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To ensure proper understanding of his intentions, the author brings the readers to the meaning of the above framework, and suggests the following interpretation of it:

“[...] many activities focus directly on aspects of the new language system and many other activities engage the leamers in authentic communication. It between those two boxes [Intemalisation of the Language System and Use of Language for Authentic Communication] are components whose function is to help leamers to form links between language and the meanings it expresses” (1992:81).

12.2.6.1. Fluency practice

Since communicative abilities have recently been placed emphasis on, encouraging students to express themselves freely in the foreign language has become a predominating idea. If, on the other hand, the leamer feels anxious to produce the language and succeeds in communicating his or her views, ideas or opinions, each such learner then, in tum, “feels a great sense of satisfaction and his attitude toward language leaming becomes much morę favourable” (Rivers, 1968:161). What such a feeling does is encourage students to learn and become morę and morę fluent in foreign language use. The idea of encouraging fluency through conversation is as old as language teaching itself. The essential prereąuisite for a successful ‘conversation class’ is an interesting and defined topie. For that reason, subjects of conversation brought to the classroom by the teachers need to be interesting. However, the presence of an interesting topie is not going to work itself if the students do not have reasons to talk about it. What they need is a purpose, a reason to speak morę than just a need of something to speak about. Once there is a reason to talk, however, the fact that the topie is challenging or stimulating will work to the students’ advantage for it will make the whole discussion morę fascinating and involving. However, on seeing that “the interest in a particular topie is flagging” (Lewis and Hill, 1992:118), the teacher should abandon it even if it is still fascinating to them, because what the conversation in a lesson aims at is giving the students the opportunity to express own thoughts, opinions or ideas about a topie of interest to them.

Everyday - life conversation is a relaxed activity hence its classroom equivalent ought to assume a similar manner and be relaxed too. Teachers must be aware of the fact that, through introducing ‘conversation’ into a lesson, “they are introducing one of the most difficult total skills of language use śi2the ability to combine the accurate expression of [...] ideas with their presentation in a social situation. Students are inhibited by lack of language, and by the fact that this kind of activity normally does not take place in large groups”. For that simple reason, the leamers can therefore be expected to offer only simple contributions and need to be encouraged with these. Encouragement from teachers “can take the form of a generał ąuestion, an enąuiring look, a smile, and, perhaps most importantly of all, a pause, during which students have time to formulate their thoughts and to decide what they wish to say, and how they wish to say it”. It is the relaxed, peaceful atmosphere, and a spell of silence on the part of the teacher that seem morę likely to be effective than a teacher incessantly putting words into students’ mouth or finishing sentences for them. Moreover, teachers should also be careful not to discourage students by constantly picking on mistakes, sińce, ‘conversation’ is the one of all classroom activities that focuses on fluency rather than accuracy. Correction should, therefore, “come after the conversation rather than inteirupting its [natural] flow”.

Hardly ever does conversation outside classroom tackle serious issues, morę often than not it involves banał topics. Students’ command of the foreign language is often relatively limited so they may not be very willing to “express their views on the subject about which they may not actually care” so it is very often much easier “to stimulate comment from a class about less serious topics” (based on Lewis and Hill, 1992:119).

12.2.7. Types of orał communicative activities

“The main advantage of communication activities in a language leaming programme is that they provide a context for communication” (Sexton and Williams, 1984:251). They are, in addition, enjoyable and motivating which ensures leamers interest in

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