1. Developing classroom speaking activities:
From theory to practice
* Richards, J. (n.d)
When designing speaking activities and materials it is important to
consider the different functions that speaking performs and the
purposes for which students need speaking skills.
Richards divides speaking into three functions:
Talk as interaction - what we think of as conversation.
Talk as transaction - focus is on the message - what is said or done
- and making oneself understood.
Talk as performance - public speaking

2. Talk as Interaction - this can be the most difficult to teach/
learn. It is a complex and subtle phenomena that uses many
“unspoken rules.”
Main features:
primarily social
reflects role relationships Skills involved:
reflects speaker’s identity opening and closing conversations
may be formal or casual choosing topics
uses conversational conventions making small talk
reflects degrees of politeness recounting personal experiences
uses generic words taking turns
uses conversational register using “adjacency pairs”
is jointly constructed interrupting
reacting to others

3. Examples of talk as interaction
Polite conversation with the person next to you on an
airplane - no future contact is expected.
Casual conversation with a friend over coffee - ongoing
friendship.
Student talking to a professor while waiting for an
elevator - reflects unequal power roles
Telling a friend about your weekend - sharing personal
stories.

4. Talk as transaction - giving/receiving information or obtaining
goods/services - easier to plan; many communicative activities
exist.
Features:
Examples: Speakers use communication
strategies to make themselves
Asking for the time or directions.
understood.
Checking into hotel. Discussing Frequent questions,
sightseeing plans with clerk.
repetitions and comprehension
Making phone call to get flight checks.
information.
Negotiation and digression
Buying/returning goods at a shop. Linguistic accuracy is
Ordering from a restaurant menu. secondary to communication.
Skills:
Explaining, describing
asking questions
confirming info
making suggestions
agreeing, disagreeing
clarifying
justifying opinion

5. Talk as performance
Features :
Focus on message and audience
Organization and sequencing
Accuracy is important
Examples: Similar to written language
Often like a monologue
Giving a speech
Conducting a class debate
Giving a report about a trip
Making a sales presentation Skills:
Giving a lecture Using appropriate format
presenting, sequencing info
engaging audience
pronunciation
grammar
effecting audience
appropriate vocabulary
appropriate opening, closing

6. Implications for teaching
Issues to address when planning speaking activities:
What functions will the course focus on? Do an informal
needs assessment to determine this.
What teaching strategies will you use? (EX: Role plays,
dialogs, information gaps, group discussions, sample
speeches.) What kind of support will you provide? How will
you model activities? What resources will you need?
What level of performance do you expect and how will you
assess it? How and when will you give feedback?

7. Reference
Richards, J. (n.d.). Developing Classroom Speaking Activities:
From theory to practice. professorjackrichards. Retrieved
from http://www.professorjackrichards.com/pdfs/developing-
classroom-speaking-activities.pdf