The improvement of Oral English Skills at private Language Schools. Strategies for teachers

Book excerpt: Thesis (M.A.) from the year 1998 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, Nova Southeastern University, language: English, abstract: The objective of this paper is to find solutions or strategies for the classroom instructor that will enhance students’ skills in oral practice, and will fulfill the curriculum objectives outlined to the faculty staff by the target school. The target school serves its local community which consists of mostly Hispanics. The semester for each level of study, lasts for one month. Within this month of instruction, the students have to complete and improve their listening and oral skills through the use of grammar, listening, and oral exercises which are supplemented by audio and visual aids, but directly instructed and guided by a classroom teacher. The problems that the target school faces lies in the discrepancies found on the test results of the exit examination compared to classroom performance results. The target group passes the examination given at the school with average marks, but due to the beliefs of the administration, those scores can be considered close to failing.