Recently, the inability to speak in English fluently and effectively among graduates has become a great concern in Malaysia. Many employers claim that potential candidates for the vacant posts in their company fail in their interviews because of their handicap in English. These candidates excell in all their examinations but when they join the real world, they can’t even utter a few comprehensible English.
As a teacher, I have to take some actions. One of them, is to focus on speaking skills. In 2004, I had in fact done an action research on how to improve students’ speaking skill and had presented it in front of educators from primary school, secondary school and teaching colleges. The title of my research was “ To increase students’ ability to communicate in English effectively using COP game as an approach”
So,I have incorporated more speaking skills in my lesson. I have increased the focus on this particular skill by 10 % more than I have been doing the past years. I believe speaking will ultimately help my students to perform well in examination.