PROFESSIONAL IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAMME

«DEVELOPMENT OF SUBJECT COMPETENCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS "

HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS

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 Contents
1.Introduction ……………………………………………………………….3
2.Language learning and teaching…………………………………………..4
• Language skills. Language international framework…………………...4
• Linguistic and cultural studies………………………………………….8
• PISA.Functional literacy in teaching English………………………….10
3. Systems Review. Approaches to teaching English …………………….16
• Approaches to teaching English ………………………………………16
• Grammar ………………………………………………………………21
• Lexis ……………………………………………………………… ….24
• Functions………………………………………………………………26
4. Languge skills: Receptive and productive skills………………………..28
• Principles of teaching Listening skills…………………………………28
• Principles of teaching Speaking skills…………………………………33
5. Language skills: Receptive and productive skills………………………34
• Principles of teaching Reading skills………………………………….34
• Principles of teaching Writing skills…………………………………..38
3. Lesson Frameworks ……………………………………………………….43
4. Content Infographics to assist English teachers…………………………...48
4. Glossary……………………………………………………………………56
5. References ………………………………………………………………...60

Introduction
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 Handbook for teachers is a practical guide for teachers to refer to prior to the start of the
training and post-training developed on the basis of the Professional educational Programme
“Development of subject competence of English language teachers” for comprehensive school
education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Handbook for Teachers includes information about the training Programme and
introduces its aims and outcomes. The resources within the handbook will assist you in planning
and delivering English lessons. In addition, it includes information that assists teachers on how
to use textbooks and teaching materials in the subject and how to use teaching and learning
materials.

The purpose of the Program is to develop subject competence in the field of English language
teaching, aimed at improving the school learning process

Objectives of the Programme:

• to provide knowledge and understanding of the foundations of the content and structure of
the English language;
• to expand the subject knowledge of teachers with preparation for practical activities in
teaching English at the levels of curriculum requirements;
• to expand the knowledge of attendees about four types of language skills: speaking,
listening, reading, writing in the context of subject content;
• to form certain skills necessary for students to apply grammatical constructions,
performing grammatical and lexical tasks;
• to expand the lexical acquisition of learners on certain units and cross-curricular topics;
• to develop the skills of attendees in selecting resources and developing tasks taking into
account the content of learning objectives, age characteristics of schoolchildren, cross-
curricular topics in order to improve the acquisition of language skills.

Learning outcomes.
Attendees will be able to:
1) to expand the subject content at the level of curriculum requirements;
2) to expand the acquisition of language skills: speaking, listening, reading, writing in
the context of substantive content, taking into consideration the strengths and
weaknesses of their practice;
3) to build certain skills to teach students to use a full range of grammar structures
naturally and appropriately;
4) to expand their knowledge of applying vocabulary with full flexibility and precision
in all units and cross-curricular topics;
5) to learn how to select resources and develop tasks taking into account the content of
learning objectives, age characteristics of schoolchildren and cross-curricular topics.

Language learning and teaching

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 Language skills. Language international framework
1. Language skills
Language is essentially a skill. It is not a content-based subject like-Science, Social Studies,
Commerce, Mathematics, etc., which aim is to imparting information and fill the human mind with
knowledge. Since language is a skill, it naturally comes under psychomotor domain. A skill may
be called the ability to do something well. Swimming, playing, etc. are skills which people perform
after acquiring them. Knowing about these things is an intellectual exercise (cognition) and using
or doing them is a skill (action). Language is a complex skill involving four sub-skills, which are
as follows- Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
The four and fundamental language skills may be further classified into productive and receptive
skills (Figure1 – Classification of Language Skills)

