The problem of possessing good Spoken Skills looms largely among the educated youth whose writing skills are never a bothersome issue.They make a good use of English for research purposes and their use of it as a library language is fairly up to their satisfaction. However,their participation in the meetings and Seminars is hampered by their lack of confidence in their spoken abilities.
Young aspirants at the university level are given frequent opportunities for a spoken presentation and these opportunities can very well be exploited, if only they can give themselves some confidence, by looking into their persisting issue of increasing their presentation skills and their spoken abilities. They step back, when it comes to give a display of their spoken English.
Youngsters should try to differentiate between the spoken and the writing mode of English. Their academic background is filled entirely with their attempts at learning things in English and presenting the same for the purpose of an annual examination. English is taught constantly as a Subject and the language is never viewed as a medium and as a skill. Hence, they suffer for the lack of spoken skills. It is highly appropriate they make a personalized use of the language and begin thinking entirely in English so that their fluency levels increase to the desirable extent. English should be a reasonable part of their daily life to give an impetus to their use of English for career aspects.
Students are also advised to practice the use of Spoken English with the required tempo and to curb their spoken speed so as to make it look less like their mother tongue.They think wrongly that speed acquires for them a certain aura of attraction and make them more conspicuous in a conversation group. Their hurry with their English on the other hand makes them less intelligible in a Spoken Presentation.
The elucidation of speech sounds helps a lot, though it may sound artificial, if overdone. It is also helpful in slowing down the speech to the desired extent. Repetition of such words which are not used frequently will lead to intelligibility and makes the speaker more acceptable. Speeches need not necessarily be verbose. All speeches can be set in acceptable vocabulary limits and such speeches receive more of welcome.It is contended that so many thoughts can be expressed within a vocabulary range of 100.The speeches made here in the campus should be as simple as possible and they should be content-based.
Many students are woefully ignorant of the natural rhythm of the English language and we find a great deal of influence of the local language on the Second Language. They should pay the necessary attention to the patterns of intonation and should make all endeavor to sound as native as possible.Native speakers are ready to put up with bad grammar, but not bad pronunciation.
To be intelligible, students also cultivate taking a reasonable pause, where required, in the course of a longish sentence. Stage rehearsing for a few weeks is a sure remedy for all these spoken issues. They should also consider the significance of conveying the emotional meaning of their utterances by improving upon their intonation.
There is no one-to-one solution for all the issues of spoken English. All psychological problems can be eradicated, provided one has the inclination to come out of the disorder. English is one problem that the peoples of India and China have to face for standing the competition in the job market and their solutions should come out as fast as possible.
About Author / Additional Info:
The author is the Chief Academic Adviser of Khammam Institute of Technology and Sciences, KITS,Ponnekal, Khammam(R),Telangana State and has career-counselling as his hobby.