An Analysis of the Speaking Tasks:

The Case of Grade 12 English Textbook

By

Abdulatif Hajj-Ismael

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of English

In Partial Fulfillment to the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts in Teaching English as ~ Foreign Language~
(TEFL) .

May 2011
 Addis Ababa University
Faculty of Language Studies
Department of English
(Graduate Program)

An Analysis of the Speaking Tasks: The Case of Grade

12 English Textbook

By

Abdulatif Hajj-Ismael

Approved by Examining Board

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fi/.y vyld,/ I~
Advisor .
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Signature
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G,V'' 1C) G-e-1~"-e..4J

Examiner S~ /)L!6J/,!J()//
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Date
 fj
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and for most, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Alemu Hailu,
for his unreserved guidance, advice and constructive comments throughout the course of my thesis
work. His continuous follow up and encouragement had great role for the achievement of this
work.

I would also like to thank my dearest parents and the whole family for encouraging me to
complete this study. My special gratitude goes to my beloved wife Yasmin Abdurrahman for all
her encouragement, moral and material support without which the completion of my study would
have been very difficult.

Finally, I have to thank all my friends and colleagues for their unforgettable advices and bountiful
amount of time they spent discussing and sharing ideas with me throughout my stay in campus.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents pages

Acknowledgements . .. ................. . ........................ ... ........ .... ....................... . ..... .. i

Table of Contents .... ... .. .... .. ... . .. . .. . ........ ...... .. .. .... . ... .... .. . .. .. . . .. ........ ... .. .. . .. . ........ ii

List of Tables . ........... ... ........... ... ....... ...... ... ..... . .. . ... . .. ..... .... . ....... ........... ..... ..... v

List of Figures . . ....... ... .. . .. . ... ... ... . ............ . ........ . ............ ... . ..... .. .. ....... ........... .... v

Abstract ................ .. .. . .. .. ... .... . ......... ..... .... . . ................. . ... ... .............. . .... .. ..... . vi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1

1.1 Backgro und of the Study .............. .. ........... ..... ... .... .. .... ... ............................. .............. ........ . 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ... ....................... .... ... .... .... .. ........................ ... ........... ......... ......... .3

1.3 Objectives of the Study ....... ................ ........... ....... ... ........ ........ ... ...... ... ... .......... ........ ...... ... 6

1.3.1 General Objective ....... .... .. .. .... ..... .. ..................... ..... ......... ...... ..... ... ... ..... .... ......... ........ 6

1.3.2 Specific 0 bject ives ... .......... ......................... .... ... ... ... ... .. ..... ........ ............................... .. 6

1.4 Significance of the Study ........ .. ... ... ...... .. ........... .. .. ......... ... ....... .... ...... ... ....... .... ..... .......... .. 7

1.5 Scope of the Study ..... ... .... .................. ......... .... ......... .......................... .......................... ..... 7

1.6 Limitat ions of the Study ........... ..... ........................ .. ... ........ .. ...... ................ ........................ 7

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 8

2. 1 Task: Concept ..... ... ... ..... ..... ....... .. .. ... ..... ... .... ....... ..... ... ... ... ... ..... ............... .. ...... .... .... ... ...... 8

2.2 Rationale fo r the Use of Tasks in Language Teaching and Learn in'g Process ...................... 9

2.3 Communicative Tasks ... ... ... .... ... .... ...... ... ... .. .. ... .... ... ... ... ... ..... ......... ... ... ...... ........ ........... .. 10

2.4 Components of a Communicative Task ....................... ..................................................... 11

2.4. 1 Goa ls ..................................................... .......... ...................... ....................... .. ... ........ 12

2.4.2 Inputs ........................ .............. .......... ... .... ...... ................ ....... ................. ....., .. .... ....... 12

2.4.3 Activities ....... ... ..... ..... .. ...... .... ......... ...... ... ........ ... ...... ..... ..... ............. .. ... ......... ......... .. 13

ii
 2.4.4 Learners' Ro les ............................... ........... ......................... ..................... ................. 16

2.4.5 Teachers' Roles ............... .... .. ... ............... ... .... .......... ........... ..... .. ... ........... ..... ... ......... 17

2.4.6 Settings ......................... ... ............... ....... .... .......... ............. .. .. ....... ......... ............. ...... . 17

2.5 The Nature of Speaking Tasks (Activities) ....................................................................... 18

2.6 Roles of Textbooks ....................................................... .................... ........... .................. 25

CHAPTER THREE: METHODS OF THE STUDY ............................................................. 27

3.1 Research Design ...... .... ....... ................. .... .. .... .... .......... ... ... .................. .......... .................. 2}

3.2 Source of Data ....................................... ......... ... ......................................... ... ..... ............. 27

3.3 The Instrument. ................................................................... ............................ ................. 27

3.4 Methods of Data Analysis ................................... .............. ............................................... 28

3.5 Data Organization and Presentation ................................................................................. 28

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ..................................... 29

4.1 Data from the Textbook Analysis ...:... ........ ......... ........ .................................. ... ....... ......... 29

4.1.1 Speaking Tasks (Activities) ........................................ .................... ........... ................ 29

4.1.2 Evaluation of the Speaking Tasks ....... .................................. " ........ .......... ................. 30

4.1.2.1 Aspects in Relation to Goals ......................... ...... ................................................ 30

4.1.2.2 Aspects in Relation to Input ..................... ...... ..... ..................... ........................... 34

4.1.2.3 Aspects in Relation to Activities .......................... .......... ..................................... 38

4.1.2.4 Aspects in Relation to Roles. :...................... ...................... .................................. 56

4.1.2.5 Aspects in Relation to Setting ............................................................................. 62

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................... 66

5.1 Conclusions ........................................................ .... .......... ........ .. .................................... .66

5.2 Recommendations ......... ....................... ............................. ............................... ............ .... 67

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................... :........ :................................... 68

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ :............ 72

iii
Appendix A: A C hecklist for Evaluating Communicative Tasks ............ ............................... 73

Appendix B: A Check list for Evaluating the Nature of Speaking Tasks (Activities) ............... 74

Appendix C: The Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook ........ .... ........................ 75

iv
 List of Tables

Pages

Table I : Distribution of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook .......... . ............. 29

Table 2: The Object ives of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook .... ... . ... ..... ..... 31

Table 3: The Inputs of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 Eng lish Textbook .. .... . .. . ...... ....... .. .34

Table 4: Authentic Vs Inauthentic Inputs in the Speaking Tasks ........... . .. . .. . .. . ..... . . . .. . ... 36

Table 5: The Activities in the Speaking Sections of Grade 12 Eng lish Textbook ... ... ... . . .... ... 38

Table 6: Nature of the Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook .................................... .41

Table 7: Roles of Learners and Teachers in the Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook ..... 57

Table 8: The Setting of the Speaking Tasks in Grade 12 English Textbook ............... . ........ .62

Table 9: Nature of the Setting of Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook .. .. .......... ... . .. ..... .63

List of Figures

Page

Figure I: A Framewo rk for Ana lyzing Communicative Tasks ....... .. ... ...... .. . ... ... .. . .. . . ..... 18

v
 ABSTRACT

The main purpose of the present study was to analyze the extent to which the speaking tasks
(activities) in the currently in use Grade 12 English textbook were well structured and organized
in such a way that they could promote speaking skills. To this end, the speaking tasks were
identified and analyzed based on the basic components of communicative tasks as well as the
evaluatjon check ist for ommunicative tasks suggested by Nunan (1989). Textbook analysis
(content analysis) was used as a major instrument to obtain information regarding how
appropriate and suitable the speaking tasks (activities) were for the students. To analyze and
interpret the data, the researcher used qualitative research method. I(Findings of the study
indicated that less credence is given to the oral communicative tasks., The speaking activities in
the Grade 12 students' English textbook do not meet most of the relevant criteria stated in the
checklist which students require in order to take part orally. The findings also showed that even
though the goals of oral communicative activities in the course book meet the needs and interests
of learners, some of them are not explicitly stated. Again it has been found that the contents as
input and the activities in the course material do not give szifjicient information due to absence of
varied and interesting activities, adequate supporting and authentic materials and so on. It is
also noted that since the tasks (activities) which are depicted in the textbook lack variety and do
not make use of authentic materials (illustrations), they lack motivational values. Therefore, it is
recommended that textbook writers (developers) should consider incorporating the six basic
components of communicative tasks in the students' textbooks when preparing the materials.

vi
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Backg ouod of the Study

Tasks have long been used in second/fo reign language teaching (ESLIEFL) as a way to promote
communication and language use. There have been a lot of researches and theo ries in the last
twenty years on the use of tasks in language teaching, pa.ticularly tasks which involve
interactio n between learners (e.g., Breen, 1987; Prabhu , 1987; N unan, 1989). Tasks are basic
building blocks in any language learning activity from either a language acquisition or a
communicative perspective. Essentially, 'task' .is viewed as an imp91tant construct by SLA
researchers and language teachers. It is both a means of eliciting samples of learner language for
research purposes and an instrument for organizing the content and methodology of language
teaching (Prabu, 1987).-f;rhe overall purpo se of task is facilitating language learning and.
ultimately let!ing learners perform in a way which is directly or indirectly si milar to the target
language use.

Discussions of tasks mainly focus o n so me key features which distinguish an event as 'task'
'- ~----- --~-
fi'om another as 'exercise' or 'activity'. To be ca lled a 'task' , it should be meaning based, goa l-
----- - ~
oriented, outcome-eva luated, and rea l-world related. The nature of traditional speaking activities
often take the form of drills in which one person asks a question and another gives an answer.
The quest ion and the answer are structu red and predictable, and often there is only one correct,
predetermined answer. The purpo se of asking and answering the question is to demonstrate the
ability to ask and answer the quest ion.

In contrast, the purpose of communicative tasks (real communication) is to accomplish a task,

such as conveying a telephone message, obtaining information, or express ing an opinion. In real
communication, participants must manage uncertainty about what the other perso n will say.
A¥,entic communicat io n involves an information gap; each patticipant has information that the
other does not have. In addition, to achieve their purpose, patticipants may have to clarify their
meaning or ask for confirmation of their own understanding.

In the last two decades, the tenets of communicative language teaching w ith their strong
emphasis on students' ability to use language in real-life situations have taken hold in fo reig n

1
'.

./

------
 language classrooms. Accordingly, TBLT that e~ys communicative tasks as the basic unit of
analysis for motivating syllabus design and for~ign language classroom activities has received
increasing recognition. As the primary goal in language instruction is shifted from an object of
study to a system of communication, the need to assess students' ability to use the language
.~

communicat ively has been raised, and the effective design of communicative tasks has become
more and more popular.

According to Nunan (1989t communicative tasks are characterized by two key features. Firstly,
communicat ive tasks must contact with authentic target language. Students are required to use
rea l language. In classes where CLT is applied, students' attention is not on the code of the
language but on the meaning. If "real" language is not used, systematically, the abi lity in
dwelling on code of student will be reduced , as a result, the lingu istic abi lity wi ll become worse.
~udents are unable to use language in the mo st natural way, which is reflected as one learning
goal in CLT. The second feature of communicative task is experiential property. In contrast, with '
analytic factor, experiential feature is global and non- analytic. Learners are invited to use
langllage for a purpose that is to focu s on the message rather than spec ific aspect of the code.
Through exper iential strategy, students, who become involved in language use, are prompted to
become languagc users.

Researchers have also outlined princip les for communicative tasks design. Task design is the
most important element in TBLT. No tasks, no Task-based Language Teaching. The same is true
of communicative tasks design. These principles include: the principle of reasonable task
difficulty, the authenticity principle, the principle of meaningful tasks and the principle of some
locus on language form.

Acting as a designer of task, necessari ly, teachers should bear in mind all the above c~'iteria so
that after designing a task, they can reconsider the task and make it meet all the demands.

2
1.2 Statement of the Problem

The mastery of speak ing skills in English is a priority for many second or foreign language

---------------
learners. Learners consequently often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the
~
effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how well they feel they have improved in
I'
their spoken language proficiency. Oral skills have hardly been negl e~ted in EFLIESL courses
(witness the huge number of conversations and other speaking course books in the market)
though how best to approach the teaching of oral skill s has long been the focus of
.-' -
methodological debate1'Teachers and textbooks make use of a variety of approaches, ranging
from direct approaches focusing on spec ific features of oral interaction to indirect approaches
which create conditions for oral interaction through group work, task work and other strategies
(Richards, 1990).

Communicative tasks are very important for developing learner's L2 speaking sk ills. They
provide a purpose and a desire to communicate. Communicative output activities allow students
to practice using all of the language they know in situations that resemble real setti ngs. In these
act ivities, students must work together to develop a plan, resolve a problem, or complete a task.
Tasks are considered to provide full opportunity for both input and output requirements which
1986)~unan (1989)
are believed to be key processes in language learning (Richards & Rodgers,
-
points out that language learning tasks give learners many opportunities to interact in the target
language, allows learners to incorporate authentic texts into learning, and lets learners use their
own inSigh!:~' n addition, the activities or tasks to be included in language courses need to be
prepared under rigorous planning and preliminary invest igations. In other words, tasks need to
address learners' needs, interest, motivation etc. Thus, in order to make tasks more effect ive,
Willis, D and 1. Willis (1987) strongly assert that tasks, pallicularly speaking tasks, need to
engage learners' interest, focus on meaning, be goal oriented, and relate to the real world
activities.
In order to develop one's speaking skill proficiency as Bailey cited in Richards and Rodgers
(200 I), the in structional methodology and materials produced for the purpose of teaching
speaking ski lls are primarily on engaging all learners in the lesson, in providing maximum
opportunities, for students' participation, in using a maximum amount of student-to- activities,

3
and in promoting co-operation among learners play an important ro le in the teaching and
learning process of English language.

According to MoE as cited in Mohammed (2008), the second cycle of secondary educatio n
(Grade 11&1 2) Eng lish sy llabuses should provide a continued training in language development
of the learners, and they should help learners deve lop ability to communicate effectively in
education as well as non-educational settings. ltWhenever possible,~e English language skills
should be developed through problem so lving and posing skills. "learners need to be invo lved in '
I

activities like discussion, debate and variety of individual and group work activities. Since the I
I
main ai m of the English syllabus at this level is to help students become autonomous learners, (
I
learners have to work independently without the immediate supervision of the teacher taking l
responsibility for their own learning.

Thus, it has been claimed that the currently in use ELT textbooks are designed in such a way that
they develop learners' communicative competence through the use of the target language in
classroom interaction and communication. In line with this, Macdonough and Shaw (1993)
further verify that so me speaking materials have to be desig ned in order for learners to become
------ ...
more closeiy invo l~d with the materials and to ;elate them to realistic classroom activities so
that they can have more meaningful things to talk abo ut and thereby learn more readily and
effici entl y ./

Although reports fro m the Ministry of Education tell us that the new curriculum tries to propose
the rev is ion of the former curriculum and bring the communicative language teaching (eLT) in
the area, there are so me practical indications that the communicative orientation is not totally
being put in practice in many communicative teaching materials 01' course books. For instance,
"

many of the course materials being used in our language programs, particularly on higher level
programs seem to lack some qualities of the speaking tasks used in the teaching materials. In
other words, teaching materials do not seem have met their basic requirements concerning
speaking. Some of the requirements are that student should be able to communicative in English
in the course of learning, to conduct discuss ions on a given theme, and to talk abo ut everyday
topics with people freel y. They shou ld be able to give, after so me preparation, short talks on
fa milial' top ics with clear articulations and basically correct pronunciation and intonat ion. They
are expected to use basic conversational strategies in dialogue.

4
However, according to the studies such as Girma (2005) and Tiglu (2008), Ethiopian secondary
schools students have failed to communicate their ideas, opinions, and feelings in English either
in classrooms or in their daily lives outside the classrooms. This low or poor language
proficiency level of students may be attributed to the problem presented and approached in the
design of tasks (activities) in the textbook. It could be that tasks are designed in accordance with
the traditional approach giving less emphasis to practice of English for communication purposes.
Otherwise, the nature and design of the tasks might not allow the students to communicate
effectively.

In attempt to study the effectiveness of speaking activities in promoting speaking skills, there
have been limited numbers of local studies. One is a study conducted by Seifu (2005) on group
activities in English for Ethiopia Grade Nine in promoting eLL focusing on speaking skill. The
findings of his study indicate that most of the oral (speaking) group activities in the textbook
promote almost all the basic elements of eLL though there are no verities of oral group
activities. The second is a study on the oral group lessons in grade seven textbook in promoting
cooperative learning by Wondwosen (2008). His findings were almost similar with that of
Seifu's (2005). According to Wondwosen (2008), the oral group lessons in the grade seven
textbook foster almost all the basic elements of eLL. He also concluded that the textbook does
not have rules, techniques and procedures which could be used along with the oral ~roup lessons.
The third study is by Hailu (2008) on evaluation of English for Ethiopia grade II students' books ~

focll5ing on the level of quality of the textbooks. His findings revealed that the speaking sections ~

are not enriched with activities which could foster genuine and meaningful communication.
Besides, the materials have less coverage of oral communication activities. On the other hand,
the language presented in some of the activities is not at the right level of students. Students are
also not given 0ppoltunities to use language for communication.

What makes the present study different from the above mentioned ones is that it was confined to
'"
evaluating the nature and design of speaking (oral communicative) tasks in students' textbook in
promoting speaking ability of the students; whereas the focus of tie first two researchers (Seifu
2005 & Wondwosen 2008) was on the evaluation of oral group activities in promoting
cooperative learning and the third researcher's (Hailu 2008) work focuses on the level of quality
of the textbooks taking all major language skills in to account. So, even though they tried to
touch the areas of speaking activities in their particular studies, they did not give a detail analysis
about appropriateness of speaking tasks (activities) in meeting major speaking task design
criteria by addressing exactly the learners' needs and interests. However, the present study was
inspired to analyze the nature and design of speaking (oral communiCative) tasks in Grade 12
English textbook.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 General Objective

The main objective of this study was to analyze the nature and design of speaking tasks in Grade
12 English textbook in light with current theories of communicative tasks using Nunan's (1989)
framework.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

The specific object ives that were derived from the above general one are formulated based on the
components of communicat ive tasks discussed by Nunan. These ' include, "goals, inputs,
activities, roles and setting" (Nunan, 1989). Therefore, the study attempts to achieve the
following specific objectives:

I. To analyze the design (organ izat ion) of the components of the speaking tasks
(activities)in the textbook from the following perspectives:
• to check the exp licitness of the goals of the task both to the students and teachers
• to examine the authenticity and familiarity of contents as input to the students
• to investigate the potential of activities in meeting ~ needs and interests of students and
helping them to interact (communicate) with each other
• to identify whether the roles of teachers and students meet the principles ofCLT
• to find out whether the setting of the tasks is confined to classroom and suitable for pair
or group work
2. To examine the nature of the speaking tasks according to the checklist for evaluating
commun icative tasks and the nature of speaking tasks
3. To point out what improvements shou ld be made (if any) to enhance communicative
tasks in the textbook in such a way that they co uld promote speaking skills

6
1.4 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would be of some help to the course book writers and syllabus
designers. As promoting interactive classroom, to a large extent, depends on the design and
preparation of the activities, they would be benefited from this study. It would also have an
immediate relevance to English language teachers to evaluate their curr.;:nt practices in relation to
handling and managing oral communicative tasks to make some adjustments in implementing
them in the classrooms. Furthermore, it would help the students to improve their performance of
English and the way they learn and practice oral interaction (speaking tasks) in the classroom.
Finally, the study would help as reference material for those who are interested in this area.

