickou, sociolingvistickou, diskurzn a strategickou. Vznam prce spov
tak v jejm pohledu na teorii a praxi, jejich provzanost autorka ukazuje.
Nsledujc st se zabv konkrtnmi aspekty vuky, jako jsou
pesnost a plynulost projevu, zptn vazba nebo prce ve dvojicch. Autorka
dokld celou adu praktickch aktivit pro vuku komunikativnch dovednost,
kter se zamuj pedevm na ncvik plynulosti projevu.
Vzkumn st prce, kterou je srovnvac studie zaloen na
empirickm vzkumu mezi eskmi a rakouskmi uiteli anglitiny, naznauje,
e vuka eovch dovednost se v obou zemch li v mnoha ohledech. Patrn
jsou nzorov rozdly na vuku jazyka a jeho akvizici, pes odlin pstupy a
innosti, kter uitel pouvaj, a po to, do jak mry dosahuje vuka spchu.

234

English resume
This thesis investigates teaching speaking skills from a broader perspective in
relation to communicative competence. The thesis is divided into four parts
outlining the aims of the thesis in the first, providing a theoretical background
in the second, presenting practical techniques for teaching speaking in the third
and closing with an empirical research into the ways speaking skills are taught
in the Czech Republic and Austria.
At the beginning, the thesis considers the aspects which distinguish
speech from written language, underlining a different organisation of speech,
importance of context and making a distinction between two types of
communicative exchanges. The thesis emphasises the fact that teaching
speaking is to be viewed from a broader perspective encompassing all
dimensions of communicative competence: linguistic, sociolingustic, discourse
and strategic and links all the above to its possible classroom implications.
The subsequent part discusses the concepts of accuracy and fluency,
corrective feedback and pair work and presents a great variety of practical
techniques for teaching speaking focusing on tasks which develop fluency.
In the research part, a comparative study based on empirical research carried
out among Czech and Austrian teachers of English is presented. The research
indicates that teaching speaking in the two countries differs on many levels
ranging from the assumptions about language teaching and acquisition,
through different approaches and techniques teachers use, down to the
differences in terms of how successful teachers are in mediating language
learners knowledge and skills and creating a truly communicative environment.
235