Interesting question! We looked at this when we developed a new communication skills course in our program with a new framework for embedding discipline context in all activities. By building the course activities around assessment tasks that occurred in their discipline courses, we hoped to model real conversations. 

You can read more about it here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254007470_Integrating_communication_skills_into_the_computer_science_curriculum

Article Integrating communication skills into the computer science curriculum

Too often, listening and speaking is not emphasized in the early years of English instruction.  Often, I think, this is because the instructors, themselves, are not so confident in speaking and listening, so they concentrate on reading and writing.

1-The teacher should fully engage the students in the class

2- Students should be allowed to express themselves

3-Group them into different study groups and appoint a leader for them. Such leaders should present their respective group work

4-From there, leaders with public speaking skills are made

Dear colleagues, I teach science in English, and I get students to practice collaborative learning in small groups of 4 or 5.  They discuss an essay question, and they are allowed to write the main points on a brown paper.  Then they must present their answer to the class, without reading from the paper, although they may glance at it occasionally.  Anyone can ask questions after the presentation.  They learn to discuss, argue and defend their points within the small group and while presenting to the class.  They PRACTICE AND GRADUALLY DEVELOP COMPETENCE.

Here, I quote 2 paragraphs, from "Science for all Americans":  I have been using this approach, and my article is based on this approach.

"Insist on Clear Expression

Effective oral and written communication is so important in every facet of life that teachers of every subject and at every level should place a high priority on it for all students. In addition, science teachers should emphasize clear expression, because the role of evidence and the unambiguous replication of evidence cannot be understood without some struggle to express one's own procedures, findings, and ideas rigorously, and to decode the accounts of others.

Use a Team Approach

The collaborative nature of scientific and technological work should be strongly reinforced by frequent group activity in the classroom. Scientists and engineers work mostly in groups and less often as isolated investigators. Similarly, students should gain experience sharing responsibility for learning with each other. In the process of coming to common understandings, students in a group must frequently inform each other about procedures and meanings, argue over findings, and assess how the task is progressing. In the context of team responsibility, feedback and communication become more realistic and of a character very different from the usual individualistic textbook-homework-recitation approach."

Article Facilitating Cooperative Learning Among Matriculation Biology Students

Hi

If listening and speaking tasks are not considered when the learning material is prepared, it would be a good idea if the teacher can design some customized tasks  for his/her students. These tasks can be on real-life topics which the learners need in daily communication. This may result in the learners' motivation and  confidence in communicating in English.

This is the main objective of the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA) developed in Canada since 1998 and recently experimented for the teaching of French as a foreign language in China (see 3 articles attached). You could also consult : http://uqam1.academia.edu/ClaudeGermain (many articles in French, though).

Dear Ali Ahmad Osman Zakaria,

You have rightly presented a long time deficiency concerning the gap between target needs of the learners and what happens in the classroom. Most certainly, the right type of book for handling a CLT class is the first requirement.The sound produced by a piano is never the same as that created by a saxophone. Therefore, as a supportive learning resource, the teaching material really counts. The book by Tomlinson (2013) named Applied linguistics and Material Development might help.

Good Luck.

Best regards,

R. Biria

Hi,   Increasing a student's communicative competence is the goal of a communicative language classroom, but I have also wondered which activities are the most effective. Here is an article from 2010 that addresses this question,   Strategies to Help ESL Students Improve their Communicative Competence and Class Participation: A Study in a Middle School. by Claudia Gómez Palacio.  I was able to download it from this site, 

http://howjournalcolombia.org/index.php/how/article/view/66

Good Luck

This article suggests some techniques for developing students' communicative competence:

Article Communicative Competence in English as a Foreign Language: I...

hi. how can we enhance our students' communicative competence through the materials not intended to do so? materials design should be in line with pre-determined objectives and goals. best