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study was delimited to the analysis of speaking tasks in Grade 12 English textbook.
Moreover, although the communicative tasks could be used widely in all four skills, the study
dealt with the speaking skills only.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

The researcher helieves that an evaluation of textbook requires a critical analysis of every unit by
a group of experts. This would have been possibly done with an available resource and time.
However, due to shortage of resource and time, the researcher couldn 't make the experts
participate in the detailed analysis of every unit of the English for Ethiopia grade 12 students'
textbook.

7
 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Task: Concept

Over the last 25 years, the communicative task has evo lved as an important component within
curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation (Nunan, 1991). In TBLT, sy llabus content
and instructional processes are selected with reference to the communicative tasks which learners
will (either actually or potentially) need to engage in outside the classroom and also with
reference to theoretical and empirical ins ights into those social and psycho linguistic processes
which facilitate language acquisition.

In fact, there are two types of tasks in TBLT. One is communicative tasks; the other is learning
tasks or enabling tasks (Estaire and Zanon, 1994). The latter type of task mainly focuses on
language form (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure). Generally, the concept
of communicative tasks has not received proper attention in discussions of TBL T. There is few
researchers' study on the key term of communicative task applied to English language teaching
systematically up to now, so it is necessary to discllss the definition of communicative tasks
further.

A review of literature reveals a range of definitions of task. According to Long (1985:89), a task \
is "a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward" . Thus,
examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form, buying a pair of
shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a library book, taking a driving test, typing a
letter, taking a hotel reservation, writing a cheque, finding a street" destination and helping
someone to cross a road .

• A communication task is "a pIece of classroom work which, as far as possible, resembles
activities which our students or other people carry out in everyday life, thus reproducing
processes of everyday communication" (Estaire and Zanon, 1994: 13).

Task is "any structured language learning endeavor which has a particular objective, appropriate
content, a specified working procedure, and a range of outcomes for those who undertake the
task" (Breen, 1987: 23). "Task" is, therefore, assumed to refer to a range of work plans which
have the overall purpose of facilitating language learning - from the simple and brief exercise

8
type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-so lving or simulations and
decision making.

All of these definition s have a common characteristic. They all suggest that tasks are concerned
with communicative language use. In other words, they refer to undertakings in which the
learners comprehend, produce and interact in the target language in the contexts in which they
are focused on meaning rather than form.

2.2 Rationale for the Use of Tasks in Language Teaching and Learning Process

According to Krashen (1977), as cited in Johnson (1996), the essential requirement necessary for
language acquisition to take place is the learner's 'participation in natural communication
situations'. Although the classroom can never be like 'real life' , adherents of ' natural'
approaches (e.g. Krashen 1987) believe that classes should attempt to stimulate 'real life ' and
dictate that this will be the best way of spending the restricted, admittedly inadequate resources
classes do have. As Johnson (1996) points out, the basic strategy involved in attempting to effect
'participation in natural communication situation' is clear-one tries to set up activities in which
the students are involved in use of language.

Furthermore, the use of tasks in language classrooms will result in communicative acts that
mirror those occurring outside classroom. By doing so, tasks serve to create communicative
contexts that foster language acquisition. As an addition to this, Ellis (2003) says:

... Through tasks, we can engage learners in the kinds of cognitive process that
arise in communication outside the classroom. These processes include top-down
and bollom-up processing, noticing, negotiating meaning, lexicalized and rule-
based production, scaffold production, private speech, and negotiating form. They
in'Jolve the learner in allention to meaning and form in the context of using the L2
to achieve a communicative purpose. It is these processes, not. the communicative
acts themselves that creates the conditions for acquisition to take place (p. 335-
336).

By this, Ellis (2003) means that that ' task' is seen not only as a tool for engaging learners in
meaning-making but a lso as the ideal tool for achieving a focus on form. So, 'task' is used for
creating the conditions for language acquisition.

9
Nunan (1989) also argues that language learning tasks help learners to learn by themselves by
doing activities of psycho-linguistic importance (pedagogic tasks) and enable them to evaluate
their own progress in learning. This in turn would help learners build up confidence leading them
to become autonomous. Furthermore, Mekasha (2005) says that research has shown that
meaningful learning tasks would create variety, interest and motivation in learning.

In short, language learning is seen as a process that requires opportunities for learners to
participate in communication where making meaning is primary and attention to linguistic form
is secondary. Thus, the goal language pedagogy is not just to provide opportunities for meaning-
making but also to ensure that learners are motivated to attend to form- to notice new linguistic
features in the input and to work with their interlocutors to construct new zones of proximal
development (Ellis 2003). This emphasizes that in the process of making meaning, learners need
to attend to and become aware of linguistic form. He also recommends that by manipulating the
design feature of a task and/or implementation procedures, learners can be encouraged to attend
to form in the context of meaning. Then, tasks have to be designed, as Ellis (2003) suggests, in
ways that will ensure a primary focus on meaning but also allow for incidental attention to form.

2.3 Communicative Tasks

So far, there have existed a number of definitions of the concept of communicative tasks in the
literature by different educators and researchers. Prabhu (1987:24) defines a communicative task
as: "an activity which requires learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through
some process of thought, and which allows teachers to control and regulate that process".
Similarly, a communicative task is defined by Jane Willis (1996:34) as: "a goal-oriented activity
with clear purpose. Doing a communicative task involves achieving, an outcome, creating a final
product that can be appreciated by others. Examples include compiling a list of reasons, features,
or things that need doing under particular circumstances; comparing two pictures andl or texts to
find the differences; and solving a problem or designing a brochure." In the same way, a
.-
communicative task is defined as an activity or goal that is carried out using language, such as
finding a solution to a puzzle, reading a map and giving directions, 'making a telephone call,
writing a letter etc.(Richards and Rodgers 2001). Nunan (1989: I 0) also defines a communicative
task as :"a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipUlating,

I
10

(
producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on
meaning rather than form. The task should also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand
alone as a communicative act in its own right".

The above-mentioned definitions share one thing in common: they all imply that communicative
tasks involve communicative language use in which the user's attention is focused on meaning
rather than linguistic structure. Communicative tasks have a specific objective that must be
achieved. In other words, they are goal-oriented. The emphasis is on understanding and
conveying meanings in order to complete the task successfully. While learners are doing
communicative tasks, they are using language in a meaningful way. The common thread running
through definitions of communicative task is its focus on the authentic use of language for
meaningful communicative purpo ses beyond the language classroom.

To sum up, a communicative task is a piece of work that involves all the learners in: the
comprehension of t.he foreign languages (spoken or written), the production of the foreign
languages (spoken or written) and/or oral interaction in the foreign languages. During a
communicative task, learners ' attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form, that
is, on what is being expressed rather than on the linguistic forms used for expressing it.
Moreover, as far as possible, a communicative task resembles activity which students or other
people carry out in everyday life, thus reproducing processes of everyday communication. A
communicative task is usually part of a sequence which often creates a context for the tasks.
Beside, both teachers and learners can evaluate this task, in relation to both process and outcome.
A communicative task also has a communicative purpose and the ultimate purpose of developing
students' ability to communicate in English, hence has a pedagogic purpose.

2.4 Components of a Communicative Task

Nunan (1989) suggests that the communicative tasks will contain a goal, input, activities, settings
and roles.

11
2.4.1 Goals

Goals mean the general intentions behind any given communicative tasks and learning tasks.
They may be related to a range of general outcomes (communicative, effective or cognitive) or
may directly describe teacher or learner behavior. Communicative activities with no goals cannot
encourage learners' interest in verbal participation; when communication is with no goals, this
activity is not a real task. Therefore, goals are the necessary elements of communicative tasks,
and goals playa very important role in the whole process of communicative activities.

The overall goals of all communicative tasks are to establish and maintain interpersonal
relations, and through this to exchange information, ideas, opinions, attitude, and feeling, and to
get things done. In each specified task, the goal may differ. For example, the goal of task X is to
encourage students to negotiate information between each other to develop their interaction skills
while task Y's goal may be to improve studel]ts' confidence in speaking. However, there is
rarely a simple one to one relationship between goals and tasks. In some cases, a complex task
involving a range of activities might be simultaneously moving learners towards several goals.

Task and task goals enable the program planner and material writers to provide explicit links
between the task and the broader curriculum it is designed to serve. "Without clearly articulated
sets of goal statements, there is a risk that task-based teaching programs will lack coherence"
(Widdowson, 1987).

2.4.2 Input

The theories of second laJ1guage acquisition agree that, for learning a modern language, learners
must be exposed to a considerable amount of language input either in natural or artificial
teaching settings. Rod Ellis (1999) considered that input is used to refer to the language that is
addressed to the foreign language learner either by a native speaker or by another foreign
language learner. By the way, input also is a term used to mean the language that the students
hem or read. There should be so me new information that the learners have not known : the input
should be, in other words, at a slightly higher level than the student is capable of using, but at a
level that he is capable of understanding.

12
•

As textbooks are concerned with teaching and learning of the language itself, in some or all of its
aspects they should have correct, recent and Standard English as well. The language input in
instructional materials must be comprehensive and it should match to the abilities ofthe student.
Krashen (1985) makes a strong claim that comprehensible input in th~ target language is both
necessary and sufficient for the acquisition of that language provides that learners are effectively
disposed to "let in" the input they comprehend. To this end, Cunningsworth (1995) and
Tomlinson (1998) stated that teaching materials can be enriched through authentic inputs. They
claim that textbooks can promote autonomy and self reliance by incorporating authentic
materials, creating realistic situation and encouraging learners to participate in activities which
develop communicative skills and strategies. Richards and Rodgers (2001) elaborates the
advantages claimed for including authentic languages in ELT materials. These are: (1) They have
positive effect on learner motivation; (2) They provide exposure to real language (3) They
support a more creative approach to language teaching; and (4) They provide authentic cultural
information about the target culture.

So, as far as input is concerned, we should expect teaching materials to present exponents of
language that will serve as a means to offer to learners' routes towards language knowledge and
to the language capabilities (which) the course aims at teaching.

2.4.3 Activities

Activities refer to the behavior that participants do with the input, which forms the point of
departure for the learning task. Nunan (1989) proposes three general ways of characterizing
activities: 1) rehearsal for the real world (authenticity); 2) skills use; 3) fluency and accuracy.

Of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems the most
important activity: People who know a language are referred to as "speakers" of that language, as
if speaking included all other kinds of knowing; and many, if not most, foreign language learners
are primarily interest in learning to speak.

According to (Prabhu, 1987), the three principal types of activities are:

1. Information gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person
to another - or from one form to another, or fi'om one place to another - generally calling

13

j
 for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language. One example is pair
work in which each member of the pair has a part of the total information (for example an
incomplete picture) and attempts to convey it verbally to the others. Another example is
completing a tabular representation with information available in a given piece of text.
The activity often involves selection of relevant information as well, and learners may
have to meet criteria of completeness and correctness in making the transfer.

2. Reasoning gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given
information through processes of interference, deduction, practical reasoning, or
perception of relationships or patterns. One example is working out a teacher's timetable
on the basis of gi;yen class timetables. Another is deciding what course of action is best
(for example cheapest or quickest) for a given purpo se and within given constraints. The
activity necessarily involves comprehending and conveying information as an
information gap activity, but the information to be conveyed is not identical with that
initially comprehended. There is a piece of reasoning which connects the two.

3. Opinion gap activity, which involves identifying and articulating a personal preference,
feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. One example is story completion;
another is taking part in the discussion of a social issue. The activity may involve using
factual information and formulating arguments to justifY one'S opinion, but there is no
objective procedure for demonstrating outcomes as right or wrong, and no reason to
expect the same outcome from different individual or on different occasions.

Pattison (1987) (cited by Nunan, 1989:68) also proposed seven activity types. These are as
follows:

I. Question and answers

These activities are based on the notion of creating an information gap by letting learners
make a personal and secret choice from a list of language items which all fit into a given
frame (e.g. the location of a person or object). The aim is for learners to discover their
classmates' secret choices. This activity. can be used to practice almost any structure,
function or notion.

14
 2. Dialogue and role-plays
These can be who lly scripted or wholly improvised, however, if learners are given some
choice of what to say, and if there is a clear aim to be achieved by what they say in their
role-plays, they may participate more willingly and learn more thoroughly than when
they are told to simply repeat a given dialogue in pairs.
3. Matching activities
The task for learners is to recognize matching items, or to complete pairs or sets.
4. Communication strategies
These are activities designed to encourage learners to practice communication strategies
such as paraphrasing, borrowing or inventing words, using gesture, asking for feedback,
simplifying.
5. Pictures and picture stories
Many communication activities can be stimulated through the use of picture (e.g. spot the
difference, memory test, and sequencing pictures to tell a story).
6. Puzzle and problems
Once again, there are many types of puzzles and problems. These require learners to
make guesses, draw on their general knowledge and personal experience, their
imagination and test how their power of logical reasoning.
7. Discussions and decisions
These require the learners to collect and share information to reach a decision (e.g. to
decide which items from a list are essential to have on a desert island).

Regarding to levels of difficulty in communicative activities, Stern (1992: 199-20 I) proposes that
it is important to develop criteria to assess the difficulty of a communicative activity for learners
of different degrees of proficiency. He devises the following criteria:

a. The predictability- unpredictability dimension. Language teaching techniques have

often been criticized on the grounds that much of the task is predictable, and new
information is rarely tran smitted from the speaker to the listener.
b. Length of an utterance. Brown and Yule (1983:16) in their analysis of conversational
Eng lish, make a simp le distinction between 'short turns' and 'long turns'. It is

15
 obvious that long turns are more demanding than short turns In comprehension as
well as production.
c. Contextual support. Communicative act ivities which are embedded in practical
activities, for example, cooking whi le-Jistening to instructions or doing art work under
verbal guidance are easier to handle than, say, following an hour lecture on
philosophy. In school settings, subject matter drawn from history, which makes use of
abstractions and relies mainly on speech or written text, is more demanding
linguistically than art or physical education, both of which are visual and involve
movement.
d. Familiarity of content. SUbject matter with which the L2 learner is familiar is easier to
handle than topics which are entire ly novel.
e. Clarity and familiarity of delivelY. If voices are clear they are more manageable for
L2 learner. Familiarity with the style of delivery is also helpful.
f. Stress. Communicative activities are likely to be more difficult to engage in for a
second language learner under cond itions of stress, discomfort, fatigue, physical
danger, emotional distress, or host ility than in calm and positive formed situation.

2.4.4 Learners' Roles

"Role" refers to the part that learners and teachers are expected to play in carrying out learning
tasks as well as social and interpersonal relationship between the participants (Nunan, 1989).
Learner roles refer to background knowledge, confidence, personality, motivation, learning pace,
ability in language skills, cultural knowledge/awareness, and linguistic knowledge (Richards and
Rodgers, 2001).

In analyzing tasks in terms of powers and control, Nunan (1989:86) writes" Drills and the like

------
vest power in teacher, while communicative tasks such as role plays, problem-solving ta~ks

simulations give much more control to the learner." This shows that in the traditional approach,
\ -
and

learners are the passive recipients of the language learning process. They have little control over
their learning or no chance to raise their voice about what and how to teach. They are supposed
to wait passively to be scrammed with the huge amount of theoretical knowledge.

16
However, when doing communicative tasks, students are required to put language to a range of
uses, to negotiate meaning, to draw on their own resources rather than simply repeating and
absorbing language. Moreover, learners are also considered as the negot iators of the learning
process, they can negotiate with the teacher what to speak about and how to do it. They are
forced to learn how to work well in groups negotiating with partners to reach a [mal product,
which then can be appreciated by their classmates.

2.4.5 Teachers' Roles

As students, several roles are assumed for teachers in CLT. Teacher roles refer to teacher
function (e.g. as controller, director, co unse lor etc.), his degree of control over learning tasks,
teacher responsibility as to content and the interactional patterns between teacher and learners
(Richard and Rodgers 200 I).

In contrast to the traditional role of the teachers as the so le- provider of the knowledge and the
dec ision makers of all c lass activities, teachers using communicative tasks play the following
role: First, he is a facilitator to help the communication among participants run through. He is
supposed to help the learners better express, their expectation and direct learners' active
participation to what is most beneficial to the educational purposes. Sccond, the teacher acts as
the active partic ipant in the learning process, genuinely engaging in the class and contributing his
ideas, opinions or relating personal exper iences. Third, the teacher can function as an observer,
put himself into learners; pos ition to assume and notify their difficulties.

2.4.6 Settings

Setting refers to the classroo m managements specified or implied in the task, and it also requires
consideration of whether the task is to be carried out wholly or partly outside the classroom. It
also implies the instructional setting where pedagogical conditions are treated (Nunan 1989). He
distinguishes between two aspects of the learning situation. He refers to these as "mode" and
"environment". Learning ' mode ' refers to whether the learners are operating on an individual or
group basis. 'Environment ' , which is closely connected with mode, refers to where the learning
actually takes place. It might be a conventional classroom in a language center, a community
class, an industrial or an occupat ional sett ing, a se lf-access learning center and so on.

17
Until comparatively recently, it was assumed that learning would take place inside a
conventional classroom. However, in many educational institutions, particularly those catering
for adult learners, more flexible arrangements and options are being experimented with.

Goals Teacher roles

~ ~
Inputs • Task ~ Learner roles

Activities
~ ~ Settings

Figure 1: A Framework for Ana lyzing Co mmunicative Tasks

(Source: Nunan 1Q89 :11)

2.5 The Nature of Speaking Tasks (Activities)

As it is portrayed by Nunan (1989), 'activities' specify what learners will actually do with the
input which forms the point of departure for the learning task. Due to this, balanced
communicat ive activities play an important role in language to improve; communicative skills of
the learners in the classroom. On the su bject of this, Richards and Rodgers (2001) reveals that
learning activities are selected according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and
authentic language use rather than mechanical practice of language patterns. More to the point, to
arrive at a degree of autonomy, the ro le of co mmunicative activities p laya decisive role since the
students are able to take part in the language interactively. Similarly, Harmer (1991 :50-51)
asserts, "Communicative activities are those exhibit the characteristics at the communicative end
of our continuum." Students are somehow involved in activities that give them both the desire to
communicate and a purpose, which invo lves them in a varied use of language. Moreover, there
are some criteria to identify a good communicative task based on its theoretical feature s.

