Speaking / Conversation / Pronunciation Research Paper (25 mins)
Improve Speaking 50% in One Semester. By Speaking.
This presentation has no theory, only primary sources. It is based on 10 years of Korean university freshmen conversation classes, with approximately 1500 students and 4500 conversation test transcripts. The conclusion is that if teachers will simply step aside and let freshmen speak, their speaking will improve at least 50%. Candidly, it is sinfully easy to improve their speaking ability, because candidly, their speaking ability is so low. All freshmen have had a decade of grammar-based English, and most cannot smoothly tell you what they had for lunch. For most of them, saying two self-composed sentences back-to-back would be a 100% improvement. There is absolutely no grammar, because attention to grammar in university freshmen slows down, inhibits, gums up, reduces speaking ability. This brings up the billion dollar question: Is real-world speaking ability an academic skill? YES. Clear confident speaking ability is the sign of an educated person.
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Gunther Breaux has taught English conversation to Korean university freshmen for 23 years. He’s the author of several EFL textbooks, and has presented at international conferences in China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, England and the U.S. His original thought and contribution to English Education is Conversation Based Learning. PlanGBro@gmail.com