Present situation and An analysis of Spoken EnglishLearningName: Fang JingAbstract：As English language is used more and more frequent all over the world, the communication in English becomes increasingly significant through different nations. Spoken English is the most useful, direct and efficient way of communication. However, it is a hard assignment for college students to express themselves well through talking and also it is a difficult situation that students find it hard to improve. The article gives an analysis of present situation of Spoken English learning, some problems that may occur in the ways of practicing ,especially for college students. Further more, it will give some suggestions on it. In a word, the article mainly aims to find some potential problems and try to provide some proper ways for college students to improve spoken English, to better prepare themselves before entering society .Key words: spoken English; potential problems; proper suggestions; college students1.IntroductionIn the trend of globalization, it is an urgent task for young people, like college students, to improve their ability of communicating not only in the form of writing, but also in a face-to-face conversation. However, throughout the nine-year compulsory education, students, parents even teachers pay little attention to spoken English training. Therefore, there exists a severe conflict: College Entrance Examination mainly targets on written examination and this leads to the ignorance of spoken English; spoken English plays a much more significant role in working or application than written English does. As a result, here comes an interesting phenomenon: many students can do well in an exam, but when it comes to oral expression, there may occur a variety of problems, for example, they maybe too shy to talk, or even they are not ableto find some proper words to express what is hidden inside their mind. Although they may have a good knowledge of vocabulary when taking exams, they may not think of many when in needThe truth and the problem is that they are lacking in a certain amount of practicing, a proper way to improve spoken English and a consciousness that improving ability of speaking is an urgent task standing on their way. As a matter of fact,Chinese students have been bearing the heavy study load and examination stress not only through the nine-year compulsory education, but also in college. College students are still under examination stress, but the problem is that they are going to enter society in a short time, and it is hard for a graduate to compete in the job market. In a foreign enterprise, speaking a fluent English is a basic requirement. Thus, for college students, they have to be well prepared before everything is too late. The training aim in English learning, or English teaching, is to cultivate students not only to master fundamental language skills, but also to use foreign language to achieve the ability of communication. Spoken English learning is a profound knowledge. To some extent, basic language skills are much easier to improve than the ability of communication.Therefore, the article will discuss some potential problems, such as defects in character, accent defects, this kind of congenital deficiency, or problems that may occur in their ways of learning spoken English. It’s quite common that Chinese students are too shy to talk with others in English or they are afraid of expressing themselves in front of a group of people. Most of the students are not willing to speak English. When in a foreign teacher’s lesson, every time the foreign teacher ask for a volunteer who can answer his/her question, there tends to be no one willing to be the volunteer, even when the foreign teacher calls their names, asks them to answer a question, or to take part in a game, some of them would just stand up unwillingly as if they were pushed to do it. And also, there exists a problem that college students arefrom different areas all over this broad land, they have varieties of accents from these places. Many of them have a thick local accent, and this tends to contribute to a bad effect on their pronunciation when practicing spoken English. What’s worse, they are unconscious of this severe problem. They may have repeated the wrong pronunciation for a thousand times. Every time they read a passage or something else, they repeat the wrong pronunciation , which will set them in a vicious circle.These problems are obvious, but can be easily ignored. Chinese students pay so much attention to written English to achieve a good score in examinations that they seldom practice spoken English. When in college, it becomes harder for them to change their bad, wrong way, or habits of speaking in English. They are not able to find what is going wrong, so they can’t correct it.In order to provide some possible and proper solutions to these problems, this article will analyze causes of these phenomena and problems in detail and in layers, try to figure out some feasible schemes to help college students have a better understanding of the crucial importance of opening up and speaking. These will be discussed in the following parts.2.An analysis of low level of spoken EnglishThe low level of spoken English consists of many aspects. It’s a common phenomenon among college students. The causes will be shown as following. From the point of teaching methods and learning methods2.1 The problems in teaching methodsHere are some problems that may occur in the process of teaching .2.1.1 A single evaluation standardNowadays, the general evaluation standard for non-English major students is CET4 or CET6. And for English major, they are mainly TEM4 or TEM8. Institutions grade the test pass rate as the main evaluation standard.Therefore, Chinese college students have always been put under stress of examinations. In view of many people, a degree has always beenconsidered