18
According to Nunan (1989), a good task can be realized if it comes up with the following
requirements.

a. The Task has to be Motivating

Scholars in general agree that motivation is the most important factor affecting success in
language learning. What is motivation? According to Harmer (1991), "Motivation is some kind
of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action. If we perceive a goal
(that is, something we want to achieve) and if that goal is s!ifficiently attractive, we will be
strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal (p. 3)." This means that if
students are highly motivated, they will succeed regardless of the methods used or the
circumstances in which they study.

Ur (1996) claims "that 'motivation' on its own is rather difficult to define. It is easier and more
useful to think in terms of the 'motivated learner ': one who is willing or even eager to invest
efforts in learning activities and to progress (p.' 274)." She adds thai there are many ways to
motivate learners, but one of the most important is to make the tasks and lessons interesting. This
requires careful choice and planning of topics and tasks, and most of all, the teacher's ability to
transmit her own motivation to the students.

Willis (1996) mentions motivation as one of the essential conditions for effective language
learning. She says that motivation is the key to success in language learning, and success and
satisfaction are key factors in sustaining motivation. If students get good results, they will be
more willing to continue participating in class and use the language outside the classroom. Some
students have personal long-term motivation such as travelling,. studying abroad or getting a
better job. Other students, however, come to our classes because it is a school requirement or
because parents or bosses want them to learn English. Careful selection of topics and tasks can
serve to motivate them in the short term. Since for many students the contact with English is
limited to the class the time, it is also important to motivate them to continue learning outside the
olassroom: chatting with Internet friends, playing computers game, listening to songs and reading
in English. Atkins, Hailom and N uru (1995) also maintains that students are more likely to
participate actively if they believe that participation in the activity will be enjoyable and relevant

19 •
to something they need to learn. According t6 these scholars, the stronger the students' sense of
purpose for speaking, the more likely they will participate actively.

b. The Task has to Address the Students' Needs.

The second characteristic of successful tasks is that the task has to address the students' needs,
be appropriate to achieve the goals and designed' according to the. proficiency level of the
students, that is, not too easy, not too difficult, but challenging.

Needs-based courses emerged out of communicative approaches to language teaching. Selection

of tasks, according to Long and Crooks 1993(in Richards & Rodgers, 200 I) should be based on a
careful analysis of the real-world needs of learners. This view is also supported by Nunan (1999)
when he says that "Rather than fitting students to courses, courses should be designed to fit
students (p. 148)." In order to find out what the needs of specific group of students are, a need
analysis has to be carried out. A need analysis is "Sets of tools, techniques, and procedures for
determining the language content and learning process for specified group of learners (Nunan,
1999:149)." He makes a distinction between two types of needs: objective (those that can be
diagnosed by teachers based on analysis of personal data, language proficiency and patterns of
language use) and subjective needs (the students ' wants, desires; expectations, or other
psychological manifestations of a lack). The latter are more difficult to diagnose and in many
cases can only be stated by the students themselves. Both are important though and should be
taken in to consideration when designing a co urse.

Richterich 1972 (in Nunan 1999) also draws a distinction between initial and ongoing needs.
Initial needs analysis is carried out before a course begins, and ongoing needs analysis refers to
the relatively informal analysis carried out once a course has begun. However, in most
educational system the teachers are only in position to engage in ongo ing needs analysis since
they usually get information about the students when the course starts. According to Nunan
(1999) one way for teachers to get information about the students' ongoing needs is
incorporating in to their lessons tasks that require the students to contribute ideas about what
should be learned and how it should be learned. This will provide the teacher with an instant
"snapshot" of group interests and performance.

20
 c. The Task has to be Meaningful to the Students

Another important characteristic of tasks is that they have to be meaningful to the students. This
meaningfulness principle is an important element in Communicative Language Teaching:
language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process. Consequently, learning
tasks should be selected according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and
authentic language use rather than tasks which merely promote mechanical practice of language
patterns (Johnson 1982, Littlewood 1982, in Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Halliday (1975) also
emphasizes that in a meaningful task students are asked to exchange information among
themselves in small groups and/or with the teacher. This kind of student collaboration has two
benefits. First, the whole class actively participates in a task at the same time and students can
then compare their fmdings when the task is over; and second, the meaningful task is rehearsed
in class for later use in real communication outside the classroom.

d. The Task must Elicit Real Communication

A fourth characteristic is that the task must elicit real communication, and promote conversation
in English. This means that there has to be an exchange of information with feedback. Ur (1996)
..--...,
claims that "Of all the language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems
intuitively the most important: people who know a language are referred to as 'speakers' of that
language ... (p. 120)." She adds that classroom tasks that develop learners' ability to express
themselves orally are, therefore, an important component of a language course. According to Ur,
the following characteristics must be present in successful speaking tasks: a lot of learner talk,
even participation, high motivation, and an acceptable level of language use. However, the types
of tasks, she adds, are difficult to des ign and administer. Some of the problems that teachers
might encounter are inhibition, nothing to say, low or uneven participation, and mother-tongue
use. Some of these problems can be solved by using group work, basing the activity on easy
language, making a careful choice of topic task to stimulate interest, giving some instruction or
training in discussion skills, and keeping students speaking the target language. A good topic is
one to which learners can relate and talk about by using ideas from their own experience and
knowledge. [n general, task-centered activities are favored by teachers over topic-centered
. .
discussions because there is more talk, more even participation, more motivation and enjoyment.
However, there are students who prefer topic-centered discussions such as debates because they

21
find them interesting, and they can analyze issues more deeply. Both should be included in a
balanced program.

Harmer (199 I) claims that when deciding how to approach the teaching and learning of English,
we can divide classroom activities into two broad categories: those that give students language
input, and those which encourage them to produce language output. Input by itself is not enough.
We have to provide opportunities for the students to activate their knowledge and produce
language that they can select from the input they have received. Output activities allow students
to rehearse language use in the classroom conditions and receive feedback from teachers, peers,
and themselves.

Moreover, as spoken language package and as so.me writers' works show, for instance, as Brown
and Yule, (1983) state, the speaking skill should be integrated with at least with the listening
skill. According to Harmer (199 I) and Jan Bell and Roger Gower cited in Tomlinson (1998),
language is a combined skill where everything depends on everything else. It is true that one skill
cannot be performed without another. In many cases the same experience or topic leads to use of
many different skills. So teaching materials should try to reflect this. For example, where
students practice reading, the text should help as a spring bond for practicing other skills. At the
very least we listen and speak together, and read and write together. In addition to this, including
pictures for communicative purposes, in the design of spoken course materials, is recommended
by Bygate (1987).

e. The Tasks must have a Purpose that goes Beyond a Classroom Exercise

Another important characteristic, which is closely related to the previous one, is that the task
must have a purpose that goes beyond a classroom exercise. According to Harmer (1991), if a
task is to be genuinely communicative and promote language use, the students should have a
desire to communicate, they should have a purpose for using the language, and this purpose
should be the most important part of the communication. Therefore, the students' attention
should be centered on content - what is being said or written - and not on the language form that
is being used.

Willis (1996) also supports this idea. She says that learners need opportunities to communicate
what they want to say and express what they want to feel or think. She adds that practice

22
activities that are not meaning-focused - activities where the aim is to practice specific forms
and functions - have been found inadequate to promote learning.

In EFL settings, students might not have the opportunity to get enoug.h or any exposure to the
target language or opportunities to use it in real communication outside the classroom; therefore,
focused instruction, that is, drawing attention to language form, is important to help the students
to improve more rapidly and to continue improving. Willis (1996) recommends tasks which aim
at promoting awareness of language form, making students aware of particular language
features, and encouraging them to think about them. These tasks are likely to be more beneficial
in the long run than form-focused activities aimed at automating production of a single item.
Instructors can design consciousness-raising activities to highlight specific aspects of language
that occur naturally both in the students ' reading and listening texts. These exercises can give
them a chance to ask about other features they notice for themselves. The linguistic element(s) to
be taught, however, must be based on the students' needs. After the students perform the tasks,
teachers have to select the grammatical and other linguistic elements that need to be taught or
reinforced based on the tasks used in the previous tasks.

f. The Task Should Preferably be Fair for Pair or Group Work

For some years, methodologists have recommended the use of group work in FLiSL classrooms.
They claim that carefully structured interaction between students contributes to gains in FLiSL
acquisition. Pedagogical arguments have been used to support this claim: group work increases
the quantity and quality of student talk, individualizes instruction, promotes the acquisition of
global language skills, creates a positive affective climate in the classroom and increases student
motivation (Nunan, 1989).

Seligson (1997) claims that "if language is viewed as an interactive tool, then it should be taught
interactively. Speaking is an active process rarely carried out in isolation, so it's a natural
framework for interaction, i.e. talking to somebody as in real life (PAZ)". He also believes that
students learn by doing things for themselves, and group work provides an opportunity to do so.
In addition, it is more motivating for students and teachers once they're used to it. Moreover,
since the teacher does not have to control everything, he/she is freer to listen to more students at
once and offer more individual help. On the other hand , group work is a way of treating students

23
 ,

with respect and encouraging them to work more autonomously. They can help each other,
which aids maturity and makes them less dependent on us.

Ur (1996) mentions other advantages of group work: it foster learner responsibility and
independence and contributes to a feeling of cooperation and warmth in the class. She adds,
however, that these potential advantages are not always realized because teachers are afraid to
lose control of the students, there may be too much noise, the students may over-use their mother
tongue, do the tasks badly or not at all; all their fears are all founded. However, some of these
problems can be solved if we use Cooperative Learning (CL) techniques. Instructors should
become familiar with the principles underlying CL and follow their reco mmendations so that
group work tasks can be highly successful.

g. The Texts in Tasks Should be Authentic

Another characteristic of communicative tasks is the use of authentic texts. Nunan (1999:79-80)
defines authentic texts as "those that have been produced in the course of genuine
communication and not specially designed for language teaching purposes". Authentic texts
provide students with practice on listening to and reading genuine language drawn from a variety
of source. Examples of authentic materials include texts, videotapes, audio recordings, mini-
lectures, TV and radio broadcasts, conversations, interviews, announcements, field trips,
community resources, student knowledge, web resources and visual aids (posters, maps, bulletin
boards, etc.) selected mostly from those produced for native speakers of the language. Practice
with these materials will help the students cope successfully with genuine communication
outside the classroom (Nunan 1999, Stryker and Leaver (1997). Willis (1996) mentions another
advantage of working with authentic texts. They contain language features different from the
ones we might be focusing on in the particular class, so if some students are not developmentally
ready to internalize the target feature, they can benefit from other linguistic aspects included in
the texts, for example, vocabulary and expression. As a result, individual students will probably
be learning different language aspects.

Since teachers will very often be working with texts which are beyond the current proficiency
level of the students, it is important to be sk illful .enough to use authentic materials in such a way
that most students can benefit fi'om them regardless of their leve l of proficiency. In addition,

24

,
when selecting the content, teachers should look for familiar topics for which students already
posses the linguist ic, content and background knowledge.

h. The Task must Include a Pre-task, a While-task, and a Post-task

According to the researchers, another characteristic of vital importance for successful

performance of tasks is that the activity must include a pre-task, a while-task, and a post-task.
Although we find different terminology, methodologists generally agree that a task must include
an introduction, the task itself, and a fo 1I0w-up.

According to Harmer (1991) the organization of an activity and the instructions the teacher gives
are of vital importance for the students to be able to perform the task satisfactorily. He says that
an activity can be divided in to the following parts: a lead-in, where the teacher introduces the
topic; instruct, where slhe tells the students exactly what to do and demonstrate the activity ;
initiate, the students perform the task, and finally slhe organizes feedback.

As it was mentioned before, advocates of Task-based learning also support this point of view.
They believe that for a task tom promote constant learning and improvement, it should be seen as
one component of a larger framework. This framework consists of three phases: pr-task, task
cycle and language focus. The first two stages fulfill the essential conditions for language
learning, and the last, the desirable one.

2.6 Roles of Textbooks

Textbooks have vital and positive roles to play in the day to day language teachings and their
importance has become even greater and greater from time to time. They are also critical
ingredients in learning the intended curriculum: They are a media through which teacher and
pupils communicate with each other in an effort to forward the teaching and learning process.
The principal advantages of textbook in EFLIESL classroom forwarded by Richards and Rodgers
(2001) and Ur (1996) are:

(I) They provide structure and syllabus for a program;

(2) They help standardize instructions;

(3) They provide a variety of learning resource;

25

.'
(4) They can provide effective language models and input and

(5) Provide readymade texts and tasks.

In most educational systems, the re lationship that may exist between teacher, students and
textbook is extremely important. To this end, Allwright (1999) asserted that materials shou ld
teach students to learn that they should be resource books for ideas and activities for instruction
and that they should give teachers rationales for what they do. In addition, Cunningsworth (1995)
stated that textbooks can be used as guidance for teachers who are inexperienced or occasionally
unsure of their knowledge of the language and as a medium of initial teacher training.

As Sheldon (1988:237) suggests textbooks not only "represent the visible heart of any ELT
program" but also offer considerable advantages for both students and the teacher when they are
being used in the ESLIEFL classroom. He similarly suggests that one of the primary advantages
of using textbooks is that they are psychologically essential for students since their progress and
~

achievement can be measured concretely when we use them. Another advantage identified by
Cunnings wOlth (1995) is the potential which textbooks have for serving several additional roles
in the ELT curriculum. He argues that they are an effective resource for self-directed learning, an
effective resource for presentation material, a source of idea and activities, a reference source for
students, a syllabus where they reflect predetermined learning objectives and support for less
experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence.

Generally, the textbook is almost a universal element of ELT material. Millions of copies are
sold every year, and numerous aid projects have been established to produce them in various
countries because no teaching learn ing situation is complete without a relevant textbook
(Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). In addition, a good textbook which is properly emp loyed can
bring about effective and long lasting changes in the learners.

26

,
------ ----- --
 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS OF THE STUDY

3.1 Research Design

As already indicated in chapter one, the main aim of this study was to anal:yze the extent to
which the speaking tasks suggested in cu rrent ly in use Grade 12 English textbook were well
structured or organized in a way that they co uld ,promote speaking skil,l. In order to achieve this
objective, a qualitative research design was relevant and appropriate since the problem under
investigation has qualitative aspect, i.e" analyzing the presentation and design of tasks in Grade
12 English textbook. Thus, in analyzing the speaking tasks, it was necessary to group the
activities based on components of communicative tasks as well as their particular characteristics
and then to express them in terms of numbers and percentages for interpretation. On top of that,
some typical examples of the speaking activities have been analyzed and described in words.

3.2 Source of Data

The data of the study was collected from Grade 12 English syllabus and students' textbook. The
main target of the study was the speaking tasks in the textbook. The Grade 12 English text~

was selected because it is the book of learners W RO are matured enough,and so are prov ~ed'w it~
plenty of tasks to master their spoken language ability. Besides, they are preparing the/nselves
for university education where they w ill be highly exposed to the use of target language.

3.3 The Instrument

Content analysis was the major instrument used in this study. The speaking sections of the
currently in use Grade 12 Engli sh textbook were examined to analyze the nature of
communicative (tasks) activities in the textbook. Thus, the speaking tasks in the speaking
sections of each unit of the textbook were eva luated and analyzed based on,the bas ic elements
(components) of communicative tasks. The basic components of communicative tasks included
goals, inputs, activities, roles (of both learners and teachers) and setting (see Appendix A). These
components of communicative tasks were used to analyze the nature of-the speaking tasks and to
see the extent to which these activities promote the speak ing ski ll.

\
27
3.4 Methods of Data Analysis

The researcher used Nunan (1989) fi'amework to analyze the data gathered from the textbook. He
evaluated the speaking tasks in the textbook for Grade 12 in order to find out the extent to which
they promote speaking skills. After gathering the relevant data for the study using analysis of the
speaking tasks in grade 12 textbook, the researcher categorized the data thematically in order to
interpret them. In doing so, the researcher found 29 speaking activities in the textbook and
evaluated them focusing on their goals, inputs, act ivities, roles and setting.

In addition, the researcher tried to eva luate the nature of the speaking tasks emphasizing on
whether they: are motivating, address the students' needs (their proficiency level), elicit real
communication, are meaningful to the students, have a purpose that goes beyond a classroom
exercise, are fair for pair or group work, include a pre-task, a while-task, and a post-task and the
texts (inputs) in tasks are authentic (see Appendix B). Besides, fifteen typical speaking activities
fi'om the textbook were analyzed and described in words.

The researcher used checklist for evaluat ing the speaking tasks to check whether they were
consistent with current theories of communicative tasks. Finally, conclusions and
recommendations were made based on the findings of the research.

3.5 Data Organization and Presentation

Data fi'om textbook analysis were organized and described in two' main categories. These
categories included the evaluation of speak ing tasks based on the components of communicative
tasks such as goals of the tasks, inputs, activities, roles of learners and teachers and setting.
Under the evaluation of the speaking task (activities), the occurrence of these basic components
of communicative tasks was tallied, tabulated and discussed descriptively. Moreover, analys'isof
the nature of the speaking activities in each unit under each component (element) in relation to
the checklist was qualitat ively described and discussed.

)
28

..
 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Data from the Textbook Analysis

4.1.1 Speaking Tasks (Activities)

Grade 12 English textbook has nine units in which each unit is divided into six sections: reading,
vocabulary, language pattern (grammar), speak ing, listen ing and writing. The speaking section is
placed at different positions in each unit with different speaking activities. Table 1 below
presents the total number of speaking act ivit ies in the textbook with their mode of presentation
and periods allocated to carry out these activities in each unit.

