Unit 2: Speaking

Spoken English is a performance skill: it depends first on producing recognisable sounds, then on shaping those sounds into socially appropriate functions. This unit moves from the physical articulation of English (phonetics) through everyday conversational functions to formal spoken-performance formats.

• Receptive vs productive: Listening builds the sound inventory; speaking reproduces it under real-time pressure, so fluency and accuracy must be practised together.
• Received Pronunciation baseline: Standard British English uses roughly 44 phonemes — about 20 vowels and 24 consonants — the reference inventory for most Indian classrooms.
• Segmental vs suprasegmental: Segmentals are individual vowel/consonant sounds; suprasegmentals (stress, rhythm, intonation) ride across whole words and sentences and carry meaning on their own.
• Function over form: A grammatically correct sentence can still fail socially; speaking is judged by whether it performs the intended function (inviting, refusing, suggesting) politely and clearly.

II. Phonology — The Sound System

How English sounds are produced and organised.

A. Vowel and consonant sounds

English spelling is unreliable, so sounds are learned through phonetic symbols, not letters.

• Vowels (voiced, open vocal tract): Air flows freely; the tongue position and lip shape distinguish them.
  • Monophthongs (12): Single steady sounds, split into short /ɪ, e, æ, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ, ə/ and long /iː, ɑː, ɔː, uː, ɜː/ — e.g. ship /ʃɪp/ vs sheep /ʃiːp/.
  • Diphthongs (8): A glide between two vowels, e.g. /aɪ/ in my, /eɪ/ in day, /ɔɪ/ in boy.
• Consonants (airflow obstructed): Classified by place, manner and voicing.
  • Voicing pairs: /p–b/, /t–d/, /k–g/, /f–v/, /s–z/ — the voiced member vibrates the vocal cords, e.g. pin /pɪn/ vs bin /bɪn/.
  • Manner groups: Plosives /p t k/, fricatives /f s ʃ/, affricates /tʃ dʒ/, nasals /m n ŋ/, approximants /l r w j/.
• Common Indian-learner issues: Confusing /v/ and /w/ (vine/wine), substituting /t̪ d̪/ for the dental /θ ð/ in thin/this.

B. Stress and intonation

Meaning in English is carried as much by melody and emphasis as by words.

• Word stress: One syllable per word is louder, longer and clearer — e.g. PHO-to-graph vs pho-TO-gra-pher; wrong stress blocks comprehension more than wrong sounds.
• Sentence stress: Content words (nouns, main verbs) are stressed; function words (articles, prepositions) are weakened to /ə/, giving English its stress-timed rhythm.
• Intonation (pitch movement):
  1. Falling tone: Signals completion and certainty — statements, Wh- questions, commands: Where do you LIVE↓.
  2. Rising tone: Signals openness or doubt — yes/no questions, politeness: Are you READY↑.

III. Everyday Social Functions

Conversational routines for interacting with people.

A. Introducing oneself and others

The function opens interaction and establishes identity.

• Self: Fixed openers — My name is… / I'm… / Let me introduce myself. Follow with role or origin: I'm a first-year engineering student from Pune.
• Others: Use This is… / I'd like you to meet…; move from senior to junior, host to guest.
• Response formulas: Nice to meet you / Pleased to meet you, usually with a falling tone and a handshake.

B. Exchanging personal information

Short question-answer turns that build rapport.

• Question frames: Where are you from? What do you do? How long have you…?
• Answer with elaboration: Give the fact plus one detail — I'm from Nagpur, where my family runs a shop — to keep the exchange going rather than closing it.

C. Asking and giving opinions

This function manages viewpoints in discussion.

• Asking: What do you think of…? How do you feel about…? Do you agree that…?
• Giving: Hedged for politeness — In my opinion… / I'd say… / It seems to me… rather than the blunt You are wrong.
• Agreeing/disagreeing: That's a good point / I see what you mean, but… — soften disagreement before stating it.

D. Expressing likes and dislikes

Stating personal preference clearly and gradably.

• Verbs + -ing: I enjoy painting / I can't stand waiting.
• Intensity scale: love > like > don't mind > dislike > hate — e.g. I quite like tea but I can't bear coffee.

