Abstract
There is a gap between competence possessed by students of a second language and their confidence in use of the spoken language. This paper analyses dimensions of this competence/confidence gap in the context of a training course for Indonesian English Language instructors. A number of alternative methods for developing language and particularly conversational skills are reviewed. An evaluation of their usefulness to the Indonesian language instructors is analysed, the general results being: that there is a positive correlation between Usefulness of Method and Likely Use for exclusively verbal alternative methods of teaching; and that there is a negative correlation between Usefulness of Method and Likely Use for methods which require materials preparation.
The appropriateness of teaching and learning aids is thus placed into sharp focus. A general model relating competence, confidence and teaching/learning aids is proposed as a basis for further action research.
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