Table 1: Distribution of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

Units Number of activities

,
Periods *
Unit One 3 4

Unit Two 4 4 ,
Unit Three I 4

Unit Four 6 4

Unit Five 3 4

Unit Six 3 4

Unit Seven 7 5

Unit Eight 1 4

Unit Nine I ' 4

Total 29 37
NOTE: * One period IS 40/45 mmutes

As it is indicated in Table I above, there are 29 speaking activities in the 9 units of the Grade 12
English text book. Regarding the distribution of the acJivities, there is uneven distribution of the
speaking tasks in different units. For instance, there is only one speaking activity in each unit of
3, 8, and 9, and there are 3 speaking activities in each unit of I , 5 and 6. Unit two contains four
activities, while unit seven comprises seven activities. This implies that the distributio n of the

29
speaking activities under the speaking sections of each unit of the textbook varies from unit to
unit. It is also clear that the numbers of the speaking activities do not match with the allocated
time to carry out the suggested speaking activities in each unit of the textbook. For instance,
units 3, 8, and 9 have four periods each involving only one activity. However, unit two involving
six activities has the same time as these units (i.e., 4 periods). This shows that the time allocated
for the activities under each unit does not consider the amount of the activities in each unit of the
textbook. This may have an impact on the practice of the learners. That is, the time given for the
activities may restrict the students from practicing the speaking activities as expected.

Therefore, it is possible to infer that the practice of the communicative tasks is not frequently and
consistently presented in each unit of the textbook. Consequently, the learners may not get
proportionally equal opportunities to practice the speaking (oral communicative) tasks frequently
throughout the speaking lessons.

4.1.2 Evaluation of the Speaking Tasks

4.1.2.1 Aspects in Relation to Goals

The first important feature to be treated in evaluating a communicative task is to check the
existence of a key list of objectives that provide students with an opportunity to determine for
themselves where they are going and what they can expect to achieve.
/

30
Table 2: The Objectives of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

No. Components of Units Occurrences of the Speaking Tasks' Goals (Objectives) in

Communicative Each Unit
Tasks
I Goals I Giving solutions to problems
2 Agreeing or disagreeing with some one's opinion and
supporting one's own views .
Expressing one's ideas on the contribution to the
Labour Force

3 -
4 Giving praise and compliments
Using modal verbs to express intentions, habits and
ability
5 -
6 Expressing one's feelings of satisfaction, annoyance,
dissatisfaction about taxation practices
7 -
8 Identifying issues related to the topic, discussing and
presenting them to the class .
9 -

Table 2 above shows that the textbook provides objectives for the speaking sections at the
beginning of some of the units so that the learners may contemplate what they are expected to do
during the activities. It is suggested that objectives have to be unambiguous, jargon-free and
concise. They should identify clearly what the students should be able to do and provide the
means by which they can determine for themselves whether they have achieved them or not. This
might be done by providing students with activities related to each objective.

However, not all the objectives of teaching speaking skill are explicitly stated in the textbook in
~

such a way that the students coul5i easily understand how to practice. the speaking activities in
each unit of the textbook. In addition to this, fi'om the total nine wlits of the textbook, some
particular units do not have specific objectives for the speaking sections. These units include
Unit Three, Unit Five, Unit Seven and Unit Nine (see Appendix C). In other words, these
speaking activities are those which do not help learners to generate ideas and to plan what and

31
how to do in practicing the oral communicative tasks. Only some speaking activities have clearly
stated objectives which help learners to follow and act according to the pre-suggested goals. This
implies that the textbook does not fully encourage learners in achieving the intended target since
the majority of the speaking tasks do not guide them properly towards a certain goal. ~

In fact, the syllabus of the textbook attempted to speculate objectives of the speaking tasks at the
beginning of each unit. Nevertheless, stating the goals (objectives) of the activities in the
syllabus alone would not be sufficient (for the implementation of the goals) since the students do
not have the syllabus in hand. Furthermore, the textbook does not have teacher guide which is
supposed to involve specific objectives for each section in each unit and from which teachers
would get additional directions and guidance on how to manage the students when doing the
activities. This makes the textbook of poorer quality for it does not make the students to master
the syllabus ' objectives for oral English.

As it has been stated in the literature pmt, goals are the necessary elements of communicative
tasks and they playa very impOltant role in the whole process of communicative activities.
Communicative activities with no goa ls cannot encourage learners ' interest in verbal
participation; when communication is with no goals, this activity is not a real task. [n line with
this, Nunan (1989) states that without clearly articulated sets of goal statements, there is a risk
that task-based language teaching programs will lack coherence. On the other hand, regarding
the goals ' relevance to the communicative needs of the students, he also explains that the goals
which reflect the communicative needs of learners have greater face validity than those in which
the goals are either unstated, inexplicit, 01' which do not reflect learners ' goals.

Therefore, it would be possible to say that the goal s of the oral communicative activities in the
text book are not explicitly stated. If the goa ls of the communicative activities are not explicitly
stated in the textbook, it may be a cause for the students' poor speaking skill. This is because of
the fact that they see the textbooks as a i'i'amework or guide that helps them to organize their
learning both inside and outside the classroom- during discussions in lessons, while doing
activities and exercises, studying on their own, doing homework, and preparing for tests.

So, lack of clearly stated goals in the students' textbook might make them misguided. For this
reason, they do not encourage learners' interest in verbal participation and the students would not

32
be motivated to do the activities. When the students are not encouraged and motivated in doing
the speaking activities in the textbooks appropriately, the aims of the co mmunicative tasks in the
course book would not be achieved. Thus, since the goal of teaching communicative activities is
not met, a failure will be created in students' ora l proficiency or performance.

4.1.2.1.1 Nature of the Speaking Tasks Regarding the Objectives

The nature of the speaking tasks mentioned under the speak ing sections of the textbook reveals
that the goals of the tasks, to some extent, cons idered the needs and interests of the learners.

Example 1

Exercise 2 (p.9) Do you know any riddles in your first language? Select them in groups and translate
them in English. Then ask your friends to solve these riddles.

Exercise 6 (51-52) In groups study the situations identified below and provide congratulations for each.
You can do this either by taking turns orally or by writing your sentences and then sharing them with the
class. Use expressions such as 'I would like to congrahtlate you on ".May I offer you my congratulations
on".you deserve to be congrahilated on".

Situations
1. Your sister is graduatingfrom her university.
2. Your father has ohtained a promotion.
3. A neighbor is getting married.
4. A friend has won a prize in the lottery.
5. Your uncle has bought a new model car.
6. A classmate has won a scholarship abroad.
7. A friend is placedfirst among all 12 sections in your school.

As the above example indicates, in the speaking section of unit one, the students are expected to
give solutions to riddles. Here, they are enco uraged to practice a type of communicative activity
which is motivating and powerful in arousing the students' interests. However, though the goals
of oral communicative activities in this unit meet the needs and interests of learners, it is not
explicitly stated. The statement "Giving. so lutions to problems" (see Appendix C) does not .
clearly show the exact objective anticipated to be carried out in the tasks.

Similarly, under the speaking sect ion of unit four, they are asked to practice congratulating
people on a certain occasions. This 2ctivity pushes the students to apply what they learn in
classroom (i.e. how to congratulate people on different situations) into their real-life situation. In

33
other words, they would not encounter any problem in congratulating people in various
circumstances.

On the other hand, as it has been said earlier, under the speaking sections of units 3, 5, 7, and 9,
the objectives of speaking tasks are not totally stated in the students' textbook. It would be very
difficult for the students to accomplish the tasks since there are no goals to be achieved. In other
words, they wou ld be discouraged to do the activities for they do not stimulate the learners. This
indicates that lack of clearly stated objectives would hinder the learners from doing and
practicing the tasks appropriately.

Therefore, it would be possible to conclude that though the goals of oral communicative
activities in the course book meet the needs and interests of learners, some of them are not
explicitly stated while others are totally unstated .

4.1.2.2 Aspects in Relation to Input

It is suggested that language input must be comprehensible and motivating for the material to be
useful as the major part of the language input comes from it.

Table 3: The Inputs of Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

No. Components of Units Occurrences of the Speaking Tasks ' Inputs in Each Unit
Communicative
Tasks
2 Inputs I A written text (case study)
2 Using authentiC materials (data) such as a newspaper
or magazine
3 -

4 -
5 Illustrations such as sketch and a diagramlmap
6 Model dialogue
7 -

8 -
9 Interviewing people
A questionnaire

34
As it is shown in the Table 3 above, an attempt \yas made, to some extent, to design the contents
of the activities as inputs in accordance with the goal of the tasks for they are selected on the
basis of the students' experiences and exposures. However, the contents as input do not give
adequate information to the students. This is because of the fact that the students are not
provided with ample authentic texts (materials) in addition to the textbook itself. For instance,
under the whole speaking sections of the textbook, there are only two illustrations (concerning
asking for and giving directions on pages 72 and 73, see Appendix C). Furthermore, the inputs
such as interviewing people and using data in newspapers and magazines are not provided as
input data in the textbook; rather they are g iven to the students as supporting materials to be used
when accomplishing their tasks. This shows that the activities do not give the learners the
opportunity to be involved in real communication by providing them with practice on listening to
and reading genuine language drawn from a variety of so urce.

Lack of such authentic materials (visual aids) will decrease the encouragement of students
thereby affecting their engagement in doing the activities. Moreover, since there are various
students with different learning styles 01' multiple intelligences, not providing the students with
such supporting materials would result in depriving such diverse students the opportunity of
learning comfortably with their own lea rning preferences.

In this regard, proponents of authentic mater ials point out that classroom texts and dialogues do
not adequately prepare learners for coping wit h language they hear in the real world outside the
class room and thus, they argue that learners should get oppoltunities for engaging in the real
world texts in class. Therefore, the input data, which task participants are supposed to
comprehend and manipulate in communicative 'process, should reflect the learners' needs and
interests, thereby positively encouraging the use of the target language.

Therefore, it would be possible to say that even though the contents of activities as input are
selected on the bas is that they are closer to the students' experiences and exposure, they do not
give sufficient information. From this, it is possible to infer that contents as input in the activities
do not adequately prepare learners for coping successfully with genuine oral communication
outside the classroom.

35
4.1.2.2.1 The Nature of the Inputs in the Speaking Tasks

There are some activities in the textbook which promote the use of authentic materials. As it is
discussed in the literature part, using authentic materials will help the students as well as the
teacher in different ways. For instance, they provide students with practice on listening to and
reading genuine language drawn ITom a variety of sources such as ' texts, videotapes, audio
recordings, mini-lectures, TV and radio broadcasts, conservations, interviews, announcements,
field trips, community resources, student knowledge, web resources and visual aids (posters,
maps, bulletin boards) selected mostly from those produced for native speakers of the language.
Practicing with these materials will also help the students cope successfully with genuine
communication outside the classroom.

Table 4: Authentic Vs Inauthentic Inputs in the Speaking Tasks

Units Inputs in the Speaking Tasks

Number of Activities

Authentic Inauthentic Total

I 1 2 3

2 1 3 4

3 0 1 1
4 0 6 6

5 1 2 3

6 1 2 3

7 0 7 7

8 0 1 I
9 1 0 1

Total 5 24 29

% 17.2 82.8 100

36
,Table 4 above, shows that there are only five (17.2%) activities which involve authentic inputs
and that all the remaining activities lack authentic inputs. This indicates that the majority of the
activities (82.8%) provided in the textbook, do not promote the use of pictures, illustrations,
diagrams, graphs, etc. This also reveals that regarding this component of communicative task,
due considerations are not made in emphasizing addressing the learners' needs, interests, and
learning preferences. From this, it can be concluded that contents as input do not give sufficient
information to the students due to lack of adequate authentic materials.

Example 2

Exercise 4 (p. 25): IdentifY a topic of interest in a newspaper or magazine in groups of three students and
sum it up. Then, present the summmy of what you have read orally to the class.

Exercise 2 (p. 73): Look at the city map of Addis Ababa and ask your friend to give directions to places
shown on the map. Assume that you are at a place on the map- you agree with your friend. (see Appendix
C for details)

Exercise 1 (p. 87): Read about the incident described in the following {model} dialogue (see Appendix C
for details). {Then} Discuss the scenario in pairs and then produce a short dialogue in which you express
your complaints about the mistake in the bill.

As we can see from the above example, under the speaking section of unit two, the students are
ordered to use newspapers or magazines to do some activities. Again, under the speaking section
of unit five, the students are provided with sketch and maps (visual aids). Similarly, under the
unit nine, they are asked to work with their group and prepare a short talk on the topic "The
social and economic impacts of HIV/A IDS". These activities encourage students to the use of
authentic materials. When they use such authentic materials which are not especially designed
for language teaching purpose, they will involve in genuine and real communication. Therefore,
if they learn these activities with a support of authentic materials, on the one hand, they will
easily understand the tasks; on the other hand, they wi ll use these activities (which they have
learned inside the class room) appropriately outside it in different occasions. So, it is likely to say
that providing the students with such authentic materials will make the activities more
communicative.

37
However, as it is revealed previously, the number of such authentic rpaterials or the activities
supported by them is quite limited. It is below what is expected to be provided for the learners in
the textbook said to have communicative tasks. Therefore, to make the textbook more

communicative, addition of such authentic and supporting materials will be demanding.

4.1.2.3 Aspects in Relation to Activities

Table 5: The Activities in the Speaking Sections of Grade 12 English Textbook

No. Components of Units Occurrences of the Speaking Activities in Each Unit
Communicative
Tasks
3 Activities I Solving Riddles (in groups)
Interviewi~g some one
Discussing a case study (in groups)
2 . Exchanging views to persuade each other (in pairs)

. Summarizing a text and presenting it(in groups)

3 Panel discussion
4 Practicing dialogues and role-plays for praising,
complementing and congratulating people
Completing dialogues (in pairs)
5 Practicing a role-play for asking for and giving directions

6 Completing a dialogue(in pairs)

Practicing a role-play for complaining people
Preparing a short dialogue on a given situation(in pairs)
7 Taking turns to invite a partner(in pairs)
Completing and practicing a dialogue(in pairs)
Preparing a short conversation on a given situation
8 Group discussion on a given issue and its presentation
9 Preparing and presenting short oral reports(in groups)
Interviewing people (in groups)
Completing a questionnaire individually and discussing it
 •

As it can be seen from Table 5 above, activities in the speaking sections in the textbook are
appealing and have a propensity to be communicative to some extent: They are good parts for
students to practice English. Besides, topics are sophisticated enough ranging from personal
daily life to social matters, from easy and familiar topics to more complex ones, which helps
students enrich experience, awareness of the real society and improve their background
knowledge. In the textbook, some speaking sections start with some preparation activity so that
students can gain enough knowledge as well as structures and language for their speech.
Furthermore, some speaking tasks and activities in Grade 12 English textbook, to a certain
extent, are well designed and instructed.

The speaking sections also focus on pair work and group work which are popular communicative
activities in classroom speaking period. Almost all of the speaking tasks in each unit of the
textbook promote the use of pair/group work. This indicates that students can interact with other
students, which means that they take turns to involve a good deal of listening and understanding
of how the others are feeling. Concerning the involvement of group work, most of the activities
are designed in a way which will allow learners to communicate and cooperate in groups. It can
be said that this is one of the best characteristics of communicative task appeared in the textbook
(even though it seems that it needs some modification). Students are much more motivated to
take part in speaking section.

The textbook also tried to incorporate some types of activities such as dialogues, role-plays,
puzzles and problems, discussions etc, to so lve the communicative problems of the students. In
other words, it provides the students with different types of activities to develop the students'
communicative competence. If students are presented with such communicative activities which
they could use in their real life communication, they would improve their speaking proficiency.
For instance, when practicing dialogues and role-plays in the classroom, the students are
indirectly developing the skills of conversation, self-confidence, pronunciation, fluency, eye
contact, etc which they use in their real-life communication. On the other hand, when they are
practicing puzzles, problems, discussions, etc they are developing the skills of problem solving,
decision making, interpretation and so on which in turn would make them competent enough in
speaking skill.

39

,
i
 ••
However, even though there are some communicative activities in the textbook, this would not
mean that they are enough or sufficient. Compared with the list of activities listed in the
literature by different scholars, the communicative activities provided in the text book are quite
limited. In addition, tasks and activities al'e not various in forms and styles. There are always
repetitive activities such as "work in pair/group and answer or disc~ss the questions" in the
textbook, which leads to students' boredom. Moreover, the supply of the activities in the
textbook is not uniformly distributed. For instance, there are six and seven speaking activities in
unit four and seven respectively; whereas units three, eight and nine contain only one activity
each. In connection to this idea, literature in the area tells that the more the presentation of
activities is flexible, the better it grabs the students' attention and consequently paves the way for
lively interaction.

Additionally, students are required to work in pairs but after that, one of them is called to talk in
front of the class while his or her partner is not, which means that not all students have chances
to practice what they have discussed. As a result, that part of speaking section is not really
efficient because students' mistakes are not corrected. Instead of that, jigsaw activity should be
presented. For example, students sho uld be given more chances to do the matching tasks with
numerous illustrations and afterward , they create a story or situation based on what is shown in
the pictures and retell to the class.

Besides, there are many other activities that should be added to this section in the English 12
textbook to make it more plentiful such as guessing games with using Yes-No questions or
information gathering activity in which students involve conducting surveys, interviews, etc.
Some of speaking lessons just provide students with suggested questions but not any key
vocabulary or structures for their speech. Only a few of lesso ns give useful language, examples
or models on given topic to help st udents in practicing speaking. Besides, some tasks and
activities in speaking section are inauthentic.

Therefore, it would be possible to say that since they lack variety and authenticity, the activities
do not fulfill the communicative needs of the learners satisfactorily.

4.1.2.3.1 Nature of the Speaking Activities

40
Table 6: Nature ofthe Speaking Activities in Grade 12 Euglish Textbook

~
'"
·E
Nature of the Speakiug Activities in Fulfilling the Following Characteristics of Communicative Tasks
::::l
\
Motivation Authenticity Proficiency Meaningfulness Real- Purposefulness Suitability of Stage\of Variability
al value level worldness tasks for tasks
)
pair/group
work
No. of No. of No. of No. of activities No. of No. of activities No. of No. of No. of
activities activities activities activities activities activities activities
'"<!J 0
z ro
~ '"<!J 0
Z
ro '"<!J
~
0
Z ~
no '"<!J 0
Z
ro
~ '"
<!J Z
0 ro
~ '"<!J 0
Z
ro
~ '"<!J 0
Z
ro
~ '"<!J 0
C
ro
~ '"<!J Z
0 ro
~
>- .('3. >- 0 >- 0 >- 0 >- 0 >- 0 >- 0 >- 0 >- 0
f- f- f- f- f- f- f- f-

1 3 0 3 ,1 2 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 2 1 3 0 3 0 3 0 3

2 4 0 4 1 3 4 4 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 4 4 0 4

3 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

4 6 0 6 0 6 6 6 0 6 6 0 6 6 0 6 6 0 6 4 2 6 6- 0 6 6 0 6

5 3 0 3 1 2 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 2 1 3 0 3 3 3 0 3

6 3 0 3 1 12 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 31 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3 3 0 3

7 6 1 7 0 7 7 6 1 7 6 1 7 6 1 7) 6 1 7 1 6 7 7 0 7 7 0 7
'i
8 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 'P- 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

9 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1

Total 27 2 29 . 5 24 29 ,. 28 1 29 27 2 29 27 2 29 27 2 29 19 10 29 20 9 29 27 2 29

... N 00
'"<Den
... .....; ....
'" '",.: .... ....
...
'*
..;
en
en
<D ...
0
0 ,.:
.... N
00. ...
0
0
'"
..; ...
0
0 ..;
en
en
<D ...
0
0
en
en
<D
0
...
0 ..;
en
en
<D
0
....
0 .,;
'" N
0
...
0 en
'" '"
0
0 ..;
en
en
<D
0
....0

41

-'
..../
•• I\,
 •

a) Regarding Motivational Values

The table above reveals that most of the speaking activities in the textbook are motivating. This
might be because of the fact that majority of the speaking tasks are prepared based on the
exposure and experiences of the learners.