Figure1 – Classification of Language Skills

Receptive skill is a term used for reading and listening, skills where meaning is extracted from
the discourse. Productive skill is the term for speaking and writing, skills where students actually
have to produce language themselves (Harmer 265). Reading and listening are called receptive
skills because when we listen and read something, we receive the language, understand it and
decode the meaning. Speaking and writing are called productive skills because we use the language
to produce a message through speech or written text.
2. The Common European Framework of Reference
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): Learning, teaching,
assessment presents a comprehensive descriptive scheme of language proficiency and a set of
Common Reference Levels (A1 to C2) defined in illustrative descriptor scales, plus options for
curriculum design promoting plurilingual and intercultural education.
One of the main principles of the CEFR is the promotion of the positive formulation of educational
aims and outcomes at all levels. Its “can do” definition of aspects of proficiency provides a clear,
shared roadmap for learning, and a far more nuanced instrument to gauge progress than an
exclusive focus on scores in tests and examinations. This principle is based on the CEFR view of
language as a vehicle for opportunity and success in social, educational and professional domains.
In addition to promoting the teaching and learning of languages as a means of communication,
the CEFR brings a new, empowering vision of the learner. The CEFR presents the language
user/learner as a “social agent”, acting in the social world and exerting agency in the learning
process. This implies a real paradigm shift in both course planning and teaching by promoting
learner engagement and autonomy.

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The CEFR has two axes: a horizontal axis of categories for describing different activities and
aspects of competence, which were outlined above, and a vertical axis representing progress in
proficiency in those categories. To facilitate the organization of courses and to describe progress,
the CEFR presents the six Common Reference Levels shown in Figure 3. This arrangement
provides a roadmap that allows user/learners to engage with relevant aspects of the descriptive
scheme in a progressive way. However, the six levels are not intended to be absolute. Firstly, they
can be grouped into three broad categories: Basic user (A1 and A2), Independent user (B1 and B2)
and Proficient user (C1 and C2). Secondly, the six reference levels, which represent very broad
bands of language proficiency, are very often subdivided. (Figure 2 – CEFR Common Reference
Levels)

Figure 2 – CEFR Common Reference Levels

Reception activities and strategies.
Reception involves receiving and processing input: activating what are thought to be appropriate
schemata in order to build up a representation of the meaning being expressed and a hypothesis as
to the communicative intention behind it. Incoming co-textual and contextual cues are checked to
see if they “fit” the activated schema – or suggest that an alternative hypothesis is necessary. In
“oral reception”, the language user receives and processes live or recorded input produced by one
or more other people. In “visual reception” (reading and watching) activities the user receives and
processes as input written and signed texts produced by one or more people. In “audio-visual
comprehension”, for which one scale (watching TV and film) is provided, the user watches TV,
video or a film and uses multimedia, with or without subtitles, voiceovers or signing. (Figure 3
Reception activities and strategies)

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 Figure 3 – Reception activities and strategies
Production activities and strategies.
Production includes speaking, signing and writing activities. Oral production is a “long turn”,
which may involve a short description or anecdote, or may imply a longer, more formal
presentation. Productive activities have an important function in many academic and professional
fields (for example oral presentations, written studies and reports – that may be transmitted in sign)
and particular social value is attached to them. Judgments are made about the linguistic quality of
what has been submitted in writing or in a signed video, and about the fluency and articulateness
of expression in real time, especially when addressing an audience. Ability in this more formal
production is not acquired naturally; it is a product of literacy learnt through education and
experience. It involves learning the expectations and conventions of the genre concerned.
Production strategies are employed to improve the quality of both informal and formal production.
“Planning” is obviously more associated with formal genres, but “Monitoring and compensating”
for gaps in vocabulary or terminology are also quasi-automated processes in natural language
production. (Figure 4. Production activities and strategies)

