Issues in Second Language Teaching - Alessandro Benati
Key Issues in the Teaching of Speaking
Issues in Second Language Teaching - Alessandro Benati
Alessandro G. Benati [+]
University of Portsmouth
Professor Alessandro Benati is Professor of Second Language Acquisition and Head of School of Languages and Area Studies at the University of Portsmouth. He is internationally known for his research in second language learning and teaching, with special emphases on processing instruction. He is a pioneering researcher in the area of second language acquisition (SLA) and has built a reputation on two fronts. On one front, he is a premier Italian language scholar producing the most empirical work on the teaching and acquisition of Italian in the world. On the other front, he is a scholar in the more general field of instructed SLA, with an emphasis on the effects of formal instruction on the acquisition of grammatical properties by second language learners. He has a strong publications record with 12 established monographs, chapters and articles in international journals (Language Awareness, IRAL, and Language Teaching Research).
Description
In this chapter, some of the key issues around the role of speaking in second language acquisition will be examined. Guidelines and principles that language instructors might follow to produce effective tasks that would help L2 learners improve their oral skills in second language learning will be offered. An outline of the basic principles derived from theory, focusing on the notion of a ‘task’ as central to the teaching of speaking, will be provided.