The internal validity of the current study was assured by spending 12 weeks (January
2010 to April 2010) in conducting classroom observation, where classroom observation
and interviews were all audio-recorded. This allowed the researcher to capture the
teaching process in detail. All the data gathered from classroom observation reflects the
natural setting of the teaching and learning practices of the participants (teachers and
students), which provides the study with accurate data. During the classroom
observation the teachers seemed to be very confident when teaching and they
conducted the lessons as naturally as they usually do. As for the students, the presence
of the researcher as an observer did not seem to affect the students’ behaviour in the
classroom. This might be because the researcher was sitting at the back of the
classroom, so they were not aware that they were observed by the researcher. The
students may have felt awkward of the researcher’s presence at the beginning of the
fieldwork. However, they got accustomed to the researcher’s presence as it became
routine. Generally speaking, the researcher was treated in a positive way during the
field trip by both the teachers and students. The study also addresses the issue of
reliability by explaining the theories used in the current study. A theoretical perspective
on speaking in different dimensions (The nature of speaking, functions of speaking,