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 Figure 4 – Production activities and strategies
Presentation of Common Reference Levels.
The establishment of a set of common reference points in no way limits how different sectors in
different pedagogic cultures may choose to organise or describe their system of levels and
modules. It is also to be expected that the precise formulation of the set of common reference
points, the wording of the descriptors, will develop over time as the experience of member states
and of institutions with related expertise is incorporated into the description.
It is also desirable that the common reference points are presented in different ways for different
purposes. For some purposes it will be appropriate to summarise the set of proposed Common
Reference Levels in single holistic paragraphs, as shown in Figure 5. Such a simple ‘global’
representation will make it easier to communicate the system to non-specialist users and will also
provide teachers and curriculum planners with orientation points:
C2 Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can
summarise information from different spoken and written sources,
reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.
Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely,
differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex
Proficient User situations
C1 Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and
recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and
spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can
use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and
professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed
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 text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational
patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
B2 Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and
abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of
specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity
that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible
without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a
wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue
giving the advantages and Independent disadvantages of various
Independent options.
User
B1 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar
matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can
deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area
where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text
on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe
experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly
give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
A2 Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related
to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and
family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can
communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and
direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can
describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate
environment and matters in areas of immediate need.
Basic user A1 Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very
basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer
questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people
he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way
provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared
to help.
Figure 5 – Common Reference Levels
Linguistic and cultural studies
The main purpose of English classes, according to new trends and standards of updating
curriculum, is the formation of communicative competence. That means the ability to carry out
interpersonal and intercultural communication on in a foreign language. Effective formation of
linguistic and regional competence promotes training that reveals the peculiarities of the country's
culture, history, customs and traditions of the native country and the country of the language
studied. Native culture is mastered most deeply through interaction with similar ones and different
ways of perception and circumstances in a different culture and in interaction with them. By
linguo-country competence is meant, "knowledge of the national customs, traditions, realities of
the country of the language studied, the ability to extract the same country-studies information
from language units, that both its carriers, and use it, achieving a full-fledged communication».
The formation of linguistic-country competence is based on students' value orientation towards
self-development and knowledge of foreign languages. Familiarizing yourself with the new
culture, traditions and traditions in the process language learning has a significant impact on the
spiritual world, development the personality of the student and increases his interest in the subject.

