In speaking and listening we tend to be getting something done, exploring ideas, working out some aspect of the world, or simply being together. In writing we may be creating a record,committing events or moments to paper.

Jones (1996,12)

Luoma (2004):

Composed of idea units May be planned Employs more vague or generic

words than written language Employs fixed phrases, fillers and

hesitation markers Contains slips and errors reflecting

on-line processing Involved reciprocity Shows variation

Varieties of approach while carrying out speaking activities in class.

Direct approaches - focusing on specific features of oral

interaction.

Indirect approaches - create conditions for oral interaction

Has a primarily social functionReflects role relationships Reflects speaker’s identityMay be casual or formalUses conversational conventionsReflect degrees of politenessEmploys many generic wordsUses conversational register Is jointly constructed (Brown and Yule,

1983)

It has a primarily information focus The main focus is the message and not the

participants Participants employ communication

strategies to make themselves understood There may be frequent questions,

repetitions, and comprehension checks There may be negotiation and digression Linguistic accuracy is not always important

There is a focus on both message and

audience It reflects organization and

sequencing Form and accuracy is important Language is more like written

language It is often monologic

Determining students’ competency Determining purpose of the lesson Identifying teaching/learning

strategies Identify suitable activities Review vocabulary, real world

knowledge related to content Practicing and reviewing: e.g: the use

of cue cards and other support