How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” to Improve Speaking Skills Among Vocational Training Students

UNIVERSITE D’ANTANANARIVO

ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE

DEPARTEMENT DE FORMATION

INITIALE LITTERAIRE

CER LANGUE ET LETTRES ANGLAISES

Adapting the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” to improve speaking skills among vocational training students.

Directed by: Mireille RABENORO, agrégée de l’Université, Maitre de Conférences

Written by: Fara Mirado Andriamamonjisoa Academic year: 2015 – 2016

Presented on December 2nd 2016

Adapting the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” to improve speaking skills among vocational training students.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Reasons for the choice of the topic...... 5

The chosen research methodology...... 6

Scope and limitations...... 7

Structure of the work...... 7

1 Part I : The context of “ How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying”: the business world in post-WWII America...... 8 1.1 How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying”: the book and its authors ...... 8 1.1.1 The authors ...... 8 1.1.1.1 The source material ...... 8 1.1.1.2 The musical ...... 9 1.1.2 How to Succeed: Its creation ...... 11 1.2 Historical background of the 50s and the 60s ...... 12 1.2.1 The U.S. history from the lens of Politics ...... 12 1.2.1.1 Some features of Eisenhower’s administration ...... 12 1.2.1.2 John Kennedy’s presidency ...... 14 1.2.2 The U.S. economy ...... 16 1.2.3 Social aspects of the 1950s and the 1960s ...... 17 1.2.3.1 The 1950s ...... 17 1.2.3.1.1 The post war boom ...... 17 1.2.3.1.2 The 50s civil rights issue ...... 19 1.2.3.2 The 1960s ...... 20 1.2.3.2.1 The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s ...... 20 1.2.3.2.2 The debilitating Vietnam War ...... 21 1.3 The 50s' and the 60s' and the American Dream ...... 21 1.4 The Women’s Liberation Movement of the 60s ...... 23 1.4.1 Women at work ...... 24

1.4.2 Women having a say in the government ...... 26 2 Part II Using How to Succeed to address the challenges of learning and teaching speaking skills among vocational training schools ...... 28 2.1 A brief overview of the E.L.T. in the tertiary stream ...... 28 2.2 A S-W-O-T analysis of speaking sessions in vocational schools ...... 29 2.2.1 Strengths ...... 30 2.2.2 Weaknesses ...... 31 2.2.3 Opportunities ...... 39 2.2.4 Threats ...... 40 2.3 Using musicals to teach speaking skills ...... 40 2.3.1 Defining Speaking skills ...... 43 2.3.2 Understanding the process of speaking ...... 44 2.3.3 Speaking skills to be developed ...... 44 2.3.3.1 The need for oral fluency ...... 44 2.3.3.2 Pronunciation ...... 45 2.3.3.2.1 The English language sound ...... 45 2.3.3.2.2 The English Language Stress ...... 45 2.3.3.2.3 The English Language Intonation ...... 46 2.3.3.3 Non-verbal communicative skills ...... 50 2.3.4 Drama in teaching speaking skills ...... 51 2.3.4.1 Drama reduces the affective filter ...... 51 2.3.4.2 The concept of Action Control and Self-Motivating Strategies ...... 52 3 PART III An opportunity to act out ...... 55 3.1 Using the musical to stimulate students’ willingness to speak ...... 55 3.2 A humorous script to work on ...... 56 3.3 Addressing the issue of vocabulary ...... 56 3.4 Preliminary preparations: The need for restructuring ...... 56 3.4.1 Choice of the scenes ...... 57 3.4.2 The need for contextual adaptation ...... 59 3.4.2.1 Adapting the script to the level of the students ...... 59 3.4.2.2 Modernizing the songs in the musical ...... 62 3.5 Organizing the activity ...... 63 3.5.1 Some suggestions on organizing speaking activities ...... 63 3.5.1.1 Before ...... 63

3.5.1.2 During ...... 68 3.5.1.3 After ...... 71 3.5.2 The actual performance ...... 73 3.6 Suggestions on ways of dealing with the musical ...... 74 3.6.1 Some technical procedural strategies ...... 74 3.6.2 A report on the experimentation ...... 76 3.7 Some suggested activities to teach the components of speaking skills ...... 78 3.7.1 Teaching sounds ...... 79 3.7.2 Teaching word stress and sentence stress via the Names / Suburbs game ...... 81 3.7.3 Teaching intonation ...... 82 3.7.3.1 Using the hot seat game ...... 82 3.7.3.2 Via the attitude game ...... 83 GENERAL CONCLUSION...... 84

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Years of Teaching Experience ...... 31 Figure 2 Teachers’ Academic Studies ...... 33 Figure 3 Learners’ attitudes to speaking ...... 34 Figure 4 Speaking Sessions ...... 37 Figure 5 Speaking Sessions Frequency ...... 37 Figure 6 Reasons Why Teachers Do not Teach Speaking ...... 38 Figure 7 Types of Drama Activities Teachers Already Use ...... 41 Figure 8 Advantages of Using Drama-based Activities ...... 41

General Introduction

0.1 Reasons for the choice of the topic, the objectives and the hypothesis of the work.

The strong will to contribute to the promotion of the English language in Malagasy vocational schools (Tertiary section), constitute the main reason of this research work.

During the years spent at the Lycée Technique Commercial Ampefiloha, it was noticed that a little attention was attributed to the teaching of English speaking skills. Students in Malagasy vocational training schools are maimed of speaking skills as teachers lose themselves much in the teaching of the technical terms and grammar that they almost forget the communicative purposes of language teaching. Indeed as stated by RODGERS and RICHARDS (2001: 55)“ the primary medium of language is oral: speech is language(...) language is primarily what is spoken”. Speaking activities rarely occurred; nevertheless, the students were very excited when it came to dialogues since it was the sole instant they could exercise their tongues in the target language. Moreover, speaking activities happened only when the topic dealt with “Telephoning”. Thus, the students encounter difficulties when attempting to orally express themselves in English. To some extent, it could be inferred that much yield can be expected if students were given opportunities. On the other hand, teachers encounter problems in dealing with speaking activities as they lack resources.

Another reason which has led to the proposal of this work is the regard to the pending demand for English speaking workers in the market of work.

Even though this proposed material is not aimed at providing a Business English course, it can be used as a means to motivate students to learn English, and to awake both students’ and teachers’ awareness on the importance of English in the Business world.

The English language still holds its worldwide place as the first language mostly spoken; it is used in numerous countries all over the world as a language for communication. Nowadays, English constitutes a valuable asset in most job advertisements especially in the fields of office works and in service companies which are mushrooming in Madagascar. Besides, in the field of service delivery the use of the English language plays an important role especially the oral production of it as most of the dealings are operated through oral

5 exchanges. In the sphere of globalization, in which Madagascar is involved, the demand for English speaking workers is sky rocketing. As stated by Ramya Raju, an English professional working out of London: “Success in business is often hinged on one single important word – communication; and most of it happens in English”1. Thus, it infers that vocational schools specializing in Trade should prepare their students with speaking abilities that cater the language requirements in the market of work.

Henceforth, this research is aimed to provide students with an opportunity to largely improve English speaking proficiency and for teachers a material to promote the teaching of speaking despite the fact that most of the latter think that teaching English in vocational schools is confined to the teaching of technical jargons. The present work demonstrates how the utilization of the adapted extracts from “ How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" could be efficiently used as a material to promote the teaching and learning of speaking skills among teachers and students in Malagasy vocational training institutions.

0.2 The chosen research methodology

As afore mentioned, the decision to carry out this research work results from high school personal experiences; however, to have a more specific data, other kinds of data collection were opted for --- class observations, and interviews were conducted in order to collect data that will help in achieving this research work.

Class observations were undertaken to determine the reality on teachers’ approach of the teaching of English in vocational schools. Those class observations were held in rural and urban areas of Antananarivo namely Lycée Frisquette Avaratsena Itaosy, Institution La Joie Andronahoatra Itaosy, Lycée Technique La Reine Anosisoa Itaosy, Institution d’Enseignement Technique Amboanjobe Andoharanofotsy, Lycée “Au Raval” Ambatofotsy, Institution Sainte Famille Mahamasina, and the Lycée Technique Commercial Ampefiloha. Teachers in these schools constituted the focus group of the survey through interviews.

1 http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/blog/importance-of-english-in-the-business- world-today/ Thursday,21st August 2014 at 11:01 a.m

0.3. Scope and limitations

The present research work mainly concentrates on the adapted form of the two first sections of Mead’s book with the aid of the musical version of his work and a few modern songs as a means to assist both teachers and learners in the teaching and learning of speaking skills. Besides, the target field is the tertiary section given the fact that less attention is given to it. In addition, the focal level is the classe de seconde since students in this level are spared from official examinations and thus can adapt their schedule to extracurricular activities. But more specifically the classe de seconde because students need to sprout upon a good foundation; hence, if students have at their disposal right at the beginning a drive to learn the English language, they will hopefully continue to nurture their desire for proficiency. Therefore, the adapted form of Mead's book is advanced to participate in the promotion of the teaching and learning of speaking skills in vocational training schools.

0.4 Structure of the work

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to the presentation of the suggested resource enunciating the interesting elements that are worth being exploited in E.L.T. given the reality of the teaching of speaking skills in vocational training schools. The second part deals with critical analysis of the results of class observations and interviews administered among a selected population together with the dissection of the efficiency of the proposed teaching resource. The suggested way of dealing with it is then expanded throughout the third part.

1 Part I: The context of “ How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying”: the business world in post-WWII America. Introduction

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” is a musical by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name. Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert published the musical in 1961. Thus it is worth elaborating on the political, economical, and social historical background of the U.S. in the 50s and the 60s. The social mobility that is depicted through the rise of the plain window washer Finch to the preferred position as an executive illustrates the American Dream ethos of America. “A woman is not a toy!”, the musical song that follows the hiring of Hedy LaRue (an extremely attractive but air-headed woman who is Mr. Biggley's secret mistress) as a secretary, refers to the Women's Liberation Movement of the 60s protesting the widespread idea that women's only worth was for their bodies. The political, economical, and social historical background of the U.S. in the 50s and the 60s' together with the theme of the American Dream and the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 60s constitute the major elements that shaped the musical.

1.1 How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying”: the book and its authors 1.1.1 The authors

1.1.1.1 The source material Shepherd Mead

Known under the pen name Shepherd Mead, Edward Mead was born on April 26, 1914 in St. Louis where he attended both Country Day prep school and Washington University on scholarship. After graduating, he moved to New York and started working for the Benton and Bowels advertising agency as a mail-room clerk in 1936, clawing his way up to the position of the vice-president. In his free time, Mead initiated himself to writing – the premise of which knew a rejection as it was considered as “not being commercial enough”; however, his experiences at the advertising agency triggered his writing career.

In 1951 the fame that “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” entailed largely compensated the disappointment his first book brought about as “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” was ranked among the top 20 best sellers. This was followed by several novels on big businesses, one of which, The Admen, sold more than two million copies. He wrote a variety of other satirical “how to” books including How to Stay Medium-

Young Practically Forever Without Really Trying, How to Succeed with Women Without Really Trying: The Dastard Guide to Birds and the Bees. In 1956 Mead left Benton and Bowels for good to pursue a writing career. Mead’s fame and success result from his biting attacks against society. His quest for success led him out of the U.S.A and motivated him to immigrate to Europe in 1957. In 1958, Mead moved his family to England where he lived until his death at the age of 80 in a flat at Hurlingham Club in 15 August 1994.

How to Succeed was written in the guise of a self-help guide, and many of its tips and tricks take from Mead's own business career. Although the book has no plot, it uses the protagonist J. Pierrepont Finch as a shining example of how the gradual instructions contained in the short mock guide book – only over 150 pages – may be used successfully. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to climb from the mailroom all the way to a corner office. Notable chapter titles include: “How to Delegate Responsibilities,” How to Write Memos,” How to Make More Money,” “How to Keep Money,” “How to Play Company Politics,” and “SEX in Business, its Uses and Abuses.” Mead’s statement in the introduction of the book – “these illustrative bits were taken from life, indeed form the career of a man who was living monument to the precepts of this work” – indicates in other words that Finch's climb up the corporate ladder is not all that different from the author's own.

1.1.1.2 The musical A summary of the plot

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, relates the story of the triumphal ascension of the green young window washer Pierre Pont Finch to the position of an executive through the use of and guide book entitled “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. The clever and ambitious Finch decided to climb up the corporate ladder by strictly abiding by the book’s instructions; he first started to use Mr. Biggley’s name to nudge Bratt into hiring him. Thus, he tactfully succeeded in securing himself a job in the mailroom at the World Wide Wicket Company – the business in the office building whose windows he washes – to start his journey, before swiftly attaining the top of the organization through schemes to outsmart his blubbery rival, Frump, who also happens to be the boss's nephew. Right from the start, Finch has gained the love and support of Rosemary, a marriage-minded secretary who recognizes Finch’s potential, as she was attracted by his innocent comportment. At first he disregarded Rosemary’s love in the process of his quest for the top position but eventually begins to fall in love with her.

As time went by he grew impatient and ultimately has to decide if climbing to the top of the ladder is worth stepping on all those along the way making a fatal error by not reading far enough ahead in the book. Finch finds out that the president of the company, J. B. Biggley, has made advances towards Hedy LaRue, a beautiful but incompetent woman the company has hired. Finch uses this information to assist his climb on the corporate ladder.

Consequently in a critical moment, he could no longer rely on his manual book for help; he had to resort to his own wits, and ultimately to honesty to handle the disastrous situation he put himself in – when the idea of treasure hunt in the wicket company which he took from Frump failed, everyone put all the blame on him and he willingly took it upon him in his avowal of his real identity as a window washer. His heart felt declaration saved him from being evicted; he told the executives that even though the business world is a place filled with betrayal and competitiveness, the World Wide Wicket staff is like a family to him. Everyone was spared except Frump because he is Biggley’s nephew – nepotism.

Abe Burrows

Radio personality, songwriter, singer and pianist, television personality, playwright, and stage director Abe Burrows (1910 – 85) broke into the entertainment business after several years as an accountant and Wall Street runner. His comedic skills established him as a popular songwriter and radio personality before he partnered with Frank Loesser on Guys and Dolls in 1950. The musical was an enormous popular and critical success, and he went on to direct and wrote a variety of plays over the course of his Broadway career.

Frank Loesser

Unable to study music professionally and forced to drop out college during the Great Depression, Frank Loesser (1910 – 69) supported himself with an array of jobs, from working as a process server to city editor of a short-lived newspaper in New Rochelle. Intrigued by word play, Loesser began to write his major songs, sketches, and radio scripts. He produced his major wartime hit, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, in 1942 and founded Frank Music Corp., his own publishing company in 1950. His first musical score was for Where's Charley? In 1948. He worked on four other Broadway musical during his career – Guys and

Dolls, How to Succeed, The Most Happy Felta, and Greenwillow – established him as one of the most influential figures in musical theater history.

1.1.2 How to Succeed: Its creation Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser's first collaboration with Guys and Dolls was resoundingly successful, but it was not for another 10 years, when their producers proposed the idea of adapting Shepherd Mead's book into a stage musical, that the two worked together again. Burrows first read the satirical guidebook when it appeared in paperback in 1956. His agent suggested a musical adaptation, but Burrows initially rejected the idea: “I enjoyed the book, but who the hell would want to see a show about Big Business? Besides, even though the book was funny, there was no plot, no story to build on.” Instead, two writers – Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert – wrote a straight play based on the book. Finally, with a broad storyline and a basic comic structure off of which to work, Burrows agreed to tackle the project.

Nevertheless, a re-adaptation showed necessary as a regard to the philosophies of the partners – the source material's (Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert's) lack of a clear storyline posed problems for both Burrows and Loesser. Frank Loesser was accustomed to a romantic wistful style of music, in contrast with Burrows' more humorous background – together, they struck a balance that proved invaluable to the production. Burrows was excited about the comedic possibilities in Finch's journey up the corporate ladder, but Loesser refused to collaborate unless the character was given a love story. Hence the character of Rosemary – a secretary at the World Wide Wicket Company who instantly falls in love with Finch – was inserted to give a romance to it. Loesser insisted not only because he was adept to writing such a subject matter, but also to establish an attractive side to Finch's character.

Both Loesser and Burrows have experiences in the business world – Loesser with his music company and Burrows in his early years as an accountant and Wall Street runner – and by extension had a well of experience to tap into. The result, while satirical, was less bitter and cynical than it was mocking.

The writing process took off after Loesser and Burrows created “Coffee Break”, which subtitle was not part of Mead's original book. It established the comedic style for the rest of the production or as Burrows put it: “It was a helluva a number2 and suddenly we saw

2 (Slang) used to give emphasis to what a person is saying; Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th Edition, p.725

11 daylight.”

The production was supposed to open in the spring of 1961, but because the script was a still a work-in-progress, it was postponed until the fall. When rehearsals began, the final two scenes were non-existent. Burrows and Loesser had no idea how to resolve the story after Finch's treasure hunt goes awry. They were ultimately inspired by the Bay of Pigs invasion in April of that year, America's abortive attempt to invade Cuba, and President Kennedy's subsequent public statement in which he, as his country's figurehead, accepted all the blame. “Here's a mighty nation caught in a jam and everybody else except the President is blaming everybody else. And everybody else is blaming everybody else who's blaming everybody else,” Burrows said. The final two scenes mirror this national blame game, particularly Biggley's heartfelt speech in which he asserts that “anything that happened is not my fault.”Audiences immediately recognized and responded to the allusion to Kennedy's speech, and the play ended as unrealistic as it began.

1.2 Historical background of the 50s and the 60s While Americans were enjoying the prosperous post war times, How to Succeed’s authors tried to call for their attention through their works. Each author composes their respective book as a means to expose the societal and the political shortcomings of the era by utilizing the corporate world as a setting. Thus both the manual book and the musical depict the 50s and the 60s political, economical and societal defects.

1.2.1 The U.S. history from the lens of Politics

1.2.1.1 Some features of Eisenhower’s administration

The unapologetic Eisenhower’s administration was characterized by his relaxed and yet effective strategies – he was then labeled ‘the hidden-hand president’ – while Kennedy’s was marked by a series of wars, youth empowerment, and a few discoveries and innovations. Unlike his predecessor, Kennedy was most remembered by the Americans for his sincere apology after the abortive attempt of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Some features of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration

The presidency of Dwight David Eisenhower spanned the years from 1953 to 1961. He was one of the most likeable presidents and even given the nickname ‘Ike’. During and

12 immediately after Eisenhower's presidency, his critics painted him as a great general but a bumbling politician. In later years, many came to understand that his political skills were more formidable than they seemed.

Many historians during and immediately after Eisenhower's term in office thought that he was an uninvolved president who spent his time relaxing while relying on aides to do the hard work of actually running the government. Ike's golf outings – he played every Wednesday and Friday and vacationed at Augusta National – added to the impression. His tenure was "a sort of political vacuum in the White House," one journalist commented. It was "the bland leading the bland," others said of the Eisenhower era. In fact the president had learned under the tremendous pressure of his military duties that time to relax was essential to good decision-making.

In later years, studying the papers of the Eisenhower administration, historians learned that Ike was a careful, thoughtful, and deliberate manager who was very much involved in every key decision of his government. He ran his administration in the hierarchical manner he had learned in the military, delegating much, but reserving the most important decisions for himself. Mead portrays Eisenhower through J.Biggley – the World Wicket Company boss – and denounces his responsibility delegation through the advice to Finch. He criticizes Eisenhower’s hidden-hand strategy.

In the section How to Stop Being a Junior Executive, Mead presumably satirizes Eisenhower when Finch, a window cleaner in the company and the hero of the novel, is advised to seemingly work hard by using guerilla-like tactics such as sleeping at the office to show how dedicated he is, even if he is not, or coming on weekends when J. Biggley would drop by to pick up his golf clubs. Mead is probably suggesting that being the head of the nation, his president should not have time for golf outings, and should not pretend to work hard when he just relaxes in his office while other people do the real work.

In How to Delegate Responsibility, he pokes at Eisenhower’s delegation strategies by insinuating that the reason why executives delegate responsibilities – by giving others the work they do not want to do – is to allow them the time to do the actual work of management which are sitting and thinking.

Nonetheless, the hidden-hand president was so much loved by his people for his remarkable achievements.

The likeable Dwight Eisenhower was a successful president. He charmed the people and his wartime service earned him a place in the hearts of many. Maintaining peace was a primary objective of his presidency. He secretly traveled to Korea in hopes of bringing peace to that warring nation, risking his own safety. Eventually, a truce was signed but Korea lay divided. He also attempted to ease tensions with the Soviet Union but the capture of an American pilot made it near impossible. The pilot was a spy that had been shot down by the Soviets. Eisenhower refused to apologize and it enraged the Soviets who already harbored a feeling of inferiority.

Despite his gains and losses in the area of foreign affairs, he was always thinking about how to better America. He put into place the Federal Highway Act of 1956, which allowed for the building of interstate and defense highways. He had the safety of the people in mind. Large cities could become targets in future wars and with these highways, cities could easily be evacuated and military personnel could quickly move in. These highways would also significantly reduce travel time. These investments spurred rapid growth in other industries. The concrete and steel industries greatly benefited from this task. The need for these highways comes hand in hand with the need for workers. Workers are needed to make the materials, design the layout and partake in the construction aspect of it. The public did not seem to care too much that Dwight never gave a straight answer.

