Developing Oral Communication in Efl Teaching: a Teacher Training Project

The aim of this study is to provide support and resources for EFL teachers in Iraq. Based on a survey of current practices in EFL teaching in Iraq, a proposal is offered to (1) introduce and augment aural/oral components within the English classroom using a communicative approach to foreign language learning, and (2) to integrate oral English skills with other language areas: grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing. In addition to suggestions for curricular change, the proposal includes recommendations for a teacher training program that fosters the development of EFL Iraqi teachers' fluency in English through utilizing web- based resources to provide access to a world-wide community of teachers and classroom resources. Information on current EFL teaching practices in Iraq was collected through a survey questionnaire addressed to EFL teachers in Iraq as well as several correspondences via emails and phone calls with the administrative personnel in the Ministry of Education in Iraq. Recommendations for the teacher-training program are based on best- practices in current EFL communicative methodology.