LANGUAGE SKILLS

Unit 2 Reading
Teaching Receptive Skills
Language Skills

Language is a huge subject that can be analyzed in many ways.

We can think of language as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and
function. These categories are often called language systems. At other
Commented [DT1]: LANGUAGE SYSTEMS
times, we categorize language in a different way – with language skills. What is V, G, P, F
the difference? Jim Scrivener (2005) explains it this way: “As well as working SKILLS
with the language systems (which we can think of as what we know, i.e. ‘up-in- WHAT WE DO WITH THE LANGUAGE

the-head’ knowledge), we also need to pay attention to what we do with the

language” (p. 29). Looking at language this way has benefits for teachers and
Commented [DT2]: SKILLS:
learners: WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

1) It helps us balance our curriculum for students. Without a good 1)Balance to the curriculum, meet all of the needs of the
learners
balance, it is quite common to meet people who can pass English 2) Practice all the skills and plan effective lessons

grammar tests but cannot hold a conversation on the telephone. Other

people may not be able to write simple messages. When we are aware
of systems and skills, we can plan lessons to meet all of the needs of
our learners.

2) It helps us plan effective lessons. When we know what we are

teaching and why, we can build activities, lessons, and courses to help
students practice all the skills.

Skills are very broad categories with many divisions. First, they can be
classified as receptive and productive. Receptive skills include listening and
Commented [DT3]: RECEPTIVE = L, R
reading while the productive skills are speaking and writing. Each macro-skill PRODUCTIVE = W, S
MACRO-SKILLS
covers many sub-skills. For example, think of the many different ways people
read. We can read for quickly for main idea or slowly for details. We can read MICRO-SKILLS
STRATEGIES AND WAYS OF USING THE SKILLS
extensively with lots of light casual, material or read intensively to study every E.G. READING QUICKLY FOR main idea, reading slowly for
details
word.
--Listening --Speaking
 Language -Productive Skills
-Receptive Skills Skills
--Reading --Writing
Keep in mind that we often combine skills. For example, sometimes we read a
Commented [DT4]: Combination of skills is importante
good article on a news website and talk about it with a friend. We might send and normal thing
that article to another friend with a note. In other words, we combine reading,
speaking, listening, and writing. Most of our students need to be able to do
those same things with English, so many of our lessons can be
Commented [DT5]: Create integrated skills – THINK
called integrated skills. ABOUT IT

Teaching Reading

Why teach reading at all? Why not just speak in class and ask students
to read at home? We teach reading in language classes for two principle
reasons: to practice the different sub-skills of reading and help
improve students’ abilities in them and to provide interesting language in
Commented [DT6]: Why teaching Reading
meaningful contexts that we can work with and talk about in our lessons.
Remember to teach sub-skills
Here is a solid basic framework for a reading lesson: Remember to provide meaningful contexts
Remember to talk about them in the lessons

1) Create interest in the topic. This can be approached in any of a Commented [DT7]: 1)Create interest
2)Pre-teach vocab
hundred ways: a stimulating discussion question, a provocative photo a.

or video, or a brief opinion survey. Use your creativity.

2) Pre-teach essential vocabulary. Select just a few words which are

key to understanding the main ideas in the reading. Do not teach all
unknown words.

3) Skim the whole. Provide a task which requires students to

briefly look over the entire reading to find the answer. Ask
students to make a prediction and then verify it in the reading or
to answer a question involving the main idea of the text. Then allow
only a very short time to find this answer.

4) Look for details. Provide a task which requires more careful reading
for detailed comprehension and critical thinking skills, such as
 inference. Allow a longer time for this second reading with the task in
the learners’ hands. Provide feedback on the task.

5) Follow-up. Design a speaking task in which students can personalize

the information they have read.

6, 7, 8) More. When possible, use the text to provide context for

vocabulary or grammar study. We can also assign writing exercises
which follow up on the information in the reading.

Notice a few things about this format. First, students are always reading
with a specific purpose in mind. They are never told, “Just read this, and we’ll
talk about it later.” Second, there are opportunities for students to interact at
each stage of the lesson: they discuss a topic in step one; they answer
questions about vocabulary words; they check with partners to verify their
answers during steps three and four; they share their opinions in small groups
in step five. Third, they always read using at least two different speeds for two
different purposes: quickly for an overview and more slowly for detail.

