Otago pupils are lacking in communication skills because schools are struggling to teach speech to a necessary standard, New Zealand's Speech Communications Association (SCA) believes.
SCA Otago branch president Cheryl La Hood said language was the cornerstone of literacy and educational success, and teachers did not have sufficient tools to teach oral language effectively.
The issue was having a major impact on pupils, and was particularly prevalent in boys around Otago, she said.
''This is a gross generalisation, but boys' spoken skills tend to lag behind girls.
''Their motor skills are ahead of girls a little bit, but their vocal skills are a little behind.''
Honorary SCA member and co-founder of the B-Cool programme for boys Jon Winder said the gap in speech education in boys resulted in their behaviour worsening over time if they were not taught to communicate their emotions effectively.
''They suppress their emotions and then act out more than usual, creating a high social cost.''
SCA member Del Costello said schools could interpret oral language requirements as preparing PowerPoint presentations, learning the content and presenting to the class, with a minimal amount of speech and confidence skills gained.
However, he believed speech and oral language involved more than presenting, and schools were missing the mark in teaching effective communication.
''It is important that youth get the confidence and skills they need to succeed in life and communicate effectively.
''Without this, we will always struggle to lift literacy rates in New Zealand.''
Ms La Hood agreed, but was sympathetic to the plight of teachers.
''Schools are very busy. There are a lot of demands on their time, so they can't cover all of the skills involved in oral language.''
She said the New Zealand English curriculum contained three strands of communication - written language, spoken language and visual language.
Because of the emphasis on oral language in the modern world, she said spoken language had been stressed by making it an equal strand with the other two, and schools had come a long way and were providing for it through teaching prepared speech at every level.
However, there was far more to oral communication than researching and delivering a prepared speech, she said.
Speech teachers in New Zealand were filling the void by providing tuition in all areas of spoken language, including extempore speech, impromptu speech, presentation reading, and professional speaking.
She said pupils were encouraged to use less teenage jargon and express themselves effectively by increasing their vocabulary and the accuracy of their pronunciation.
''Our young people are very savvy and they are able to represent themselves at a very high level when they have to.''
SCA president and Christchurch Polytechnic Broadcasting School radio and television tutor Dianne Jones said the issue had affected generations of pupils to the point where professionals in the corporate world were now having speech and confidence coaching to succeed in everyday tasks, such as presentations, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations.
The Speech Communications Association will offer guidelines to teachers on speech education at its Finding Your Voice conference this weekend at King's School, in Auckland.
