The Strategies Used by English Teachers in Teaching Speaking: A Descriptive Study at SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta in Academic Year 2020/2021

Introduction

English speaking skills have become increasingly important in today's globalized world. As a means of communication, speaking enables individuals to express thoughts, convey information, and build relationships across linguistic and cultural boundaries. In Indonesia, English is taught as a foreign language starting from elementary school level. The junior high school curriculum assigns significant importance to developing students' speaking ability alongside other language skills.

Despite the recognized importance of speaking skills, many English language learners in Indonesia continue to face challenges in developing oral proficiency. These challenges stem from various factors including limited exposure to authentic English input, lack of practice opportunities, and anxiety associated with speaking in a foreign language. Teachers play a critical role in addressing these challenges through the implementation of effective teaching strategies.

SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta is a public junior high school in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, with approximately 800 students across grades 7-9. Like many Indonesian schools, it faces the challenge of enhancing students' English speaking abilities within limited contact hours and resources. Understanding the strategies employed by English teachers in this context contributes valuable insights to the broader field of English language teaching.

Literature Review

Speaking skills occupy a central position in communicative language teaching approaches. Nunan (2015) emphasizes that speaking differs from other language skills in its spontaneous nature and the pressure it places on language learners to produce language in real-time. This characteristic makes speaking particularly challenging for language learners.

Bailey (2018) categorizes speaking strategies into speaking-learning strategies and speaking-use strategies. Speaking-learning strategies are those employed to develop speaking ability, while speaking-use strategies help learners overcome difficulties during actual communication. The research literature suggests that effective teaching of speaking should address both these aspects.

Richards (2019) identifies various approaches to teaching speaking, including accuracy-focused activities that emphasize correct pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, and fluency-focused activities that prioritize communication flow. The best teaching programs typically balance these approaches, providing structured practice with opportunities for meaningful communication.

Methodology

Findings

Speaking Teaching Strategies Identified

The analysis revealed that English teachers at SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta employed multiple strategies for teaching speaking. These strategies are presented in Table 1, along with their frequency of use and observed characteristics.

Strategy	Frequency of Use	Characteristics
Direct Instruction	High	Explicit teaching of pronunciation, intonation patterns, and phrase structures
Information Gap Activities	High	Activities requiring students to obtain missing information from peers
Role-Play	Medium	Scenarios where students adopt roles and interact in predetermined situations
Picture Description	Medium	Students describe visual stimuli individually or in pairs
Group Discussion	Medium	Small group discussions on assigned topics
Storytelling	Low	Students retell familiar stories or create new narratives
Debate	Low	Structured argumentation on controversial topics

Detailed Description of Teaching Strategies

Direct Instruction

Direct instruction emerged as the most frequently used strategy, appearing in nearly every observed lesson. Teachers employed this strategy to explicitly teach speaking sub-skills such as correct pronunciation, intonation patterns, and common English phrases. For example, Teacher A used direct instruction to demonstrate appropriate stress and intonation in question forms during a seventh-grade lesson. Teacher B employed the strategy to introduce functional language for making requests, providing clear examples before allowing students to practice.

Information Gap Activities

Information gap activities featured prominently in the speaking instruction at SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta. These activities, based on the communicative language teaching approach, required students to obtain information from their peers to complete tasks. Teachers designed various information gap activities using picture pairs, incomplete texts, and survey forms. These activities created authentic communication needs, motivating students to speak in English to accomplish their goals.

Role-Play

Role-play activities allowed students to practice speaking in simulated real-life situations. Teachers commonly used role-play for functional language practice, such as shopping at a store, ordering food, or asking for directions. Teacher C particularly favored role-play, noting that "students become more engaged when they can imagine themselves in real situations." These activities often included preparation time where students could plan their utterances before performing the role-play.

Picture Description

Picture description activities involved students describing visual stimuli either individually or in pairs. Teachers used various types of images, including photographs, drawings, and charts. This strategy was particularly effective for practicing descriptive language and vocabulary. Teachers found that low-proficiency students could participate successfully in picture description activities, as the visuals provided support for their speaking attempts.

Group Discussion

Group discussions allowed students to express opinions on assigned topics within small groups. Teachers typically assigned thought-provoking questions related to the themes being studied in class. These discussions promoted extended speaking practice and higher-order thinking. However, observations revealed that group discussions sometimes shifted to Indonesian language use, especially when students encountered challenges expressing complex ideas in English.

Storytelling

Though used infrequently, storytelling appeared in some creative teaching moments. Teacher A used storytelling when teaching narrative texts, asking students to retell familiar Indonesian folk tales in English. Teacher B employed a modified version called "chain storytelling," where each student contributed one sentence to create a collective story. These activities were particularly engaging for students and encouraged creativity in speaking.

Debate

Debate was the least frequently used strategy, implemented only with advanced classes or when teachers wanted to challenge high-achieving students. The structured format of debates required students to argue for or against a proposition using appropriate language for presenting opinions, agreeing and disagreeing, and building arguments. Teacher C noted that debates were time-consuming and challenging to prepare, making them impractical for regular classroom use despite their pedagogical value.

Factors Influencing Strategy Selection

Teachers reported several factors influencing their choice of speaking teaching strategies:

• Student proficiency level: Teachers adapted strategies based on students' English ability, using more structured activities with low-proficiency classes and more complex tasks with advanced students.
• Lesson objectives: The specific learning goals of each lesson guided strategy selection. For example, pronunciation-focused lessons employed more direct instruction, while fluency development activities relied on group discussions.
• Available time: Strategies requiring extensive preparation, such as debate, were less frequently used due to time constraints.
• Class size: Large classes presented challenges for individual speaking practice, prompting teachers to use pair work and small group activities more frequently.
• Curriculum requirements: The national curriculum and examination formats influenced the skills and language elements teachers prioritized.

Discussion

The variety of speaking teaching strategies observed at SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta reflects a balanced approach to developing both accuracy and fluency in speaking. The prominence of direct instruction alongside communicative activities suggests that teachers recognize the importance of providing students with explicit knowledge of English pronunciation, intonation, and functional expressions before engaging in communicative practice.

The frequent implementation of information gap activities aligns with communicative language teaching principles that emphasize authentic communication in language learning. These activities created genuine information exchange needs, which likely enhanced student motivation and meaningful language use.

Role-play activities provided structured yet meaningful speaking practice. While some researchers criticize role-plays for lacking authenticity compared to real-world communication, they appear particularly suitable for junior high school students who may benefit from the structured support before attempting spontaneous conversation.

The infrequent use of challenging strategies like debate and storytelling may reflect various constraints including time pressure, student proficiency levels, and curriculum demands. However, these strategies offer valuable opportunities for extended speaking practice and development of complex language use. Teachers at SMP Negeri 23 Surakarta might consider finding ways to incorporate these more challenging strategies occasionally to provide additional speaking development opportunities.

The factors influencing strategy selection reveal teachers' awareness of contextual variables in their pedagogical decision-making. Their adaptations based on student proficiency, class size, and time constraints demonstrate the complex considerations required in effective language teaching practice.

Conclusion

References

• Bailey, K. M. (2018). Speaking in a second language. Oxford University Press.
• Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaa, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage.
• Nunan, D. (2015). Teaching English to speakers of other languages: An introduction. Routledge.
• Richards, J. C. (2019). Curriculum development in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.