the key to a good job. However, the fact is not just as what they feel about. For graduates, mastering fluent oral English is more important than having a certificate. In practice it is rather hard to master. However, asa saying goes: You can't build a successful business without the occasionalrisk or your devotion.2.1.2 The use of body language neglected in English teachingAt the present stage of spoken English teaching, some of the teachers are mostly always emphasizing the pronunciation and intonation, while they neglect the use of body language ,including posture, gesture, facialexpression, which plays an important role in communication. Body language, as an important auxiliary form of language communication, can better help students understand what has been taught to. Especially for the AngloAmerican countries, they have an abundant body language use. From time to time, our body language exhibits far more information about how we feel than it is possible to articulate verbally. All of the physical gestures we make are subconsciously interpreted by others .So when in the process of a communication, full attention must be paid to their body language to get if there is something hidden behind the outside.2.1.3 The decency of language dismissed in teaching processWe should use proper expressions at certain occasions. The same words may have a complete different meaning in another situation. What is worth mentioning is the taboo ,which is often discussed in daily life. Maybe your wrong use of expressions or words will cause some unnecessary misunderstanding. We ought to pay attention to the influence on languageexpression , especially when it comes to some traditional customs. For example, when somebody ask you like this: Have you had dinner yet? In Chinese culture, it is just one kind of greeting. But when in some western countries, you should know that this person is asking you to have a dinner with him / her. Trying to make students understand the social function of language is necessary.2.2The problems in learning methodsHere are some problems that may occur in the way of learning.2.2.1Psychological/emotional factorsDue to the differences between personalities or the way of learning, their expression of cognition differ from each other. Some students have difficulty in learning if there is not any visuals while some students prefer to learn it by listening to music and singing, or listening to a radio and trying to copy the pronunciation. And still some students would rather reada passage or a book to practice. However, many of them do not have agood understanding of their own personality. They may just use thelearning method which is only suitable for the others as their own method of learning spoken English blindly, which tends to have a bad effect on their efficiency when learning.2.2.2The limitations of the learners' language abilityOpportunities for students’ oral expression has been severely restricted because of the popularization of large classes in high school or in college.As a result, the current situation is that most of the students are afraid of talking in English in front of the class, which will lead to their less interest in practicing spoken English. What’s worse is that they may have lower expectations of their level of spoken English. Therefore, they may feeldiscouraged, have less motivation to improve spoken English and hold apassive learning attitude, which directly contributes to inactiveness in class or in trouble.2.2.3The bad effect of ‘native’ accentCollege students are from different places in main land. It’s inevitable that they may have difficulty in getting rid of their accent’s effect. And the worst thing is , they may not be able to realize it that they are speaking English with a bad pronunciation or in a Chinese way. People surroundinghim/her may feel awkward to tell “you have a thick accent when speaking English” , but the thick-accent person may just feel right about his/her pronunciation. Some of the students might laugh at them in his/ her face, which can destroy their confidence ,even they are not willing to speak English anymore. They do need someone to point out their problems directly, otherwise, they can never find their problems, let alone correct them.3.Some possible solutions to the problemsSome reasonable suggestions will be shown in the following parts, mainly divided into two aspects, including suggestions for teaching and for learning.3.1S uggestions for teachingDifferent angles present different visions. Please allow me to show some advice in the view of a college student.3.1.1Having a clear goal of teachingSpoken English training should not just focus on fundamental language skills, but also target at training the ability of communicating with people. Focus on improving students ' ability to achieve information, the ability to deal with information, the ability to analyze and solve problems, to form a basic ability of intercultural communication. For example, try to provide moreopportunities for students to have a ‘role play’ activity in class . Put them under a certain circumstance and guide them to consider what they should talk when in a given situation or a role, until they can react fluently in a proper way.3.1.2Raising the participation of students in classAt the present stage, the classroom instruction is mainly carried out by the teacher. Students rarely have the opportunity to participate in it. They’ll find it hard to adapt to the classroom atmosphere. Teachers should try to improve the students' involvement in teaching, and offer the opportunity to speak. For example, the teachers may raise one or two interesting questions to get the students' attention. At the same time , during the classroom teaching , teachers may take the mode of group cooperation, which may help students enjoy their role in the group cooperation. So that they can carry out a discussion or communicate