Speaking: A neglected language art at Farsi curriculum

Talking is defined as the application of oral language for direct interactionwith others and speaking is the academic form of it. There are two types ofspeaking: informal and formal one. Informal speaking does not require lots ofdirect instruction, however, the formal type requires intensive direct instruction.The first aim of this research was developing the indicators of speakinginstruction at national language curriculum at elementary level. The secondaim was clarifying the strong and weak points of “the guide to Farsi curriculumof Iran at elementary level” according to the objectives of speakinginstruction. To achieve these aims, the content of the language arts curriculumat elementary level of America (the state of New Jersi, 2004), England (2007),Singapore (2006) and Iran’s (2009) was qualitatively analysed. Findingsshowed that within the framework of “the guide to Farsi curriculum of Iran”at elementary level, speaking is something that is taken for granted, as there isno obvious definition for it and also its sub-skills is not introduced. The lackof conceptual framework for this language art leads to ambiguous and inconsistenteducational objectives for different grades at this educational level.Careful analysis of this curriculum showed that, here speaking instruction isnot planned in accordance with context (situation). Also, it is not planned to beinstructed critically, and if formally considered, there is no operational definitionand no practical strategy for its instruction. Also, speaking instruction isnot planned through the use of information and communication technology.