Online published on 28 February, 2020.
The study attempts to develop the oral skills of the Yemeni learners of English for many reasons. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. A great number of non-English speakers as well as native speakers use English as an important medium of International communication in every part of the world. English is no longer the language used solely in English speaking countries; rather it is internationally used. No developing country can ignore the role of spoken English in improving its international profile prominence. Yemen is no expectation.
However, teaching oral skills in Yemen presents a dismal picture. There is a misconception of teaching these skills. Over the last two decades, oral skills have been taught in a very monotonous and traditional way. These are viewed as mere teaching of the segmental and suprasegmental aspects of language. Much emphasis is laid on teaching on teaching the accurate pronunciation of words independently, not in context. Listening and speaking skills are bypassed. Hardly any attention is given to them. This misconception has its negative impact on the education in Yemen in general. Students at the secondary level as well as the tertiary level are unable to express their thoughts and fail to engage in real communicative situations. It is possible for people to pronounce sounds and words correctly but still unable to communicate their ideas appropriately and effectively. On the other hand, people can make numerous errors in both phonology and syntax and yet succeed in expressing them fairly clearly. Therefore, teaching pronunciation independently will not make fluent speakers of English. It must be undertaken in conjunction with listening and speaking skills.
Furthermore, the courses used for teaching spoken English are structure-oriented. They do not engage students in realand interactiveuseof language. The learner'srole isconfined torepetitionandchoral drills activities. This fact makes our students lose interest in learning and drives them mad with monotony. Besides, there are some other courses which incorporate some communicative aspects along withthe teachingof pronunciation but suchcoursesarenotdesigned to suit the Yemeni learners of English, since they are borrowed from the western countries where English is taught as the first language. They are culturally and socially inappropriate for the Yemeni context.
Designing a course in spoken English has, therefore, become a necessity to tackle these problems and to enhance theproficiency ofourlearners in theoralcommunication skillsto keep themup withprogress. Therefore, the researcher has taken up the responsibility of preparing materials for teaching the oral skills taking into consideration the assumption that the interactive and communicative teaching of pronunciationin conjunction with listening andspeakingskills, taking intoaccountthe needs, problems, interests and the cultural background of the Yemeni learners competent and fluent users of English.