Example 3

Exercise 1 (p.8-9) Solve the Jollowing riddles in groups. Remember thai a riddle is a verbal puzzle or
test.
1. ajlock oJsheep
on a red hill
here they go, there they go
now they stand still
2. My first is an apple and also in peer,
My second is in desperate and also in dare,
My third is sparrow and also in lark,
My Jorth is in cashier and also in clerk,
My fifih is in seven and also in ten,
My whole is a blessingJor women and men,
Who am I?

In the above example, in the speaking section of unit one of the textbook, learners are asked to
solve riddles in groups. In this activity, the students are asked to so lve the problems they are
familiar with. It is known that most of our cultures, in our context, have such riddles and children
(specifically) play them with their friends, peers, and so on at night and other times. The students
will be interested and encouraged to do such activities because they have known them since their
childhood. Regarding this point, Ur (1996) claims that though there are many ways to motivate
learners, one of the mo st impo11ant factors is t.o make the tasks and lessons interesting. It is
obvious that the task will be interest ing if it is familiar to the students. Therefore, it would be
possible to say that the above task is motivating.

In the speaking section of the second unit, learners are asked to express their agreement or
disagreement by discussing on so me controversial topics given in the textbook and exchange
views to persuade each other. Here, learners are encouraged to discuss and s hare ideas with one
another. In this task, the students are asked to discuss and exchange ideas on one of the following
propositions. Here is the example.

42
Example 4

Exercise 2 (p. 24): In pairs, now discllss olle of the following propositions and exchange views to
persllade ellch other.
1. Traffic accidents are largely caused by the negligence of drivers.
2. My mother is always advising me to get married before the age of 25.

When discussing on these topics, they will raise a number of issues both supporting and
opposing the propositions. S ince they do this task in groups, they will come up with different
ideas, opinions, information, etc and exchange informat ion with one another. Meanwhile, they
will develop different skills of oral communication. The aim of the tasks is to enable learners to
develop the talent of debating and persuasio n. In other words, when accomplishing the tasks,
they develop the skills of sharing experience, sense of self-esteem, decision making, etc. And
this is something they poss ibly get o uts ide the classroom in their daily soc ial interaction and real
communication. This would indisputably have a great role in developing the speaking skills of
,
the learners.

Similarly, in the speaking sect io n of unit fiv e and six, there are speaking activities in which
students are expected to study a dialogue and practice a role-play. Practicing a dialogue and role-
play has a great role in motivating students to be able to express themselves orally. Furthermore,
under unit five, the students are expected to look at the city map of Addis Ababa given in their
textbook (see Appendix C) and ask their friends to give directions to places shown on the map.
In addition to that, there is a sketch that illustrates standard expressions for giving information
(direction) in English. Providing students with such visual aids would motivate them in
comprehending the lessons easily and interest ingly.

Moreover, almost in all activities g ive n in the text book, the students are encouraged to do the
activities in pairs/groups. It is obvious that group, work has tremendous advantages which playa
major role in mot ivating students. For instance, increasing enjoyment, enhancing learning,
reducing anxiety, increasing se lf-esteem and se lf-direction, increasing learners' participation, etc.
are some of these advantages. Learners benefit a lot from working together rather than working
alone. In the classroo m where cooperative language learning is used, learners perceive much
more encouragement and SUpport for academic effOlt .

43
However, tasks and activities which are offered in the students' textbook are not various in forms
and styles. There are repetitions of instructions in the activities which may be a cause for
students' boredom. Besides, there are many other activities that should be added to this section in
the English 12 textbook to make it more plentiful. In relation to this, Dickinson (1987) warns that
if material writers keep students wallowing around doing a bit of this and a bit of that with no
clear idea of where they are going, the students will be less motivated.

As it is explicitly seen in the course book, since the course material 'does not provide a large
number and variety of oral communicative activities to the students in comparing to what is
listed in most literatures, it is difficult to say that the course book by itself motivates or
stimulates learners with a very limited variety of speaking activities.

Some activities did not seem to appear with the genuine interest of the learners because they did
not take into account their educational level, their ages, their learning objectives and the
composition ofthe class.

Example 5

Exercise 1(p.46): You are going to have a panel discussion on the following topic: Water
Resources in Ethiopia. Choose someone from the group who will note down the important paints
raised in the discussion.

This example which is in the speaking section of the third unit, orders students to have a panel
discussion on the topic " Water Resources in Ethiopia". These requirements do not raise learners'
interest and are irrelevant to students' practical purpose since they cannot help students improve
their speaking skill if they only match or arrange given sentences into dialogues or talks without
brainstorming to produce their own products and practice them. In that way, real communication
takes no place in the speaking period. It seems that it does not consider their needs and interests.

For this and other circumstances (Harmer 1991 :42), consolidates the analysis that by presenting
students with a variety of activities, which fit their ages and educational backgrounds, we can
ensure their continuing interest and involvement in the language program. Materials, which
continually have the same activities, are not likely to sustain interest, particularly where the
students have no extrinsic motivation and do not perceive any clear long-term goal. A program

44
that presents variety of activities, practice-oriented one, on the other hand, is far more likely to
continually engage the students' interest.

As far as supporting materials for developing one's speaking ability are concerned, the material
does not have an attractive appearance (visuals, layout, typography, etc). There is no a single
picture under the whole speaking sections of the textbook except the city map of Addis Ababa on
page 73 (see Appendix C). Along with this, the activities in the material do not seem to appear to
encourage the personal involvement of the learners in the learning process. Although some
activities require audio-visual and recorded materials, it is likely to say that those are absent in
the textbook. Along with this, although the pedagogic tasks in the textbook seemed situationally
authentic, there are no sufficient examples that are conveyed by authentic materials like pictures,
recording of news, newspaper articles, brochures, etc, which are used in the classroom to expose
the learners to language in real use.

Moreover, the absence of varied activities in their course books would restrain them to improve
their speaking proficiency. In short, it is likely to say that although the contribution of the course
book is not totally denied, the findings fi'om the course book itself by analyzing its contents show
that it does not look like an interesting and a remarkable one that enable learners to be
communicatively competent in a language.

From the above facts, it can be deduced that there will be a possibility to encounter a repetitive
and monotonous like approach of designing an activity in the students' material that will
probably bring a negative attitude towards the speaking activities in the material ( since the
speaking activities in their course materials are not inspiring). So, it is likely to say that preparing
the spoken materials in view of the communicative language teaching method plays an important
role in helping students to develop their speaking language proficiency (and the material by itself
has of a significant role for the students' communicative language achievement). In addition to
that the stimulating (exciting) features of the speaking activities portrayed in their textbook are
not thought provoking. In other words, the speaking activities that are depicted in their spoken
material lack motivational values. However, it is suggested that activities which are designed in
any sort of course material, need to be designed in a fascinating way for addressing learners'
interests.

45
 \ \

Therefore, to encourage participation, activities should arise from the scope of knowledge of the
learners. Speaking activities could be successful when their motivational values are high enough
in making students interested in the topics, exereises, activities, varieties, level of difficulties in
making learners eager to speak.

b) Regarding Addressing the Students' Needs (Proficiency Level)

According to the information in the Table 6, most of the activities given in the textbook are
appropriate to the level of the students. They are not beyond the standard of them nor below their
standard, but challenging. To take some sample from the textbook, under the first unit, the
students are asked to solve riddles or puzzles and to discuss a case study. The students cannot
easily predict the solutions of these activities (problems) even though they are familiar with
them. The activities are a little bit challenging that the students are expected to exert their
cognitive ability to solve these problems. This would make the difficulty level of the activities at
the right level.

In addition to this, the activities have contextual support in such a way that they ask the students
whether they know any riddle in their L 1, to collect and translate them into English, and ask each
other to solve the riddles. As it is mentioned above, the familiarity of the contents of the
activities makes it easier for the students to handle them. This is because of the fact that the
subject matter with which the L2 learner is familiar is easier to handle than topics which are
entirely novel.

Similarly, under the speaking section of unit five, the learners are asked to practice a short
dialogue using the sketch and the accompanying sentences given to illustrate standard
expressions for giving information in English.

Example 6

Exercise 1 (p. 71- 72): Study the following short dialogue and practice role-playing with a friend.
Then discuss the differences in the use of expressions in these dialogues . .. .. The following sketch
and the accompanying sentences illustrate standard expressions for giving information in
English, you need to study and practice them (see Appendix C for details).

46
The activity in this examp le addresses the students' needs in that it orders the learners to practice
what they do in their daily life or real-life communication.

Just next to this, the students are also asked to look at the city map of Addis Ababa and to ask
their friends to give directions to places shown on the map. As we can see, the above exercises
are presented in a context to make the activities easy and manageable for the students. First, they
were provided with a simp le dialogue to practice; then, they were given illustrations which help
them to give in formation about directions to places. Fina lly, they were ordered to ask and give
directions to places they are familiar with supported by a map (city map of Addis Ababa).
Therefore, it would be easy and encouraging for the students to do the activities by using the
clues (illustrations) as well as the context they know form their prior knowledge.

But, as it has been mentioned earlier, so me of the activities (regarding to asking and giving
information and expressing agreement and disagreement) given in the textbook (see Appendix C)
are not appropriate to the level of the students. They are below their standard. To take some
samp le from the textbook, under the second unit, the students are asked to demonstrate their
agreement or disagreement on some propositions. Much of the task is predictable, and new
information is rarely transmitted from the speaker to the listener. The students can easily predict
the so lutions of these activities (problems) since they are familiar with them from their previous
courses. This would make the difficulty level of the activ ities at the below the level of the
students.

So, one can easily infer from the above activities that even though there are some activities
which need some adjustments, mo st of them address the students' needs being at the right level
of their proficiency.

c) Regarding Meaningfulness of the Task

As language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process, learning tasks should
be selected according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and authentic language
use rather than tasks which merely promote mechanical practice of language patterns. In the
textbook almost all the speaking tasks provided are meaningful to the students. Table 6 also
shows that the majority (93. I %) of the speaking activities promote the principle of
meaningfulness. Let us see the fo llowing typical examples from the textbook.

47
Example 7

Exercise 2 (p. 49-50) Study the phrases under each heading. Then practice saying them in situations that
follow.

Compliment Response

I would like to compliment you on. ............ . . Thank you, It 's nice ofyou to say so.
I would like to complimenl you on. .. ............. It's nice 10 hear thaI from someone with yoW
experience
I think your (hair) is velY nice Thank you, buI it really isn 'I anylhing special.
Ijusl love your ... .. ....... ....... Thank you. Bul yours is even nicer.
The (chicken) is delicious I'm glad you like it
That's neat!lniceiprettylgood Thanks

Situation 1 Situation 2

A: That 's a great sweater. A: Hi, Tamiral, are those new ?

B: B:
A:
B:

Situation 3 Situation 4

A: Wellthankyoufor the A:
B: B: Oh, thanks. I just lost a hundred birr note.
A: res I really A:
B: B:

According to this example, under the speaking section of unit four,. the textbook orders the
students to study the phrases and expressions given under each heading (compliment and
response) . Then, to practice saying them in situations found in the textbook. They are also asked
to complete the dialogues based on the clues given and to play the roles of A and B (see
Appendix C). As we can observe, these activities are not form-based activities, rather they are
communicative, authentic, and meaningful for the students. The students are encountered with
such tasks (dialogues) in their day-to-day social interaction. In support of this idea, it is
suggested in the literature that effective interactive activities should be manipulative, meaningful
and communicative, involving learners in using English for a variety purposes.

48
 d) Regarding Real-worldness of the Task

Classroom tasks that develop learners ' ability to express their ideas/opinions orally are an
important component of language course. This characteristic of communicative tasks (i.e.,
eliciting real communication) focu ses on asking whether the tasks promote conversation or an
exchange of information in English. In other words, the tasks should not be confined to a mere
practice of language patterns/forms , instead, they should be able to engage the students in real
communication (i.e., what they possibly do outside the classroom).

As it is revealed in Table 6, several activities under the speaking sections in the textbook fulfill
this criterion. According to Vr (1996), the following characteristics must be present in successful
speaking tasks: a lot of learner talk, even participation, high motivation, and an acceptable level
of language use. Some strategies to bring about such characteristics are using group work, basing
the activity on easy language, making a careful choice of topic and task to stimulate interest,
giving some instructions or training in discu ss ion skills, and keeping students speaking the target
language.

For instance, under the speaking section of unit four, exercise 4 orders the students to be in pairs
and to identifY practical situations with regard to food, academic performance, outstanding job
done in the family, football player, writing neatly, saving a friend from car accident, etc and
decide on how to compliment and reply to the compliment. Then, they are asked to act on a
dialogue for the class and discuss their performance with their teacher and classmate.

As we can observe, the above activity elicits real communication as it fulfills almost all
characteristics mentioned above. First, there is a lot of learner talk. Since there is a dialogue
between the students almost the role of their teacher is insignificant and the students take a lion-
share role in participating in the task. In addition,. the topics the students, are supposed to identify
are clear and familiar to which they can relate and talk about by using ideas from their own
experience and knowledge. They are also asked to do the activity in pair/ group which in turn
allow them to have even participation. Making a careful choice of topics and letting the students
do the activities in group would highly motivate them and provides opportunities for them to
activate their knowledge and produce language that they can select from the input they have
received.

49
By the same token, under the section of unit six, students are asked to be in pairs and play the
roles of a receptionist and a guest who complains about the poor facilities of the hotel in which
he is lodging.

Example 8

Exercise 2(p.88): In pairs play the roles of a receptionist and a guest who complains about the poor
facilities ofthe hotel in which he is lodging.
Example: Guest: Excuse me
Receptionist:
Yes, can I help you?
Guest: I'm in room 28. I'm afraid the telephone isn 't working, the window's
broken, and it's too noisy. Have you got another room?
Receptionist: let me see, yes, you can have room 21.
Now make up your own cOllversatioll

In this activity, like the former one, we can see a lot of learner talk, even participation of the
learners, high motivation and acceptable level of language use. This is because of the fact that
the students are familiar with the selected topic, advocated to do in pairs and the activity is based
on acceptable level. So we can conclude that the activities can involve the learners In a
meaningful and real communication since they fulfill the principle of real communication.

Regarding the intelligibility of the activities (and their practices in real-life situation), one can
easily understand that the simplicity and intelligibility of the speaking activities and exercises are
not as such too easy to understand and clear to use for the learners, rather they have an
intermediate clarity. As to the use of the activities found in the real-life situation, one can easily
reckon that most of the students can use the speaking activities that are found in their spoken
materials in real life situation.

Providing students with diverse speaking (cOimnunicative) activities su.ch as role play, dialogue,
simulations, games and drama have their own contribution for one's improvement on speaking
skill. In addition to that, to assist students to develop their speaking proficiency, additional
materials beyond the text book have of paramount importance and learners are expected to use
resources like radio, TV, tape recorder and language laboratory.

50
In keeping with the general approach adopted by the course writers, a few of the exercises in
their sections endeavored to include communicative activities though their numbers are too few
and of pedestrian in directing them. It is known that the basic goal and rationale of the course is
to make learners communicatively competent, thus to make it real, activities need to be
integrated with other skills. However, in this course book little attempt was done to integrate the
skill of speaking with the other ones.

Generally, as spoken language package and as some writers ' works show, for instance, as Brown
and Yule, (1983) state, the speaking skill should be integrated with at least with the listening
skil l. It is true that one skill cannot be performed without another. In many cases the same
experience or topic leads to use of many different skills. So teaching materials shou ld try to
reflect this. For example, where students practice reading, the text should help as a spring bond
for practicing other skills. At the very least we listen and speak together, and read and write
together.

However, in the course material no attempt was made to integrate not only with that of listening
but also with other major skills except writing. As far as writing skill is concerned, the textbook
asks the students to write the summary of a passage or a text in their book and from other sources
such as newspapers or magazines. It also asks them to study the situations given in their textbook
and provide congratulations by writing their sentences in such a way that speaking and writing
skills are integrated under the textbook. In addition, the course book hardly includes illustrations
for communicative purposes. It seems to ignore the importance of illustrations for
communicative purposes, which is recommended to be included in the design of spoken course
material.

To sum up, most of the speaking tasks in the textbook elicit real communication. However, lack
of authentic and supporting materials as well as lack of integration of language skills can hinder
the students from using these speaking activities for real communication properly.

51
 e) Regarding Purposefulness of the Task

As it is indicated in the Table 6, the majority of the speaking tasks in the textbook have a
communicative purpose which goes beyond the classroom. In fact it is suggested that if a task is
to be genuinely communicative and promote language use, the students should have a desire to
communicate, they should have a purpose for using the language, and this purpose should be the
most important part of the communication. Therefore, the students' attention should be centered
on content - what is being said or written - and not on the language form that is being used. So,
it seems that the activities fulfill this criterion.

In addition, this characteristic of a communicative task is aimed at providing students with an

activity which help students not only to practice language form s in the classroom, but also to use
them in their day-to day activities (social interaction). The textbook consists of some of such
activities. For instance, under the speaking section of unit four, the students are asked to study
the short dialogue given and identify their category as: accepting or rejecting compliment and
giving the other person a similar compliment.

Example 9

Exercise 1(p.49): Study the short dialogues below and identifY the category they belong to (0, b, or c).
1. Ali: That's a beautifol dress you have on.
Zebiba: Oh, thank you I just got it yesterday.
2. Genet: I just love your hair that way! Did you do it yourself?
Senait: Oh, thanks. Yes, I did. Isn't yours a new style, too?
Genet: Yes, it is. Do you like it like this?
3. Friend: That was a great dinner. You must have spent all day cooking.
You: Thanks. But it really only took an hour.
4. Tekele: Wow, this is really a nice place!
Tigist: Thanks. I'm glad you like it.
There are three ways of replying to compliment
a. Accepting the compliment
b. Rejecting it or
c. Giving the other person a similar compliment.