He had helped the economy in numerous ways, who could really complain? He would confuse his opponents with his beat around the bush tactics. He successfully controlled what the American people heard. He knew exactly what he was doing and knew the power of information. Maybe it was somehow deceitful, but that was exactly why they liked Ike.

1.2.1.2 John Kennedy’s presidency The presidency of John F. Kennedy lasted from January 1961 to November 1963. His time in office was marked by Cold War tensions with Communist states, especially the Soviet Union and Cuba. In May 1960, Castro established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and the United States responded by prohibiting the importation of Cuban sugar. To prevent the Cuban economy from collapsing – sugar exports to the United States comprised 80 percent of the country’s total – the USSR agreed to buy the sugar.

In January 1961, the U.S. government severed diplomatic relations with Cuba and stepped up its preparations for an invasion. Some State Department and other advisors to the new American president, John F. Kennedy, maintained that Castro posed no real threat to America, but the new president believed that masterminding the Cuban leader’s removal would show Russia, China and skeptical Americans that he was serious about winning the Cold War. In Cuba, a failed attempt was made at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow the country's dictator Fidel Castro in April 1961. Kennedy had inherited Eisenhower’s CIA campaign to train and equip a guerilla army of Cuban exiles, but he had some doubts about the wisdom of the plan. The last thing he wanted, he said, was “direct, overt” intervention by the American military in Cuba. But it failed because of non coordinated communication. The CIA had wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but a radio station on the beach (which the agency’s reconnaissance team had failed to spot) broadcast every detail of the operation to listeners across Cuba. Unexpected coral reefs sank some of the exiles’ ships as they pulled into shore. Backup paratroopers landed in the wrong place. Before long, Castro’s troops had pinned the invaders on the beach, and the exiles surrendered after less than a day of fighting; 114 were killed and over 1,100 were taken prisoner. The media ruined the whole plan. It entailed a great frustration among Americans. When Burrows and Loesser were working on the final two scenes of the musical in the spring of 1961, they were inspired by the national blame game caused by the abortive attempt to invade Cuba – the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. They picked on President Kennedy’s subsequent public statement in which he, as his country’s figurehead, accepted all the blame. Biggley’s assertion: “anything that happened is not my fault” in the final two scenes alludes to Kennedy’s speech.

Kennedy's administration subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain public approval for a war against Cuba – known as the Operation Northwoods. In October 1962, it was discovered that Soviet ballistic missiles had been deployed in Cuba; the resulting period of unease, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, is seen by many historians as the closest the human race has ever come to nuclear war between nuclear-armed belligerents – list of States with nuclear weapons. Kennedy also increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower; a further escalation of the American role in the Vietnam War took place after Kennedy's death. Kennedy took steps to support the

African American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968), and after his death his proposed civil rights bill was passed as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His administration was also marked by youth empowerment and some achievements. He ushered in a more activist approach to governing. During his 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy said he would ask Americans to meet the challenges of the "New Frontier." As president, he sought to accelerate economic growth by increasing government spending and cutting taxes, and he pressed for medical help for the elderly, aid for inner cities, and increased funds for education. The Kennedy style called for youth, dynamism, vigor and an intellectual approach to aggressive new policies in foreign affairs. Many of these proposals were not enacted, although Kennedy's vision of sending Americans abroad to help developing nations did materialize with the creation of the Peace Corps. Kennedy also stepped up American space exploration. After his death, the American space program surpassed Soviet achievements and culminated in the landing of American astronauts on the moon in July 1969.

1.2.2 The U.S. economy America was at the height of its confidence: a booming wartime economy evolved into a booming peacetime economy; veterans were returning home to start families; consumerism increased to meet these sudden demands.

At the cusp of this post war euphoria was the bustling corporate world. Prior to the Second Industrial Revolution, the locally oriented American economy did not need offices as they are defined today. The early merchant was his own importer, exporter, banker, wholesaler, retailer, and even ship-owner. At most, a successful business owner had no more than three men helping him with administrative tasks. The nature of American business shifted radically, however, between 1850 and the early 20th century. A range of technological innovations, including the telegraph and railroad, increased production and allowed for more large-scale organizations. Many iconic American businesses, including Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Carnegie Steel, Coca-Cola, and Campbells Soup, were established during this period. At the same time, rising incomes, population growth, and urbanization radically altered the demand side of the economy.

When the WWII ends, consumer demand skyrockets, office and management environments change to attract more workers. Coming out of war, factory jobs paid far more for unskilled and semi- skilled labor than were office jobs; in response, clerical systems emphasized the respectability and status of office work. Advertisements for jobs described

“friendly” offices and bosses; attractive health insurance and retirement plans became part of the financial rewards for working; and offices were physically being “landscaped.” They became color-coordinated with attractive furniture and comfortable music and lighting, not only for executive and upper management workers, but even for the office clerks and secretaries. Now this is obviously relevant, far more than the previous section on politics

New York was the pinnacle of this corporate revolution. Between 1950 and 1960 more new office space was added to New York than existed in the rest of the world. In one decade that one city doubled the world's available office space. And all of it went upward, transforming, for example, midtown Park Avenue from a sedate backwater of domestic brownstones into a glistening river of glass and steel.

1.2.3 Social aspects of the 1950s and the 1960s Historians tend to portray the 1950s as a decade of prosperity, conformity, and consensus, and in contrast the 1960s as a decade of turbulence, protest, and disillusionment.

1.2.3.1 The 1950s The 50s were characterized by a tremendous economical growth which affected the American society both for better and for worse.

1.2.3.1.1 The post war boom Historians use the word “boom” to describe a lot of things about the 1950s: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called “baby boom.” This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies – 3.4 million – were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s. In all, by the time the boom finally tapered off in 1964, there were almost 77 million “baby boomers”. After World War II ended, many Americans were eager to have children because they were confident that the future held nothing but peace and prosperity. In many ways, they were right. Between 1945 and 1960, the gross national product more than doubled, growing from $200 billion to more than $500 billion. Much of this increase came from government spending: The construction of interstate highways and schools, the distribution of veterans’ benefits and most of all the increase in military spending – on goods like airplanes and new technologies like computers – all contributed to the decade’s economic growth. Rates of unemployment and inflation were low, and wages were high. Middle-class people had more money to spend than ever – and, because the variety and availability of consumer goods expanded along with the economy, they also had more things to buy.

The prosperous and conformist 1950s knew tremendous developments of the suburbs. As masses of Southern blacks migrated northward to the big cities, more rich and middle- class families left to live in the suburbs to escape the crime, redlining, and blockbusting of the cities. This mass migration later became known as the “white flight”. The white families that moved into the suburbs were the perfect picture of conformity – living in row upon row of identical “Levittown” houses, with little individuality or distinction. Furthermore, American families of the time often took the form of the “nuclear family” with two parents, two children, and often a pet like a dog or cat. This new “middle class” earned between $3,000 and $10,000 a year and included 60 percent of the American people by the mid-1950s. Fortune magazine described Americans as “a great mass…buy[ing] the same things—the same staples, the same appliances, the same cars, the same furniture, and much the same recreation”. The new “mass market” that developed in 1950s society was caused by two central reasons. The first reason that this “mass market” developed was the spread of television. Television had helped to create a “popular culture” that millions of Americans tuned into regularly. By the end of 1950, ninety percent of Americans owned a television, and nearly all owned a radio. Television and radio acted as tools for marketers to dictate the values of American society in order help sell their products. By the mid-1950s marketers spent $10 billion annually to advertise their goods or services on television. Television caused Americans to adopt an image of the “ideal” Americans; in doing so many Americans began to succumb to societal demands. Notably, suburban shopping malls began to replace downtown shops during the 1950s. Middle class white Americans became more sheltered in their sheltered suburban neighborhoods and did not see the poor blacks living in the cities. Isolated from others, many middle class Americans found no reason to dissent and sought to merely enjoy the prosperity of the decade with mind-numbing conformity. The second cause of the development of the new “mass market” in 1950s society was the escalation of the Cold War. The Cold War had isolated and demonized Soviets in American society. The political witch-hunt which took place under the lead of Senator McCarthy jailed hundreds of suspected Communist “enemies” for merely exercising their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Americans became afraid of doing anything that might make them the targets of Federal investigation by organizations like the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Newspaper editors and book authors grew afraid of publishing articles critical of the government for fear that they may might be accused of being Communist sympathizers and put in jail. A famous

18 political cartoon from the 1950s shows Senator McCarthy extinguishing the Torch of Liberty. The fear of foreign ideas and values created by the McCarthyism scare caused resurgence in American Conservatism during the 1950s. The government encouraged conformity and political consensus followed.

1.2.3.1.2 The 50s civil rights issue However, not all enjoyed the political and social prosperity of the 1950s. Strong but cautious, Eisenhower maneuvered through the perils of one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War. The president understood that African Americans were increasingly dissatisfied during the 1950s, but he did not appreciate the depth of their impatience with Jim Crow’s segregation policy. His blindness to racial intolerance led him to seek compromise and delay when bold action was called for. Two thirds of Black American citizens still lived in the South where they continued to suffer the harsh realities of life in a segregated society. When the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling Brown v. Board, outlawing school desegregation, Eisenhower failed to publicly endorse the decision. In fact, in private, he thought the ruling was a mistake and wished the Court had upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine of segregation. He felt that if the government forced racial integration, it would harden the hearts and minds of Southern whites and actually hurt the prospects of blacks. Harsh Jim Crow laws continued to govern all aspects of their existence and keep them economically inferior and politically powerless. However, conditions were improved with the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas in 1954 which ruled that segregation in the public schools was “inherently unequal” and thus unconstitutional. This decision was largely accepted throughout the North and even in the Border States, but states in the Deep South organized “massive resistance” to the decision. Southern Senators and Congressmen signed the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles” which pledged unyielding resistance to desegregation. Conflict arose when the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, mobilized the National Guard to prevent nine Black girls from enrolling in a Little Rock High School. Faced with a direct challenge to Federal authority, President Eisenhower was forced to send troops to escort the children to their classes. It is clear that while the social and political conditions may have been ideal for the majority of middle-class Americans, conflicts and tensions were ever-present for the underprivileged Americans. Eisenhower's failure to take decisive action and to provide moral leadership on issues of race and racism did not serve the country well. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that

19 formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and international attention to African Americans’ plight. In the turbulent decade and a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change, and the federal government made legislative headway with initiatives such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Many leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the Civil Rights era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Andrew Goodman and others. They risked – and sometimes lost – their lives in the name of freedom and equality.

1.2.3.2 The 1960s The ‘60s were different from the ‘50s in many important ways. The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War caused the social and political atmosphere to become turbulent and violent. Protests and war riots become commonplace; influential leaders like Malcolm X encouraged bloody protest; and women became increasingly discontent with their futile existences as homemakers. The political and social grievances, it seemed, had caused Americans to adopt a “counter culture” that encouraged a negative view of authority during the 1960s.

1.2.3.2.1 The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s As whites continued to leave the cities and move to suburbs the poor city conditions only worsened. With less revenue in taxes, cities fell into disrepair, crime and drug use increased, and cities become “black, brown, and broke.” Blacks began to realize that the pacifist philosophy encouraged by leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. was leading nowhere; conditions remained the same. Radical new leaders like Malcolm X encouraged “Black Power”, also known as Black Supremacy. X believed that “revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile, revolution knows no compromise, revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way…you don’t do any swinging, you’re too busy swinging”. This violent, confrontational approach to dealing with social problems encouraged political upheaval and unrest. Law enforcement did not ease the situation either as demonstrated by the riot in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 where attack dogs and fire hoses were turned against protestors, many of whom were in their early teens or younger. Even pacifist Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and jailed during the ensuing protests. While in jail, he changed philosophies and joined X in advocating civil disobedience against the law. Hundreds of demonstrations took place across the country during the 1960s from the East coast to the

West; the country was truly coursing with the need to protest and be heard. The biggest and most important protest during the 1960s’ was the March on Washington. On August 29 19633, 250,000 people gathered in the nation’s capital for the historic March on Washington for jobs and freedom. The march rallied Americans to stand up against the continual political and social injustices African Americans still faced 100 years after the emancipation proclamation in 1863. The march took place at a critical moment when civil rights movements’ tension and racial unrest have been building up throughout the year. It was coupled with anti segregation demonstrators making headlines in Alabama and President John F. Kennedy announcing his intention to passing Civil Rights Legislation.

1.2.3.2.2 The debilitating Vietnam War The ‘60s saw even worse conditions than the previous decade. The Vietnam War was a large point of contention in the minds of Americans during the 1960s’. Unsure of the war’s purpose and disillusioned at the enormous human cost, Americans everywhere expressed their opposition to the war. President Lyndon Johnson desperately tried to convince the nation that the Vietnam War would “restore world order” and “defend its [Vietnam’s] independence”. However, many Americans believed that the U.S. should leave Vietnam. The controversy over the war continued to boil because American politicians continued to support the war despite widespread American resentment for the war. Eventually, Nixon would respond to Americans’ wishes through “Vietnamization” of the war. However, there were also social issues that troubled Americans during the stormy sixties. It is clear that the 50s and 60s differ from each other; the 1950s were more conservative than the 1960s; the 1960s were more turbulent and prone to protests than the 1950s. However, there were some clear exceptions to these rules in the 1950s. The important differences between the decades are what make each decade a special chapter in the grand American story.

1.3 The 50s' and the 60s' and the American Dream

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the

3 Retrieved from www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement , @28/09/2016 21 family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. It is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success.

The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." On that Horatio Alger Jr (1832-1899) in his work entitled “Rags to Riches” states the following: “Manly boys, bright, cheerful, hopeful, and plucky. Goody-goody boys never win life’s prizes. Strong yet gentle, ready to defend those that are weak, willing to work for their families if called upon to do so…such boys are sure to succeed, and deserve success.” According to him, all it takes is a bit of luck and pluck to rise out of poverty and up the social ladder.

However, the actual philosophy that Alger brought to life was not coined until 1931, when James Truslow Adams published The Epic of America defining the American Dream not as a quest for wealth or material abundance, but rather a vision for self actualization and personal fulfillment, stating: "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It's not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

Shepherd Mead, with his How to Succeed mock guide book from which was the musical inspired, was blatantly satirizing Horatio Alger’s “rags to riches” mentality – the American notion that luck and pluck can help any determined young man work his way from the mailroom to the boardroom. Mead had plenty of material to pull from when he wrote How to Succeed; ever since Benjamin Franklin, arguably America’s first iconic success story, wrote The Way to Wealth in 1758, authors and businessmen have written how-to guides for anxious young workers. The 1950s and '60s were particularly rife with such manuals written by established businessmen hoping to pass on their secrets to ambitious young workers. The following quotations are singled out from among some of America’s classic success manuals, books that define what it means to succeed, and how, in their expert opinions, to do so.

“To be truly rich, regardless of his fortune or lack of it, a man must live by his own values. If those values are not personally meaningful, then no amount of money gained can hide the emptiness of life without them.” (John Paul Getty, How To Be Rich, 1951)

“Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Remember this, too! Big ideas and big plans are often easier — certainly no more difficult — than small ideas and small plans.” (David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big, 1959)

“Winners almost always do what they think is the most productive thing possible at every given moment; losers never do. When you look at what winners and losers actually do moment by moment, the difference between these two divisions of the human race really is that small. But the results of those small differences keep adding to each other at every given moment until they reach a critical size.” (Tom Hopkins, The Official Guide to Success, 1982)

The 50s and the 60s' dramatic sky rocketing economy exemplifies the American Dream. While other parts of the world struggled to rebuild from the devastation of World War II, citizens of the United States saw their standard of living surpass what the previous generations had only dreamed about. For instance, the 50s was a decade of prosperity as the economy overall grew by 37%. It allowed a 30% raise in the American family power purchase. The 50s and the 60s' prosperity display the evidence of the American Dream.

1.4 The Women’s Liberation Movement of the 60s Before the 1960s a woman's life had been difficult – denied basic rights, trapped in the home her entire life and discriminated against in the workplace. Then, the 1960s4 came and along with it, the thought that women could have a say in their government, that they could perhaps leave the home without feeling guilty about leaving their children alone, and that they could have a job and earn wages like men.

4 http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/_notes/GrrlSmarts/sawhney.html, Monday 26 Mey 2014 @ 12:45 A.M 23

The women’s liberation movement of the 1960s helped all these changes to come about through its scores of policies and radical ways of thinking. In fact, to illustrate some of these radical ways of thinking, some extremist women made a “Freedom Trash Can” and filled it with representations of women trapped in the home. They threw objects like heels, bras, girdles, hair curlers, and magazines like Cosmo, Playboy and Ladies’ Home Journal in it. The women who put the Trash Can together planned to set it on fire, but decided not to do so because burning of the contents was prohibited by a city law (Echols 1994: 150) Despite the numerous obstacles put in place to stop women from changing their status in society, the women’s movement of the 1960s made significant changes for the better for women with regard to basic rights, in the home and in the workplace. Since denied basic rights in most aspects of society, from political rights to reproductive rights, women in the United States fought vigorously for equality. For example, women fought for their rights not to be “beauty objects” or “sex objects.”

In 1968, 100 women protested the Miss America Beauty Pageant because it promoted “physical attractiveness and charm as the primary measures of a woman’s worth,” especially the swimsuit portion of the contest. Since the media displayed beauty as the only way to happiness, the idea that women’s only importance was in their bodies became more widespread. Later, once women recognized that they were worth more than just their looks, they took the measures to overcome the media’s hype about women’s bodies. The largest protests staged, the Miss America protest and the Freedom Trash Can protest, helped women claim national attention to their struggles. Because of the 1960s Civil Rights Movements that was also going on at the time, the climate seemed just right for women to speak out as well, therefore they received attention too (Echols 1994: 153) .

1.4.1 Women at work The following interviews and excerpts from books and web pages about the 1960s projects the uncomfortable circumstances women faced in the work place. Many noteworthy domestic changes for women were accomplished during the 1960s. For example, childcare became a 1960s issue. Ms. Gwen Diab, an activist and supporter of the women’s struggle during the 1960s, declared in an interview: “Women were hesitant to leave the home before the 1960s because they felt guilty leaving their children all alone. By the 1960s, women started to get over this feeling of guilt and left the house more frequently to go to women’s clubs or meetings” (Diab, Gwen. Live interview. March 26th, 2001.) Society believed that “a woman could either be a career woman or she could stay at home and have children. There

24 was no way she could do both” (Sanger 1973:517). Society also believed that if a woman were to become pregnant, she would stay in the home, caring for her children, because that is where she belonged. Margaret Sanger, a traditionalist, also concluded that if a woman took the risk of getting pregnant and if she was “a working woman, [she] should not have more than two children” (Sanger 1973: 519). Deckard (1979: 419) states that childcare was the first step towards breaking down society’s view that the sole responsibility rested with the woman.

According to Estelle Carol, ever since the number of workingwomen increased in the 1960s, men felt reluctant to share housework, but this improved and men have been taking more responsibility for childcare as well (E-mail Interview. March 30th, 2001). However, domestic issues went far beyond childcare in the ‘60s. For instance, an anonymous woman in Iowa wrote many letters to her sister relating her dealings with her feelings on the issue of domesticity. Many times, she wrote about how she felt as though she was the only woman that said anything in the homeowner’s meetings. Estelle Carol proceeded that because of her openness, the other women became scared of her and her seemingly radical ways. “Therefore, she felt as though she didn’t quite fit in with the other women in her community. One man even felt scared of her because he thought that she was too smart to be a woman. She stated, ‘Nobody expects a woman to talk. It bothers them all – especially men – when a woman talks’” (Gornick 1977: 150).

The 1960s made significant changes for women in the workplace. As stated by Estelle Carol (E-mail Interview. March 30th, 2001), “In the 1960s, there were no women bus drivers, welders, firefighters, news anchors, CEOS or Supreme Court Justices. Women professors, doctors, scientists or lawyers were rare” Later, as the economy of America began to expand, women started working for a second family income, although they only made 60% of what men were earning (Echols 1994: 152). Denied credit by banks before the ‘60s, women could not receive capital to start their own small businesses and yet a man would always receive first priority when it came to funds for starting up a business (Diab, Gwen. Live interview. March 26th, 2001.). According to Ms. Diab, “There was no way a woman could get $25,000 to start up her own business! There was always a Sam, Peter or a Joe in front of her to get it first. Always!” Fortunately, after a long struggle, the “National Credit Union Administration accepted feminism as a field and let them draw credit” (60s Radicalism 160). Women even began to have their own professional and labor organizations to keep themselves progressing.

1.4.2 Women having a say in the government During the early stages of the 1960s, many changes were put in place to help women get to the top. For instance, in 1961 President Kennedy created the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. Fifty other parallel state commissions were eventually established. Also, the Equal Pay Act, which was planned in 1940, finally acknowledged equal pay for men and women who worked the same jobs. Another major achievement for women in regards to the work place was in 1964, when “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act barred employment discrimination by private employers, employment agencies and unions based on race, sex and other grounds. To investigate complaints and enforce penalties, it established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which received 50,000 complaints of gender discrimination in its first five years”5. By 1965, President Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 ordered “federal agencies and federal contractors to take ‘affirmative action’ in overcoming employment discrimination”6.

In conclusion, the 1960s really did make many significant changes for women with regard to basic rights, domestic issues and their abilities to get fair job opportunities in the workplace. Although women still only make about 70 cents for every dollar a man makes, are still the main caretakers of the home, and are still struggling for abortion rights, women have come a long way from the traditional attitudes of old, Puritan America. The radical 1960s provided background and support for everything that the women accomplished.

