Improving Our Students' Speaking Skills: Using Selective Error Correction and Group Work To Reduce Anxiety and Encourage Real Communication.

This paper examines obstacles faced by Japanese students learning English, noting that many such students are highly competent in reading, writing, and listening, but not in speaking. It suggests that students are worried about making oral mistakes, which cannot be erased once uttered, and that oral activities completed in English class are often meaningless and irrelevant to daily life. Four chapters focus on the following: (1) "The Problems Which Lead to Japanese Who Cannot Speak English" (the grammar-translation method, large class size, and student characteristics); (2) "Two Keys for Improving Speaking" (reducing learning anxiety and using meaningful communication in class); (3) "Two Valuable Techniques for Lowering Anxiety and Increasing Communication" (appropriate error correction and group work); and (4) "Applying the Techniques in Japan: Sample Lessons with Suggestions" (sharing tips on how to be successful learners, talking about cell phones, talking about scientists, and using a show-and-tell technique). Four appendixes contain handouts and a script and pictures to be used in the show-and-tell technique). (Contains 29 references.) (SM)