52
When the students are practicing thi s dialogue (activity), they are not only practicing the
linguistic aspect of it, rather they are practicing how to accept, reject or give a similar
compliment to another person in their real world communication outside the classroom. They are
also learning the expressions/illustrations which help them to accept or reject a compliment in
their real life. It is clear that in real life, we always have a reason for speaking and so our
speaking activities should aim to reflect this wherever possible.

In a similar fashion, the speaking sect ion under unit eight, the students are asked to discuss the
issues of local unfavorable practices and how to avoid these practices, being in small group of
four to five. Again, this activity (discussion) is meaning focused and has a purpose that goes
beyond classroom exercises. In support of this, scholars recommend tasks which aim at
promoting awareness of language form, making students aware of particular language features,
and encouraging them to think about them. These tasks are likely to be more beneficial in the
long run than form-focused activities aimed at automating production of a single item.
Instructors can design consciousness-raising activities to highlight specific aspects of language
that occur naturally both in the students' reading and listening texts.

However, the activity under unit seven does not have a communicative purpose that goes beyond
the classroom. Because, it seems that it is aimed at teaching only the appropriateness of
grammar. It asks the students to correct the grammatically unacceptable expressions into
acceptable ones. Here is the activity.

Example 10

Exercise 5(p.1l5): The follOWing expressions are not grammatically acceptable, can you make them
acceptable?

1. I'd like to invite you coffee.

2. Dad, would you be interested to plating chess with me?
3. I can't come today, my friend has invited me his birth day party.
4. What about to drinking coffee together in the students lounge?
5. I'd love to coming with you, but I'm afraid to say no.

This activity requires the students to manipulate forms without giving attention to the meanings
and communicative aspect of it. It also provides to practice sentence patterns. Since the contexts

53
in which these sentences occur have not been given, the exercise is too mechanical. It does not
help to practice the meaning and communicative tasks. The activity does not ask the students to
use (practice) the expressions in a context; rather it simply orders them to correct the grammar of
the expressions. It does not give learners the opportunity to communicate what they want to say
and express what they want to feel or think. This implies that such activities that are not
meaning-focused - activities where the aim is to practice specific forms and functions - are
inadequate to promote learning.

From this, it can be concluded that even though 'most of the speaking activities in the text book
elicit real communication and have a purpo se that goes beyond classroom exercise, there are still
some activities to which special attention should be given to make them purely communicative.

t) Regarding Suitability of the Task for Pair/Group Work

According to the information in the Table 6, an overwhelming number of the activities (65.6%)
in the textbook promote the use of pair/group work. This indicates that the speaking tasks in the
textbook are preferably fair for pair or group work. In fact it was recommended in the literature
part of this study that group work is the best and the most preferred classroom teaching-learning
organization which is appropriate and convenient to the practice of communicative activities.
This is because of the fact that it can help learning by providing an opportunity for learners to get
exposure to the language that they can understand and gives learners exposure to a range of
language items and language functions. Group work activities also enable students to practice
some of social skills like self confidence, tolerance, listening to each other, giving and respecting
opinions/ideas, decision making, conflict management, etc by involving learners in different
roles in the pairs/groups.

As mentioned earlier, using group work when doing communicative tasks has a lot of
advantages. Surprisingly, this characteristic is the best met criteria (characteristic) in this book
even if there are some drawbacks with it. Almost all of the speaking activities presented in the
textbook promote the use of pair/group work. There is no a unit under which there is no use of
pair/group work.

To take some examples, the first exercise under the speaking sectio'n of unit one orders the
students to solve riddles in groups, the third exercise commands to discuss a case study in

54
groups. The activity under unit three also asks the learners to have a panel discussion, exercises
two and three under unit six asks them to be in pairs and prepare a short dialogue and role ply the
dialogue in front of the class, the last unit of the textbook involves an activity which orders the
students to prepare a short talk on a given topic. As it has been said earlier the rest of the units
also include many similar activities which endorse pair/group work.

However, these pair/group works do not have variety. There are always repetitive activities such
as "work in pair/group and answer or discuss the questions" in the textbook, which leads to
students' boredom. Additionally, students are required to work in pairs but after that, one of
them is called to talk in front of the class while his or her partner is not, which means that not all
students have chances to practice what they have discussed. As a result these activities would not
be really efficient. Therefore, it can be concluded that even though there many pair/group work
activities in the speaking sections of the textbook, yet they need some adjustments to fulfill the
criterion of communicative tasks.

g) Regarding Whether the Task Includes Pre-Task, While-Task and Post-Task

According to the information from the literature, another characteristic of vital importance for
successful performance of tasks is that the activity must include a pre-task, a while-task, and a
post-task. Although we find different terminology, methodologists generally agree that a task
must include an introduction, the task itself, and a follow-up.

As it can be seen from Table 6, only few activities in the textbook under the speaking sections
have pre-task, while-task, and post-tasks stages. However, as it is mentioned in the literature '
part, a task or an activity is expected to have such stages. A pre-task stage introduces
(familiarizes) the topic to the students by g.iving them brainston:ning activities or some
introductions/clues about the topic to the students. The while-task stage will help students to
integrate various language skills and sub-skills. For example, while they are practicing some oral
(speaking) activities, they will develop their vocabulary, grammar, fluency, pronunciation, etc.
The post-task stage helps to identify the extent to which they have understood or achieved their
goals or to follow up the achievement.

55
Example 11

Exercise 1(p.121): In small groups offour to five, discuss the issues of local unfavorable practices and
how to avoid these practices.
The issues could be about:
• practices imposed upon young boy and girls not to pursue their education.
• the likely causes of social discrimination against women.
• stigmatization of women.

As we can observe from the above example, under the speaking section of unit eight, the students
are asked to discuss the issues of local unfavorable practices and how to avoid them. But, there is
no pre-task and post-task for these two exercises. There is no any clue which helps them in how
to do the activities. It can be said that if they had involved such stages of tasks it wou ld have
made it easier for the students to do the activ ities easily.

However, there are some very few examples of activities hav ing such stages. For instance, under
the speaking section of unit seven, the activ ities have pre-task, while-task as well as post-task. It
first brainstorms the students about "Giving Invitations" by asking them some questions, and
then gives so me clues about invitation. Then it asks them to do some questions concerning how
to accept and decline an invitation. Finally, orders them to invite their partner using the pre-task
(information given under pre-task stage) for fo llow up. Yet, such kind of activities is very lim ited
in the textbook. So, such activities should be added to make it more communicative.

4.1.2.4 Aspects in Relation to Roles

As it has been mentioned in the literature part, role refers to the part that learners and teachers
are expected to play in carrying out learn ing tasks as well as social and interpersonal relationship
between the participants. Unlike the traditiona l pedagogy (e.g. drills and the like) which vest
power in teacher, communicative tasks (such as role plays, problem-solving tasks and
simulations) are expected to give much more control to the learner. In the former one the role of
the teacher was restricted to manger of materials. In contrast to this, in the later one, the teacher
is ass igned to be catalyst, consu ltant or guide, leaving the entire task to learners.
Table 7: Roles of Learners and Teachers in the Speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

No. Components of Units Occurrences of the Roles of Learners and Teachers in Each Unit
Communicative
Tasks
4 Roles of I Guessing answers to riddles
Learners Interviewing their classmates on sports and pastime
2 Restating the main points made in the reading passage
Express ing their own views on the topic
Agreeing or disagreeing with someone's opinions
Answering job interview questions
3 Discussing an aspect of the topic (Ethiopian water resources)
in groups and giving a presentation to class
4 Praising and complimenting someone
Congratulating someone
5 Exchanging information with each other
Asking for and giving directions
6 Exchanging information with each other
Asking for and giving directions
7 Giving and accepting or declining invitations
8 Discussing in groups (unfavorable treatment by exercised by
su rrounding peoplt:, how to avoid stigma/discrimination)
Presenting the consensus of their group discussion to the class
9 Discussing the social and economic impacts of HIV/AlDS in
small gro\lps
Presenting the results of their discussion to the class
5 Roles of I Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus
Teachers
2 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus

3 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus

4 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus

5 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus
6 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus
7 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus
8 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllabus
'\.
9 Not stated both in textbook as well as in the syllab~

57
As it can be observed from the above table, in the students' textbook there is no any place in
which the role of learners and teachers is explicitly stated. [n the same fashion, the syllabus also
does not involve the ro les of learners . Moreover, as it has been mentioned prev iously, the
textbook does not have a teacher gu ide which is supposed to contain roles of learners and
teachers. Even, the roles of learners put in the above table are taken from the objectives of
speaking activities in the syllabus, not from the textbook.

This shows that the textbook does not provide students and teachers with clearly stated roles
which help them to carry out their tasks properly according to the predetermined goals. [n other
words, it does not provide them w ith opportunities so that they may be able to achieve what is
expected from them in each lesson. So, since there are no similar rules and guidelines for
teachers, different teachers might follow their own approaches in teaching the same activities
(lessons). From this, it can be deduced that the textbook is not student-centered and does not
meet the principles ofCLT. In short, it can be said that the textbook does not fulfill the criteria of
task design mentioned by the scho lars in the literature part.

However, it is possible to envisage what the roles of learners look like from the objectives
(goals) of speaking tasks as well as from the nature of the speaking tasks portrayed in the
textbook. Accordingly, in the fo llowing part we will see what the roles of learners look like from
the nature of the speaking activities, instructions, and objectives of the speaking activities
portrayed in the textbook and from the syllabus of Grade 12 Eng lish.

4.1.2.4.1 Nature of the Speaking Tasks Regarding Ro[es

Regarding the roles of learners, the information in the Table 7 above reveals that a lion-share
role is occupied by the learners in do ing the tasks. [n most of the activities they are required to
work together primarily rather than with the teacher. Each classroom act ivity requ ires the
cooperation and partic ipation of every student. In . short, starting from the very beginning of
understanding the tasks to the final stage (discussing and presenting to the class) the students'
contribution is paramount. This implies that the students are communicators. In other words, the
nature of the activities invites learners to become negotiators, catalysts, and communicators of

58
the target language. Therefore, it can be deduced from this that the role of the learners relatively
meets the principles of communicative language teaching.

In addition, it seems that most of the activities in the speaking sections of the textbook are
carried out by the students. The students are expected to do each exercise under each unit of their
course book. Most of the lessons under the speaking sections are set in the form of exercises,
group discussions, role-plays, interviews, dialogues, solving problems, presentations and so on.
In other words, the teaching method portrayed here does not invite the teacher to control the
teaching-learning process. So, unlike the traditional way of teaching, there is no room for the
teacher to be a sole provider of knowledge. From the above discussion, it is possible to say that
students are, above all, communicators. They are expected to interact primarily with each other
rather than with the teacher.

Since the nature of the activities by itself invites the learners to interact with each other, discuss
on various issues, negotiate meaning and reach on consensus by themselves, the responsibility of
the teacher will be limited to directing the active participation of the learners, facilitating and
guiding the classroom situations rather than controlling and asking decisions on their learning
process. For instance, under the speaking section of unit one, the students are asked to discuss a
case study in their groups. When discussing this case study, the students are required to put
language to a range of uses, to negotiate meaning, to draw on their own resources in order to
reach a consensus. They are not supposed to passively wait for their teacher' s response (spoon
feeding) . But, they can ask his/her help to guide, counselor facilitate their discussion by showing
them the better direction.

Again, under the speaking section of unit six, the students are asked to prepare a short dialogue
on some topics (incidents) given in their book and role play the dialogue in front of the class.
Here is the exercise:

59
Example 12

Exercise 3(p.88): A. Prepare in pairs a short dialogue on any one of the following incidents whereby you
express annoyance. dissatisfaction etc. You need to identify the p erson or institution you are complaining
about. and the p erson you are comp laining to.
The possible incidents are:
I. An unfair school tuition fee.
2. A student who is always given a hard time in the class.
3. A problem with the school media service.
4. Poor facilities in the school.
B. Roleplay tile dialogue infrollt of tile class.

Similarly when doing this communicative task, the students are expected to actively participate
and contribute a lot for the accomplishment of the task. From the above exercises, one can easily
understand that the students are almost teaching themselves without waiting the whole provision
of knowledge from the teacher. The teacher will have a little control over their learning. In such
kind of communicative activities the students will develop the skills of confidence, self-direction,
decision making, etc. They would also entertain their full freedom and exchange ideas with each
other thereby practicing the principles of communicative language teaching.

However, since there is no teacher' s guide for Grade 12 English, which is suppo sed to have clear
roles of learners and teachers; it would be very difficult to recognize the students' roles
explicitly. Teacher ' s guide plays a significant role in showing the roles of students as well as the
roles of teachers. Moreover, the syllabu s of Grade 12 English does not involve these roles. The
above analysis is made by considering the nature of task given in the students' textbook. But, it
would have been better if teachers guide were provided or roles of students and teachers were
presented or given in the syllabus of Grade 12 English.

Therefore, since the roles of the students are not overtly demonstrated in the textbook, it would
be possible to say that the textbook, regarding the roles of learners, does not fully realize the
criteria of communicative tasks' design.

Similarly, it is poss ible to guess teachers' roles by looking at the nature of the activities given in
the textbook. Mo st of the speaking tasks do not allow the teacher to control the class time. They

60
do not pave the way for him/her to have a controlling (major) role in teaching the speaking skill.
As mentioned above, most of the activities are communicative by nature (like role play, problem
solving, discussions dialogues, etc.) in which major role is expected to be played predominantly
by the learners. Obviously, this criterion gets on well with one feature of CLT: "learner-centered
learning". Teachers only play the role of facilitators and supervisors while students are
encouraged to talk most of the time allotted to speaking activities. To take one practical example,
under the speaking section of unit four, the students are asked to study the situations given in
groups and provide congratulations for each.

Example 13

Exercise 4 (51):

In pairs, identify practical situations with regard to food, academic peljormance, outstanding
job done in the family, football player, writing neatly, saving a friend from a car accident, etc
and decide on how to compliment and reply to the compliment. When you are ready, act out a
dialogue for the class and discuss your performance with your teacher and classmates.

As we can observe, in this activity, a teacher has little or no role as the whole activity is engaged
by the students. So, the teachers' role could be simply showing directions to or guiding the
students by telling them how to do the activities (e.g., by giving them expressions to be used in
congratulations). Most of the speaking tasks in the textbook have similar nature. Therefore, it is
likely to say that the tasks are somehow communicative since they limit the role ofthe teachers
to facilitation, guidance and counseling the students.

To sum up, even though the roles of teachers and students are not explicitly stated for the
absence of teacher' s guide and genuine syllabus for the textbook, the nature of the activities as
well as the objectives of the goals of tasks presented in the textbook displays that the roles of
teachers and students are somewhat appropriate in accordance with the principles of
communicative language teaching. Nevertheless, the syllabubs should incorporate such roles in a
full and clear manner. The teacher's guide also should be provided to highly strengthen the
textbook thereby promoting the teaching-learning process of the language as expected.

61
4.1.2.5 Aspects in Relation to Setting

As already mentioned in the literature part, setting denotes the classroom arrangement specified
or implied in the task. In addition, it signifies the instructional setting where pedagogical
conditions are treated. It suggested that the most effective and appropriate classroom
organization is pair work and group work.

Table 8: The Setting of the Speaking Tasks in Grade 12 English Textbook

No. Components of Units

Communicative Occurrences of the Speaking Tasks' Setting in Each Unit
Tasks
6 Setting I Group work
Who le class work
2 Pair work
Group work
3 Group work
Whole class work
4 Individual work
Pair work
Group work
5 Pair work
Group work
6 Pair work
Group work
7 Individual work
Pair work
8 Group work
Who le class work
9 Individual work
Group work

As it can be clearly seen form the above table, most of the speaking tasks promote the use of
pair/group work which is suggested as the most effective and appropriate classroom
organization. The learners are encouraged to express their own ideas and opinio ns clearly and,
confidently with their classmates. This implies that the learners can use the Eng lish language
spontaneously and flex ibly for oral communication in the classroom as well as in other
situations. Therefore, it can be concluded that the settings of the oral communicative tasks
presented in the students' textbook give opportunities for the students to learn and use the

62
language in a more natural and meaningful way thereby he lping them to become autonomous
learners.

4.1.2.6.1 Nature of the Speaking Tasks Regarding Setting

Table 9: Nature of the Setting of Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

Units Setting of Activities ( Classroom Organization)

Number of Activities
Individual Pair work Group work Whole class Total
work activities activities activities work
activities
Unit I 0 0 3 1
&?
Unit 2 0 2 2 2 6

Unit 3 0 0 1 1 2

Unit 4 2 1 3 0 6

Unit 5 0 1 0 0 2

Unit 6 0 3 0 0 3

Unit 7 3 2 1 0 7

Unit 8 0 0 1 I 1

Unit 9 1 0 1 0 2

Total 6 9 12 5 32 "

% 18.8 28.1 37.5 15.6 100

NOTE: " The total number of the speaking activities is actually 29. However, there are some activities
which involve more than one mode of classroom organization.

According to the information in the above table, the natures of the activities given In the
textbook show that most o f the tasks (activities) are suitable for the c lassroom setting. In other
words, most of the activities are designed in such ways which allow the students to do them
jo intly in the classroo m. In addition, the majo rity of the activities promote the use of pair/group
work (i.e. 68.7%). On the other hand , the activities that endorse the use of individual work and

63
whole class work are restricted to 29.9% and 9.4% respectively. This shows that design of the
activities in the textbook encourages the learners by providing an opportunity for learners to get
exposure to the language that they can understand, gives them exposure to a range of language
items and language functions and paves the way for them to work together. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the nature of the speaking activities in the textbook encourages learners to do and
practice the communicative tasks in cooperation rather than doing it individually or leaving the
control for their teacher.

Example 14

Exercise 3 (p.9): Discuss Ihefollowing case in your groaps. Someone form Ihe group will presenlwhal
you have discussed 10 Ihe whole class.
Case Sludy: During a general fimess section at a health and fitness club the instructor sees a participant
who first looks unsteady on his feet and then falls over. The instructor, a trained fist aider, assesses the
situation. The class is immediately asked to stop, to avoid any forther accidents, and a reliable member of
the class is sent to get assistance. The fallen participant qUickly awakes and it is discovered that shortly
before exercise he had fainted. He is now complaining of a pain in his arm where he must have fallen.
The instructor makes sure the person the person and his arm are supported and his legs are raised above
his head to allow blood to return to his head.
1. Whalfurlher aclion does Ihe inslruclor need 10 lake?
2. Whal Iype of reporl should be compleled if it is discovered Ihal llie arm is broken? Lisl Ihe
delails Ihal should go in il.