5 “National Women’s History Project.” 2001. Retrieved from http://www.legacy98.com @ Monday 26 Mey 2014

6 Ibid 26

Conclusion

Time and space constitute paramount molding parameters in literature. Bemong (et al.) (2010: 5) reminds about the interdependence between time and space in literature, they state that “In the literary artistic chronotope, spatial and temporal indicators are fused into one carefully thought-out, concrete whole. Time, as it were, thickens, takes on flesh, and becomes artistically visible; likewise, space becomes charged and responsive to the movements of time, plot and history. The intersection of axes and fusion of indicators characterizes the artistic chronotope.”

Such was the U.S. political, economical, and social historical background of the 1950s and the 1960s which modeled the story line of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”.

2 Part II Using How to Succeed to address the challenges of learning and teaching speaking skills among vocational training schools Introduction

The second part of this research work emphasizes the promotion of the Speaking skills via the speaking activity which is based on the utilization of a proposed resource. On one hand it includes a brief overview of the E.L.T. in the tertiary section together with the analysis of the data collected during the class observations that were carried out amongst 7 Lycées Techniques combined with the reports related to them and an overall analysis of the data collected from class observations and teachers’ interviews which put an emphasis on the place of English in vocational training schools with a special spot on the teaching and learning of the speaking skills. The data were then analyzed through an adaptation of the S-W-O-T analysis (Strength Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) in order to identify the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and threats within the current E.L.T in the target investigation field. On the other hand, it unfolds the benefits of using the proposed material in developing speaking skills together with some theories on teaching speaking skills. Hence this second part of this research work tackles both the analysis of the collected data – which aims to find possible solutions to remedy the shortcomings – and the advantages of using the proposed material in E.L.T.

But most importantly this second part of the research work is aimed at demonstrating how some of the themes from How To Succeed could be used in Lycées techniques to palliate the problems that were encountered during class observations and teachers’ interviews.

2.1 A brief overview of the E.L.T. in the tertiary stream Though, in the Malagasy educational system, the tertiary section differs from the General education in terms of orientation, it still shares a common ground with the latter. The tertiary section is composed of three branches: G1, G2, and G3. Each branch has its own specialization: the G1 branch deals with administrative techniques, while the G2 branch is mainly concerned with management techniques; in the G3 branch students are taught sales techniques. The tertiary stream is classified as part of vocational education as it trains students to a professional end. After their B.E.P.C in General education, students opting for pursuing their studies in the tertiary section are directed towards professionalizing courses; they will receive three year training related to the branch they follow. Nonetheless, a common- core syllabus or “tronc commun” is established in the different branches of vocational training in the first year, and it is only in the second year that students are trained according to their

28 option. The students are here exposed to a new range of syllabuses. Nevertheless, some subject matters pertaining to the General Education such as Math, French, Malagasy, Philosophy, and English are still carried on. Therefore, the tertiary stream suggests a new axis of education though it features some more or less common points with the General education.

Despite the similarities that exist between the English taught in the General Education and the Vocational Education, the English taught in the tertiary section is divided into two main sections; that is to say, the General English and the Technical English. The General English consists in Grammar and Language Functions while the Technical English deals with the specific English that is related to each branch. It should be noted that all of the subject matters that are treated in each branch are interdependently related so as to work corroboratively towards each branch’s specializations. However, as afore mentioned, during the first year of studies, students take the same course to prepare them to start their second year. Hence English for Special Purposes constitutes the main component of the English teaching in the tertiary stream.

2.2 A S-W-O-T analysis of speaking sessions in vocational schools

Class observations and interviews are meant to look for improvement to existing methods of teaching. Class observations and teachers interview were carried out in order to know how speaking is taught among the vocational students, and to know how this research work can contribute to the amelioration of the teaching and facilitate the learning of speaking accordingly. Observation sheets and personal teachers’ interview were used to accomplish the research. A list of questions was thus elaborated in order to have accurate pieces of information since class observations alone could not permit to know whether teachers teach speaking or not. Afterwards, the collected data were analyzed via the SWOT analysis to decipher what makes speaking sessions such a great challenge in vocational schools. “Observation is one of the methods through which we assess the quality of teaching and learn how to develop further. “Therefore it has to make a difference” (forschoolseducation 2016). Thanks to the data collected, appropriate methods of approaching the teaching of speaking skills through the proposed material are suggested below to fit the needs of both teachers and learners.

Unlike the original version of the S-W-O-T analysis in which the strengths and the weaknesses correspond to internal factors and the opportunities and the threats to external

29 factors, in this adapted utilization both the strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and the threats are identified within the perspective of internal factors.

2.2.1 Strengths Strong points from circumstances, on the teachers’ way of teaching and the students responses, emerged from all the class observations that were conducted in the afore mentioned classes and the interviews administered among the teachers thereof.

Circumstances

The number of students in class constitutes an important asset for the teaching as the age number of students per class was 30.

Indeed fewer students enabled teachers to have a follow up on assignments. Besides, the fewer the students are the more they have the opportunity to one by one speaking time. For instance, when the correction time came the time permitted the students opportunities to express orally their answers before writing it on the board – which case could have enabled the teachers to spot mispronunciation, however, it permitted peer corrections that in favored somehow intelligible verbal exchanges in English. In addition this circumstance fostered teacher and student relationship as it enabled the teachers to know their students individually and in return the students felt as an integrated part of the class. The average number of students per class presents a benefit to the teaching of English.

Teachers’ teaching techniques

Some teachers used techniques that benefit the students. Some teacher shared hand outs to spare time. Besides some drew pictures that were helpful for the students to grasp some specific vocabulary items such as balk. It should be noted as well that the dialogues used by some teachers gave the students an occasion to enthusiastically parrot in the target language. They were so excited to be able to participate since they just had to use a ready – made material. The teachers’ teaching techniques helped the students understand what was being taught.

Students’ participation

Students’ responses highly rewarded the teachers’ invested efforts. Thanks to the teachers’ efforts to make the teaching as enjoyable as their capacity would permit them, the students actively participated in whatsoever tasks the teachers assigned them. Besides, they tried hard to express themselves in the target language as possibly as they could without

30 shying away. Thus the students’ strong willingness to learn largely compensated the teachers’ intellectual exertion.

These skills that the teachers implemented to involve students reflect their years of experiences in the teaching field. Years of practice helped them acquire some teaching techniques and being acquainted with learners’ learning approach. The following diagram demonstrates their teaching career years of experiences.

When the teachers were asked QUESTION 1: “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING ENGLISH?” their responses ranged from less than 5, 5 years, more than 10 years, to 30 years.

Less than 5 years 5years More than 10 years More than 20 years

Figure 1 Years of Teaching Experience

29% of them have been teaching English for less than 5 years; 14% for 5 years; 43% for more than 10 years and 14% has been teaching for more than 20%.

2.2.2 Weaknesses The numbers of weaknesses that were spotted during the investigation surpass that of the strong points that are mentioned above. Those weaknesses mainly come from non-compliance with the requirements of language teaching skills; that is to say language teaching demands from a language teacher a certain amount of knowledge in applied linguistics, education sciences background, and the use of technology.

 Teachers’ competence:

In order to clarify the whys’ of each one of the points cited below, it is worth noting that according to Mr. Manoro’s E.L.T. Methodology lecture, teaching a language requires at least language competence, Linguistics competence, education competence, and competence in

31 language teaching methodology. And yet almost none among the investigated teachers of the Lycées Techniques do specialize in teaching English. Nevertheless almost all of them did learn English. The fact of not having attended language teaching training affects at a large scale the teaching and most importantly the learning of the target language. As far as teaching and the learning of speaking skills are concerned the following samples of defects were encountered during class observations:

Teachers’ lack of adequate teaching materials represents an important hindrance for an effective language learning to take place. Indeed only one of the seven teachers among whose classes were observed has a course book to teach from; the rest used the copy books of former students without updating the information therein and miss to check the sentences structures and vocabulary items spelling. Consequently students copy incorrect information with incorrect sentence structure and mis-spelled words. Encoding mistakes entails decoding failure. Hence, the insufficiency of teaching materials causes a considerable impact on language learning.

These teachers prefer teaching via the mother tongue and French (due to the lack of language and linguistic competence), which impedes students’ – encoding the oral input of the target language; hence the students couldn’t possibly utter anything apart from command sentences in English. Krashen stated that “learning a second language is not different from the learning of the first language. Listening precedes speaking, and reading precedes writing [...]. Listening and Reading are both receptive skills. Students are passively receiving and processing information” (Krashen 1985). The fact that teachers do not speak in English then deprives the students of opportunities to receive and process information given in the target language. Thus it is important that teachers use the target language as a medium of teaching for students to be able to produce outputs.

QUESTION 1 was also used to identify the kind of academic studies that these teachers pursued that enabled them to teach English. The data collected explains the limitation and strength of the teaching competence of some teachers.

Master Degree in English

Master Degree in Russian

Diploma and certificates from English courses

Degree in Management

Figure 2 Teachers’ Academic Studies

30 % of the teachers obtained master degrees in English though they did not specialize in teaching English, 10% specialized in teaching Russian, 30% acquired diplomas and certificates from English courses, and 30% majored in Management.

Teaching English requires some teaching competence. Though 30% majored in English none of them were trained to be English teachers; knowing English does not mean being competent enough to teach it; the same remark applies to the 30% who obtained diplomas and certificates from English courses. The remainder 30% who majored in Management teach English because they are acquainted with the type of English – English for Specific Purpose – taught in Lycée Techniques. Teaching English demands more than knowing the language.

While teaching involves both teachers and learners, learners’ contribution should also be considered, for teachers cannot control certain aspects of students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that hinder effective speaking sessions.

 Learners’ involvement

Learners’ engagement in speaking sessions depends on some features of external and internal factors. Learners’ level and the lack of the need to speak the language were spotted to be the major elements that affect their involvement in speaking activities. An effective speaking sessions results from efforts from both teachers and learners.

The following diagram deducted from QUESTION 3 mirrors the issue of motivation encountered by both teachers and learners.

QUESTION 3: HOW DO PUPILS REACT WHEN YOU INVOLVE THEM IN SPEAKING?

Figure 3 Learners’ attitudes to speaking

25% of the responses from teachers who teach speaking show that they are very interested; 25% are not motivated; 38% are shy, and the 12, 5% represents the variation of some who are lazy. All of those responses evolve around the matter of affective filters that block learners’ Language Acquisition Device from functioning well.

IF “VERY INTERESTED” WHY?

Very interested

Not motivated

Shy

Others

Because of the type of the activity.

IF “NOT MOTIVATED, SHY, OR OTHER REASONS”, WHY?

Because they lack vocabulary and are lazy.

Though learners were enthusiastically engaged during class observations, Question 3 reveals some motivational issues from learners’ side.

Teachers complained that learners’ lack of interest is due to their low level. They stressed strongly that their students are composed of those who opted for ‘Option B’ in lower classes. Hence they are poorly equipped with vocabulary items and some language competence. Thus they show reluctance when it comes to oral production. Apart from that, they are lazy.

Dörnyei collected all of the researches that have been made to attempt to explain L2 learners’ self-motivation system. Willis Edmondson (2004) put forward an interesting typology of six motivational syndromes, indicating six typical ways or scenarios whereby learners deal with motivational conflicts. The six syndromes are as follows: (1) P.O.R. Syndrome [Press On Regardless], involving persistence and maintained effort, (2) T.O.Y. Syndrome [Take Over Yours], involving a weaker version of the previous syndrome by also taking over some of the imposed learning goals/behaviors, (3) I.K.B. Syndrome [I Know

Best], involving a confident, autonomous approach, (4) G.Y.T. Syndrome [Grit Your Teeth], involving an increased effort to do better, (5) I.N.P. Syndrome [I Need Pressure], involving a reliance on the environment for pressure to keep one going, and (6) N.E.P. Syndrome [No External Pressure], involving the opposite of the I.N.P. Syndrome as here the individual relies entirely on his or her internal resources.

Beside, Dörnyei (2003: 7) supports Shuman (2001a)’s neurobiology of motivation which simply means that L2 learners’ intrinsic motivation are affected by the way they respond to stimuli, in other words, Shuman’s theory’s key constituent is stimulus appraisal, which occurs in the brain along five dimensions: novelty (degree of unexpectedness/familiarity), pleasantness (attractiveness), goal/need significance (whether the stimulus is instrumental in satisfying needs or achieving goals), coping potential (whether the individual expects to be able to cope with the event), and self and social image (whether the event is compatible with social norms and the individual’s self-concept).

Another possible reason might be that learners do not see the need of speaking the language; on that Noels et al. (2000) signals the issue of orientations or learning goals – travel, friendship, knowledge, and instrumental orientation.

Hence, even though teachers claim to be powerless before students’ laziness, the survey concerning learners’ self-motivational shows that they can exercise some external regulation though their control over it is somehow limited. Another factor that is beyond teachers’ reach is the lack of resources

Control of ressources

Scanty teaching materials

The teachers used only one book “We Mean Business (Susan Norman with Eleanor Melville 1982) to teach which they do not exploit entirely; moreover not all tertiary section institutions do have it. The book indeed contains activities that are meant to teach and learn speaking but teachers blatantly strip them from off the lesson – judging that those are not important – and make students copy exercises and lessons to fit in the curricula. Telephoning is the only case they would use dialogues. And yet not all vocational school training institutions have this book at their disposal since only L.T.C. Ampefiloha has it and the rest content themselves with using former students’ copy books and trying to fill what is missing with some handed down pages copied from the afore mentioned book. In fact it is worth

35 mentioning that none of the investigated teachers do use the national curricula – problem of teaching resource consistency. Moreover, if teachers in the tertiary section training do consult the ministry of vocational training education, they surely can ask for an electronic version of the books that are to be used for the fulfillment of the national curricula. Lack of resources among tertiary section institutions affects the teaching and learning of speaking.

No language laboratory or listening sessions

Teachers never give the students a language lab while it is very useful for assessing students' speech. The language laboratory is a very helpful tool for practicing and assessing learners’ speech in any language. It provides a facility which allows students to listen to model pronunciation, repeat and record the same, listen to their performance and compare with the model, and do self-assessment. Since the language laboratory gives every learner of any language freedom to learn at their own pace, it is flexible and does not necessarily require much from a teacher all the time and redeems teachers’ mispronunciation. At the same time, it is possible for teachers to provide assistance individually and collectively. The language laboratory allows every participant his or her privacy to speak and listen.

Language laboratory sounds costly; however, teachers can resort to the conventional or primitive form of the language lab which consists of a tape recorder and a few audio cassettes of the target language to teach the learners. The teacher plays the tape and the learners listen to it and learn the pronunciation. It can be used in a normal classroom setup.

Though lack of teaching materials constitutes the major reason why it is difficult for Malagasy Lycées to have a language lab, teachers could at least manage to give their students listening comprehension as it would help the students a great deal to develop some speaking skills. Listening for comprehension sessions would enable students not only to comprehend the content of the information being processed, learn new vocabulary items and grammar, but also to acquire correct pronunciation patterns that will enable them to utter sentences with accurate pronunciations for them to express themselves intelligibly. Moreover, listening sessions will help them encode new data that they will be decoding for a future opportunity. For students to be able to produce oral outputs in the target language, they need to be receiving authentic aural inputs in the target language.

Apart from teachers’ competence, learners’ motivational issue, and the lack of resources, the place of speaking itself in vocational training schools constitutes an inevitable hurdle.

The place of speaking in the curricula

Question number 2 from the teachers’ interview exposes the importance given to speaking in the vocational training realm.

QUESTION 2: DO YOU TEACH SPEAKING?

YES

Figure 4 Speaking Sessions

60% teach speaking and 40 % don’t.

IF “YES”, HOW OFTEN?

This question was posed to evaluate the frequency of the teaching of Speaking.

Once a week

Twice a week

Once a month

Sometimes but not often

Figure 5 Speaking Sessions Frequency

None of those who teach Speaking teach it as much as twice a week; the first half of the diagram is evenly divided 25 % each among those who teach it once a week and the teachers who teach it once a month. The second half, which represents 50%, is for those who teach sometimes but not often.

IF “NO” WHY?

It is not clearly stipulated in the official syllabus

Speaking is not tested in the National Examination

You do not have time to for it.

You do not have any idea on how to do it

Figure 6 Reasons Why Teachers Do not Teach Speaking

25% of the responses collected states that the option of not teaching Speaking as is because it is not clearly stipulated in the official syllabus, 50% acknowledges that they don’t teach Speaking since it is not tested in the National Examination, 25 % is simply because they do not have time to for it. What is astonishing is that they all know how to deal with teaching Speaking – 0% on the fourth section “You do not have any idea on how to do it.”

Revisiting the lack of time issue: time management

When the teachers were inquired about the main hindrances for speaking sessions to take place, they unanimously responded that it is the lack of time since they have to spend considerable amount of time to explain basic rules or elementary vocabulary items because of the students’ level. As stated earlier on, students in the tertiary sections are labeled to be the English quitters in the lower level – almost all of them opted for the ‘Option B’. But Again, the aim of teaching is to elevate learners’ level; thus had those teachers have the required teaching competence, they should be able to assist learners in their language acquisition process – teaching is not supposed just to be practicing what the learners have acquired, it is also about equipping learners with the necessary tools they need in order to communicate in the target language that what the teaching stages are for: presentation, practice, and production. Teachers may use realea, drawings, gestures, and many other teaching techniques

38 to scaffold learners’ lack of vocabulary. However, it was felt that teachers’ failure to plan worsened the situation as they tend to waste time – planning saves time and permits a smooth flow of the lesson since it outlines all of the objectives that teachers should attain in every stage of teaching. This is mainly due to the fact that they lack pedagogical training. For instance, it was noticed that the 2 hours were enough for speaking sessions to take place; there were in all 30 to 40 minutes left after the teachers finished teaching what they intended to teach. After all, the speaking activity – dialogue – they were supposed to perform is included in the practice section of the lesson of the day. Though some types of speaking activities require much time, the lack of time issue seems not to stand as one of the major causes that hinders the teaching and learning of speaking skills.

2.2.3 Opportunities Despite of teachers’ limited power over learners’ mentioned self-motivational system – that teachers pointed out earlier – they can still create the need for their students to appreciate speaking in the target language; the rate of the positive answers collected from question 2 demonstrates that learners’ involvement in a speaking activity depends on the activity they are participating in.

The methodologist Ur stated that adolescents are in fact overall the best language learners (Ur 1996:286) and thus teachers’ “job, therefore, must be to provoke students’ engagement with material which is relevant and involving [...]” (Harmer 2001:39). 6 out of 7 of teachers complained that the reason why speaking in English is not envisage able with the students because they are of those students that opted for option B and thus are unwilling to speak the language. The investigation proved this assertion not accurate as it was noticed that the students were really interested in speaking the language but rather the teachers who were not giving them enough opportunities to do so as they fail to expose them to activities that foster their speaking skills. Nonetheless, it should be recognized that the issue of motivation involves intrinsic and extrinsic factors. As afore mentioned, students were really excited to speak the language when they were asked to perform a dialogue. According to Harmer (2001:39) adolescent students possess a great capacity to learn, a great potential of creativity and a passionate commitment to do things which interest them.

2.2.4 Threats The combination of all the weaknesses and missed opportunities cited above may lead to the utter ruin of the English knowledge the students had acquired in lower classes as the latter is being smothered by intensive technical terms and language code while “Specialized English is best learnt as a second layer built upon a firm General English foundation” (Broughton 1980: 9).

The S-W-O-T analysis permitted to identify five major factors that cause the teaching of Speaking to be a great challenge among vocational school students. These factors are mainly teachers’ competence, learners’ involvement, lack of resources, the place of Speaking in the curricula, and time management issue. It could be concluded that despite the least of attention that speaking occupies in vocational training schools, teachers’ teaching competence can still influence learners’ involvement if they have adequate resources and if they plan effectively. Those four major causes are intertwined. Which case justifies the proposal of the musical.

2.3 Using musicals to teach speaking skills The following demonstration of the advantages of using the proposed material results from the outcome of the interviews administered among teachers when they were asked about the positive effects of the drama-based activities they used to teach speaking.

QUESTION 4: WHICH OF THESE DRAMA-BASED ACTIVITIES HAVE YOU ALREADY USED IN CLASS?

This question is aimed at knowing the kind of drama-based activity that has already been exploited among the investigated class.

Mime

Simulation

Role play

Sketch

Play

Figure 7 Types of Drama Activities Teachers Already Use

None of those who teach speaking has ever used ‘mime’; however, 25% of them have utilized simulation, 50% have experienced role play, 25% have used sketch, and 0% used play. For this latter one, some were confused it with game as they have never known about such a drama-based activity.

QUESTION 5: WHAT CAN BE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING DRAMA-BASED ACTIVITIES?

This question is meant to inquire the positive effect of using drama-based activities based on their experiences or the advantages they might benefits from it if they use them.

They are fun activities

They motivate pupils to participate.

Improve pupils' pronunciation

Others (please specify)

Figure 8 Advantages of Using Drama-based Activities

Although not all of the target teachers do teach speaking they concur that drama-based activities considerably contribute into promoting speaking. 22% of the responses show that they agree that drama-based activities are fun. 43% highly support that they motivate pupils. 29% of their opinions point out that they can be used to improve pupils’ pronunciation. And last but not the least, 6% affirm that “They improve pupils’ speaking and develop their personality. They make the pupils used to speaking in front of the public. They prepare pupils’ future.”

Indeed this last remark from one of the teachers summarizes what Maley (2005) listed as the points supporting the use of drama and these are:

1- It integrates language skills in a natural way. Careful listening is a key feature.

