the clausal nature of much spoken language and the role
of chunks (sense or tone groups such as 'the other day/
I got a real surprise/ when I got a call/ from an old school
friend').
! the frequency of fixed utterances or conversational routines
in spoken language (e. g. Is that right, You know what
I mean).
! the interactive and negotiated nature of oral interaction
involving such processes as turn-taking, feedback, and topic
management.
! the differences between interactional talk (person oriented)
and transactional talk (message oriented).
Current approaches to the teaching of speaking thus reflect
the following principles:
! Speaking and oral interaction is seen as the basis for
learning.
! Non-native usage as well as native usage both serve as
models.
! English for cross-cultural communication is a primary
goal.
! Models in classroom materials are often informed by
corpus analysis.
! Functional or other types of communicative syllabus
predominate.
! Both accuracy and fluency are a primary goal with
a greater tolerance of errors.
! Oral proficiency is viewed as dependent upon mastery of
lexical phases and conversational routines.
! Cultural awareness is addressed.
! Pair and group activities predominate in the classroom.