From the above example, it is poss ible to understand that the students are expected to do the
activities together and present it in the class. In this activity, the direction is read as "Discuss the
following case in your groups. Some one form the group will present what you have discussed to
the whole class. " (See appendix C). Here the students will discuss the case study in groups.
Then, they will select their representative to present their discussion to the class. From this
example, one can understand that the nature of the activities entails that the setting is suited for
the classroom.

Likew ise, almost all the speaking act ivities in the textbook are designed in the way that enables
the learners to carry out them cooperatively and collaboratively. This can help the students by

64
providing them an opportunity to get exposure to a range of language items and language
functions that they can understand. On top of.this, group work activities enable students to
practice some of social skills like self confidence, tolerance, listening to each other, giving and
respecting opinionslideas, decision making, conflict management, etc by involving learners in
different roles in the pairs/groups. It also allows learners to develop fluency in the use of
language features that they have learned.

Example 15

Exercise (p. 147):

Work with your group and prepare a short talk on the fol/owing topic. The social and economic
impacts ofHIVIAlDS.

The above example also shows that the nature of the activities is. suitable for the use of
pair/group work. The exercise given as typical example in the above box is designed in way
which encourages students to carry out the tasks in cooperation. This indicates that the nature of
the activities promote the use of pair/gro up work.

Moreover, as it has been mentioned earlier, most of the tasks can take place in the students' real
life oral interaction. For instance, making dialogues, solving puzzles, group discussions, etc. are
possible to occur in their daily life situations. It can be deduced from this that the setting of the
speaking tasks encourages learners to develop their oral proficiency both inside and outside the
classroom. This shows that the setting of the speaking tasks in the textbook convincingly fulfills
the criteria of communicative tasks suggested by the scholars.

65
 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5. 1 Conclnsions

This study has analyzed the extent to which the nature and design of the speaking activities
(tasks) in Grade 12 students textbook promote speaking sk ill. In order to eva luate these activities,
this research paper used Nunan 's (1989) framework which considers the components of
communicative tasks (g~ ls, contents as in£ut, a9tiv ities, roles of ~dent s, ro}es of teacher and
setting) as well as the checklist for eva luat ing tasks.

As the overa ll finding s of the study revealed, the speaking activities do not qualify most of the
relevant criteria stated in the checkli st which students require in order to take part orally. Thus,
based on the findings of the study the following conclusions are made.

~ Even though the goals of oral co mmunicat ive activities in the course book meet the needs
and interests of learners, some of them are not explicitly stated while others are totally
unstated.•

~ The contents as input are fam iliar to the students. They a lso meet the needs and interests
of the students. However, they do not give sufficient information to the students due to
lack of adequate authentic materials.

~ The activities meet the principles of meaningfulness, rea l-worldness, purposefulness, and
co mmunicative (interactive) power. They also promote the use of pair/group work.
However, they lack variety and authenticity.

~ The roles of learners and teachers are not explicitly stated in the textbook as well as in the
syllabus. Furthermore, a teacher guide is I)ot provided for the students ' textbook.
\

~ The nature of the activities implies that much more control is given to the learner while
the teacher is ass igned to be catalyst, co nsultant or guide, leaving the entire task to the
learner. However, these roles are not exp licitly stated in the textbook as we ll as the
syllabu s.

66
 ~ Most of the speak ing tasks are suitable for the classroom setti ng. The settings of the
activities also promote the use of pair/group work.

~ Since the tasks (activities) which are depicted in the textbook lack variety and use of
authentic materials (illustrations), they lack motivational values.

5.2 Recommendations

Based on the findings of study, the researcher of this study feel s that there is a need to revisit the
speaking activities (tasks) in the textbook. Therefore, the following recommendations have been
made.

~ Textbook writers should consider incorporating the SIX basic components of

communicative tasks in the students' text books and make sure that there are a variety of
speaking tasks in the textbook. They also have to maximize students' interaction by
adding a pleasing feature in the activities.

~ Material developers have to assess the interest of students for select ion of speaking
activities and the topics on which to base these activities. Furthermore, they should
include speaking tasks which are interesting and can motivate learners.

~ Teacher guide plays a significant role in show ing the roles of learners and teachers as
well as in facilitating the implementation of the activities. So, it should be provided for
the teachers.

~ Teachers should try to modify the speaking tasks in the way that they stimulate the
students' needs and interests.

~ Students should be clearly informed of the roles that they are expected to play and
strategies of developing learners' autonomy during oral interaction.

~ Further research should be done in the area of ELT text evaluation with regard to other
language skills (such as reading and listening).

67

.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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_ _ ___ . ( 1994). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language

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_ __ _ (1995). Choosing Your Course Book. London: Hineman ..

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_ _ _ . (1999). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign

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 Hailu Abraha. (2008). "A Study on the English for Ethiopia Grade II Students' Books: The Case
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71
APPENDICES

72
Appendix A: A Checklist for Evaluating Communicative Tasks
1. Goals

• To what extent is the goal or goa ls of the task obvious to students and teachers?
• Is the appropriate to the learners' proficiency level?
• To what extent does the task reflect a real:wo~edagogic rationale? Is this
appropriate?
• Does the task encourage learners to apply classroom learning to the real world?
• Is the task likely to be interesting and motivating to the students?

2. Input

• What form does the input take?

• Is it authentic?
• If not, are they appropriate to the goals of the task?

3. Activities

• Are the activities appropriate to the communicative goals of the task?

• Ifnot, can they be modified to make them more appropriate?
• Is the task designed to st imulate students to\use bottom-up or top-down
processing ski lis?
• Is there an information gap o r problem which might prompt a negotiation of
meaning?
• Are the activities designed in a way which will all ow learners to communicate
and cooperate in groups?

4. Roles and Settings

• What learner and teacher roles are inherent in the task?

• Are they appropriate?
• What leve ls of comp lexity are there in the classroo m organization implicit in the
task?
• Is the setting confined to the classroom?

(Adopted/rom Nunall (1989))

73
Appendix B: A Checklist for Evaluating the Nature of Speaking Tasks (Activities)

a. The task has to be motivating

b. The task has to address the students' needs
c. The task has to be meaningful to the students
d. The task must elicit real communication
e. The tasks must have a purpose that goes beyond a classroom exercise
f. The task should preferably be for pair or group work
g. The texts in tasks should be authentic
h. The task must include a pre-task, a while-task, and a post-task

Slightly Adapted/rom Nunan (1989)

74

j
Appendix C: The speaking Activities in Grade 12 English Textbook

r
'\.

7~
 ENElI.ISII
Student Text
Grade 12

Revised Edition

Revised by:
I Gessesse Tadesse
1 Guta Kedida

Edited by:
Belainesh Wubeshet

Reviewed by:
Judith Altshul
Abera Lakew

(uraz International Publisher and Educational Works Consultant

EnterjJrise, 200.6
Addis Ababa

r,
 )
UNIT ONE
2
SPORTS AND PASTIMES
I
34
Objectives: In this unit, you will:
86 I
88 • read a text and understand the main ideas; I
92 • guess the meaning of new words using contextual clues;
. 96 • use reciprocal and retlexive verbs correctly in your speech and writing;
.98 • give solutions to problems;
• listen to a passage and take notes;
.. 99 • write rules and regulations using the simple present tense; I
. 109 • write a report;
.110 • write a personal letter.
. 112
.. 116
/I
. 117
\
J
I
I
 \
\
.\

\
\
\
\

section 4: Speaking s
Exercise 1: Thinking activities W
Solve the following riddles in groups. Remembe.r that a riddle is a verbal La
puzzle or test
1. a flock of sheep
Ex

on a red hill
ace
here they go, there they go
pre
now they stand still
gm
2. My first is an apple and also in pear,
My second's in desperate and also in dare,
My third is in sparrow and also in lark,
 My fourth is in cashier and also in clerk,
My fifth is in seven and also in ten,
My whole is a blessing for women ,and men,
Who am I?
Exercise 2: Do you /q!ow any riddles in your first language? Collect them in
groups and translate them into English. Then ask your friends to
solve these riddles,
Exercise 3: Discuss the following case in your groups,'Some one from the group
will present what you have discussed to the whole class.
Case Study: During a general fitness session at a health and fitness club the
instructor sees a participant who first looks unsteady on his feet
and then falls over. The instructor, a trained first aider, assesses the
situation. The class is immediately asked to stop, to avoid any
further allcidents, and a reliable member of the class is sent to get
assistance. The fallen participant quickly awakes and it is
discovered that shortly before exercising he had fainted. He is now
COmplaining of a pain in his arm where he must have fallen. The
instiuctor makes sure the person and his arm are supported and his
legs are raised above his head to allow blood to return to his head.
it.
1 What further action does the instructor need to take?
2 What type of report should be completed if it is discovered that the
arm is broken? List the details that should go in it.

bal
 UNIT TWO

THE EFFICIENCY OF THE LABOUR FORCE

Objectives: In this unit, you will:

• infer the meanings of unknown words by using contextual cj ues a!
knowledge of word fonnation;
• agree or disagree with someone's opinion and support your o wn ";'i ews;
• express your ideas on the contribution of the labour force towa,
development in your own words;
• use impersonal subjects correctly;
\
. • use link verbs in you : ·' ,I'n speaking and writing; \
• write a formal letter of application; \
• write a CV. \
\

\
 ·. ~ , .

kille<

, the

Section 4: Speaking
Expressing Opinion: agreeing, disagreeing and summing up.
In oraV spoken English, you can show your position about an issue or the
hQ ~
case in point by way of expressing your agreement or disagreement. When you
ties
agree with someone on something, it means that you accept the points of view of
her
the speech or opinion of someone you are dealing with. Disagreement, on the
other hand, is rejection. These can both be expressed in several different ways.

he a) Agreeing and Disagreeing

Ie
Reading an article requires a reaction from the reader. He or she should
19 express his/her agreement (likes) or disagreement (dislikes). In this connection,
II'
you ' should express yaur reaction towards the article you've just read, 'The
Quality of the Labour Force', providing sound reasons.
Read the following sample diulogue showing the position of the writers/ readers
Wilh regard /0 the au/hoI' 's opinion aboul educacion.

Examples
Asnake: What's your opm!an about th e points on education the author has
raised in his article?
Belainesh: r absolutely agree with the author that education is the key to
success. The· labo ur force of a country should be given adequate
training ifproductivity is desired.
 ~ , .
" .. f
Asnake: I'm afraid I only partially agree with the author's point of view. The . b) SI
author should have Illade a fine distinction between whether education
or training is required for the labourers that he is writing about. mal
Belainesh: Yes, I'm inclined to agree with you. Perhaps the concept of me
education has been confused with training.
Asnake: Thank you for your opinion. para
BeIainesh: You're welcome. Good Ilye. pro

ExercisG 1: Now in pairs discuss the views reflected in the passage you 've read Exe
in three ways.
- Agreement EXE
- Partial agreement
- Disagreemen~
Agreement I'
I totally agree with . ...
Se
Pre
I fully/ completely agree that ...
I'm in lotal agreement with youlhimlher that ...
abo
Partial agreement /0/1
Up to a point! To certain extent ... for
You may have something there but. , .
That may be so, but .. .
I'm inclined to agree that .. .

. Disagreement
(1'm afraid) I can't agr-:e with you.
I don't completely agree with you.
I really can't accept that.

Exerci se 2: In pairs. now discuss one a/the / ollowing prop ositiolls and
exchange views to p ersuade each oth er.
1. Traffi c accident are largely caused by the negligence of dri vers .
2. My mother is always advising mt! to get married before the age of 25.
b) Summing up
In this part, you are expected to read the passage once again to take the
main points or issues that the author has forwarded . Summing up a text would
mean drawing the points together and presenting it in a few sentences.
In a text like the one you have,read, the best way to sum up is t() do it first
paragraph. by a paragraph; then the summaries of ·each paragraph could be
properly linked to give a complete whole.
Exercise 3: In groups offour, summarize the text you've read in this unit and
present it to the class.
Exercise 4: Identify a topic f)finterest in a newspaper or magazine in groups of
three students and sum it up. Then, present the summary of whal
you have read orally to the class.

', . . ..
 UNIT THREE

ETHIOPIAN WATER RESOURCES

Objectives: In this unit, you will:

• guess the meanings of new words;
• check the meanings, pronunciation and spelling ofwords~in a dictionary;
• read and identify details and main points
• answer comprehension questions;
• use modal verbs to predict and gIve advice and to express duty and
necessity;
• write a report

...
 section 5: Speaking
Panel Discussion
Exercise 1: You are going to have a panel discussion on the following topic:
Water Resources in Ethiopia. In the panel discussion, you will
cover the situation, the problem and all the possible solutions
regarding water resources in Ethiopia. To help you generate good
ideas, discuss the following questions in your group first. Choose
someone from the group who will note down the important points
raised in the discussion. She/he' will represent the group in the
panel discussion which will be held in the next period

Water Resources in Ethiopia

1. What percentage of the water reSGurces ; ,1 Ethiopia has been utili zed, and
how are they utilized?
2, What are the factors/problems which have hindered Ethiopia from using its
. water resources effectively to alleviate the problem of poverty?
, 3. How can these problems be overcome? What kind of .improved water
J
resource management policies and practi '>.~s would you suggest?

I
 UNIT FOUR
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Objectives: In this unit, you will:
• Read a text to justify learning English;
• answer comprehension questions;
• write a summary of the main ideas of the text;
• learn and use many 'hew' words and expressions;
• give praise and compliments; ,
• use modal verbs both in speaking and writing to express intention., habiti
and abilit y;
• develop you r ability in not :: taking.

Introduction
English is called an 'international language', as it is used by great many
speakers in all parts of the world. In some countries like UK, USA, New Zealand,
Jamaic2 etc .. . English is spoken as the mother tongue of the majority of the
1'- '" lUlati '.m . In countries like Canada, Uganda, Nig':. la, Ghana, etc. it shares that
" status with another language or has attained the position of an official language. It
is also learnt as a second language in schools by most students In virtually all
countries, including Ethiopia.
In thi s unit yo u are going to discuss issues related to the position of English
Lal1guag~ throughout the world and its role in commUI.,,,ation in iCience and
technology.

Section 1: Speaking
Praising/Complimenting
When you hear your tea(:her speak English more fluently than any other
:cachers in your school you are surprised and may dare ask how shelhe learnt to
speak it in such a fluent way. You also appreciate the way she/he speaks. The
secret behind it is, however, simply to practise speaking both in school with other
 ----- ---
students and with your friends outside the school compound. Dialogues like this
can help you develop your speaking skill.

Look at the following dialogue between a student and his/her teacher. Find the \.
praising/ complimenting expressions and the responses given to these expressions.
2. (
Student: You can really speak English like a native.
You must be proud of your fluency.
Tea<;her: I am glad you like the way I speak English.
My parents took me to England when I was 3 and I stayed there 3.
until I was 18.
I see 4.
Student:
Teacher: But your English is not bad at all.
You can communicate without difficulty. ii.
Student: Can I? I am happy to hear (hat, thank you.
Teacher: You see there He other ways to improve your spoken English. One
way is to learn enough English for communication purposes. The
second is to speak it confiJently without worrying too much about
making mistakes.
E:
Student: I really appreciate your encouragement, teacher.
Teacher: Don't mention it. I am only doing my duty as a teacher.

Have yo u found all th e praising/complementing expressions and the

respo nses to them right? Discuss them wi th yo ur teacher fo'r better und ers tanding 'y

and clarity. 1
A. Praisillg and Complimelltillg )

Compliments express approval, and th eir main purpose is to show that you
like some aspect of the other person's appearance, possessions, work or
ideas/opinions. They are expressions of reassurance indicating that a person's
opinion, taste, appearance, etc. is appreciated by other people.
i. You can give compliments for example:
a. by saying something nice about a particular object,
b. by asking how the person made it or where it was bought,
c. by asking for ~other look or another serving, if it is food.
 Exercise 1: Study the short dialogues below and identify the category they
belong to (a. b or c).
I. Ali : That's a beautiful dress yo u have dn~
Zebiba: Oh, thank you I just got it yesterday.
2. Genet : r just love your hair that way! Did you do it yourself?
Senait: Oh, thanks. Yes, I did. Isn't yours a new style, too?
Genet: Yes, it is. Do you like it like this?
3. Friend: That was a great dinner. You must have spent all day cooking.
You: Thanks . But it really only took an hour.
4. Tekele: Wow, this is really a nice place!
Tigist: Thanks. I'm glad you like it.

ii. Replying to compliment

There are three ways of replying to compliment
a. accepting the compliment
b. rejecting it.
c. gi ving the other person a similar compliment.

Exercise 2: Study th e phrases under each heading. Then practise saying them in
th e situations that follow.
Compliment Response
I would like to compliment Thank you, tt's nice of
you on ------------ you to say so.

I would like to compliment It's nice to hear that

you on --- -----. ---------- from someone with your experience

I think your (hair) is Thank you, but it rcally

very I1Ice isn't anything special.
I just love your -------------------- '. Thank you. But yours is
even nicer.
The (chicken) is delicious rm glad you like it
That's neat! l nice/ pretty/ good Thanks
 <

I
I

-------------------------------~

lJased on the clues you have just read and discussed, complete the
following dialogues in pairs. Then play the roles of A and B. and Tewodros and
Sami.

SittHd;-1
A: That's a p-eat sweater.

B:~---------~---------
SitNatio"l
A: Hi, Tamirat, are those new ______________ ?
B:
---------------------------
A: ________________________________
B:
-------------------------
SitNtltHHt 3
. A: Well, thank you for the
B: ______________ _ __
A: Yes, I really _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
B:
-------------
SitNfltMIf -I
A:.
-------------------------------
B: Dh, thanks. I just lost a hundred birr note.
A:
-------------------------------
D:
------------------------
Sitlliltiolf 5
Tewodros: Good morning, Sami
Sami:
---------------------------
Tewodros: _______________________________
Sami: Well thank you, Tewodros. But I was just doing my job
Tewodros: Yes, and we're prou.d of you Sami
Sami.: ______________"'- ____________
 Exercise 3: There are othe!' expressions in common use among teacher.$. orQ/ly
praising learners young or old. In groups discuss the diff~t
expressions that your teachers use to praise you, the students
(learners).

Exercise 4: In pairs, identify practical situations with regard to food, .academic

performance outstanding job done in the. family, football player,
writing neatly, saving a friend from car accident, etc and decide
all how to compliment and reply to the 'compliment. When you are
ready, act out a dialogue for the . class· and discuss your
performanGe with your teacher and classmates. You can use the
expressions suggested in Exercise 3 ifyou want to.