Spontaneous verbal expression is integral to most of the activities; and many of them require reading and writing, both as part of the input and the output.

2- It integrates verbal and non verbal aspects of communication, thus bringing together both mind and body, and restoring the balance between physical and intellectual aspects of learning.

3- It draws upon both cognitive and affective domains, thus restoring the importance of feeling as well as thinking.

4- By fully contextualizing the language, it brings the classroom interaction to life through an intensive focus on meaning.

5- The emphasis on whole-person learning and multi-sensory inputs helps learners to capitalize on their strength and to extend their range. In doing so, it offers unequalled opportunities for catering to learner differences.

6- It fosters self-awareness (and awareness of others), self-esteem and confidence; and through this, motivation is developed.

7- Motivation is likewise fostered and sustained through the variety and sense of expectancy generated by the activities.

8- There is a transfer of responsibility for learning from teacher to learners which is where it belongs.

9- It encourages an open, exploratory style of learning where creativity and the imagination are given scope to develop. This, in turn, promotes risk-taking, which is an essential elements in effective language learning

10-It has a positive effect on classroom dynamics and atmosphere, thus facilitating the

42 formation of a bonded group, which learns together.

11-It is an enjoyable experience.

Henceforth, in an effort to contribute in promoting the speaking skill proficiency of Lycees Technique students we offer to tackle the lack of resources – one of the major causes – by suggesting below the advantages of using the proposed material as a useful resource.

The prime purpose of teaching speaking skills in a second language context is to enable learners to express themselves meaningfully in the foreign language. This implies oral fluency. In order to achieve that, the relevance of the teaching material to the learners’ interest must be considered so as to generate the volition to speak in the target language before dealing with the linguistic aspects – such as pronunciation including sounds, stress, rhythm and intonation – that carry the message they want to convey intelligibly.

2.3.1 Defining Speaking skills Speaking skill is a productive skill that permits an enunciator to communicate oral intelligible message. The ability to convey oral utterances constitutes the main goal of teaching speaking; on that Byrne (1976: 9) enunciates that “the main goal in teaching (speaking) productive skill will be oral fluency: the ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonably, accurately without undue hesitation.” It can also be defined as a means through which someone can express thoughts, feelings, ideas, and as such involves the articulation of the speaker’s psychological, physiological, and physical exertions. Hence, oral fluency constitutes the paramount aspect of speaking a second language student ought to achieve in order to attain an effective oral communication.

“In writing, we represent words and grammar through orthography. When speaking, on the other hand, we construct words and phrases with individual sounds, and we also use pitch change, intonation, and stress to convey different meanings” (Harmer 2001: 28). The acoustic sounds, the stress, the music and intonation of verbal utterance play an important role in conveying a clear message to avoid confusion in terms of signified and the signifier7. Consequently less hesitation and more clarity will occur in utterances as those micro skills contribute much in oral fluency.

7 Saussure, Course in General Linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure, faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/DeSaussure-Course-excerpts.pdf

2.3.2 Understanding the process of speaking Speaking process here implies the procedure through which students acquire “input” referred to as the encoding process and the production of “output” referred to as the decoding phase. For students to produce the desired output, they should be provided with adequate input. In the realm of teaching speaking, the environment should allow learners produce oral output in the target language. Thus this involves the types of activities that they are exposed to and the teachers’ role in facilitating language acquisition. Besides, it puts into consideration teachers’ command of the target language and their ability to reduce the utilization of the mother tongue as less as possible. Hence, understanding this concept of encoding and decoding allows knowing how learners could be helped in their language acquisition process.

2.3.3 Speaking skills to be developed

2.3.3.1 The need for oral fluency SLA learners might have been studying English for years but still they lack confidence when it comes to oral production. It is inferred that oral fluency is the most common reason why Second Language students are scared to speak in English – despite the fact that they have been acquiring the basic grammatical knowledge. Scrivener furthers that “fluency and confidence are important goals. There is no point knowing a lot about language if you can’t use it (which, sadly, has been the experience of many language learners in the past – able to conjugate a verb, but unable to respond to a simple question)” (Scrivener 2005: 147). The issue of fluency is depicted in learners’ response whenever they are asked to speak in English; the generic response is “I don’t know how to speak in English” since they did not have much opportunities to train their mouths and ears to speak and understand English and thus emerges the fear of making mistakes. Fluency is the paramount means by which a foreign language learner may verbally express themselves significantly. Thus, being fluent does not exclude being inaccurate since it focuses on the comprehensibility of communication in the second language. But, developing fluency requires consistent practice in the target language; it cannot be acquired overnight. Therefore lack of fluency prevents SLA learners from articulating the message they want to communicate in the second language – English.

Hence, teaching pronunciation comprising sounds, stress, rhythm, and intonation avers necessary as they constitute the micro-skills that enable speakers’ speech rate to flow without too much hesitation and false starts as mispronunciation prevents the production of connected speech at natural speed and as such will boost their confidence in oral production – fluency.

2.3.3.2 Pronunciation

2.3.3.2.1 The English language sound Broughton (1980:49) advises that “In order to hear the new language accurately enough to imitate it, the foreign learner must respond to a whole new sound system.” Sounds or phonemes enable the oral conveyance of words and sentences; however, on their own, they cannot carry meaning. For instance, the phoneme /p/, /u/, and /t/ remain worthless unless combined in specific order to mean ‘put’. The English language has forty four phonemes comprising twenty vowels (20) and twenty four (consonants), and emitting the desired sounds involve the usage of speech organs Harmer states that “competent speakers of the language make these sounds by using various parts of the mouth such as lips, the tongue, the teeth, the alveolar ridge ( the ridge behind the upper teeth), the palate, the velum (the flap of soft tissue hanging at the back of the palate – often called soft palate), and the vocal cords (folds)” (Harmer 2001: 29-30). These sounds are organized so as to discriminate messages. Therefore, they help identify one word from another in oral production. Sounds play an important role in oral production since they represent the signifier of wanted signified. SLA must learn the sounds of the English language for them to be able to encode what they want to communicate. However, sounds alone do not suffice to convey meaning, stress too helps understand utterances.

2.3.3.2.2 The English Language Stress “Word stress plays a special role in organizing the speech stream” (Bailey 1999). Stress is a special prominence given to a word or a sentence. In a word one or more syllables are more emphasized than others. Stressed syllables may be signaled acoustically with higher pitch, greater intensity, longer duration, or some combination of these. In a sentence, one or more words are more emphasized than others. It determines the music or the rhythm of verbal utterances because of the unstressed syllables.

E.g. :

 Word stress In “‘comfort” the stress is on COM.

 Sentence stress I’d love to use my pen.

Gloss: The speaker means he does not want any other pen but his or hers.

In a language, it also helps distinguish one word from another. Stress on the wrong syllable is more likely to cause misunderstanding as much as the use of a wrong sound. Getting word stress right is important in order for our words to be understood by the listener.

E.g: In Malagasy language,

o In ‘Kaka the stress is on the first syllable – meaning the particle of food especially meat in between teeth that needs to be flossed – to differentiate it from o Ka’ka the stress is on the second syllable to mean excrement.

In English,

o In ‘Desert the stress is placed on the first syllable to distinguish it – arid land with little or no vegetation – from o De’ssert which is a dish served as the last course of a meal. Thus the appropriate placing and the two levels of stress permit distinction in meaning.

Even though speakers of the language master stress perfectly, communication may not pass effectively without an appropriate intonation.

2.3.3.2.3 The English Language Intonation Intonation is crucial for communication. It depicts the mood of a speaker through his utterance. It enables him to communicate what he feels. The glides in the voice may indicate contentment, anger, sadness or indifference. “The low-fall tune is sometimes characterized as definite, final form, sometimes rude and abrupt; while the low rise tune is said to be friendly, polite, doubtful, and encouraging” ( Abbot & Wingard 1981: 43). Furthermore, it does not only indicate moods but also used depending on the relationship between enunciators and the co-enunciator and the time of enunciation. Haycraft (1978: 62) supports that since “intonation is mainly concerned with the ways in which the voice rises or falls throughout in a sentence. They are more complex because they not only reflect the speaker’s mood but also depend on who he is talking to, and the situation he finds himself.” Nevertheless, intonation only has two patterns: low-fall and low-rise.

Haycraft (1978: 62) further illustrates the different meanings behind each intonation patter as far as the concept of enunciator, the co-enunciator and the time of enunciation:

 Low-fall pattern

- The speaker is definite and confident.

- The WH- questions too fall at the end.

However if the enunciator wants to sound more gentle or polite, he may use the low- rise pattern at the end of the question. Thus he may sound as follows:

 Low-rise pattern

- The speaker is somehow unconfident because of the situation, or the person spoken to, and the sentence rises. For instance the voice may denote uncertainty, politeness, concern, and pausing.

- Yes/No question indicates politeness and shows interest as it somehow rises at the end.

On the other hand Joanne Kenworthy (Kenworthy 1987: 88- 89) reminds that intonation too is essential in signaling the ends and the beginings of converstations. She remarked that ” we often know when someone has finished speaking because their voice drops in pitsh – just as their voice may start at a higher pitch than usual at the beginning of their contribution, or to show whether a situation is ’open’ or closed.” Thus a sentence ending with a higher pitch than usual leaves other possibilities in the air whereas a low pitch closes discussion.

E.g.:

Converstation 1

A: I lost my pen. Would you mind checking how many pens are there in your pencil case?

B : Alright, let me count. ... errrr

B: Sorry, I have your pen.

 Note how the intonation rises while enumerating and falls when it is finished.

Conversation 2

A: Hey, I already have your e-mail address but could you please tell me your physical address?

B: Here you go,

Thus intonation crucially matters in communicating effectively. Through intonation a speaker may want to convey his emotions, may want to adjust his tone depending on where and who he speaks to, and to indicate the begining or the ending of conversations. Though, intonation s more complex than it sounds learners may acquires it more naturally in drama – depending on the teacher’s skill.

Haycraft (1978: 64) summarizes the interdependance of pronuncisation and fluency as follows: “The ‘static’ elements in pronunciation: sounds, word-stress, and word-linking have to be polished and developed individually. The ‘expressive’ elements, on the other hand, are used according to what the speaker feels or wants to say: he pulls out the different stops on the organ according to the music he is playing, using voice range, sentence stress, intonation patterns, tone, or all of these together, to attain fluency and precision of expression.”

Not only does drama allow meaningful verbal expression but also help develop some non-verbal or the physical paralinguistic features of the language to attain the efficiency of communication.

2.3.3.3 Non-verbal communicative skills Apart from the valuability of using drama for pronunciation, drama helps develop the whole person since it engages in using the para-linguistic aspects of communication – face expression and gestures that Andrew Wright (1987: 13) describes as ”speaking in different ways.”

The way we use our bodies may convey different meanings. Our facial expressions and our gestures can be emitting powerful messages.

Facial expression is a powerful tool to convey messages. It adds information about how a person feels from how he moves, from what he says, and from the situation as a whole. Smiling may express pleasant attitude towards something or someone. For instance, you smile to show a welcoming attitude towards a new person. The nodding of head may show espousal to an idea or shaking it may indicate disagreement – the meaning may differ in other cultures. Frowning signals confusion or the wide mouth opening with an eye stare express surprise. Facial enalbes the co-enunciator discifer easily the unspoken message the enunciator wants to convey. As Harmer ( 2001: 32) puts it ”facial expression is a powerful conveyor of meaning.”

E.g.:

1. Cheerful attitude 2. Discontentment

Gesture implies using the body parts in certain ways to echo verbal utterances. Some psychologists believe that 65% of the communication of ideas and feelings are expressed without words. Head- scratching may be infered as a sing of puzzlement. Placing one finger on the lips is commonly used to tell someone to silence. Placing hands in pockets may evince a bossy attitude, and thus may be considered as impoliteness in some circumstances. Gestures can be added to oral production to proficiently convey a message.

”The shape of our bodies and faces, the movements and gestures we make... how we stand to each other ans whether we touch each other...all these communicate” Andrew Wright (1987: 18).

2.3.4 Drama in teaching speaking skills

2.3.4.1 Drama reduces the affective filter Drama has proven to be one of the most effective tools that foam students’ volition to speak – as far as uttering comprehensible input is concerned. Maley and Duff (1982: 13) emphasize on how much drama can motivate students as they state “if drama is motivating – and we believe it is – the reason may be that it draws on the entire human resources of the class and that each technique, in its own way, yields a different, unique, result every time it is

51 practised”. Hence, it helps relieve the affective filter that constitutes one of the major hindrances that prevent students from utilizing their Language Acquisition Device to acquire language. Krashen (1985: 81) explains the ‘affective filter’ as “a mental block that prevents acquirers from fully utilizing the comprehensible input they receive for language acquisition”. Drama can palliate the issue of motivation that is found among the three effective affective variables (Krashen 1982: 31) that relate to success in second language. Thus drama promotes students willingness to speak in the target language. Not only does drama motivate but also build self-confidence in students.

Drama builds students’ confidence in such a way that they can freely express themselves in the target language. Drama involves group work which avoids them the tedious task of tackling their assignment on their own, for it allows collaboration and consultation among themselves which shun their shyness as they have already consulted with one another before performing. Stern’s (1980) study showed that drama helped ESL students gain self- confidence and that they felt less nervous speaking English in front of the group (Shand 2008: 26).

Most of them enjoyed the drama activities and were motivated to participate in more (Stern, 1980). As far as working on scripts is concerned, Dougill (1987) comments that they “offer psychological security to the student” (p. 23), they are “less threatening and less demanding than many other drama activities because the content is provided rather than created” (Trabajo 2014-15). Furthermore, they will no longer have the issue of lack of vocabulary since the necessary utterances are provided and their repertory can be fueled with new vocabulary items. Hence, drama considerable contribution in building students’ confidence lessens their anxiety to speak in the target language.

Since learners’ involvement in speaking activities depends upon intrinsic and extrinsic factors the Dörneyi 2005 suggests his “Action Control and Self-motivating Strategies”.

2.3.4.2 The concept of Action Control and Self-Motivating Strategies Concerning the importance of motivation for L2 learners, Dörnyei (2005) states, “It is easy to see why motivation is of great importance in SLA. It provides the primary impetus to initiate L2 learning and later the driving force needed to sustain the long and often tedious learning process; indeed, all the other factors involved with SLA presuppose motivation to some extent” ( Dörney 2005: 65).

In his research work The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition, Dörnyei, Z. emphasizes on the issue of motivation _ or ‘students’willingness’ in a more simplified term_ in language acquisition among Second Language learners; which concern led him to devise ‘Action Control and Self-Motivating Strategies’ ( Dörney 2005: 111). He, thus, came up with a final frame work consisting of four paramount dimensions:

1. creating the basic motivational conditions,

2. generating initial student motivation,

3. maintaining and protecting motivation,

4. encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation.

( Dörney 2005: 112).

Conclusion:

The outcome of the analysis of the data collected from class observations coupled with teachers’ interviews permitted the elaboration of possible ways on how the adaptation of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying could contribute to the amelioration of the teaching and learning of speaking skills among Malagasy Lycée Technique.

The content of the second part of this dissertation derives from the problems that were encountered during investigations. Since teaching and learning a productive skill requires some degree of knowledge of the language from teachers and some interest from learners’ part, some ideas on how teachers can involve learners in speaking by using the suggested themes which relate to the learners are advanced in the body of the work. Besides, the motivational strategies developed by Dörneiye Zoltan were explored in order to fully appreciate the benefits that could be derived from the utilization of the musical – beside the fact that the musical itself is motivating. Moreover, the theoretical consideration of oral fluency combined with the elements of pronunciation was meant to display how oral production can be achieved. Furthermore, as the focal part of the work is the improvement of speaking with a special regard on fluency and pronunciation, the issue of lack of vocabulary was briefly addressed to reassure that students can acquire numbers of useful vocabulary items as they use a scripted speaking material. Lastly, the personal benefits that learners can acquire from the performance of the musical are advanced to support how much it can be exploited to develop not only speaking skills but also the whole person. These ideas were developed due to the constraints in the teaching and the learning of speaking that submerged during observations and teachers’ interviews.

Hence, Part II deals with the theoretical considerations that represent the repercussion of the results obtained from class observations and teachers’ interviews. It forecasts the practical aspect of How to Succeed.

3 PART III An opportunity to act out

Introduction

This last part of the work is mainly devoted to the implementation of the proposed material. To start with, it displays the possible reasons why using the musical could be as useful material to foster speaking skills. Besides, it unfolds the adaptation process that lead to the final product that teachers could use as a script adaptation pattern. In addition, some suggestions on how to organize a speaking class are provided before proceeding with the actual performance. Moreover, during class observations it was noticed that teachers' lack of creativity fails to enliven speaking sessions; thus a few list of activities are supplied to help them improve their teaching and to promote the learning of speaking skills among students.

3.1 Using the musical to stimulate students’ willingness to speak As being a musical, this material itself not only offers students opportunities to speak but also reasons to want to speak.

Stimulating students’ willingness to speak requires that they can identify themselves in speaking activities they are being exposed to. How to Succeed, one of the 20th Century American Musicals is a distraction from the horrors of war during the 1940s and 1950s, the American Musical grew in popularity throughout the 20th century (rottentomatoes 2016). Some of the more common themes in musical theater include nostalgia, the Cinderella story, realism, and adaptations of literature .The musical itself revolves around the corporate world_ which corresponds to the target students’ field of study. Besides, it combines acting, dancing, and singing to form cohesive pictures that are still treasured today, plus the fun part that it conveys as a satire. The lyrics, music with its catchy upbeat songs, and dance make it worthwhile and more appealing to students. The fact that the musical’s theme relates to the field of studies of the students constitutes a significant asset to arouse their will to speak in the target language.

“Pleasure for its own sake is an important part of learning a language, something which is often overlooked by teachers,

and songs can add interest to the classroom routine

and potentially improve student motivation.”

(Millington 2011)

Apart from the fact that How to Succeed enables students to act, sing, and even dance within a framework they are acquainted with, they will also enjoy the acting since they will be performing a stress free piece.

3.2 A humorous script to work on

As the musical is a satire of the 50s’and 60s’ corporate world, students can enjoyably act it out without any pressure. A play like “The Importance of Being Earnest”, though play still pertain to the world of ‘let’s pretend’, requires certain formalities and so students feel the need of being more focused and thus any missed detail is likely to cause frustration, fear, or shame. And yet with the musical students will experience less of these feelings; they will feel at ease even though they will make technical mistakes because they have internalized the humorous side of it. Hence, they will even act purposively funny. They will not have to act serious. Since the musical is a satire, it is intended to be humorous, thus students should feel relaxed to perform it.

3.3 Addressing the issue of vocabulary The issue of lack of vocabulary that appeared when teacher where asked the cause of reluctance among learners to speak in English can be effectively tackled through drama. Learners do not have to look for any additional vocabulary items since the speaking activity they work on is already scripted. On the contrary they will acquire a new wide range of new vocabulary items since the script opens their views to a new world of unknown words that they would want to utilize in their every day life as the theme thereof pertain to real life situations. Hence thanks to the scripted speaking activity that is advanced to them learners will not have to worry much about the words they should be using; the explanation of difficult words they may encounter therein will depend on the teacher.

3.4 Preliminary preparations: The need for restructuring For a smooth and enjoyable teaching and learning experience, some adaptations showed to be necessary. As Harmer (Harmer 2001:44) states it: “The language materials we expose students to should be of a completely level [...], not only in terms of complexity, but also in range of genre and length”. Besides, he points out the authenticity of utterances. Hence, the scenes to be acted out were selected and were modified in terms of authenticity and adaptability to

56 students’ level. Moreover, contextual transpositions were made with a regard to students’ engagement in the activity. Thus, the proposed material had to undergo various transformations before its real implementation in order to achieve its pedagogical end.

3.4.1 Choice of the scenes As afore mentioned, the musical comprises two Acts that are underlain by short scenes, but the present material is restricted to the combination of small segments taken from Act I for the following reasons. First of all the musical in its entire form is too much for second language students since their restrained knowledge of the language does not permit them yet a lengthy performance. Secondly, the scenes were selected so as to put students in situations that are connected with their field of studies, and situations which they can encounter in their everyday life. Finally, those scenes were chosen since they reflect the fun side of the musical which students can understand requiring much effort. For these reasons, the present material was concocted in a short but consistent form.

Second language students should be attributed but short scripts. As Second language students have “a very limited resources on which to draw" (Rivers 1981 :188), they should be given tasks which they can process. Since a musical is “a scripted dialogue between characters”8, “combined with music, and dance”9. Rivers insists in the length of utterances considering students’ memorization capacity stating: “The utterance in a dialogue should be short, since otherwise students have difficulty in remembering all the sounds in the correct order” (Rivers 1981: 204). In addition, Scrivener emphasizes in his list of traditional drama activities that: “Acting play scripts – short written sketches or scenes are acted by the students"(Scrivener 2005: 363). Therefore, the length of dialogues given to second language students is worth considering so as to suit their level.

8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_%28theater%29 Accessed on July 09 2014.

9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre#Musical_theatre Accessed on July 09 2014.

Apart from of a well weighed amount of utterances, the play scripts to be performed by students should also be designed in such a way that the theme arouses students’ interest. Possible themes of discussions can be found in the appendices section.

As a matter of fact, students are more involved in speaking when they can identify themselves in the activity they are invited to participate in. Students are much involved in an activity that more or less relates to their everyday life situations. For instance, the scenes that are dealt with reflects the ritual paths to getting a job and job promotion – a way through which vocational school training students are presumed to pass after their studies. Besides, the situations they are put in correspond to the field of studies of the target students. Teachers can expect much yield when the context they engage the students in matches the latter’s interest. Moreover the selected scenes provide valuable pieces of advice that can prepare the students for the business world. Henceforth, the selected scenes were chosen as they are considered as appealing to students’ involvement.

