What is missing from the Spoken English classroom? : The gap between classroom learning and real world application

摘要

One of the difficulties faced by many English learners is taking the knowledge learnt in the classroom and applying it to real world situations.Simply participating in class does not guarantee that a student will be able to cope in real world interactions,especially in casual or informal settings.Many structured teaching materials in classroom have missed out significant elements which reflect the nature of informal communication.Several factors will be discussed here that could affect the quality of spoken language teaching materials in the classroom.These include the structure and content of teaching materials and classroom activities,the types of external resources used in class or recommended as a complementary learning tools,and the way that specific skills are taught.Identifying these areas of weaknessallows students to develop the practical skills to independently bridge the gap between classroom activities and real life interactions.