Education is certainly the birthright of all people. The motivation of every nation should be to generate literate, well-educated and intelligent residents who are able to add to the proper progress and progress of the whole society.

There is still mystery on how accurately a foreign language is learnt. On the subject of building confidence there are yet more theories which are even more difficult to confirm. I myself do not trust that confidence is built using one magic activity, but rather it is continuously acquired all over the learning process. That’s why, all the theories I pick to focus on three things Grammar, Drilling, and of course the role of the teacher. All of these will prepare the student for circumstances they might meet later. [1]

After the opening to vocabulary the first step to getting students to speak aloud are drilling. Since drills are typically controlled and offer a limited level of variation. It is not recommended they be used too often or for long periods of time.

They do still provide an environment where students can build an acquaintance with short conversations that will be of use to them in the future. I believe, this will add to their confidence to speak English in public. A great exercise for confidence building is a role play on a subject which is relevant to the students needs. The role play will have an information gap and will include a task that will need to be done. It is important for the teacher to listen for mistakes, but not to interrupt the conversation exercise as this will undermine the communicative purpose and break the student’s confidence down. This exercise alone does not in itself fill the student with confidence, but it is a large part in the overall goal of confidence building.

On the contrary to drilling which builds acquaintance by means of repetition, grammar gives students the ability to form their own sentences to represent their own ideas. [3]

It was Chomsky who published in 1959 that “Language is an intricate rule-based system and a large part of this acquisition is the learning of this system”. It is with learning system that students develop competence on how a language works and is used. With competence comes confidence in being able to adapt to different situations. Once a student feels they can move freely by means of a language they no longer feel intimidated to engage in a conversation with a native speaker. It is clear that grammar can not be ignored when trying to ready a student for communicating in English. [2]

After looking at these areas within the teaching system I feel it very necessary to look at how the students receive feedback for the progress by means of these systems. Feedback lies mainly as a responsibility of the teacher and it is on the teachers. Beth Bedford once said “It can be devastating to the confidence building process to laugh at or undermine any attempt made by a student to communicate using English”. If this happens barriers would be raised by the student and they might never feel comfortable to speaking English. Fortunately it is quite easy to positively reinforce a student, whether it is with a wink, a smile, or a “job well done”. We can build up a student’s confidence in them. The reinforcement does not have to be granted. Moreover it simply must be there. In fact too much of a positive reaction or too often dilutes its potency and could seem demeaning. Teachers must be constantly aware of their actions and responses to students.

To build up students’ confidence in ELT, Teachers should be calm, unruffled and give due consideration to all questions or queries. [2]

Be consistent, and aware of any prejudice or bias you might have in yourself. Be impersonal, but not non-personal. Be approachable and available. Give students time and telephone numbers or places for further assistance. Get to know your students as people and remember that you, too, are human. Do not be aloof, but get down to the level of the student, especially as concerns the actual teaching. [4]

As conclusion, I consider the pathway to confidence in speaking English is acquaintance with language and its uses. All of the above areas are essential and need to be acknowledged if a student is to be expected to use English. As I have said above all three of these areas will arrange students for what lay ahead. Everyone would be in agreement going into a test well prepared is much less worrying than a pop quiz, and after all, the major test in language learning is the real world.

End Notes

• AbiSamra, N. (2001). "Teaching Culture: Strategies and Techniques." American University of Beirut. Education 328: Seminar in TEFL - Teaching Culture.
• BOLIN, F.S. (2000) Helping student teachers think about teaching, Journal of Teacher Education, XXXIX ( 2), pp. 48-54.
• Mckay, S. L. (2004). "Western Culture and the Teaching of English as an International Language." English Teaching Forum. Vol. 42, No. Issue 2, April
• POSNER, G.J. (1999) Field Experience: a guide to reflective teaching (New York, Longman).

Aleksandra Janiak
International TEFL Teacher Training