The choice of the scenes was molded within the frame work of Krashen’s comprehensible input theory.

Since fostering students’ motivation to speak in the target language is numbered among the aims of this research work, the scenes that compose the proposed material were singled out so that students can appreciate the humor that are developed there in without them exerting much effort. Krashen’s 'Comprehensible Input' theory suggests that “language acquisition occurs when learners receive messages that they can understand”10. On that the humorous linen of the selected scenes constitutes one of the messages that are to be conveyed. Students are willing to participate in an activity when they understand what they are to involve themselves in.

Henceforth the selected scenes are constituted by scene 1: Overture when Pierrepont Finch started to read the instructional book and scene 2 How to Succeed - J. Pierrepont Finch when Finch run into J. B. Biggley who in his pompous manner referred Finch to the personnel man. But for the sake of illustrating the title of the work - “How to succeed in Business

10 http://www.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/best%20of%20bilash/krashen.html accessed on July 2014.

Without Really Trying”, some scenes were patterned after the instructional book; mainly parts from Section 1: How to apply for a job, Section 2: The interview, and a little piece from Section 3: How to rise from the mail room from “How to Succeed” by Shepherd Mead. To keep the musical form of the material, some modern songs were inserted to substitute the old ones, for “Songs should be modern in harmony, rhythm, and theme, of folk songs which still appeal musically to the young people of today” (Rivers 1981: 245). All of these together with the songs represent a 20 minute-performance. See ANNEXE

In order to fit into students’ level, some transpositions in language, and context proved to be crucial.

3.4.2 The need for contextual adaptation

3.4.2.1 Adapting the script to the level of the students For an effective teaching and learning opportunity, students should be able to understand the target language they are exposed to not only in terms of the “choice words”11, but also “in terms of context”. The language used among students should be on their level. In addition, it should be authentic and above all with a background that is relevant and connected to students’ world. Therefore, the words and context that shape a language material influences a great deal the teaching and the learning of a new language.

While designing a language material, a great care should be attributed to the complexity of the words that compose the material itself, for complex language material intrudes students’ appreciation of the new language. The language should be adjusted to the level of the students to avoid frustration. In other words, it should be simplified as Harmer admonishes it. It should match to the level of the students; that is to say, not too simple for beginners and not too complex students, for an unbalance can create a de-motivating effect “if it is beyond their level” (Harmer 2001, p.45). In addition to rewording, the utterances should be short and with comprehensible structure for it not to turn into a reading comprehension. As the playwrights addressed the musical to the native speakers of the language, the nature of the language used

11 Schütz ÿRicardo. 1998. ÿStephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition. Accessed @ 14 July 2014 from http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html

59 therein must be of a kind that are comprehensible to them but not for second language people; thus, the utterances in the proposed material were revisited in such a way that they would not stand as an impediment both for teachers, who are the stage managers, and especially for students, the actors. For instance, long stanza such as:

“ I’m J. B. Biggley. I’m the president of this company, that’s who I am.

“In fact that’s who the hell I am. How dare you come to me for a job?

“Why do you think I have a personnel man?

“Why do you think I have a damned personnel department?

“ Son you bumped into the wrong man.

“ Damn damn coal-burning dithering ding ding ding.”

Becomes:

“Well, don’t talk to me, the director; go to the personnel man!!! (with an annoyed air)”.

Thus, the dialogue should feature sentences with words and structure that are familiar to students. As Rivers states “Care should [...] be taken to reintroduce familiar words and phrases frequently to help students recall. Dialogue sentences are difficult to recall when [...] they contain* unfamiliar words and structural novelties.” (Rivers 1981:202)

Besides the leveling of language of dialogues, the authenticity of the language should also be taken into consideration.

Rivers’ theory on the “Features of Well-written Dialogues” (Rivers 1981: 202), enunciates that dialogues should be authentic. Harmer defines authentic as the following: “Authentic is language where no concessions are made to foreign speakers. It is normal, natural language used by native - or competent- speakers of a language” (Harmer 2001: 205). Hence assistance from the native speakers of the language, who were full time missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was called upon in molding the stems that were taken from the guide book in order to comply with the authenticity aspect that should characterize a language material. They helped not only in restructuring the script but also in providing a listening material for pronunciation matters; that is to say, “ a native model [...] to practice the

60 rhythm, the intonation, the stress, the liaisons, and elisions, the assimilations of the spoken language, and learn to understand and reproduce these at a normal speed of utterance" (Rivers 1981: 200). On that “All the elements of the sound system recur in their natural context and are practiced without being artificially isolated and distorted” (Rivers Ibid). Rivers furthers that dialogues should also comprise “features of conversation such as: greeting; expressions of impatience, dismay, or surprise; conventional expressions of agreement and polite disagreement; common forms of question and noncommittal answer; expletives and exclamations which five the speaker time to search for the correct form to express the meaning; appropriate levels of language for specific situations and relationships” (Rivers Ibid). In addition, Burns (2001)12states that scripted dialogues should reflect the unpredictability and dynamism of conversation, or the features and structures of natural spoken discourse so as to prepare students for spontaneous interactions outside of the classroom. Moreover, before the utilization of the material, it has been proof read by Professor Mireille RABENORO for grammatical correctness. The final material was thus fabricated upon the foundation of authenticity.

Dialogues with authentic sentences will surely fail if their contexts do not tune in with the students’ world.

Students are highly engaged if the situations in the dialogues they are presented to arouse their interest. Rivers advises that the setting in dialogues should not be extraordinary- should follow “a natural setting of life”13; that is to say, the situations therein should resemble or at least share some similitude with students’ everyday situations “so that students can identify with the characters and be willing to enter into the roles they are enacting” (Rivers 1981: 201). On the spot, Finch’s occupation as a window washer was transposed into a paper boy, which occupation exists both in America and in Madagascar; while in the musical Finch starts as a mail room boy, in the fabricated material he begins as a custodian since in Madagascar social mobility starts with menial jobs such as the chosen one - custodianship. In addition, an introductory paragraph summarizing the steps through which Finch passed through showed to

12 Michael McCarthy and Anne O'Keeffe. 2004. Research in the Teaching of Speaking, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. U.S.A. Cambridge Universtity Press, p.29

13 , Ibid

61 be necessary in order to put students into the context. Furthermore, the office life context is acquainted to the target students as their streams of studies deal with office work. Therefore the contexts of dialogues affect students’ involvement.

The relevance of a teaching and learning experience relies upon the students’ ability to appreciate the form and the content of the speaking activities they are invited to participate in. Words that are used during speaking activities should not present a great difference from students’ repertory; likewise, the circumstances should pertain to students’ real world. In other words, difficult words and unfamiliar situations in activities that aim at improving speaking skills frustrate the teaching and learning course as they impede students’ involvement.

Since the proposed material is not only composed of dialogues but is also accompanied by songs, the songs therein were replaced by contemporary ones with a regard to the target students’ age.

3.4.2.2 Modernizing the songs in the musical Considering the age of the target students, renovating the songs in the musical was found to be indispensable. The fact that the musical has been repeatedly performed in the twenty first century- recently produced by Sydney Revival last year (2013), does not exclude that the songs in it are still awkward to contemporary second language students. Though Frank Loosser had artfully composed them, the Malagasy classe de seconde technique students will find their lyrics as gauche. Indeed the lyrics of the songs constitute the body parts of the dialogues of the musical as well. Hence the lyrics of the musical songs were remodeled after the lyrics of the songs by some modern singers; as Rivers points out: “ students should be engaged in activities appropriate to their age group [...] language should be authentic and contemporary” (Rivers 1981: 201). Moreover, Harmer adds that songs can foster students’ motivation if they like them; - songs “which the students are keen on” (Harmer 2001, p.243). Hence, “I Have a Dream” of the West Life band, and “I’m Happy” of the Gorilla band were chosen to illustrate the social mobility that inexperienced people such as Finch hope for. In addition, “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars was opted for to hint at the way Finch climbs up the social ladder. Thus renewing the songs proved to be useful with a regard to the age of the target students.

No matter how good a speaking activity is, it will surely fail if it is not well organized.

3.5 Organizing the activity Of a paramount importance, well organized speaking activities promote students’ speaking skills. Speaking activities should be organized in a way that provides students with a moment to prepare to speak, a time to speak, and an instant of reflection on their speaking performance. An effective organization plays an important role in developing students’ speaking skills.

3.5.1 Some suggestions on organizing speaking activities Talking about organizing speaking activities Harmer (2001: 122-124) suggests three stages – before, during, and after, within the framework of pair or group work.

3.5.1.1 Before

This first step focuses on two main points: acknowledging the activity, and grouping students. The first point consists in involving students by drawing their attention by the means of techniques, giving necessary instructions, and initiating them to begin the activity- Harmer’s “engage-instruct-initiate sequence”(Harmer 2001: 59). The second point concerns integrating students within groups considering the type of the activity.

a) Introducing the activity Harmer puts forth that students need to have the eagerness to participate in the activity they are going be involved in. They need to clearly understand and know the task they will be assigned to. The first thing teachers need to do in order to involve students is “making it clear that something ‘new’ is going to happen”(Harmer (2001: 59), within an enjoyable atmosphere. Teachers need to smooth the start of an activity so as to make students feel enthusiastic about it. By doing so, they will help students reduce the “affective filter” (ÿRicardo. 1998).

For that purpose, they should use techniques such as warm up activities to draw students’ attention. Teachers must invest time in engaging students so as to guarantee their

63 participation lest it will spoil the activity – “the activity may be wasted” as Harmer (2001: 59) would put it.

After that, students need to be provided with clear instructions so that they know what to do about the activity.

Teachers ought to state instructions clearly, for students to achieve the activity. Here teachers need to adjust the level of the language avoiding lengthy and ambiguous sentences as learners’ concentration span is limited learners on that Ur affirms that “Learners – in fact all of us – have only limited attention span; they cannot listen to you for very long at maximum concentration. Make your explanation as brief as you can, compatible with clarity” (Ur 1996: 18). Furthermore, teachers are advised to use visual aids such as pictures, real objects, and gestures so support their instructions. In addition, teachers should resort to repeating the instructions for students to perceive them well (Ur 1996: 12). Moreover, they should check comprehension by asking general questions such as Do you understand? or having students reformulate the instructions. Students need to be given clear instruction “to ensure that students have a better grasp of what they are supposed to do” (Harmer 2001: 59). After having been instructed about the activity, students need to be told the time within which they ought to complete the activity so as to initiate them to the core of the activity.

Introducing the activity points out the engage-instruct-initiate sequence that Harmer proposes to incite students’ involvement. To achieve successful speaking activity, students need to be engaged, understand, being clearly instructed about their task and be aware of the time limit beforehand.

b) Grouping activities

i. Grouping students Grouping students implies setting them in pairs or in groups.

While grouping students either in pairs or in groups - depending on the type of the activity, teachers have two options. First, letting students compose the group according to their preference or “Friendship” (Harmer 2001: 121-122). Second, they can establish groups themselves which decision which should consider the principles of “streaming, chance, and

64 changing group” (Harmer Ibid) that Harmer proposes. Thus the matter of grouping students should not be neglected as it constitutes one of the elements that contribute to the development of speaking skills.

Friendship: According to Harmer 2001, letting students choose the students they want to work with present advantages as well as disadvantages. On one hand, groups composed of students who know each other and who are in good terms, cooperate well, as each one of the members are surrounded by people they like, they appreciate, and from which they can expect approval in return. Furthermore Harmer asserts that putting friends with friends avoid the possible risk of people working with others whom they find difficult and unpleasant. On the other hand, such a freedom can entail a complete disorder and will work to the detriment of “less popular students” who may feel as being cast out (Harmer 2001, p.120).

As for teachers deciding on the group formation, they are advised to examine Harmer’s streaming, chance and changing group principles.

Streaming consists in gathering students according to their ability which means mixed groups; that is to say, the weak and the strong students are grouped together for the profit of both cases as it fosters a mutual help: “the more able students can help their less fluent or knowledgeable colleagues; the process of helping will help such strong students to understand more the language themselves. The weaker students will benefit from the help they get” (Harmer 2001: 121-122). Students can also be grouped by chance; meaning grouping students regardless of friendship, ability, or level of participation. Harmer suggests, as an example, that teachers dispatch letters like A, B, C... - depending on how large the class is, and gather the As and Bs, and Cs... to form groups. Another way of grouping students is the changing group principle which puts the emphasis on the process of changing groups in the course of the activity- a method which aims in providing students with learning experiences within groups different from the one they started the activity with. Three options are put forth; the choice belongs to teachers.

Decisions on the formation of groups may be influenced by different concerns. If teachers do not want tensions among students, they can incline their choice on friendship based groups. If they want to avoid bias distribution, they are advised to call for the streaming

65 principle. For fun activities, however, they can group students by chance. Changing groups is valid for any of the choice grouping principles. Teachers may vary their grouping choice according to their need.

Apart from these strategies for gathering students, a particular point should be made on the importance of “Warm ups” which are also considered as efficient in bringing students together.

ii. The need for warm ups Warm up activities represent another aspect of grouping students as they help in “getting the students into the right mood of learning” ( Ur P. & Wright A. 1992). Warm ups activities - which usually take five to ten minutes to start the class with- valuably matters in attracting students’ attention on the activity presented to them. They may take the form of “games or amusing items to start the session with a smile" (Ur P. & Wright A. 1992). Warm ups can be used as an efficient technique to engage students; they help “in getting students in the right mood” (Klippel 1985:12). Teachers can call for warm up activities to break the ice between them and the students and among students. Moreover, warm up activities can also be used to introduce or review the difficult vocabulary items that may be encountered during speaking activities. Warm ups boost students’ willingness to work together in a lively atmosphere.

Suggested warm up activities

The following warm up activities are categorized into two groups; the first group consists in activities that aim to breaking the ice between members of groups, and the second one about activities that help in creating warm atmosphere. These activities were singled out as they not only engage students but also provide the latter with an opportunity to use the language and an instant to develop their communicative competences.

Getting to know you activities

When starting a group work, knowing the members there in valuably matters; ritually, students were used to getting in front of the group members introducing their names, but many ideas were discovered to make the difference. In her book entitled “Keep Talking”, the German methodologist Friederike Klippel proposes various activities to break the ice

among group members. 'Names' and 'Name circle' 'Identy Cards' were chosen amongst the collection of the getting to know you activities she proposes.

The first activity – Names – consists in having each student writing his or her full name on a piece of paper which will be collected and randomly redistributed so that everyone receives the name of a person he or she does not know. In order to find their partner everyone has to walk around the room and try to find the person whose name he or she holds by asking questions like 'Is your name...?' 'Are you...?' or ' Have you got more than one first name?' 'Does your surname end with an “e”?' ‘Are your initials F. K.? Once everyone has found his or her partner, he or she introduces him or her to the group. This activity promotes speaking through questions. Teachers can also seize this opportunity to teach students the rising intonation on Yes or No questions.

'Name circle': This activity consists both in introducing each other's name and working on the memorization of the group members. With this activity the teacher starts by giving his or her name. The student sitting to the left of the teachers continues by first pointing at the teacher saying, ' This is Mrs/Mr.(the name of the teacher),' then at him/herself giving his or her name. In this way everybody in the circle has to give the names of all the people sitting to their right before introducing themselves. Again, this activity focuses on speaking through the utilization of statements language such as 'This is...', 'I'm...,' and 'That's...'. It helps in learning each other's names and fosters the memorization of each group members' name.

'Identity cards': Though this activity is mainly oriented to the intermediate level, it was chosen because it also has a variation for beginners. It consists in inquiring about personal data in order to introduce someone else to the group, or getting to know each other by the means of paired interviews. Before the interviewing starts, the teacher can give clear instructions such as ' Find out five things about your partner that one could not learn just by looking' and give the following simplified blank identity card.

Name: Three things I like: Family: Hobbies: Three things I don't like: Something I'd like to do:

After the students have finished filling the blanks on the identity card, each of them introduces his or her partner to the class using the identity card as a memory aid. This activity is aimed to improve speaking skills but it can also promote writing skills as it requires the students to fill the card through writing the required data.

Teachers can choose either of the three of the suggested activities to bring a lively way of getting to know each other among the class. Besides, these are meant for beginners and are not time consuming since they take five to fifteen minutes depending on how large the class is – except the third activity.

Nevertheless many other warm up activities are listed in the appendices.

Fun drama activities to create a warm atmosphere

Miming

Teachers can work on various points with miming activities. For example teachers can use them to review vocabulary items, introduce new ones while giving students an opportunity to develop their communicative competences through paralinguistic expressions.

For example, teachers can write a list of vocabulary on the board which they feel should be reviewed or to be introduced and let students choose from among the list and take turns to mime one of the words so that the class can identify the word that he or she has chosen. Or they give each student a word to mime for the rest of the class to guess, but in this case the teacher must give a hint to help the rest of the class. Teachers should seize the opportunity to train students with facial expressions and gestures that correspond to moods via miming; for example if a sentence should be expressed happily, firmly, politely, excitedly, and etc. . . .

3.5.1.2 During During the activity, three points must be considered: the role of the teacher, the time for feedback, and the use of the mother tongue.

a) The role of the teacher Though the roles of teachers may vary depending on the type of activity – “accuracy or oral fluency” (Byrne 1991, P.3), they should be aimed to facilitate students’ progress. 68

During accuracy activities “as in the study of piece of grammar, a pronunciation exercise, or some vocabulary work” (Harmer 2001, p.104) or activities that are intended to correctness, teachers play the roles of conductor, organizer and monitor (Byrne 1991, P.3). The set of roles - conductor, organizer and monitor- that Byrne advances for accuracy activities suggests that: teachers’ role is to make sure that the students know what to practice. Besides, they ensure that students practice effectively. In addition they organize the activities and proceed to some checking during students’ performance.

For oral fluency activities, Harmer (2001, 275-276) suggests the prompter, participant, and feedback provider roles of teachers. When acting as a prompter, teachers discreetly nudge students, in a supportive way, only when the latter lose the thread of idea in the course of the activity. Unlike prompter teachers, participant teachers fully take parts, animate, and organize things within groups; however, participant teachers may dominate the speaking and thus attention will be focused on them rather than on students. In the case of feedback provider teachers, they are supposed to gently provide correction to help students overcome confusion and uncertainty; nevertheless, overcorrection is to be avoided lest it chokes students’ willingness to speak.

When deciding on the roles, teachers should think of con cording their roles with the focus of the activities they engage students in.

b) Providing feedback Here, providing feed back during activities refers to teachers’ interventions in the course of activities which can be postponed until the after stage. Teachers’ interventions during oral works present more disadvantages than advantages. In accuracy oral works for example Byrne (1991, 35) points out that teachers can provide immediate correction because such action will avoid mistakes re-currency or provide a positive or a negative feedback on the right spot. But they can also make notes and discuss about mistakes in a future time, Byrne continues. So “Why bother students if it can be done at the end?” Besides, teachers’ frequent intervention in oral works chokes students’ willingness to pursue their oral utterance.

According to Harmer (2001, 107), by constantly interrupting the flow of the activity, we may bring it to a standstill. On that, Harmer (2001: 108) proposes that teacher act as observers, watching and listening to students, recording and categorizing mistakes so that they

69 can give feedbacks afterwards . Henceforth, in one way or another, feedback should in no way intrude students’ participation.

Beside the choice of teachers’ role and the time for providing feedback, the use of the mother tongue should also be questioned.

c) The use of the mother tongue Methodologists’ opinions on banning the use of the mother tongue during speaking activities converge at the point that though it should not be censured, it can be avoided.

During oral works, the use of the mother tongue should not completely be restricted as it can help both side - teachers and students- in the process. Nunan and Lamb (1996: 98 - 100) note down that it is almost impossible to know how, when, and how frequently to use students’ first language; however, agree that the first language use to give brief explanations of grammar and lexis, as well as for explaining procedures and routines, can greatly facilitate the management of learning. Harmer (2001: 132) adds the fact that it is not wise to stamp out the mother tongue use completely as it may de-motivate those students who feel the need for it at some stages. On that Byrne (1991: 78) says that it is natural for students to use their mother tongue if they want to communicate, especially if they get too excited. Moreover, Ur (1996: 121) claims that it is easier to use the mother tongue, because it feels unnatural to speak to one in a foreign language, and because the students feel less ‘exposed’ if they are speaking their mother tongue. Nonetheless, she reluctantly agrees that for the sake of clear instructions teachers can resort to it as “a more accessible and cost-effective alternative to the sometimes lengthy and difficult target-language explanation” (Ur 1996: 18). However, Harmer (2001: 132) advocates that while doing an oral fluency activity, the use of language other than English makes the activity pointless. Thus the judicious use of the mother tongue during oral activities can benefit both teachers and students.

Though the resort to mother tongue seems inevitable, it can be avoided.

To encourage the use of the target language; Harmer (2001) advances numbers of strategies. To start with, teachers should Set clear guidelines acknowledging students when mother tongue use is permissible and when it is not (p.132). Next, they ought to Choose

70 appropriate tasks; meaning, tasks at the level of the students, and that the latter can process in English since setting them tasks they are unable to perform entails a counter-productive effect (p.133). In addition, Harmer admonishes to Create an English atmosphere by giving students English names so as to make English as the classroom language as well as the language to be learnt (Ibid). Teachers can also move around the class using friendly encouragement and persuasion such as: Please speak in English! or Stop Using Turkish/ Arabic/ Portuguese/ Greek, etc... Such an action will help students have a new determination to use the target language. Finally, Harmer puts forth that as being a source of comprehensible inputs, teachers should speak as much as possible in English for students to pattern them since “ if they do not, students will not see the need to speak in English either” (p.132). Hence, teachers can take several actions to promote the use of the target language in the class.