B. COflgratulatillg
You congratulate so meone on hi s/her achievements, on a good performance
or good opportunity he/s he has obtained. Congratu lat ions are an indication that a
person is pleased about so mething special that has happened to another person.

Exercise 5: Study the following short dialogues and give responses to the
following ones. Then discuss th e respollses in groups
1. A: Congratula,Jons' You swam very well
B: Thank you. You did, too
2. A: Congratulations' You havea son
B:
--------------------------
3. A: Congratula(ons to a ll of yo u graduating from grade 12.
B: ___________________________

Exercise 6: /n groups. study th e situatiolls identified below alld provide

cOllgratulatiolls for each. You call do this either by taking turns

I orally or hy writillg your sentellcesand then sharing them with the

class. Use expressiolls such as 'f would like to congratulate you
all .... May r offer you my congratulations on .... You deserve to he
cOllgratulated 0/' ....

j
 UNIT FIVE

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Objecttves: In this unit, you will:

I
I
• evaluate a text about tU"urism and travel;
~ draw logical conclusions from first listening to and then reading the text;
• learn and use some new words and expressions;
• use common verbs with nouns for actions;
• communicate or exchange information using formal and informal letters.

e
e
,
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s

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u

-
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5~~"s
1. Your sister is graduating from her university.
2. Your father has obtained a promotion.
3: A neighbour is getting married.
4. A friend has won a prize in the lottery.
5. Your uncle has bought a new model car.
6. A classmate has won a scholarship abroad.
7. A friend is placed first among all grade 12 sections in your school.

:m
her
illS.

her ·

2nd
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but
ges,
as a

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 m mar

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Section 2: Speaking
Asking for and Giving Directions
This section provides the students with practice in asking for and giving
19 information about the location of buildings in a town or a city, If you need
Ir information about a place in a town or city, especially if you are a stranger,
d
travelling on rcot or in a private car, you may have to ask someone you meet. The
chance oi your obtaining accurate information depends on the proper use of
standard expressions appropriat~ to this situation.

exercise 1: The following short dialogues illustrate how you can do it. Study the
dialogue :md prac:ice role- p laying with a classmate. Then discuss
(he d£/ferences in (he use of the expressions in these dialogues.
 Dialogue A
Rosemary: Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the Imperial Hotel?
Aster: The Imperial Hotel? Let me see. Oh , Yes: Go straight along this road. Take fl
the first turning to the right and the second left. You will see a tall building f'
on the left, you can't miss it. I
I
Ro~emary: Thanks. I

Aster: You're welcome,

Dialogue B
Mr. Mathew: Excuse me, Sl~, can you tell me the way to the Addis Ababa
Education, Office please?
Ayalew: The Addis Ababa, Education Office? No, SOfiY. I am a stranger
here myself.
Mr-Mathew: Thanks anyway.
Ayalew: You're welcome.

The fA/owing sketch and the accompanying sentences ,llustrale standard

expressions for giving information in English, you need to study alld practise
them.

......... ... . --
"
_--,lrLJ _--,I L
Go straight alung Take the first " '~~~~i~1
this stree t. left.
Turn right at
the ballk .
_ _ _-'-p_ar_k~L ---.-J
.... .... ..... ... .... ......
L I_ _

'-'

Go past lhe .park --"I I

and tlrrn lett. Go over the
intersectiun .

.............~.y ..- ...-....-... ~ -------x

. ............. '-
;/ You' ll see it
You'll (01l1e lo a come to a
'YU ll'lt
jUliction.Turn lefl . on yuur jeft:
fork . Bear right.

_ _~/L.../__ _ _ _----1J I c!~ llrch

....... .......... -
II theater
.............. i TmuSCllm
Thf' theater is on the second The museum is on (he comer
hl()ck 0" th~ right. opposite. the church .
(only in USA)
 Exercise 2: Look at the ciry map of Addis Ababa and ask your friend to give
directiolls to places shown on the map. Assume that you are at a
place all th e map-you agree with your fri elld.

r Meskel
Square

Exercise 3: Tourists and Guides

When tourists visit a country, they often employ a guide to take them
around and provide them with the necessary infonnation. Imagine that a group of
tourists is visiting Ethiopia. What sort of infonnation would a good guide gives
them about the foHowing tourist sites in the country in order to make them enjoy
their visit,
a) The Awash National Park d) Sofumar
b) Axum e) Gondar
c) Lalibela

r
 •

UNIT SIX ali

,
TAXATION

Objective: In this unit you wi ll :

• Enhance yo ur li stening ski ll s;
• analyze texts criticallyand re late th em to your si tuation;
• learn and use new words and expressions;
• express your feelings of satisfaction, annoyance, dissatisfaction about E
taxation practices;
• take notes from discussions and talks; y
• understand how meaning changes as grammar/structure changes;
• emphasize and intensify ideas in your spoken and written English.
 Section 2: Speaking
Making a Complaint
Making a complaint is te;ling someone Illat you are annoyed, unhappy or
dissatisfied about something or somebody else. People complain about many
things in life; ' and among these are complaints about recently purchased defective
obje(' ts, poor services offered at work places, inadeqpate facilities at a school
library, scarcity of public transportation. unfa' ; payments for education, taxes,
serv ices and many more.
The main purpose of this part of the unit is hence to introduce you to ways
in which complaints can be ex pressed .
In thi s connection, assume that you are a business person and you are
supposed to go to the Int ernal Revenue Office and pay taxes. However you know
that someone has arranged tax exemption for yo ur business for the grace period of
your fresh inve s tm ~ nt activities. The tax collector, however, hands you a tax bill
and requests you to pay a large sum of money. Your response about the
exemption from the tax annoys him and he starts complaining.

Reat! the short script !:elow as a sample dialogue based on the above
scenario.
Tax co llector: Have yo u paid tax for your company?
Company owner: No, I haven't.
Tax co llector: Why not?
Company owner: Because I am exempted from paying my tax for 5 years.
Tax collector: (angrily)How could yo u be exempted?

f
 ~ompany owner: Because I am registered as tax free investor for a grace period
which is 5 years.
fax collector: (really annoyed by now)You should have said so in the first place!

:xercise 1
Assume that you are a tax payer for your enterprise and have already learnt
he amount you should currently pay. When you received the coupon from the tax
:ollector, you saw that your tax bill was for a figur\! a lot higher than the amount
(OU were told earlier. How annoying an incident is it? However, you soon realised
:hat the bill was prepared for another person with the same first name as of yours.
[hen you went back to the ' tax collector and expressed your dissatisfaction,
;omplaining that the bill was meant for somebody else with the same first name.
fhe tax collector showed indifference and insisted on your paying the bill instead.
Read abQII/thc incident described in the follOWing dialogue.

fax payer: Excuse me; r think there is a mistake in my bill. I don't have to pay
this amount
-fax collector: I'm sorry, Sir. Here's the copy of the bill. It has got your name on it
and is duly signed and authorized by the Division Head of our organization
fax ' payer: But that's not my n.l~ne. Perhaps you might have given me another tax
payer's bill by mistake. I'd like to speak to the Division Head.
ax collector: I'm sorry the Division Head is busy. You may take an appointment
or another day, perhaps tomorrow.
ax payer: Never mind, I will talk to the secretary to arrange a date to meet the
cad of the Division.
The complaints of the Tax payer should continue on the following day. Assume
hat he is standing in front of the Division Head still with the wn:mg tax bill in his
and.)

iscuss the scenario in pairs and then produce a short dialogue in which you
xprcss your complain Is ahoul the mistake in the bill. You may complete the
ubsequent part of the dialogue using the clues below.
 The Division Head (OH): You have a complaint to make about your bill, am I
right?
Tax Payer (TP): Yes, I'm afraid there is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
DH: But this looks like _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _--,-_ _ _ _ _ _ __ 1

TP: (Rejects) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~--------

DH:(Analyzes the bill, admits mistakes and apologizes for it) !
1
Exercise 2: In pairs play the roles of a receptionist and a guest who complains I
I
about the poor facilities of the hotel in which he is lodging. '
Example: Guest: Excuse me g
Receptionist: Yes, can I heip you? F
Guest: I'm in room 28. I'm afraid the telephone isn't working, the I d
window's broken, and it's too noisy. Have you got another room?
b
Receptionist: Let me see, Yes, you can have room 21.

Now make up your own conversation

Cl

Exercise 3 b.
a) Prepare in pairs a short dialogue on anyone of the following incidents where
hy y e ll e: ;'ress ,mnoyance, dissatisfaction etcoYu need to identify the per,oon or
i/1.~·lilulion you are complaining about, and the person you u, e complaining to,
The possible incidents are:
1) An unfair school tuition fee.
2) A student who is always given a hard time in the class. c)
3) A p'0blem with the school media service.
4) Poor facilities in the school. ' th o
J, I nn.lo n/nll th o r!inlnofJo in frnnf nf tho rl,,~~
 UNIT SEVEN

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Objectives: In this unit, you will:

• read and identify general and specific information;
• read a text critically to understand the purposes and intentions of the
writer;
• guess meanings of words from contexts;
• write a composition from notes.
\

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em

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as
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 Section 4: Speaking
Giving, Accepting or Oec!ining Invitations
A. Giving Invitations ·
I. What do you usually say when you want to invite someone to (
something?
2. When do you give fonnal invitations and infonnal invitations?
When invitations are made orally, it is common to ask the person to bl
invited if she/ he is available or if she/he has time.
Examples
• Are you doing anything on Saturday?
• Do you have anything on next week?
• Have you got any plans for the weekend?
• Do you have time for a coffee break! chat?
~ Let's have a coffee after class.

Exsrcise 1: Can you add some more expressions?

Invitations can be made in several ways. If you are giving the invitation to '
someone who is older than you, higher in position , status or rank, or when there is
distance between you and the person, the invitation has to be fonnal.
Examples
• I'd like to invite you to dinner, Ato Akalu .
• May 1 invite you to my house?
• Would you like to come to my birthday party?
 You can be infonnal with a relative or a friend, or with a person with whom
au have a very close relationship .
:'xamples
• Can you come to my birthday party on Saturday?
• Do you want to come to the cinem'a tonight?
• Do you feel like eating out in a restaurant?
• How about going out for dinner together tomorrow?

Exercise 2: Give Examples affarmal ar infarmal invitations as appropriate in

I
the following situations.
Formal Informal
Situation invitation invitation
a. Invite a friend to lea
b. Invi te your boss to your daughter's birthday
party I
c. Invite your classmate to the cinema
d. Invite your sister to pIa:: cards with you
e. Invite your boy/girl friend or wife/husband for a
walk in the forest
f Invite youi' teacher to a graduation party

lg.
Invite the parents of your friend to dinner in
your house

B., Accepting and Declining an r'lVitation

People can accept or decline (refuse) invitations.
Look at the following ways (If accepting an invitation.
1. A: I'd like to invite you to lunch .
. B: Thank you, I'd be glad to, I'd love to come.
Thank you, I'd like that.
2. A: · I wondered if you'd come to my graduation ceremony on Saturday.
B: That is very kind of you, I'd love to come.

J
 I

- -- .- J
r'

In informal situations; the following responscs can be used

1. A: Can you come to the cinema with me')
8: Thanks, I'd love to.
Thanks, I'd like to .
.
2. A: How about going to the stadium:
B: Thanks, that sounds grcaL
What a good idea!
3. A: Do you feel like going to thc theatre?
B: Ok! All right
•
In declining (refusing) an invitation, it is C0mmon to give a reason or make an
apology.

Look at the examples

A: I'd like to invite you to lunch.
B: I'm sorry but I havc to go home now.
That is very kind of you, but my wife is expccting m.:: to be home carly.
A: Can you come to my birthday party on Friday?
8: Oh I'm afraid I can't come on Friday. I am going to Nazareth.

Exercise 3: Can you give some more apo/(lgies or reasons j or refu sing. Observe
the following ways of dec/illing invitations
A: Do you have a programmc/anything on Tuesday evening? I'd like 10 Invite you
to dinner at my home?
B: Oh, I'm sorry, my younger sister is coming from Gondar on Tuesday.
A: What about Thursday?
B: That'd be fine, I think.
A: Where shall we mect thcn?
B: At the bus stop.
A: What time shall we meet"?
B: Shall we say 5:30?
A: That sounds fine, I'll look fOlward to it.
 Exercise 4: Take turns to invite your partner to the following occasions. Your
partner can either refuse or accept the invitation, Try to use as
valid expressions as you can.
occasion place time and day
tea tea house 3:00 o'clock Saturday afternoon
movie gymnasium 4:000 'clock Saturday afternoon
a talk/a chat my house

Exercise 5: The following expressio/ls are not grammatically acceptable, can

.. you make them acceptable?
1. ·I'd like to invite you coffee.
2. Dad, would you be interested to playing chess with me? •
3. I can't come today, my friend has invited me his birthday party.
4. What about to drinking coffee together in the students lounge?
5. I'd love to coming with you, but I'm afraid to say no.

Exercise 6: Complete the following and practise it with If partner

A:
-------------------
B: No, I don't have anything to do, but why?
A: ___________________________

A: Can you come to the cinema tomorrow?

B: I'm afraid, I can't come tomorrow, because I have an assignment to finish
for Wednesday.
A: _______________________
B: That sounds OK. I'm free on Saturday.

A: ____---------------------
B: OK. I'll look forward to it.

Exercise 7: In the following situations, make short conversations paying

particular attention to the use of acceptable language.
1. Goshu invites his boss, Akalu, and his wife to lunch next Sunday.
Ato Akalu and his wife will not be in town next Sunday.
 ,
2. Elfinesh invites a friend of hers, Tseganesh, to her house at the week-end.
Tseganesh has an appointment with h«r boyfriend at the weekend.
E1ifensh suggests another time.
This time Tseganesh accepts the invitation.

.ng

III

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 ---

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- 6

UNIT EIGHT caUl

sec'
the
WOMEN'S EDUCATION

Objectives: In this unit, you will:

• analyze listening and reading texts
• infer the meanings of certain words and expressions from the context;
• use the words/expressions in new contexts;
• take notes from a short lecture/talk;
• fonnulate a questionnaire to collect data for a case study;
• identify issues related to the topic of this unit, discuss and present them to
your class based on the data collected and manipulated;
• \"Tite an essay based on the results;
• use noun clauses and relative c1auses'correctly in your writing.
 Yc
aSj

IvL
Section 2: Speaking soc
Group discussion Tb
In th is sectiOli , th e students lVill practice speakillg t/iru:Igh lakillg parI in sll/all li ft
g roup discussion alld presenting th e consenslls ojlhe g.'·OIlP to the whcle class.
d el .
the
Exercise 1: In small groups of four ta Jiv.e. discuss .Ihe issues of JDC4/.
unfavourable practices and how to avoid these practices.
The issues could be about:
o practices imposed upon young boy and girls not to pursue their
education.
o the likely causes o:'social discrimination against women.
o stigmatization of women .

Procedures
o The group should have a chairperson and a secretary.
o The secretary should record the points raised in the discussion and
organize them as minutes of a meeting noting how many agreed and
disagreed with the points made and recording the consensus.
• The notes should be read out to the group members to reorgani ze and
enrich them.
o The presentation should be made orally to the whole class by the
chairperson or the secretary of the group.
• The other members of the group can also participate In the
presentation by making amendments and ans",·ering questions arising
from the class.
o The presenters are required to speak clearly and briefly.
 UNIT NINE
The
enous
I. The
IMPACT OF HIVI AIDS
: goes
e she Objectives: In this unit, you will :
It her • read and analyze a text;
• write /give a report;
:, (8) • use reported speech and 'wh' questions;
' ector • take notes from spoken sources;,
I
nan's I • write an essay on the effects ofHIV/ AIDS.

le to
had
how

on

(
 ----.',
Section 4: Speaking
1. Work with your group and prepare a short talk on the following topic.
The Social and Economic Impacts of HIV/ AIDS . You can fonow the following
procedure .
.a) As an assignment, all students should prepare their own notes on the topic.
You can ask people .in hospitals, and other places; you can use
newspapers, or other sources to gather information. Every student must
come to classwith ideas which she/he will contribute to the group's
discussion.
b) The group selects one student as their spokesperson. He/she will, in the next
session, speak about what the group has come up with.

r
 --------~-------------------,
2. Complete the tol/owing questions individual/y and then discuss them in y(
groups and reach consensus.
GROUP 1: Agree Disagree Unsul
I. A person who i.s strong and healthy can be infcc&cd
with the HIV/AIDS virus.
2. People who rape children are often relatives of these
children.
3 . People with HIV/AfDS should not come near other
people.
4 . Boys ar~ clev~rer than girls lit Sj:hool.
,
5. A girl W!lO is in love should always do what her I

boyfriend wants rer to do.

6 . Parents should talk about HIV/AIDS with their
children.
7. I can talk easily with an adult in my ff\mily about
I
love affairs. I

GROUP 2: Agree Disagree Unsure

) The HfV virus ~an be spread by mosquitoes
or other insects
2. Peop le of my age are too young to get the
HIV virus
.
3. I am willing to ellt from the same plates as
someone with HIV/AIDS . .
4. It is alright for boys to have many girlfriends
_ __ " 0-

5. A boy who is in love should always do what

his girlfriend wants him to do.
6. Parents should talk about sex with their
children.
, . I am sti II too young to fall in love.
7
 GROUP 3: Agree Disagree Unsure
I. Many people who carry the HIY virus look
healthy and normal
2. It is very dangerous for young people to
have sex with someone older
3. People with HlY/AIDS have only
themselves to blame
4. When a schoolgirl gets pregnant it is her
own fault
5. If yo u love someone you should have sex
with that person
6. I can talk to my friend about HIY / AIDS and
sex
7. My classmate's are sti ll 100 young to fall in
love

GROUP 4: Agree Disagree Unsure

1. Condoms are a good way to prevent
infection with the HIY virus.
1-,..
"-. People living on farms and In small
villages are safe from HIV/AIDS.
3. People with HIV/AIDS deserve our love
and support.
4. It is wrong for a girl to have many
boyfriends.
5. A good mend should do whatever I tell or
advise him to do .
6. I can talk to my parents/family about
HIV/AIDS and sex .
7. I find it difficult to talk about love and sex.
(Adapted from: UNICEF questionnaire adapted · by A.M Educational
Consultants, Pilot Project, December 1999, pp. 116-117)
When groups have reached agteement on the questions, they should share
informati on with the other groups.
 DECLARA nON

I, the undersigned , dec lare that this thesis is my work and all sources of materials used for this
thesis have been duly acknowledged.

Name: Abdu latif Hajj-I smael

S ignature _--",t"",-b-=-::c
&u;)
~=-_
Place: Facu lty of Language Studies, Addis Ababa Un iversity

Date of Submission: May, 20 II.