with each other in English.3.1.3The rational use of multimedia teaching toolsTeachers can make full use of multimedia teaching tools to expand the channels for students,improve learning methods of the students and explore the new teaching mode, enrich the teaching content and its form. By using radio ,television, English newspapers , periodicals, and library etc., which can greatly raise their interest.3.2 Suggestions for studentsSome proper ways of improving spoken English will be shown in the following parts3.2.1To develop good psychological qualityChinese students have been paying too much attention to the grammar and reading exercises. Due to a lack of language environment and classexercises, along with little attention to the importance to the cultivation of listening and speaking ability, they have been so weak in listening and speaking, speaking especially. They are even too afraid to speak English because of their tension. As a matter of fact, the psychological burden is created by the lack of self-confidence. Keeping a relaxed, natural and steady mood when listening to some materials. Namely, to establish self-confidence and to develop excellent psychological quality are essential in the improvement of aural ability. Here is the possible suggestion: try to participate enthusiastically in oral activities offered in the classes, and try not be afraid of speaking in front of the class even if you would make some mistakes. In that way, self-confidence will gradually enhanced, psychological burden would be overcome gradually because of the multiplication of self-confidence, so that psychological quality can be improved.3.2.2To strengthen motivation and desire to learnCollege students should actively create language environment and train the ability of oral expression by taking advantage of every opportunity.Try to find some partners practicing oral English together and English corner is a good place as where you may exchange English study experience widen our sight and improve interest in English.The English corner, English salon and English voice chat room are all good places to practice oral English and improve it. If it is not easy to get English partners or having little chance to attend an English corner，then we have to create an English environment ourselves by speaking English to ourselves. For example，you can talk to yourself or just describe about what you have seen or what you have done. Retelling exercise：Retell some articles or English stories in o ur own words. It’s the simplest and most efficient method of practicing spoken English. Another way is to make friends with foreign students or teachers, they are all native speakers of English, students can learn the most authentic English expression or pronunciation from them.3.2.3To enrich the background knowledge of western cultureCollege students need to understand cultural differences between China and western countries. Language, as a communicative tool , is the carrier of culture. Only when students get to have a full understanding of national history ,culture, customs and habits , can they express their thoughts and feelings in a appropriate way. In different occasions, for different purposes or to different targets, the way of the oral expression should be different according to the three factors. As a language learner, only if you have a full understanding of their customs and habits, use different expressions in a proper way by combining the linguistic context，can you be able to improve your skills and level of spoken English.3.2.4To correct pronunciation or to get rid of accentThe thick-accent problem may have disturbed many college students, while it’s rather hard to get rid of. Most of the students may have more difficulties in making a good pronunciation. In order to solve these terrible problems, the most efficient way I offer is to ‘copy’. This ‘copy’ mainly means that students try to speak English by following a authentic pronunciation. For example, try to practice a radio programmer, a song, a talk show and so on. First of all, read it aloud to make sure that you can be heard by yourself. And the most effective way is to record your voice and then play it again, this will help find where the problems are. One important thing I have to mention is that students must speak in measured tone. Don’t be shy or afraid when required to read in measured tone, this will help have better pronunciation. A TV programmer is also suggested, such as <Friends>, a TV series that includes nearly every aspect of daily life in America. The six people in it are all native speakers of American English. Mimicking their daily conversation not only can help correct pronunciation but experience their culture. Last but not least, the ultimate goal of mimicking , is to make yourself become the one you mimic. Try to feel the feelings inside the role you are mimicking, and automatically you can talk with others just like a foreigner.4.ConclusionIn recent years, as the rapid development of economic, cultural exchanges have become more and more frequent, which directly leads to the need of communication. And nowadays, the society is in urgent need of a group of people who are with strong English communication abilities and talents , therefore, to have an excellent spoken English is the focus of young people and modern English education. In this paper, through the analysis of various factors to learn or to teach spoken English, we can see that it may provide some reasonable and proper suggestions for both students and teachers. Proper methods of learning spoken English is a set of scientific, specific learning methods, which can help students have a higher level of spoken English. In all, however efficient a method is, without persistence, eventually it will end in nothing. Strategies, methods, skills and persistence, only if joined together, can you achieve a higher level of spoken English.。