This framework supports English language learners needs because,

according to William Grabe and Fredricka Stoller (2001, p. 188), it guides them
to achieve what fluent L1 readers do:

1) Read rapidly for comprehension.

2) Recognize words rapidly and automatically.

3) Draw on a very large vocabulary store.

4) Integrate text information with their own knowledge.

5) Recognize the purpose for reading.

6) Comprehend the text as necessary.

7) Shift purposes to read strategically.

8) Use strategies to monitor comprehension.

9) Recognize and repair miscomprehension.

10) Read critically and evaluate information

Using the five-step strategy above supports these fluency goals even from
beginning levels of English reading. We encourage the critical thinking skills and
strategies students use when they are reading in their first languages.

Teaching Listening

The ways we teach reading and listening are parallel. In both

cases, the macro-skill can be divided into very similar sub-skills and micro-skills.
While we do not use the terms skimming and scanning for listening, listening for
main idea (or gist) and listening for details are closely related to their reading
counterparts. In both cases, we change the way we listen or read depending on
our purpose. In both cases, the five-step plan outlined in the previous section is
a good general approach to encourage the use of varied strategies and
maximum interest. Then we can follow listening lessons, like reading ones, with
activities on the language included (its grammar or vocabulary) or use the audio
text to begin discussions of its ideas.

There are differences, of course. First, listening is transitory. It is here

and then it is gone. With reading, we can go back and reread if we are
confused, but we have to stop and ask for clarification in a conversation. At
other times, such as listening to a weather report on the radio, if we
misunderstand a phrase, we can miss the information. Another difference
between the two receptive skills is that listening can tie closely to phonology
work. Students can hear different accents and new phrasing through audio. We
can introduce songs, videos, taped stories, and conversations. Listening
presents a window to the world perhaps more than work with any other skill. A
third difference is that for most adult English learners listening is quite difficult,
far more difficult than reading. It requires meaningful practice in order to be
confident and competent.

Jim Scrivener (2005) in Learning Teaching offers many useful

guidelines for teaching listening. One important point is that listening
activities are “‘process rather than product’, meaning that the going is
more important than the getting there” (p. 176). For example, imagine that a
teacher plays a recording of people talking about their work, and learners
complete charts matching five names and five jobs. The “answers” in some
sense do not matter. If everyone gets everything right immediately, the task was
a failure because there was no challenge. The ideal response would be some
unknowns and mistakes, student-to-student clarification, listening again, a
stronger student pointing out a key word clue, and everyone finally hearing what
is correct. That process represents practice on the key objective of listening for
detail.

I’ve paraphrased some of Scrivener’s (2005, p. 176-177) suggestions for

listening activities and added some of my own below:

* The listening selection should be brief. A good 60-minute lesson can be

built around 2-4 minutes of audio.

* Watch the level of difficulty or the students may give up in frustration.

You can make a challenging audio selection easier by pre-teaching
essential vocabulary, asking for only basic information in your tasks, and
assuring students that you will replay the audio as needed.

* Allow student-to-student interaction at every stage. Their discussion

about whether Peter or Maxine is the carpenter might be the most
important moment in the class. Don’t cut it short by supplying “right”
answers too quickly. Let them work at it.

* Choose authentic listening materials carefully. Be aware of the learners’

interests and needs as well as what is appropriate for your specific
group.

* Always teach register and formality with authentic materials. For

example, if students hear the greeting “What’s up?!” they need to know
that it is very informal and used only between friends.

With planning, receptive skills lessons can be creative, interactive, and

expressive – great opportunities to use English meaningfully.
References:
Grabe, W. & Stoller, F. (2001). Reading for academic purposes: Guidelines for
the ESL/EFL teacher. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a
second or foreign language(pp. 187-203). Boston: Heinle.
Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.) Essex:
Pearson Education.
Scrivener, J. (2005) Learning teaching (2nd ed.). Oxford: Macmillan.
Last modified: Friday, 8 July 2011, 9:43 AM