Ur (1999:105) summarizes the during activity stage as the following by putting the emphasis on teachers' role:

“Your job during the activity is to go from group to group, monitor, and either contribute or keep out of the way – whichever is likely to be more helpful. If you do decide to intervene, your contribution may take the form of: providing general approval and support; helping students who are having difficulty;

keeping the students using the target language (in many cases your mere presence will ensure this!);

tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find some students are over- dominant and others silent.”

3.5.1.3 After

a) Ending or stopping the activity Ending the activity calls back to the time limit that is allocated to the activity. When the time limit is reached, the teacher should indicate that the activity must be stopped. Penny

Ur (1999:105) advises to make it a principle “to finish the activity while the students are still enjoying it and interested, or only just beginning to flag.”

b) Feedback after the activity This last stage on the organization of speaking activities consists in organizing feedback after the activity- correcting and assessing students’ performance depending on the type of activity- so as to let students know what occurred during the task time. To begin with Richards and Lockhart (1999: 188) makes a distinction between the feedback for content and form of oral works; he furthers that either positive or negative; feedbacks should be intended to echo students’ performance with a regard to increasing their motivation within an agreeable atmosphere. Similarly, Harmer categorizes feedback according to the type of activity: accuracy or fluency oral work, and states that “Though feedback – both assessment and correction – can be very helpful during oral work, teachers should not deal with all oral productions the same way"(Harmer 2001: 104). For accuracy oral work, Harmer suggests two strategies which consist in showing incorrectness and mending incorrectness which procedure Richards and Lockhart summarize as the following:  Asking the student to repeat what he or she said;  Pointing out the error and asking the student to self-correct;  Commanding on an error and explaining why it is wrong, without having the student repeat the correct form;  Asking another student to correct the error;  Using a gesture to indicate that an error has been made. (Richards and Lockhart 1999: 190) Concerning feedback for oral fluency Harmer suggests recording the students' mistakes on a paper, or recording the students' performance on audio or on a video tape. The feedback session should give students a reflection on their performance either it be positive or negative. Penny Ur. (1999:105) points out that it may consist in giving right solution, listening to and evaluating suggestions; pooling ideas on the board; displaying materials the group have produced; and many others. But above all, feedback is aimed to appreciate the effort invested by the students and the results thereof.

3.5.2 The actual performance Presentation of the target population

Why L.T.C

Various reasons led to the experimentation of the present material within the revived English Club of LTC Ampefiloha. LTC Ampefiloha was the chosen experimentation school because apparently it is the only public vocational school in Tana that specializes in Secretarial, Administrative, and Commercial business. Moreover it is the sole vocational school among many other private vocational institutions which are mushrooming in Tana that deals with the afore mentioned three streams altogether. It should be noted that the implementation of the current material is not confined to any specific stream – it is geared to improve the speaking skills among students of the three streams.

The English Club of LTC

For the implementation of the proposed material, reviving the English Club showed to be necessary due to the shortness of the time allocated to English. Indeed as BRIGHT stated “ It is a waste of opportunity merely to read a play in parts with pupils seated at their desk. When acted out it may be a fun and become more interesting.” (BRIGHT 1989: 207). Thus acting out the musical within an English Club proves to be necessary to exploit the musical at a maximum. Furthermore Wilga Rivers (1981: 244) points out that language club offers students an opportunity to develop their speaking ability and use the language through various and informal activities. It is a setting within which students can appreciate learning in a fun atmosphere and without pressure.

Choice of the experimental students

The experimentation was conducted among classe de seconde students from G1, G2, G3 streams for the following reasons. First year students of vocational training schools still have a fresh knowledge of the general English they learned in the lower classes- their perception of the language is not yet distorted by the language code the English language in the tertiary section has been reduced to. Besides Classe de second students have much more time than those of the second and the third year as they do not yet prepare for national exams. Besides, as afore mentioned in the first year they still share a common core syllabus. Moreover first year students are still manageable. The methodologist Ur (1996: 286) would add that “teenage students are in fact the best language learner”. Nonetheless, this material can be exploited

73 among students of upper classes depending on the latter's availability. Hence, the first year students were the choice experimentation population for the various reasons afore extended.

3.6 Suggestions on ways of dealing with the musical This sub-section encompasses suggestions on technical procedural strategies with a report of the experimentation and a suggested schedule and lesson plan to deal with the proposed material.

3.6.1 Some technical procedural strategies A listening for comprehension

As “Listening precedes speaking” (Krashen 1985)14, one's speaking proficiency will then depend on his or her listening proficiency.

Before assigning roles and splitting students into groups, they must have understood the script they will be working on. To achieve this, they should be given a listening comprehension which consists of three stages:

Before: Teachers should sort out vocabulary problems beforehand to avoid frustration. Teachers can resort to warm up activities to introduce difficult vocabulary items. Examples of warm up activities will be extended afterwards.

During:

- First listening: The record is played for students to listen to the entire script. The script shouldn't be imparted beforehand.

- Second listening: The teacher plays the record and the students try to answer the questions written on the kraft stuck on a wall or a board. The questions he or she will be asking will consist in making students grasp the gist of the script, the relationships between characters and especially to know who the characters are or to know who does what.

- Third listening: The third listening consists in checking answers. Also this time the students are provided with the script for them to associate the acoustic sounds to the digital form of words. This last stage of listening will give students an opportunity to have a conscious listening and meantime to train their ears in encoding the way words are pronounced and will also help them in the decoding phase when they will be uttering the sentences in the script.

14 Cited in http://media.ablaonline.org/documentos/ce/ceabcb0a.pdf, 17 November 2014 16:05

Hence the students will concord what they hear with what they read for an oral utterance to occur.

After: The post listening will consist in correcting mistakes. Here the teachers can proceed by playing the record and pausing at the sequences in which students can find the correct answers. Though it appears to be time consuming, teachers should not skip it for students to understand the script they will be performing.

b) Memorizing the script

As afore mentioned, students' memorization span is limited, so they should be imparted memorization task that fits to the limit. Teachers should chop the script into pieces.

c) A time to rehearse and a time to perform

Harmer (2001:271) states that teachers need to give students time to rehearse the play extract they are asked to perform before they give their final performances or production.

Rehearsal

In this phase teachers divide the students into groups so that students can participate at a time. They will let students choose the roles within their groups – either actors or singers. Here teachers are expected to teach pronunciation and other paralinguistic elements that will reach the communication purpose of language teaching. They “ensure that acting out is both learning and a language producing activity” (Harmer 2001: 271). Again, teachers are advised to set a time limit to help students assimilate their roles within a given time. This procedure will help the students practice the language. Besides, the setting should be discussed during the rehearsal to prepare for the production time.

Production

During the production sessions students are freely given time for performance. Teachers should in no way interrupt or intervene; they will observe, record mistakes, and

75 reserve corrections for the post production stage. However, students can call upon them for help or they can provide help when it is needed.

d) The best performance

In order to foster students' motivation, the activity can be organized on a competition basis; that is to say, encouraging students to work hard and well on their performance for an eventual best-performers selection – a task that will be done by the students themselves. Together teachers and the students can set it as a goal to organize a show.

For fear that this selection may occasion a feeling of being disowned among students; teachers should tactfully impart assignments such as the prompter, the curtain drawer, and the people in charge of the back stage affairs so as to keep students in task.

3.6.2 A report on the experimentation This experimentation was patterned after Dorney’s motivational strategies which is composed of :

1. creating the basic motivational conditions.

2. generating initial student motivation,

3. maintaining and protecting motivation,

4. encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation

The activity was organized two hours a week every Thursday morning from 08 – 10 . It all started on February 20, 2014 and resumed after a three week pause (May 01- May 15) and ended in June 24, 2014. Students from 1G30, 1G20, and 1G10 were invited to act out the musical for an eventual show in June. They were not explicitly told that the aim of the drama show is to help them improve their speaking skills. Nevertheless they showed an eagerness to improve their English oral performance. Thirty students responded to the invitation but nine did leave in the course of rehearsal sessions for various reasons such as their parents do not permit them extracurricular activities. But the other twenty one continued till the final show.

1. Creating the basic motivational conditions

Each session was patterned after the following manner:

Before: Consisting in warm up activities

During: consisting in rehearsal and production during which the teacher teaches pronunciation, some communicative skills while adopting roles that would facilitate the learning.

After: consisting in feedback and other assignments.

This pattern was not applied to the first session as it was devoted to comprehension details, grouping and some discussion concerning the background of the musical. To introduce theater acting, it is best to begin with discussion and talk about the work to be performed. During this first session, the students were encouraged to make suggestions and decisions about characters, the setting, the staging, and so on. Then improvise the play or story until everyone has a sense of the action, the movement of characters, and the overall theme of the play.

2. Generating initial student motivation

It should be mentioned that a gradual change occurred after each session. At the beginning the students tend to speak in Malagasy and fear to speak in the target language, but little by little they came to overcome this blockage thanks to their efforts, the lively activities through which pronunciation and some communicative skills were taught, and the supportive encouragement of the teacher. Besides, the effort of the teacher to speak comprehensibly but in English helped them much.

3. Maintaining and protecting motivation

Another way to involve the students was to making them feel as an integrated part of the project. The students and the teacher (myself) consulted together to concoct invitation cards and the posts to invite teachers and students from other classes to attend the show; the target students took the responsibility of dispatching the invitation cards and the teacher was the one in charge of posting the posts. Furthermore, just four days before show, the students and myself joined together to finalize the setting of the stage. Enthusiasm was sensed in them. On the very day of the show, they came early to decorate and arrange the amphitheater where the show was held. It should be noted that costumes were decided long ago during rehearsal sessions. The students were so engaged that they gave their best.

4. Encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation

The intended drama show turned into a talent show. Apart from the musical, the students prepared poems, songs, and dance to enliven the show. And amazingly the poems and songs were in English. When dealing with the poems and songs, they were working on the pronunciation of the words that composed the poems and the lyrics of the songs they have chosen. This was made possible thanks to the pronunciation teaching sessions during rehearsal times. The most striking and moving part of it was that they did not content themselves in delivering poems and singing songs but they accompanied the poems and songs with a kind of scenario that illustrated their understanding of the pieces they played – it could be said that what they did helped much the audience understand the message they wanted to convey.

3.7 Some suggested activities to teach the components of speaking skills Before proceeding with the detailed procedures of teaching the target components of speaking skills unfolded in this section, it is worth considering that teachers should develop certain techniques and ways to model and improve learners’ pronunciation:

Techniques of modeling pronunciation

Model (say or play the recording).

Choral repetition.

Individual repetition.

(Martin Hewings 1978: 21)

Ideas for improving learners’ pronunciation

(Ur 1999:20)

They may implement them with any type of pronunciation activity they chose.

3.7.1 Teaching sounds To learn sounds, two options are given below. Either the teacher opts for teaching the individual sounds or have learners learn by imitation and focus on the areas where they need practices.

Though sounds are best acquired through imitating the teachers’ voice or through recorded materials it is best exploited if learners know the phonetic symbols. Having learners know the phonetic symbols allows them to practice the language on their own. As they will have a sense of self-reliance and confidence they will be more likely to desire to expand their knowledge by self-assigning themselves into going through dictionaries to look up for words and learning how to pronounce them. However, teachers should initiate them to that kind of activity before they can do it on their own volition. Moreover, they should adopt a lively way of teaching each sound for the learners not to be bored. Knowing the sounds will enable learners to enjoy the language more.

Procedure:

Before:

Write a word on the board and have students read it. It is advisable that it should be a word that they have never encountered. Give them a dictionary with phonetic transcriptions to help them read it. They will still have a difficulty.

This activity will serve as an introduction of the importance of knowing transcriptions.

Give them an IPA vowel, consonant, diphthong sheet depending on the area you want to teach first. It is advised to commence with the vowels since consonants transcriptions almost look like the actual alphabet thus they are easier to encode and to decode.

During:

Play the video that is appropriate for your choice. In each video a teacher uses her voice, utters each sound with an exaggerated articulation of her mouth, and combines everything with some catchy examples in a fun way. Have the repeat after the model. Nonetheless with consideration to learner’s attention span, you should segment the items you teach. To make the learning fun, you can resort to tongue twisters or other fun activities to exercise some sounds.

Have students apply immediately what they have learnt by first asking them to give the phonetic transcription of a familiar word. For example, the word “far”, “bed”, “bus”, “good”, “mud”, “dad”, and so on. This initiation will help them gain confidence.

After:

Congratulate them. Have students listen to the whole audio script for them to be able to decode some of the sounds they have learnt. Afterwards, chop the script and assign them to transcribe the words which phonetic transcription they know in the segment you give them.

You should always start with a follow up the next time you meet with them before moving on other activities.

It should be noted that the IPA vowel, consonant, and diphthong sheets and video versions together with the audio of the musical are attached with the present work. The methods used above were adapted from Professor RAKOTOMAVO’s pronunciation class.

The above task seems really tedious, but it is rewarding as it allows teachers not to content themselves with the immediate needs of their students. It equips students with some knowledge that they would still need in future. Teachers begin with the end in mind as they use this method. Nonetheless, a simpler method is presented below.

Hewings (1978: 20) states that learners do not have to know individual sound. However, teachers have the need to know the English phonetic transcription of sounds for

80 them to be able to serve as a role model. Though teaching sounds should not be consecrated to teaching individual sounds, teachers should select the sounds which learners have problems pronouncing and deal with them individually. They can also proceed with having learners listen to the recorded version of the script they are supposed to act. They may pick any idea from Ur’s (1999:20) suggestions on the types of activities to improve learners’ pronunciation:

The sound of “th”, is the most commonly difficult pronunciation tasks among learners. The issue with “sh” and “s” has not been recently current anymore; however teacher can still work on it. Frequently have problems enunciating the English sound “ai”, learners would pronounce it as “ei” which twist is due to the French language interference.

For the issue of “th” and “sh/s” sounds, teachers can resort to tongue twisters.

E.g.:

- Thucker thrusts thousand thistles through a thin tin thimble.

- She sells seashells by the seashore.

A systematic explanation and instruction (including details of the structure and movement of parts of the mouth) to instill the pronunciation of the sound /ai/.

E.g.:

For the pronunciation of /ai/ teachers can use examples from the mother tongue.

The English word tie is exactly pronounced the same way as the Malagasy one tay. Teachers can choose the word may or kitay if they do not want too much distraction.

3.7.2 Teaching word stress and sentence stress via the Names / Suburbs game Before:

Make a circle. Start by showing the learners an impression of discomfort by touching your teeth and looking around for something to pick them with. Ask them in English to help you find a thread from their clothes to floss your teeth. Act it exaggeratedly to arouse learners’ curiosity to ask what is going on. Tell them in Malagasy “Misy kaka ny nifiko”. They will laugh and ask the reason of their laughter in English. Then ask them to correct you. They would surely say “Kaka not kaka.”

During:

Introduce the importance of placing stress correctly in a word or in a sentence.

Write your name and where you live on a piece of paper. Mark the stress pattern of your name. For example you can put a big bold dot on the stressed syllable and small ones on the other ones. For the sentence pattern, ask everyone to underline the name of the place where each one lives. Instruct them that the reason for the underline is to precise where they live and that they should speak it out loud. Through a ball around; the person holding the ball must tells the class his or her name and where they live (I’m .... I live in Andavamamba.)

After:

Give a positive feedback. Give them a certain excerpt from the script. Show them how stress is indicated in dictionaries. Encourage to work in groups and then individually to put the stress on each word and underline the word stress in each sentence. Re-explain that word stress consists of the word that they want to emphasize in each sentence. Suggest that they apply the same principles with the remainder of the script.

3.7.3 Teaching intonation

3.7.3.1 Using the hot seat game The hot seat game consists in having participants take turn in sitting in the middle of a circle. Everyone has the right to only ask one question each. It favors speaking as learners are eager to know more about their class mates. Tell them, however, not to ask too personal questions for that could impede further communication. Or if the question is personal, the person in the middle has the right not to tell lies.

Before:

Make a circle and explain the rules of the game.

During:

Encourage them to ask Yes/ No questions for the first round, and WH- questions for the second one. And teach that the tone of the voice for YES/NO question is low-rise and a low- fall with the WH- questions. Write sample sentences on the board and draw the intonation

82 patterns to illustrate them.

After:

Ask them how they felt. Explain that in an affirmative sentence, the intonation always low- falls. You should feel free to teach as well that the intonation low-rises when you come across a coma in a sentence and then falls at the end – dot. Illustrate those with written examples. Ask them to draw the intonation patterns of the sentences in the segment of the script you would assign them first and do the same thing with the rest of the script.

3.7.3.2 Via the attitude game This game enables the synchronization of voice quality, facial expressions, gestures to signal attitude.

Before:

Write pieces of paper emotions such as happy, sad, excited, angry, scared, etc... Ask volunteers to mime one of them at a time. The remainder will guess.

During:

Write on the board: ‘We study English 2 hours a week.’ Now you illustrate through the way you use your voice – either low-rise or low-fall – to show your emotion. Combine it with facial expression and gestures that comply with the emotion you choose to convey. Explain that the tones – teach the low-rise and low-fall intonation pattern – of the voice and our body languages help convey powerful messages. Hand out each learner the slip of paper with an emotion written on it . Ask them to move around the room saying the sentence “We study English 2 hours a week’ in the tone corresponding to their slip and then find their partner who also has that emotion on their slip of paper by identifying the emotion in their speech.

After:

Assign them a portion of the script and exercise expressing the emotion they want to give to the sentences therein. Ask them to apply the same principle to remainder of the script.

Conclusion

This last part of the work is devoted for the suggestions on how to utilize the proposed material to improve the teaching and learning of speaking skills among Lycee Technique. It comprises the motivational aspects of the musical together with the procedure of adaptation of the text to meet learners’ emotional, mental, and physical abilities and needs; which procedure could be applied to any material that teachers would like to transfer into more adequate drama-based activities for the level of their students. Besides, it unfolds some useful techniques that teachers could use in order to facilitate learners’ acquisition. Furthermore, a report of the experimentation is included to show how it could be exploited and foster learners’ motivation. Nonetheless, some samples of activities on how to teach micro-speaking skills are provided in order to help teachers teach those components of speaking skills in such a lively way that will enable students enjoy learning. However, teachers can use this material according to the needs of their students.

GENERAL CONCLUSION

Adapting the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” to improve speaking skills among vocational training students. This work is divided into three major parts to elaborate on the contribution that the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” could bring into the improvement of speaking skills among vocational training students. The first part introduces the piece of work from which the proposal is excerpted since it does not feature among the classic literary works. Improving students’ speaking skills involves both the way teaching is conducted and how learners respond to it; hence the second part and the third, which elaborate on how the proposed material could benefit both teachers and learners. Thus the work is designed in three sections to expose the benefit of using an adapted version of How to Succeed.

To better appreciate How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, knowing the civilization of the country at the time it was written is worth considering, thus the background history of the U.S. appears at the beginning of this work. It displays the relevant aspects of the 1950s and the 1960s that contributed into the composition of the work. Besides, special features of those events were studied to hint at their utility in the fostering of the speaking skills among vocational training students. Furthermore, it contains the steps of creation of How to Succeed to trace its origin. Hence the first part is aimed at presenting the piece of work before proceeding with how to exploit it.

The second part deals with the observations and interviews that led to some theoretical considerations which aim at skimming the best out of the proposed material to meet its end. It contains a section that attempts to resolve the issue of involvement – that arose during class observations and teachers’ interviews – through the possible themes that could be extracted from the adapted form of the musical through the implementation of Dörnyei’s Action Control and Self-Motivating Strategies. Besides, it displays the advantages of using it as a drama activity to foster speaking skills, and the personal advantages that learners may derive from it. While the second part tackles the theoretical considerations about the advantages of using the musical in improving speaking skills, the third part demonstrates how it could be exploited.

The third part simply echoes the practical side of the theories expounded in the previous parts. It first displays some reasons which make How to Succeed to be an asset for

85 fostering speaking among young learners before expanding on the adaptations that took place before the actual implementation of the proposed material. Then follow the clinics of its experimentation and some suggestions of activities that are worth considering for better exploitation of it. This third part suggests the feasibility of using the proposed material in an extra-curricular activity context to foster speaking skills among students; however, the teaching techniques therein could be utilized by teachers to facilitate their teaching and the learning among their students for classroom speaking activities.

Therefore, this dissertation was conducted in an attempt to contribute to the improvement of the speaking skills among vocational school students with the conscious awareness of the importance of the oral aspect of the English language that should be also embraced by those students for a proficient usage of their knowledge for future opportunities – English has become a Lingua Franca in commercial exchanges and social activities.

In fact, though this work seems to be instructive, it does not attempt at all to demean the great efforts that vocational school teachers invest in teaching English. Nonetheless, there is always room for improvement. It is hoped on the other hand this contribution could impact to some extent the teaching and learning of speaking skills among vocational school students.

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APPENDICES

1- How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying “ – ADAPTED SCRIPT- Pirrepont Finch stands on the stage talking to the public. Curtains close behind him.

