IMPROMPTU SPEAKING AS A TOOL TO IMPROVE NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS' FLUENCY IN ENGLISH

Impromptu speaking can aid advanced ESL students
in their confidence in formal speaking situations
while improving their general ability to communicate
on all levels. The impromptu speaking activity
discussed here teaches the students to focus their
speaking and listening skills as well as teaching
them how to organise their ideas in a logical
fashion. The reasons for teaching formal speaking
procedures are discussed in addition to sugg~stions
on how to organise an impromptu speaking lesson.
Examples of topics and speech frameworks are
given along with suggested preliminary exercises
to help th~ student understand the mechanisms of
an impromptu speech. A suggested critique sheet
is also outlined and explained. this helps students
organise both speech development and listening
comprehension. In addition, some of the most
common formal speaking difficulties are discussed
and different solutions are suggested. Finally, the
improvements expected from this speaking exercise
are outlined.