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Book review: Keith S. Folse, 2006: The art of teaching speaking. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 296 pp. $30.95 (PB). ISBN 9780472031658
Jesús García Laborda
Language Teaching Research 2007; 11; 503
DOI: 10.1177/1362168807080969
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Book reviews
Keith S. Folse, 2006: The art of teaching speaking. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum. 296 pp. $30.95 (PB). ISBN 978–0–472–03165–8.
Speaking is probably the most difficult skill to teach in foreign language edu-
cation (Lee and Carrasquillo, 2006). Most teachers are well aware that the
amount of time and resources needed to develop the students’ ability to com-
municate fluently is larger than that of any other language skill. However, few
will hesitate to grant a greater relevance to the achievement of getting their stu-
dents to speak. Of course, the difficulties vary according to students’ origin,
first language, time devoted to learning, age, out of class input, and other as-
pects (Lee, 2005). One of these aspects is precisely how students are taught
(Campbell et al., 1985). Researchers have warned that although some teachers
tend to believe that simply planning a few oral activities will trigger the stu-
dents’ ability to speak, it is important to emphasize the role of input in this
process (White, 1995). Indeed, there is a broad difference between learning how
a language operates (grammar-based teaching) and teaching for communication
while attending to grammar. As a starting point for considering these and other
important issues, The Art of Teaching Speaking offers a practical and reader-
friendly manual and resource guide for experienced and inexperienced teachers
who may be interested either in developing or improving their teaching skills in
this field. The author uses a combination of theory and practical examples to
cover the field, generally in a three-part presentation: a real problem, a theor-
etical basis, and a discussion. In all the chapters, the author includes the perspec-
tives and anecdotes of each topic from the perspective of the practising English
language teacher.
This volume should be considered jointly with its accompanying website
(http://www.press.umich.edu/esl). The book provides essential information
and ideas while the extensive website (about 50 pages) is full of additional
resources and, more importantly, many questions for personal reflection and
review. The book is composed of an introduction, five chapters, and five appen-
dices, plus the references and a final well-annotated index. Chapter 1 addresses
five factors that affect any speaking class: the learner, the curriculum, the topic,
use of the L2, and tasks. At the beginning of the chapter, Folse explains the
different settings in which he himself has taught speaking classes. By identi-
fying himself with the teacher reader, Folse’s explanations make the reader
identify directly or indirectly with the topic. This feeling is reinforced by a
section called ‘In the real world’ that provides real classroom examples extracted
from his own experience.
Chapter 2 presents current research in ELT conversation and speaking. This
chapter pays special attention to six different issues, covering what the author
believes to be the most relevant literature for the subsequent chapters. These
key issues are: fluency, accuracy, interlanguage, comprehensible input, nego-
tiation of meaning, and pushed output. This chapter is especially influential
on the rest of the book because it shows Folse’s perspective on the impact of
research on teaching speaking to foreign language learners. Here, it is worth
mentioning how Folse addresses the key concept of interlanguage. Although
not explicitly addressed, Folse does introduce the idea that learners develop an
intermediate system between no knowledge of the L2 and a native speaker’s L1
proficiency (Selinker, 1972), and he also points out that it is a dynamic system
that can be stretched or modified by the learner. The most significant implica-
tion of this dynamism is that it allows an understanding of errors of different
origin or ‘proficiency level’ that in non-native speakers (NNS) may not reflect
language flaws but incidental developments. Imagine, for instance, that a NNS
omits the ‘s’ when using the third person singular of the present simple tense
of almost any verb in English. According to Folse’s explanations, this error
should be viewed as just a move within the interlanguage continuum rather
than an ‘error’. Obviously, this notion helps teachers to understand how learn-
ers develop in the L2 and promotes flexibility with the treatment of ‘errors’.
The second implication of Folse’s concept of interlanguage is that students
should not aim at native speaker models of language use (which are usually
not the ideal representations of the L2 anyway); rather, they should stretch
and develop their interlanguage with the confidence that a “near to native”
developmental stage can ultimately be achieved.
Practitioner teachers will find Chapter 3 most attractive. In this chapter, 20
teachers narrate their experiences teaching English speaking classes overseas.
Each narration describes the setting, students, and instructional goals, and
stresses how unique each experience can be. The chapter can be approached
from two perspectives: first, according to nationality (by generalizing that most
English students in Mexico, for instance, may share some common features,
processes, and stages in their foreign language learning process); second, ac-
cording to the students’ characteristics such as mood (silent, obedient, extro-
verted), type of institution (private or public; primary, secondary, or tertiary
education) and various other educational characteristics. This two-sided ap-
proach allows great applicability, as an international audience will find a greater
likelihood of having their experiences reflected in some of these teachers’ nar-
rations. Another aspect relevant to most readers is that many issues in the teach-
ing of L2 speaking are common to many teachers, such as the typical silent or
extroverted students. Coverage of these issues makes this probably the most
appealing chapter in the book, and, although sometimes the situations may be
distant from the reader, overall this chapter certainly provides a good deal of
fresh ideas for any teacher. These ideas are reinforced by the 20 activities found
in Chapter 4. As the author says, this chapter ‘includes detailed instructions for
using 20 activities that [the author has] used successfully in conversation
classes in an ESL setting, an EFL setting, or both’ (p. 8). Each activity also
References
Campbell, R.N., Gray, T.C., Rhodes, N.C. and Snow, M.A. 1985: Foreign language
learning in the elementary schools: A comparison of three language programs.
Modern Language Journal 69(1): 44–54.
Folse, K.S. 2006: The effect of type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention.
TESOL Quarterly 40(2): 273–93.
Lee, C. 2005: Different Types of English to which Korean College Students are exposed
outside the class. Paper presented at the Korean Association of Foreign Language
Education. East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED490770).
Lee, K.S. and Carrasquillo, A. 2006: Korean college students in United States:
Perceptions of professors and students. College Student Journal 40(2): 442–56.
Selinker, L. 1972: Interlanguage. IRAL 10: 209–31.
White, L. 1995: Input, triggers, and second language acquisition: Can binding be taught?
In Eckman, F.R., Highland, D., Lee, P.W., Mileham, J. and Weber, R.R., editors,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee linguistics symposium on second language
acquisition, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 63–78.