Finch: Hi, everyone. My name is Pierrepont Finch. I’m now the director of Richardson Company here in New York. People say that we cannot have a good position like the one of a director if we don’t have degrees or academic qualifications. But this is not always true. To tell you the truth, I started in life as a paper boy. But one day after work, I went home and started reading a book on how to succeed off the shelf. Things have changed ever since. Finch leaves the stage.

Curtains open We see Finch when he was a paper boy. Finch sits on a chair, puts aside it the bicycle. Takes his beret and hangs it on the back of the chair. Takes the book off the shelf and starts reading. The projector is on him.

Book voice: Let us assume you are young, healthy, clear-eyed and eager, anxious to rise quickly and easily to the top of the business world. Finch: (Looks up and says) I can! ( He continues reading) Book voice: If you have education, intelligence, and ability, so much the better. But remember that thousands have reached the top without them. Be courageous and memorize the following rules. You too can be among the lucky few. Yes, YOU CAN! Finch: ( Looks up and says) I can. This book is all I need. ( Finch continues leafing through the book and reads) How to get a job… Book voice: Find the right company and the right person. Finch: (Looks up with a happy face and says) Biggley’s company!!! He stands up straight away and leaves the stage with decided path and whistles.

Curtains close A group of students enter the stage as he leaves and sing outside the curtains:

I have a dream,

a song to sing

To help me cope with anything

You if you see the wonder

Of a fairy tale

Pushing through the darkness

Surely I won’t fail

I have a dream, I have a dream (The students sing these last lines as they leave the stage.)

Curtains open We see Finch going to the company and bumps into the director.

Finch: I’m sorry, sir. Mr Biggley: You idiot!! Finch: I’m just coming to ask for a job. Mr Biggley: Well, don’t talk to me, the director. Go to the personnel man.( the director leaves the stage)

Finch: Thank you, sir. ( Finch leaves the director and goes directly to the personnel man.) Finch: Good morning, sir. Personnel man ( Brat): Good morning, sir. What can I do for you? Finch: I was just talking to J.B Biggley and he said to see you. Brat: J.B Biggley, the director?!!!? Finch: Yes, Biggley himself. Brat: Well here is some forms and why don’t you come back tomorrow for an interview? Finch: Sweet!!!! See you tomorrow, sir. Curtains close A group of students enter the stage as he leaves and sing outside the curtains:

I’m happy,

I’m feeling glad

I got sunshine

In a bag

I’m useless but not for long

The future

Is coming on , is coming on

The future is coming on, is coming on (The students sing these last lines as they leave the stage.)

Book voice: Once you get an interview appointment, prepare carefully. Wear an old suit and a black tie. If you don’t have one borrow one from your friend. No mustache. Curtains open

Finch: Good morning, Mr Brat. Brat: Good morning… Finch: Pierrepont Finch, sir.

Brat: Well, Mr Pierrepont Finch, can you tell me about your professional experiences? Finch: I had worked in many companies and had different jobs. Brat: But exactly, what did you do, Mr Finch? Finch: Many things. I’ll send you a detailed résumé. Brat: But couldn’t you tell me just one… Finch: (Finch doesn’t let him finish, looks on the wall, and says) I like that picture! (He stands up and goes to the picture, looks at it and says) A Picasso?!!? Interesting… (He returns to his chair)

Brat: So now, why did you leave your former job? Finch: (hesitating, trying to remember what the books says) Well. Let’s face it. I want to work with you young men. Brat: Alright! A last question, so how much shall we pay you. Finch: Money is secondary, sir. Brat: You start working tomorrow then……. as a custodian. Finch: That’ll do, sir. Thank you. Finch sings as he leaves:

I’m happy ,

I’m feeling glad

I got sunshine

In a bag…..(I’m useless but not for long. The future is coming on , is coming on) Curtains close behind him

Book voice: How to be promoted? Attract attention. Let them know you’re there. Curtains open Finch is the first person in the office. He is sweeping the floor when Mr. Biggley enters.

Finch: ( Finch stops working, stand straight and leans on his broom pretending to be very tired) Good morning, sir. Pay attention! The floor is slippery. Mr. Biggley: So early… Finch: Pierrepont Finch, sir.(Finch wipes the sweats on his front head. ) Biggley goes to his desk and writes a letter while Finch dusts the furniture. He puts it in an envelop and says…

Biggley: I just wonder who can post this letter. Finch: I can do it for you, sir.

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Biggley stands up and gives it to Finch and says…

Biggley: Good boy. Thank you indeed, Pierrepont Finch. I need to go now. I have a meeting in 5 minutes. Come back to see me this afternoon. See you later!!!( leaves the stage) Finch: You can count on me, sir!! The group of students enter the stage singing and Finch joins them in singing/

You can count on me like one, two, three

I’ll be there

Cause I know when I need it

I can count on you like four, three, two

You’ll be there

Cause that’s what we’re supposed to do oh yeah( students make a reverence and leave the stage.) Curtains close

2- RECORDING MISTAKES

3- TEACHER INTERVIEW STEMS

QUESTION 1: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING ENGLISH?

QUESTION 2: DO YOU TEACH SPEAKING?

YES NO

- IF “YES” HOW OFTEN  Once a week  Twice a week  Once a month  Sometimes but not often

- IF “NO”, WHY  It is not clearly stipulated in the official syllabus.  Speaking is not tested in National Examination.  You do not have time for it.  You do not have any idea on how to do it.

QUESTION 3: HOW DO YOU FIND PUPILS’ REACTION WHEN YOU INVOLVE THEM IN SPEAKING?

 Very interested  Not motivated  Shy  Others (please specify) ------WHY? (please explain each answer you give)------

QUESTION 4: WHICH OF THESE DRAMATIC ACTIVITIES HAVE YOU ALREADY USED IN CLASS?

- Mime - Simulation - Role play - Sketch - Play

QUESTION 5: WHAT CAN BE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING DRAMATIC ACTIVITIES?

 They are fun activities  They motivate pupils to participate.  They improve pupils’ pronunciation  Other advantages (please specify)------

4- LIST OF PICTURES USED

Pictures Descriptions

Custodian

(From Google)

Paper boy

(From Google)

Russian

(From Google)

5- A SAMPLE OF SPEAKING ORIENTED WARM UP ACTIVITIES (Excerpts from Penny Ur. Five Minute Activities)

 Kim’s game

Vocabulary review

Procedure : Say that you are interested in seeing how observant the students are and what sort of memories they have. Collect about seven or eight objects belonging to the students (with their agreement1!). Let the class see each object before you put it into a bag. If there is sufficient time, ask the students to write down from memory the names of all the objects, what they look like and who they belong to. If time is short, ask the students to call out the names of the objects, their appearance and who they belong to. (You can check these by looking in the bag.) Do not immediately confirm or reject descriptions. Encourage argument! Finally, show the objects and return them to their owners.

 This game fosters prepared talks as well. Thus encourages speaking.

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 Something interesting about myself

Talking : volunteering personal information

Procedure : A volunteer student tells the others something interesting about him or herself which he or she is willing to talk about.

I play in a jazz band.

My family is going to live abroad.

The others ask questions.

It is a good idea to start the ball rolling by being the first volunteer yourself; or ask students who you know are more confident and uninhibited to be the first.

 The other you

Describing

Procedure: Tell the students that you will ask some questions and that you want them to answer by pretending to be the sort of person they would like to be.

Give the students a minute to image the kind of person they would like to be. They can do this seriously or humorously. You then ask the questions, but students should give their answers to their neighbor. Examples of questions are given in the BOX below.

Variation 1: Students can ask the questions either of their neighbor or of the class as a whole. Answers can be given to one neighbor, to a group or to the class.

Variation 2: If you think the students would like the idea, help them to establish this ‘other you’ character and offer short activities in future lessons which allow them to develop the character further. For example, you can mention a current event in the news and ask how their other character would respond to it.

Variation 3: The students take on the role of the sort of person they feel is the opposite of themselves, perhaps an utterly crazy character if they are normally sane and sensible, or a cool and tough character if they are normally warm and easy-going.

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BOX: The other you

1- Are you a man or a woman?

2- How old are you?

3- What is your name?

4- What job do you do?

5- If you won a million pounds, what would you do?

6- What do you want in life?

7- What do you worry about?

8- What are your main problems?

9- What makes you happy?

10- How do you get on with other people?

 Instead of the teacher asking those questions, it is advised to have learners do it.

 The disappearing text

Reading and speaking

Procedure : If you have written a text on the board and no longer need it, erase a small part of it, not more than one or two lines. Ask a student to read out the text on the board to the rest of the class and to include the missing words from memory.

Erase one or two more words. Ask another student to read the text on the board and to include the missing words.

Continue in this way until the whole text has been erased and remembered.

 Teachers can definitely use this activity as a follow up activity on previous lessons. They can help learners memorize E.S.P. items such as the definition of trade, wholesale, ...

 Three-picture story

Preparation: Select three magazine pictures which are large enough to be seen by the whole class. The first one should show one or two people in a setting. The second one and third ones should be of an object, a situation or an event. The second and third ones do not need to show the people in the first picture.

Procedure: Display the first picture. Ask the students to call out anything they want to say about it. Your role is to stimulate observation and invention and then to gather the suggestions and to put them into story form. As the students offer more ideas, you add them to the story, continually retelling it from the beginning. After a few moments, you can display the second picture and later the third. As you see your five minutes coming to an end, ask the students to suggest a conclusion. Try to retell the completed story before the time is up. This is an example of how the story might begin:

You: (Showing the first picture) What do you want to tell me about the picture?

Student: There are two people.

You: Yes. Anything else?

Student: It’s a man and a woman. They are lovers.

You: What are their names?

Student: James and Samantha.

You: Good. Where are they? What time is it?

Student: It’s evening. It’s dark. It’s perhaps in the country or a park.

You: What shall we say?

Student: The country.

You: (Assuming a story-telling style) Well, it was late in the evening. James and Samantha didn’t know where they were; it was dark. They thought they must be in the country.

You: (Showing the second picture) What do you want to tell me about this picture?

Student: It’s a car. It’s going very quickly.

You: It was late in the evening. James and Samantha didn’t know where they were, it was so dark. They thought they must be in the country. Suddenly they saw a car. It was travelling very quickly, etc.

 Teachers may let students assume the role of a story teller in future occasions.

 Tongue twisters

Pronunciation.

Procedure : Write a tongue twister on the board, and read it with the students slowly at first, then faster. Make sure the students’ pronunciation is acceptable. Then individual volunteers try to say it quickly three times. See the BOX for some examples of tongue twisters.

BOX: Tongue twisters

She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

Mixed biscuits, mixed biscuits.

Red leather, yellow leather, red leather, yellow leather

A proper copper coffee pot.

Three grey geese in a green field grazing.

Swan swam over the pond, swim swan swim; swan swam back again – well swum swan!

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled pepper?

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,

Where’s the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

 This activity helps teach proper pronunciation of the long vowel /i:/, short vowel /i/ in

contrast with /e/, the broken ‘o’ sound.

 Word cards

Constructing sentences.

Preparation : For this activity you will need thick felt tip pens and strips of paper or card. The simplest way of preparing the strips is to tear or cut A4 paper into four strips. (Wonderful sources of strips of card are local printers, who may not charge you for them.)

If you have time, write the words on the strips beforehand, one word per strip. Alternatively, the students do this for you. The words can be taken from sentences in your course book. Ensure that there is a reasonable balance of words so that a variety of sentences can be built up with them.

A fast way of doing this is to take one sentence from the course book and then to add alternative words for the different parts of the sentence.

You need between five and 15 word cords.

Procedure: Students take it in turns to come to the front of the class and to stand facing the class showing their word card. Succeeding students should stand with the other students so that their words have to move further along or further back in the sentence. This is an activity which provides an intense experience of sentence construction and in a form which many students can appreciate.

You might like to give out some blank cards. The students with blank cards can stand in any position and be any word which makes the sentence complete.

Variation: Write a word on a strip which you know could be the first word in a sentence. Challenge a student to imagine what word might come next and to write it on a strip and stand in line at the front. Even when the sentence is complete, students can add words to the attempt to substitute words, for example, pronouns for nouns; the student with the noun must sit down. The aim for the students is to be at the front and within the sentence at the end of the activity.

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6- HOW TO SUCCEED SCRIPT ( PDF VERSION OF THE WHOLE MUSICAL IN C.D.)

7- HOW TO SUCCEED AUDIO VERSIONS (in a CD)

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8- POTENTIAL THEMES OF DISCUSSION

Discussions based upon social mobility and women at work – some of the themes being conveyed throughout the musical – can be effectively used as a means to foster engagement and create a mental bridge before tackling the performance of the musical perse since these themes appertain to their field of study. Thus the feeling of being familiar with the teaching material will enable students to situate themselves in the activity they are being involved in.

a) Social mobility As How to Succeed embraces the world of office underlying the American Dream, which is totally consistent with the target students, themes of discussion on social mobility avers interesting to them as it could be compared to the common social mobility in the corporate world. In the Malagasy office world it is common to see a custodian or any one from a menial job promoted to a better one and potentially could hold an executive position. Another blatant case of a person who managed to make himself a self-made-man without any academic achievement is the former Malagasy President Marc Ravalomanana. The fact that Finch rose from a window washer to being the Boss can definitely be used into posing the statement: “We can succeed in life without a degree or a diploma” to trigger a ‘Agree Vs Disagree’ discussion, and channeling the discussion into relating the social mobility culture in the America’s corporate world and that of Madagascar. On the other hand, people accede to the top via nepotism.

b) Nepotism The global issue of nepotism developed in the musical could also be used to provoke learners’ interest. In the musical Frump was admitted into the World Wicket Company because he was the Boss’s – J.B. Biggley – nephew. Teachers may elicit a discussion based on the theme of nepotism versus meritocracy by bringing to learners’ consideration the problem of nepotism in the Malagasy office world. For instance teachers may use the following case study: “Two candidates A and B applied for the same position in X Company. Both possess the required qualifications for the position but A was hired because he is the Boss’s relative. Is that fair? Explain in either case.” Or teachers may personalize it “Imagine you worked hard to obtain your D.T.S. degree. You and your friend apply for a position in a Company. Your friend was hired and you are not because your friend is the secretary’s niece.

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How would you feel? Why?” Nepotism could be utilized to foster discussion among learners because it exists in the Malagasy corporate culture and concerns them as well.

c) Women at work Concerning the topic of discussion about women at work, teachers can make it appealing by simply putting into students’ consideration the case of stay at home women or mothers. Women are most of the time found at home since she is considered as the home maker and yet they are encouraged to go to school. Teachers can pose statements such as “A woman is more intelligent than a man or a man is more intelligent than a woman” or ”A woman’s place is at home, not at work.” Women’s place in the society has always been a sensible subject, therefore, talking about it can really arise debates, or in a smaller scale, interesting discussions.

d) The art of manipulation For manipulation is a common phenomenon in the office world to ascend the corporate ladder, teachers may attract learners’ attention on how Finch settled for an interview and was introduced in the World Wicket Company and transpose the situation into the Malagasy office context. Finch used Biggley’s name to intimidate Bratt – the personel man – into interviewing him and eventually hired him. The existing form of manipulation “Promotion Canapé” or ‘went the bed-way’ may also be discussed for the case of Hedy de la Rue – Biggley’s mistress. It is common that some employees are promoted or well-paid because of such a relationship between subordinates and their superiors – it is generally true with secretaries and directors. Teachers may utilize the “Promotion Canapé” as a topic of discussion. Teens show more interest when it comes to money and love affairs.

This kind of activity will not only help the students release their thoughts and loosen their tongues but also acquire some components of the English language as teachers fulfill their role as facilitators. It falls under what Jeremy Harmer coins as ‘formal debates’ that are suitable classroom speaking activities, since it gives students time to “prepare arguments in favour or against various positions”1 , thus they will be able to produce their “well-rehearsed ‘writing-like’ arguments, whereas others, the audience, pitch in as the debate progresses with

1 Jeremy Harmer , The Practice of English Language Teaching – 4th Edition, p.350 xv

their own (less scripted) thoughts on the subject.”2 On that students will be very much interested as they will have to consult with one another to combine their knowledge. Therefore the proposed material can be exploited at its best by not only using it as a script but also deriving some topics of discussion from it.

9- Other advantages of using the musical: psychological preparation for a future career

Just like a theatrical peace requires series of rehearsal, likewise, before lunching oneself into the office world, it would be better to be acquainted with its culture

a) How to prepare for an interview It gives them a glimpse of how a job hunter must pass through an interview before an eventual hiring, they will know how to prepare themselves adequately; performing and witnessing how Bratt conducted the interview and how Finch faced the interview may help them have a hint on how their attitude should be as they learn by contrast. In a more practical sense the book advises that a candidate’s attire should be conservative in style, which is still the case nowadays as casual dressing would lessen the opportunity for hiring. Besides, the advice on having a mustache suggests that the candidate should be mature in his or her conduct. The first advice that Finch reads in the book suggests that job hunters should know the company they want to apply for. This is also evident during interviews when applicants are asked why they chose the company to know what they know about the company. Bratt inquired Finch why does he want to work for the World Wicket Company. As a contrast to Finch’s evasive answers, the candidate should provide straightforward answers. Hence, learners will be able to internalize the concept of job interview as they act the musical. Not only that but they will also discover the corporate culture.

b) Discovering the corporate culture Performing the musical helps learners become familiar with some corporate culture. The book’s guideline on how to be promoted will help learners identify that promotion takes place in a company according to the merits of each employees. It should be noted that Finch seemingly hard work to attract Biggley’s attention hints that promotion is bestowed upon the condition of faithful service within a company. Moreover, they will be aware of the hierarchical structure of a company. For instance, Finch was referred to go to Bratt, the

2 Ibid xvi

personnel man, when he inquired J. B. Biggley, the boss, for a job. Furthermore, they will be acquainted with some office jargon as the script concerns the office world. Thus students experience a mock-taste of the corporate world culture as they perform the musical.

As the musical projects students in an imaginary of the office world, they will be able to transfer their knowledge about that world of ‘let’s pretend’ into real life situation – their future corporate career – for they would have the privilege “to portray themselves or to portray someone else in an imaginary situation", Susan Holden (1982).

10- An overall analysis of class observations

Date and time Classes Monday 9th December 2013 / 7-9 a.m 1G30 “Lycée Technique Commercial” Ampefiloha Friday 13th December 2013 / 2-4 p.m 1G10 “Lycée Technique Commercial” Ampefiloha Thursday 19th December 2013 / 2-4 p.m 1G20 “Lycée Technique Commercial” Ampefiloha Wednesday 07th May 2014 / 10-12 a.m 1G20 “Lycée Technique Professionnel La Reine” Bemasoandro Itaosy Wednesday 14th May 2014 / 10-12 a.m 1G20 “ Lycée FRISQUETTE” Andranonahoatra Itaosy Friday 16th May 2O14 / 11-13 a.m 1G20 “Institution La Joie” Andranonahoatra Itaosy Friday 3Oth May 2014 / 1:30-16/30 p.m 1G20 “Institut d’Enseignement Technique” Amboanjobe Andoharanofotsy Wednesday 11th June 2014 / 8-10 a.m 1G20 “Au Raval” Ambatofotsy Tuesday 16th June 2014 / 9-11 a.m 1G30 “Sainte Famille” Mahamasina

Table 1 Class observation calendar i. Report on the classroom observations

1. Class observation 1 L.T.C. Ampefiloha

Monday 9th December 2013

Number of students: 30

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Duration: (2 hours) 7-9

Topic: How to write a business letter?

Language function: telephoning; some prepositions, stationary

Didactic material: We Mean Business students’ book

Step 1: Calling

Step 2: Correction of the previous homework she gave

Students go to the board one by one to do the correction

Step 3: introduction of the topic: how to write a business letter and asks students to copy the lessons and exercises.

T: Tonga dia adikao fotsiny ireo lesona momba ny business letter dia avy eo ireo vocabulaire momba ny stationary, fourniture de bureau, dia ilay mixed up exercises momba ny equipment sy ilay Hidden word puzzle about some prepositions

Adika daholo aloha vao azavaiko.

T: (Strips off the dialogue about telephoning) Tsy atao ny telephoning fa ny expressions fotsiny no adika.

Ss: A volunteer to copy the exercises and lessons on the board.

T: Is everything clear?

Comments

The whole session lasted for about 1: 15 minutes at most. The teacher only used the mother tongue as a means of communication. Telephoning could have been seized as an opportunity to practice the language but the teacher decided to eliminate the dialogue for the goal was to have students know the vocabulary items related to the office equipments.

2. Class observation 2 LTC Ampefiloha

Friday 13 December 2013

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Class: 1G10

Number of students: 46

Duration: (2 hours) 3-5 p.m.

Topic: Cardinal number

Didactic material: We Mean Business students’ book

Step 1: Calling

Step 2: Dispatched test results and proceeded to correction by calling for students to perform the correction (peer correction). She only intervened when the no one found the correct answer.

Step 3: Had the cardinal numbers copied by a volunteer. She proceeded with explanations afterwards. She instructed the students to repeat after her the pronunciation of each number. She helped correcting the mispronunciation of the number “8”.

Comments:

It took the whole two hours because of the correction. The teacher gave the students an opportunity to parrot in English during the correction phase. She could have given helped students to enjoy some speaking practice about numbers by for example role playing a talk on the phone. Nonetheless she helped the students with a few pronunciation practices. The session was just devoted to a presentation void of effective speaking practices.

