MACRO SKILLS

OF
LANGUAGE

Submitted by:
Angelo Vincent R. Sapon
August 17, 2021
Introduction
Language has always been a part of everyone’s daily life, but one can wonder
how people learn a language. A set of skills are required to learn a language. These
skills are called Macro skills. Macro skills are the primary skill set that is the building
blocks in learning a language and effective communication. There are a total of Four
Macro skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The report aims to explain the
importance of these skills and define the four Macro skills. The report also tackles
components, and goals of these skills and also discusses the relationship between each
of the four skills.

Listening
Listening is the ability to understand what we hear and is also the basis for
speaking, reading, and writing. The main goal of this skill is to receive and understand
the information given by the speaker. It helps provide a better response, creating an
efficient discourse. There are three basic models of listening, the first one is called
Active listening. Active listening is where the listeners engage and follow what the
speaker is saying. In addition, active listeners are not easily distracted. They let the
speaker finish before giving feedback, creating a discourse that involves non-verbal
cues and verbal affirmations. The second one is Passive listening. In this model, the
listeners are attentive to the speaker yet the two-way communication is eliminated. The
third model is known as Competitive listening. In this model, the goal of the listener is to
find flaws, question the speaker, and push their opinions, practically disregarding the
speaker’s stance. Competitive listeners are inattentive, considering that they are
formulating responses and ideas of their own.

Speaking

Speaking is directly communicating with each other through a certain language,

aiming to give information. To express one’s ideas and/or thoughts in the most
convenient way and to improve oral communication. To have an effective speaking skill
one must learn the following skills: Fluency and being able to speak confidently while
also clearly presenting ideas. Vocabulary, the capacity to understand and familiarize
with the meaning of each word in a sentence. While grammar is the proper use of
tenses. The last would be pronunciation, the act of enunciating the stress, intonation,
and syllables of a word. Speaking also includes non-verbal cues such as facial
expression, body language, and hand gestures.

Reading

Reading is the ability to understand written materials. We use this skill for
scanning written information and understanding what message the writers want us to
know. Reading also helps us evaluate different written materials and analyze
information from multiple sources. According to the National Reading Panel, there are
five components of reading. First is phoneme awareness, the ability to understand and
work with the individual sounds in words. While phonics is the relationship between the
sounds and written symbols of language. Next is fluency, which is the ability to
accurately read text quickly. Vocabulary is the ability to understand the meanings of
each word. The last component is comprehension, it is the ability to understand what is
read.

Writing

Writing is the act of expressing one’s ideas in print with the use of characters and
symbols. Its purpose is to give written information and enhance written communication
skills. In order to have effective writing skills, one must know the proper use of
punctuation and grammar, knowledge of spelling, identifying of main and supporting
ideas, understanding how word order changes the meaning of sentences, and lastly the
correct use of capitalization.

Relationship of the four Macro skills:

These four skills can work simultaneously and are reciprocal with each other.
Reading and writing skills are dependent on oral language skills and in the long run, it
becomes vice versa. These macro skills can be combined into four more skills. The first
one is oral skills, which is the combination of speaking and listening that aims to
enhance oral communication. The second one is literacy skills which are reading and
writing combined. It enhances effective written communication. The third is a receptive
skill, which is a combination of listening and reading. The purpose of this skill is to
receive information. The last is the combination of speaking and writing which is called
productive skills, which aims to create or produce messages.

Conclusion:

These four Macro skills are the foundation in learning a language and effective
communication. As each skill contributes to the enhancement of communication, which
then makes it easier to give information. With these four skills, people can give and
absorb different information from multiple sources and people.

References:
Sarmiento, C,. (2019). Exposition about the four Macro Skills and applications in the
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The Center for Development Learning. (n.d.). Language, reading, writing, speaking and
listening. From https://www.cdl.org/for-parents-and-teachers/language/
Universal Class. (n.d). The 3 Basic Listening Models and How to Effectively Use Them.
Retrieved from https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/listening-models.htm

Sadiku, L,. (2015). The Importance of Four Skills Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening
in a Lesson Hour. From
https://journals.euser.org/files/articles/ejls_jan_apr_15/Lorena_Manaj.pdf

Patyegarang. (2021). Teaching Language: Macro-skills. Retrieved from

https://www.indigoz.com.au/language/teachmacro.html

Teaching English. (n.d.). Receptive skills. Retrieved from

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/receptive-skills

Teaching English. (n.d.). Productive skills. From

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/productive-skills

Binus University, English Department. (2018). The Four Speaking Skills. Retrieved from
https://english.binus.ac.id/2018/10/11/the-four-speaking-skills/