Developing Students’ Oracy and Literacy in English as a Foreign Language through Project-Based Lessons

 

 Rohani

 

 

The development of spoken and written language is a continuum that cannot be separated one from the other. This is true in the development of a native, second or foreign language. Previous research shows that learners’ literacy and oracy develop through interaction with adults or more capable users of a language from which comprehensible input is obtained. The development gradually moves from spoken to written language and not the other way round. This is in contrast with the general practice of teaching and learning English in Indonesia in which students often start with written language and their oral proficiency is neglected. 

 

This paper discusses a project I did with my students in the English Department of Semarang State University which was aimed at developing the students’ speaking skill (oracy) in English and their reading and writing skills (literacy). The specific objective of the project was that the students were expected to be able to describe their university in terms of physical characteristics and qualities orally and in writing. At the end of the project students produced a short descriptive essay and an audiotape containing their voice reading the essay.

 

The project involved a series of lessons which integrated consecutively the four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The teaching and learning activities involved a teacher-led discussion (brain-storming), pair and group discussions, listening to a recorded monolog, watching videos, creating dialogs, searching the website, oral presentation, drafting a descriptive essay, proofreading, reading aloud, and tape recording students’ voice.

 

Students’ samples of work were analyzed and discussed to evaluate the effectiveness of the project.

 

 

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Rohani. (2005, September). Developing students’ oracy and literacy in English as a foreign language through project-based lessons. Paper presented at 1^st International Seminar on Literacy Education in Developing Countries, Semarang, Indonesia.

 

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