The impact of technologies on speaking skills

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGIES ON SPEAKING SKILLS
Fayzullayeva Yulduz
Student of Fergana State University

Abstract: This paper considers the impact of technologies on the development of speaking skills, discusses the importance of speaking and suggests techniques of implementing gadgets in education.
Key words: speaking skills, ESL students, technological tools, mobile technologies.
Speaking is one of the most essential skills. To improve this skill, it is required to have rich vocabulary, lucid pronunciation and practice. For ESL or EFL learners, the most essential skill of four key language skills is speaking (Bahadorar and Reza Omidvar,2014). Brown and Yule (1983) state that speaking will be important in the everyday communication, as people are assessed because of their ability to speak fluently and comprehensively. So it is clear that learners should pay special attention to the development of this skill. However, some ESL students do not pay attention to this part, as they think that speaking ability is not so essential as compared to other skills like reading, listening and writing, while some other students are not motivated enough or have the barriers to communicate in the target language.
The attention of the audience could be attracted by the impressive speech of orator. One’s career success, as well as personal life, can also be enhanced by their speaking ability (Qureshi, 2007). The conception that speaking skill is a result of learning language is generally figured by students, while this skill has already found its role as a main part of language learning process (Usmonova and Usmonov,2020). Maryam Bahadorar and Reza Omidvar (2014) also give some reasons for teaching speaking:

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  Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching.
  
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  The mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second language or foreign language learners.
  
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  Our learners often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how much they feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency.
  
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  Oral skills have hardly been neglected in today's EFL/ESL courses
  

All of these reasons are the answer for the question of ESL students.
For EFL students the foremost demanding language skill is speaking (Ahn & Lee, 2016)
Sometimes ESL students face some problems during practicing this skill. For example, they could not develop speaking skill well enough, even if they have rich vocabulary, right pronunciation, perfect grammar and so on. One of the reasons for this may be that, apart from classes, they do not have companion to speak in English, in other words, they do not have the English speaking environment which could aid in enhancing this essential skill. In such cases, modern technologies serve as a solution and an effective tool for developing communication skills.
Through technologies, students may develop their speaking skills and the things that will accelerate this process are Internet, podcasts, video conferencing, videos and speech recognition software (Bahadorar & Omidvar, 2014). In today’s modern life, up-to-date technologies are available probably in every family. Almost every student has their own mobile phone or laptop. Using these gadgets effectively may also contribute to the development of speaking. “Mobile technologies have proliferated in language learning in recent years as its ownership outnumbers desktop, laptop and cellphone ownership”(Cochraine, 2014). Modern technologies arouse the playfulness of learners, involving them into the subject. Students are provided with opportunities for self-study, as technologies offer them self-paced interactions, privacy and a save environment. With specific feedback, which is given for errors, students may do exercise that focus on specific mistake. Explanation, additional help and reference are provided in a link, augmenting the value of technology (Bahadorar and Reza Omidvar,2014). If an ESL or EFL student is feeling shy to speak in front of the class or public, because of fear making mistakes, such types of technologies can become the solution for them. This is due to the fact that when they start to train speaking along and check it with gadgets, they start speaking more fluently. After some period of practice, this confidence will manifest in front of others.
“Smart technologies include various digital platforms (Facebook, Edmodo, TED, Google docs), online communities (blogs, Twitter), mobile applications, digital tutorials and e-books, presentation tools, LMS (Moodle, Coursera, EdX), webinars andother digital media, the use of which is possible both from a desktop computer or laptop, and from smart devices (tablet, smartphone, smart TV). At the same time, the use of smart technologies does not deny the use of traditional means, forms and methods of teaching, but only offers alternative ways of obtaining and broadcasting educational information, new channels of interaction between educators and students…. .The use of smart technology in education helps to enrich traditional teaching methods and bring positive learning outcome” (Elsakova, Kuzmina, Kochkina, 2019).
Overall, the using of modern technologies as an additional learning tool may be an effective way of developing speaking skills for ESL students.