Advice on IELTS Speaking Teaching Based on Applied Linguistics Theory

CHEN Ning

【Abstract】As more and more Chinese students are trying to study abroad， IELTS becomes one of the most important tests all around China. After years development， IELTS speaking teaching still meets certain difficulties. This paper gives specific advice based on certain applied linguistics theory， i.e. Grammar-translation Method， Audio-lingualism， and Natural Order Hypothesis， trying to provide enlightenment for future IELTS speaking teaching.

【Key words】Applied Linguistics； IELTS Speaking Teaching； Grammar-translation Method； Audio-lingualism； Natural Order Hypothesis

中圖分类号： H319.9 文献标识码： A 文章编号： 2095-2457（2018）21-0135-002

DOI：10.19694/j.cnki.issn2095-2457.2018.21.059

Applied Linguistics （AL）， in a broad sense， refers to the use of information from sociology， psychology， anthropology， and information theory as well as from linguistics in order to develop its own theoretical models of language and language use， followed by the application of this information and theory in practical areas such as syllabus design， speech therapy， language planning， and stylistics， etc； while in a narrow sense， it deals with the second and foreign language learning and teaching. （ Richards， Platt， Weber ，1985）

The International English Language Testing System （IELTS） measures the language proficiency of people who want to study or work where English is used as a language of communication， which provides a valid and accurate assessment of the four language skills： listening， reading， writing and speaking， introduced by the IELTS website. Speaking part in IELTS is always an challenging one for most Chinese students. Varied teaching methods have been applied so for. Even though， how to teaching IELTS speaking in an effective way is still an unsolved problem because of the limited linguistic environment. Based on the theory of Applied Linguistic， the following gives a general introduction of reformed IELTS speaking class.

1 Syllabus Design

Syllabus design refers to procedures for deciding what will be taught in a language program. Its possible components are as follows： the first one is “aims” or “goals”， which are general statements about what must be accomplished by the end of the course； the second one is “objectives” or “targets” or “requirements”， in which specific statements about what contents or skills that students must master in order to attain the goals are presented； the third one is “non-language outcomes”， such as affect cultivation， learning strategies， thinking skills， interpersonal skills， and cultural understanding， etc.； the forth one is “learning contents”， which includes knowledge， skills， functions and notions， topics， and culture； the fifth one is “implementations”， where approaches or methodologies， teaching principles， teaching suggestions， and recommendation of textbooks or materials are listed； the final one is “assessments” or “evaluations”， for instance， who should carry out the assessment or evaluation， what should be evaluated， how the evaluation is best done， and for what purposes the evaluation should be done.