E. Making invitations

Offering and arranging shared activities.

• Offering: Would you like to…? / How about joining us? / Why don't we…?
• Accepting / declining: I'd love to, thanks versus That's kind, but I'm afraid I can't — a decline carries a reason to stay polite.

IV. Routines, Preferences and Comparisons

Describing habitual life and weighing options.

A. Discussing routines

Habitual actions use the simple present with frequency markers.

• Frequency adverbs: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never — placed before the main verb: I usually wake at six.
• Time markers: every day, on Mondays, twice a week — anchor the routine to a schedule.

B. Discussing preferences

Choosing one option over another.

• Prefer structures: I prefer tea to coffee / I'd rather walk than drive.
• Note the pattern: prefer X to Y but would rather X than Y — the second takes a bare infinitive.

C. Making comparisons

Measuring one thing against another using adjective forms.

• Comparative: short adjective + -er (faster), long adjective + more (more useful): Trains are faster than buses.
• Superlative: -est / most with the: the tallest building.
• Equality / irregulars: as big as; irregular good–better–best, bad–worse–worst.

V. Managing Requests, Excuses and Suggestions

Negotiating what people ask of one another.

A. Accepting and refusing requests

Responding to appeals for help or action.

• Request forms: Could you…? / Would you mind -ing?
• Accept: Sure / Of course / No problem.
• Refuse: I'm sorry, I can't right now — a refusal softens with an apology and often a reason.

B. Making excuses

Explaining an inability or absence to preserve goodwill.

• Apology + cause: I'm afraid I can't make it because… — give a plausible, specific reason (I have a prior commitment).
• Register: Formal excuses to teachers (I was unwell) differ from casual ones to friends (I got held up).

C. Giving suggestions

Proposing a course of action without commanding.

• Suggestion frames: Why don't you…? / How about…? / You could try… / If I were you, I'd…
• Tone: Rising or level intonation keeps it a suggestion, not an order.

VI. Narrating Across Time

Talking about what has happened and what will.

A. Sharing past experiences

Recounting completed events, usually as a short narrative.

• Tenses: Simple past for finished events (I visited Goa last year); present perfect for experience up to now (I've never flown before).
• Sequencing: First, then, after that, finally order the story; Once, I… opens an anecdote.

B. Talking about future plans

Expressing intentions, arrangements and predictions.

• Going to: Pre-made intentions — I'm going to study abroad.
• Will: Spontaneous decisions and predictions — I'll call you tonight / It will rain.
• Present continuous: Fixed arrangements — I'm meeting them on Friday.

VII. Spoken-Performance Formats

Structured speaking tasks that build fluency and confidence.

A. Individual oral presentations

A prepared solo talk on a chosen topic.

• Structure: Introduction (hook + preview), body (two–three points with evidence), conclusion (restate + close).
• Delivery: Eye contact, controlled pace, visual aids used as support not script; aim to speak to the audience, not read.

B. Debates

A formal clash of two opposed sides on a motion.

1. Proposition: Argues for the motion, defining terms and giving the first case.
2. Opposition: Argues against, rebutting proposition points before adding its own.
   • Features: Timed turns, points of information, a closing rebuttal; judged on logic and evidence, not volume.

C. Discussions

Collaborative, open exchange seeking understanding rather than victory.

• Skills: Turn-taking, building on others (Adding to that…), inviting silent members (What's your view?).
• Goal: Explore a topic from many angles and often reach consensus.

D. Extempore

Impromptu speaking on a topic given with little or no preparation.

• Quick plan: Thirty seconds to fix a stance and two or three supporting points.
• Rescue devices: Fillers managed, pauses used to think, a definite opening and closing line even when the middle is improvised.

E. Role plays

Acting out a real-life situation in assigned characters.

• Setup: A scenario (job interview, booking a ticket) and roles with goals; language is used in realistic, functional context.
• Benefit: Practises registers and the conversational functions above under safe, rehearsed conditions.

F. Group activities

Shared tasks that develop cooperative speaking.

• Formats: Group discussion, problem-solving tasks, information-gap and jigsaw exercises where each member holds part of the data.
• Assessment focus: Contribution quality, listening, coordination and the ability to move a group toward a shared outcome rather than dominate it.