3. Class observation 3 L.T.P. La Reine Itaosy

Wednesday, 07 Mey 2014

Class: 1G20

Number of students: 24

Duration: (2 hours) 10 - 12

Topic: - Office equipment and Furniture

- Means of conveyance

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Didactic materials: The board and the hand outs

Teacher (T) Students’ responses Timing

T greets the students in English Reply in English 5min

T does the calling I’m here/ Missing

T asks the students to take the hand out she asked them to multiply the previous week, and proceeds to asking students questions checking their understanding of what is written and seen on their hand outs.

I- Office Furniture

T: What does «office» means? and furniture? So, office furniture means? Bureau 7min

T gives a number and asks students to state the names of Fourniture, fourniture de the item corresponding to it. bureau

T: Picture number one?

Picture number two? Three? ... Notice board

What does “Typewriter” mean? Desk, telephone...

Good! Machine à écrire

II- Office Equipment

T: What does Office Equipment mean?

T gives a number and asks students to state the names of Equipment de bureau 7min the item corresponding to it.

T: Picture number one?

Picture number.... Desk or table

...

T: Now look at exercise 17. Put the letters in the right order. These are things that you find in an office.

Example: N°2 SKED; what is it?

Good, so now do the rest. Desk 4min Correction: (orally)

T: number one? number three? ... WASTEPAPER BIN

SHELF... 3min Exercise number 18 Hidden word puzzle:

T: What does hidden word mean?

It means “Mot caché”; repeat! no response Exercice mikasika ny préposition io. Jereo fa misy Hidden word torohevitra kely eo akaikin’ny 1-5, misy ohatran’ny curpix eo akaikiny eo dia jereo ny toeran’ny “X” eo amin’ny curpix raha oharina amin’ny “lettre hafa”.

Ohatra: number one: aiza ho aiza amin’ny “z” no misy ny “x”?

Dia fenoy izany ny case 1. Tohizo amin’izay ary. 5min

= ABOVE Correction (orally):

III-Correction of the “ EXAMEN IIéme

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TRIMESTRE”

T gives reading comprehension techniques and the 4min techniques of answering questions on exam papers.

Explanations are given in three languages, but mostly in Malagasy.

E.g: T: “Amin’ny resaka “synonym” sy “opposite”, rehefa nom no angatahina dia nom koa ny valiny; dia rehefa verb dia verb koa no valiny. Tsy maintsy izay ao anaty text ihany. Vous devez trouver le verbe ou le nom dans le texte. Ne sortez pas du text.Do you understand?”

Yes, teacher. T: “ Misy certains sujets tsy maintsy adika daholo ny valiny. Adikao daholo ny grand II. Finished?”

T: “How to write Tokyo?” 40min

T: “ What is the nationality of people from Egypt?”

Not yet. T: “Correction number three! Respectena ho aho, par ordre numérique na par ordre alphabétique. Intony ilay tsy maintsy adika daholo any amin’ny examen. Do you “T-O-K-Y-O” (spelling understand?” in French)

T: “Number one!” “ Egyptian”( Malagasy

“Why?... because there is... usually.” intonation)

“Ahoana no ficonjuguena Present tense? Yes, teacher.

“ Iny ihany fa esorina ny “to”, 3ème personne du

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singulier, on ajoute ‘s’.”

[...] Visits

IV MEANS OF CONVEYANCE No response

The teacher asks a student to copy the lessons on the No response board

Conveyance> to convey> to carry

When we travel ( we make a journey), we can take a car, a train, a ship, a plane, or we can go on foot.

- We can go to TANA from Antsiranana either by plane or by car.

- Travelers( passagers) from Antsiranana can go to Moramanga or Antsirabe by train. 15min - Some people can go abroad either by ship or by plane.

- Here in Madagascar a lot of tourists like going every where by rickshaw.

- Students and young people are very fond of going by bicycle or by motorbike.

- Most of people take a bus because the fare is not expensive.

-Babies have got their vehicle and it is called a prom.

- A boat is a sort of small ship.

- American and Russian astronauts had already gone to the moon by spaceship or rocket.

- The lorry and the van are mainly used for carrying

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commodities . When we should pay money for the transportation of our goods, this money is called “ the freight” ( the money to pay for the transport).

- To travel means to make a trip or to make a journey i.e. people move from one place to another using a vehicle (=by plane).

The other students copy at the same time as their fellow who is copying the lesson on the board. After that a brief explanation is provided by the teacher, and this through a choir reading.

Comments: This class observation gives a hint on how speaking skills are viewed in the tertiary section Lycées. Considering her responses during the interview and the observation of her class , it can be related that speaking skills are not listed among the priorities for her classes. The teacher had some opportunities she could have seized to involve her students in speaking activities, but she just chopped them while she had enough time to deal with them as her use of hand outs permitted her to gain time. Moreover, the teacher failed in providing any corrections to mispronunciations among the students; the teacher herself made mispronunciations such as “to copy[ai]” instead of “to copy[i:]. Furthermore, the teacher overuses the mother tongue, which case deprives students from aurally encoding the target language and thus they find themselves harshly striving to produce any output or have difficulties in the decoding phase. Hence, not much consideration is given to speaking skills. Nevertheless, she managed to keep her students’ attention during the class. Thanks to the teacher’s effort in making the course interesting some, students’ participation in the class is worth praising despite their lack of proficiency in oral productions. The students made great efforts in retrieving their knowledge about the language though they could not produce English full sentences. They replied in English as much as they can; for instance at the beginning of the class, they responded in English when the teacher started the class with the roll calling. During the presentation stage, the students show much interest in the lesson as they tried as much as they can, with their faulty pronunciations,

xxiv

to reply in English by reading the answers available on the hand out at their disposal. Besides, the teacher encouraged students’ contribution to the lesson by asking them by turn copying the lesson on the board; an act which favors students’ attitude of belonging - feeling as an integrated part of the class. They were much more involved in the practice stage when it came to games as they did the exercises in small laps of time. For instance, they completed the hidden words games within 4 minutes only. Through their reactions during the class, it could be interpreted that the students were interested in the language, especially when it is taught through game activities. It should be noted, however, and that all dealings among themselves were operated in Malagasy. Teachers’ use of didactic materials and divers teaching techniques increases students’ motivation to learn.

4- Class observation 4 Lycée FRISQUETTE,

Andranonahoatra, Itaosy

Antananarivo, 102

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Class: 1G20

Number of students: 08

Duration: (2 hours) 10 - 12

Topic: - Packing and packaging

Didactic materials: The board

Teacher (T) Student’s responses Timing

Step 1: The students copy the lesson 10min. at the same time as the The teacher asks a student to copy the lesson on the teacher. board before proceeding to explanations.

Lesson: “Packing and packaging”

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I- Objectives -To protect the goods

- To attract buyers/ customers/ client

Aims

II-

Packing free means: The seller chooses the form of packing.

Packing extra: The seller follows the instructions. So here the buyer pays for packing.

III- The different forms of packing

The teacher copies the lesson and draws the pictures. 10min. Forms of packing Categories of goods

-Picture of a case with a lock -Machines, equipments, books, spare parts.

-Fruits, vegetables, breads, bottles

- Picture of a crate - ( none)

- Picture of a tin/ a can (with “Coca cola” written on it) - Fruit jam

- Picture of a jar - rice, flour, maize,...

- Picture of a sac of rice (with “rice” written on it) - Liquid, oil,...

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- Picture of a barrel - Paint, water, oil, ...

- Picture of a drum - Cotton, cloths,...

- Picture of a bale (with “Iron hoop” to indicate the cord used to seal the bale with)

Step 2

The teacher now proceeds with explaining every single item in the lesson in Malagasy. Emballage ve ‘zany? 30min. - Ny atao hoe “packing” dia fitaorana produit, fanasiana entam-barotra

Ye, emballage.

- The teacher writes on the board: To pack= emballer

- Package midika hoe matière à emballage

Ohatra hoe: voatabia-kesika, akanjo-bale

I- Inona no dikan’ireo teny ireo?

Samy tanjona

The teacher writes “but= goal” on the board Tanjona

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Iarovana ny entam-barotra/ pour protéger les biens.

- “To attract” inona no dikan’izany? Manintona

- packing= emballage, Packaging= fonosana

The teacher continues by asking the students orally the meaning of some words. mpividy/ mpivarotra/ Inona no dikan’ny hoe: mpividy/ suivre/ mpihinana buyers/ seller/ customers/ follow/ consommateur Libre

One of the students on the

back said “ Fri:du:m*hono, Inona no dikan’ny hoe free? Libre f’anga moa tsy freedom(with a Freedom[fri:du:m]*= liberté correct pronunciation)

*(the way the teacher pronounced the word)

- * free:

Ny mpividy no misafidy ny emballage ilainy.

- Packing extra: The buyers pays[paiz]*for the

* Gadana

-Lock? ( the teacher uses a realia) kesika

- What is a crate?

Case à claire voie Mofo dipaina

Bread? ??? no response

Tin? bocal/ confiture/ fleur

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Jar?/ fruit jam/ flour?: Lafarine

Maize? “Tsotra be:katsaka”

Barrel? ‘lay fasiana divay, tonneau, baril. ‘Lay hita amin’ny télé

vazaha no mampiasa azy.”

Step 3

The teacher checks the students’ understanding through a quizz.

To protect the goods What is the objective of packing and packaging?

To attract buyers/ customers/

client 10min.

no response What is the difference between P.free and P.Ex?

The teacher advises the students to go on the Internet and look for the definition of packing and packaging.

Step 4 The students read their lesson The teacher devoted about 20 minutes to review the lesson copy book and just say what is he gave the previous week. written therein.

“Tsy hainay ‘zany Ramose!!!" (in choir)

The teacher assigns the students to summarize in a “fiche”

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the lesson about “commerce and business”. Ka ny teny nampianarin’i 20min. Ramose tsy misy ifandraisany As the students replied in Malagasy, the teacher started to amin’ny zavatra ianaranay blame them for not attending the English Club he instituted akory” that could have helped them with speaking English.

“ ‘Zany no alehany ka, tamin’ny nampianatra teny Anglisy tamin’ny English Club izaho dia tsy nisy nanatrika. Izao tsy mahay. Izao tsy misy intsony.”

Comments : The presentation of the lesson took but one hour as it focused but on teaching the topic of the day. Consequently he resorted to various activities to kill the time, but it proved that no activity could fill the remaining time. Indeed the two hours are de trop if it is only devoted to copying and explaining a lesson. In fact the teacher should not have chosen the deductive method, for it restricted students’ involvement in the teaching- they were spoon fed. The teaching was then reduced to teaching of vocabulary void of communicative end. As a matter of fact the technical terms just overload the students with burdensome background knowledge. Moreover, the teaching was conducted with a teacher based method as the teacher occupied eighty percent of the time. Besides, the teaching likens the teaching of History and Geography, as the teaching was more oriented to learning by heart definitions. Such was the case during the review of the lesson the teacher gave the previous week. Undoubtedly, teachers find it difficult to see English for Specific Purposes in a communicative angle. Henceforth, the teacher difficultly knew how to manage two hours class.

Apart from the time and teaching management, it is worth noticing that speaking in the target language scantly occurred.

As far as speaking is concerned, some factors hindered both the teacher and the students from implementing speaking activities during the class. The teacher used the mother tongue as a medium of teaching almost all along the session. When the teacher was then asked why he did not implement speaking activities in his class, he replied that it could not possibly betided as the students lack motivation to speak. For instance, he attempted to institute an English Club to help them speak the language but it knew a failure since students

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did not attend it. A striking response from the students can demystify this failure; when the students overtly responded with “ Tsy hainay ‘zany” or “ we do not know how to do that” when he assigned them a summary task, the teacher blamed them for not replying him in English saying “ ‘Zany no alehany ka, tamin’ny nampianatra teny Anglisy tamin’ny English Club izaho dia tsy nisy nanatrika. Izao tsy mahay. Izao tsy misy intsony.”( This is what happens when you do not attend English Club.) One student interjected with “ Ka ny teny nampianarin’i Ramose tsy misy ifandraisany amin’ny zavatra ianaranay akory” ( What you taught us had nothing to do with our studies). This answer infers that students will be interested in speaking activities if the latter tunes with the context of their studies. Concerning the students, it had been noticed that despite the somehow high level of the students, their implication in the learning figures at a low rate. The teacher’s teaching method impeded the students’ participation in the class as their contribution was restricted to twenty percent of the time. Besides, while replying or exactly reading the answers to some questions, they pronounced well the words, and they could even spot mispronunciations such as the teacher’s when pronounced the word “freedom” as [fri:du:m]* instead of “freedom” with a “shwa” on the last syllable. Furthermore, since no activity did favor their involvement, they grew bored and contented themselves in looking for answers in their copybooks uttering them with a reluctant voice. Nonetheless, the teacher’s use of pictures eased the students’ acquirement of the new topic. Hence, if those students were given opportunities to implement their knowledge, the result would have been far better.

5- Class observation 5 LTP “La Joie”

Andranonahoatra Itaosy

Class: 1G20

Number of students: 30

Duration: (2 hours) 10-12

Topic: Grammar If clauses type 1, 2, 3

Didactic materials: The board

Step 1: Calling

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Step 2: He proceeded to teaching. He taught the lesson as if he taught Maths since the class seems more scientific.

Step 3: Inquire in French if they understood or not.

Step 4: He dismissed the class when the bell rang.

Comments:

The lesson took 1h 45 min and the students came out with the impression that they have attended a tedious math class. The teacher simply taught the students an If-clause formula. Speaking activities could have made the class more enjoyable. The students looked really bored during the class, they manifested it with broad yawning but the teacher could not notice it as he was talking faced to the board.

6- Class observation 6 Institution d’Enseignement Technique

Amboanjobe, Andoharanofotsy

Friday, 30 May 2014

Class: 1G20

Number of students: 12

Duration: (2 hours) 1:30 - 4:30 p.m

Lesson review

Didactic materials: The board

Teacher Student’s responses Timing

The teacher started the class with rolling call. The students replied in English

Two students

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T: Change the water please. volunteered to change the water. 20min.

T: Take your exercise book.

Step 1

The teacher copied the exercises on the board and asked the students to take note at the same time.

I- Complete the blanks with country, capital, or Nationality.

- François lives in Paris; he is.... and he speaks...

- Romeo is..., he lives in Rome and he speaks...

- Mouhamed Taki is from India; he lives in...and he speaks...

- Jacques De la Maine is BOS’ representative in Egypt; he lives in... with his wife. He is not...; he is...

- Lorenzo is BOS’ representative in Italy. He is.... He lives in

...; he speaks....

- Ken Kondo is BOS’ representative in Spain; he is... He lives in... ; he speaks...

II- Use the possessive case when possible.

- The pretty dress of Anna was stolen.

- The black cover of the book.

- The green eyes of the cat.

- My parents spent a holiday of a week at the seaside.

-Mr. Smith laughed at the question of Henry.

- The children went for a drive in the car of their uncle.

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III- Put the verb in the brackets into the correct tense.

- I first (to see) a double decker bus two days ago.

- It’s two years since James (to go) to France.

- The masons will begin the wall as soon as the foundation (to be) ready.

- I(to write the letter while you (to learn) your lesson.

- The children (to be) pleased when the holidays (to draw) near.

- He (to dies) in 1924.

- We (to be) in this classroom for an hour.

IV- Answer the following questions.

- What is : - a Bill of Lading?

- a Proposal Statement?

- What does A.W.B. stand for? Explain.

- How many bases have commerce?

The teacher gave the students about 30 minutes to do the work, and spent the remaining time to correction. 30min.

T: Have you finished copying?

Step 2:

Correction Yes, teacher.

Teacher, may I go out 10min please?

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Comments: The lack of materials did not hinder the teacher from achieving the general revision course as she managed to give the exercises by using the board. Though it took her time to copy them, the students were kept in task with her. After she has finished copying, she went to the back of the class to spot mistakes and to correct them accordingly. For the correction, she encouraged peer corrections since whenever a student has done his turn, she asked the others to check whether the answer their friend has provided is correct or not. This peer correction challenged much the students as they tried the most they could to provide correct answers. In addition it foster group works as when mistakes were found, they consulted each other to find out the correct answer. This activity let them no time for dissipation.

At the beginning, the students just wrote their answers without any word and used facial expressions or gestures to express their impressions, but when the teacher encouraged them to read the sentences before and after correction, they become more confident and were willing to voice their answers. Considering this fact, students need stimuli that challenge them to speak.

Besides, the teacher tried to use the target language as much as she could; which process showed to have a good effect on the students as the latter strove to respond in English. Furthermore, the teacher was patient and helped them in the oral delivery of their sentences. She displayed a considerable patience towards them- an attitude which helped the students much. From this class, it can be deduced that teacher hold an important role in the learning process. They should find good techniques, and good teaching methods to facilitate students’ learning. Besides, teachers should be a model; the more teachers use the target language, the more students are challenged to speak with the same language. Moreover, encouraging teachers help in reducing the affective filter among students as the latter will not feel frustration or pressure while striving to retrieve their knowledge about current task. Thanks to Mrs. Sabine’s supporting role, the students could utter structured word combinations in English. As stated earlier on, the students were lead to speaking English thanks to the way their teacher led the courses. They were involved in the tasks they were assigned to. On one hand, it has been observed however, that students are not new to English language. The knowledge

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they acquired in lower classes served them as a source of retrieval. They already have some knowledge about it though it takes them time to recall it.

7- Class observation 7 “Au Raval” Ambatofotsy

Wednesday, 11th June 2014

Class: 1G20

Number of students: 14

Duration: (2 hours) 8-10

Lesson review

Didactic materials: The board

Teacher Students’ responses Timing

Step 1

When the teacher entered, the students stood up and greet Wednesday eleventh of her in English. June two thousand and

fourteen!!! Right after that, she copied exercises on the board.

T: What is the date today?

The students took note at Wednesday, 11th of June 2014 the same time as the 10min Take your exercise books teacher. Copying A- General knowledge

I- Complete with the appropriate word.

1) A...is a document used to take money out of a bank account.

2) A... is a person who writes a cheque.

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II- Define: a) Commerce b) Services 10min Working

III- Write to letter 5min £100=

$24=

CORRECTION 5min

B- Grammar copying

1- Put the verb between brackets into the correct tense a) Next Monday, Ann (to appear) on T.V. b) The main function of the Central Bank (to be) to hold the country’s gold reserve.

c) Hurry up! The bus (to come).

2- Turn into negative form 10min a) Last week, Susan wrote a poem. Working b) Wholesalers did not buy goods from the manufacturers. 5min

CORRECTION

5min

C- Language Function copying

What would you say in the following situation? 5min working 1) You receive samples from the wholesaler.

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2) Today is your mother’s birthday. 3min

CORRECTION

Step 2: A session devoted to giving students reasons to learn 30min English

Comments:

During this session, both the teacher and the students tried to use the target language as much as they could.

The class was opened with a greeting in English, and instructions were given in English. During corrections, the teacher made it a rule that before a student writes his or her answer on the board, he or she must first read his or her answer. On that it could be spotted that the students did intelligibly pronounce each word. Meantime, the teacher encouraged peer- correction; she only intervened when the students could not find the right answer.

It is worth noting that the teacher gradually resorted to the use of Malagasy especially when provided techniques of answering questions in order to help her students have an explicit notion on how to tackle each part of a exam layout. Consequently, the students began to reply in Malagasy.

Besides, it is worth noticing that the good relationship that exists between the teacher and her students served as a drive for the latter to actively participate in the session. Moreover, the thirty minute session that the teacher devoted to giving the students reasons to learn the language proved to be effective as the students came to realize the importance of learning a foreign language especially English. Hence, the teacher and the students did exert their knowledge about the language to be able to speak English.

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On the course of the session, it was observed that students’ background knowledge about the language serves them as a land mark in their learning process. The students’ reactions to their teacher’s mistakes were surprising as they silently corrected among themselves their teacher’s mispronunciations while it should be the other way round. For example, she uttered “serv/ai/ces” instead of “serv/i/ces”, and “b/i:/rthday” instead of “birthday” with a correct pronunciation.

8- Class observation 8 Institution Sainte Famille

Mahamasina

Tuesday 16 June 2014

Class: 1G30

Number of students: 24

Duration: (2 hours) 09 - 11

Topic: Preparing for exam

Step 1: Calling Step 2: They proceeded with the review of E.S.P. terms and some grammar review. The interaction was conducted in English, French, and Malagasy.

Step 3: He dismissed the Class when the bell rang

Comments:

The teacher blatantly excluded any speaking activity for he stated that ESP constitutes his focal point. Hence only a few command sentences were uttered and responded in English as he opted to teach his class in three languages.

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UNIVERSITE D’ANTANANARIVO

ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE

DEPARTEMENT DE FORMATION

INITIALE LITTERAIRE

CER LANGUE ET LETTRES ANGLAISES

Title: Adapting the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” to improve speaking skills among vocational training students.

Author: Fara Mirado ANDRIAMAMONJISOA

ABSTRACT

This piece of work attempts to contribute to the betterment of speaking skills among tertiary section (G1. G2, G3) vocational training students via the use of the adapted version of a musical entitled “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. It is presented into the following three main parts:

Part I unfolds the historical context of the book within the framework of the business world in the post - WW II America.

Part II displays the results of the S-W-O-T analysis which helped discern the challenges of learning and teaching speaking skills among the target vocational training schools. It also identifies some ways on how to use the musical to address the learning and teaching speaking skills defiance encountered.

Part III presents various motivational aspects and adaptation procedures of the musical in order to give learners an opportunity to act out while acquiring speaking skills and teachers the ability to assist their students in their learning process.

Key words: vocational training schools, speaking skills, musical, tertiary section.

Number of pages: 89

Number of figures: 8