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Every year, learning English becomes more and more prestigious. In this regard, a factor such as
maintaining motivation in learning a foreign language arises before teachers throughout the
training period. That's why, many teachers try to solve this problem through elements of country
studies, which are gradually introduced into the course of classes. L.A. Belyaeva focuses on the
relationship of the process the study of the language along with the study of a foreign country and
its culture (Нехожина Ю. С.). Intercultural capacity and development of sociocultural
competence, today, are prior areas for learning a foreign language.
Nowadays teaching of a foreign language allows the student to penetrate into the culture and
mentality of the other nations. The study of another culture is associated with the enrichment of
the background knowledge, with the formation of a different way of life, other life values, because
a person who knows another culture, deeper comprehends and learns his own. The current situation
in the world requires intercultural interaction, so it is necessary to form a wide-scale mind and high
communicative culture of the younger generation.
The current situation in the world requires intercultural interaction, so it is necessary to form a
wide-scale mind and high communicative culture of the younger generation.
Modern education raises the problem of cultural components integration in the process of teaching
foreign languages. Learning language is inseparable from familiarization with the culture and
traditions of the country, the peculiarities of the national perception of the world.
The linguistic-cultural approach forms the country-specific competence. It includes skills and
abilities of analytical approach to the study of foreign culture in comparison with the culture of
your own country. The perception of foreign culture comes through the perception of native one.
There are two approaches to teach the culture in the process of studying a foreign language: Social
and Philology. The first one is based on the discipline, traditionally connected with studying any
foreign language- Country Studying. This is a complex discipline, including variety information
about the country of the target language. The second approach is based on the discipline which
contains learning language and gives some information about the country of the target language –
Language Country Studying. Since the main object is not the country, but its culture and
background knowledge of native speakers, the study of language is taught not separately as a
subject, but in language practice classes.
The main goal of Language Country Studying is to provide communicative competence in the acts
of intercultural communication. It is very important it is achieved through an adequate perception
of the interlocutor's speech and original texts for native speakers. Linguistics aims to study
language units the most clearly reflects the national features of culture of the people. The necessity
of special selection and studying of linguistic units is felt in cases of communication with
foreigners, during reading fiction, watching movies, listening to the music and etc. Because such
units most clearly show the national culture and cannot be understood as for native speakers.
Country Studying information should be an obligatory component in the formation of Language
Country Studying competence. The Language Country Studying aspect should become an integral
part of foreign language lessons. Such classes give wide background knowledge and, as a result,
help to enrich vocabulary and show some specific aspects of foreign language culture. We can see
the preconditions for a different perception of language when its learning doesn’t seem to be a
mechanical process no longer. Language is perceived as information about the peculiarities of
mentality. This approach helps to get rid of many difficulties faced by students what prevents the
process of getting new language skills.
We have enough reason to believe that the introduction of some elements of Language Country
Studying in the educational process is necessary. These can be historical or cultural realities that
are significant for a modern native speaker. For example- stable expressions that acquire new or
additional meanings in the modern context. Specific information about one or another side of the
spiritual life of modern society are presented in a separate section, as if summarizing the lesson.
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Teacher should carefully select the lesson material. It may include topics that are interesting for
this age group in addition to information about the main stereotypes.
What is PISA?
Young people today face unprecedented opportunities and unprecedented challenges.
Globalisation brings innovation, new experiences and higher living standards, but it has also
contributed to economic inequity and social division. While the affluent commute between
continents, millions of migrants are struggling to adapt and settle in countries they do not know.
In the face of declining social capital, civil society is under strain
In coming to terms with globalisation, this generation requires new capacities. Whether in
traditional or more entrepreneurial work environments, young people need to collaborate with
people from different disciplines, cultures and value systems, in a way that solves complex
problems and creates economic and social value. They need to bring judgment and action to
difficult situations in which people’s values and perspectives can be at odds.
Schools need to help students learn to be autonomous in their thinking and fully aware of the
pluralism of modern living. At work, at home and in the community, people will need a broad
comprehension of how others live, in different cultures and traditions, and how others think, be
they scientists, mathematicians, social scientists or artists. The ability to read and understand
diversity and to recognise core liberal values of our societies, such as tolerance and empathy, may
also help respond to extremism and radicalisation.
For some years, educators have been discussing how best to build these capacities. Is there a
distinctive competence that equips young people for the culturally diverse and digitally-connected
communities in which they work and socialise? If so, how should it be developed? Can students
learn to mobilise knowledge, cognitive and creative skills, and values and attitudes to act
creatively, collaboratively and ethically? Open and flexible attitudes will be vital if young people
are to co-exist and interact with people from other faiths and countries. So too will be the common
human values that unite us.
The PISA concept of global competence seeks to provide some answers to such questions. It
includes the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and understanding of global and intercultural
issues, the ability to learn from and live with people from diverse backgrounds, and the attitudes
and values necessary to interact respectfully with others. Globally competent individuals can
examine local, global and intercultural issues. They can understand and appreciate different
perspectives and worldviews and interact successfully and respectfully with others. And they can
take responsible action toward sustainability and collective well-being. The driving ideas are that
cross-cultural engagement should balance clear communication with sensitivity to multiple
perspectives and that global competence should equip young people not just to understand but also
to act.
PISA is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the world that assesses the extent to
which they have acquired key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in social and
economic life. PISA assessments do not just ascertain whether students near the end of their
compulsory education can reproduce what they have learned; they also examine how well students
can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply their knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both
in and outside of school.

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What is unique about PISA?

policy
orientation

innovative
regularity concept of
“literacy”
PISA

relevance
breadth of
to lifelong
coverage
learning

Figure 6 – PISA features

• policy orientation, which links data on student learning outcomes with data on students’
backgrounds and attitudes towards learning, and with key factors that shape their learning, in and
outside of school; by doing so, PISA can highlight differences in performance and identify the
characteristics of students, schools and education systems that perform well
• innovative concept of “literacy”, which refers to students’ capacity to apply their knowledge
and skills in key areas, and to analyse, reason and communicate effectively as they identify,
interpret and solve problems in a variety of situations
• relevance to lifelong learning, as PISA asks students to report on their motivation to learn, their
beliefs about themselves, and their learning strategies
• regularity, which enables countries to monitor their progress in meeting key learning objectives
• breadth of coverage, which, in PISA 2018, encompassed all 37 OECD countries and 42 partner
countries and economies.
Student`s performance in reading
The PBTS assesses several different cognitive processes, or elements, involved in reading. These
elements represent the mental strategies, approaches or purposes that readers use to negotiate their
way into, around and between texts. Successful reading, whether reading a single text or reading
and integrating information across multiple texts, requires an individual to perform a range of
processes. The 2018 Reading Literacy framework defines several cognitive processes that span a
range of difficulty. Each cognitive process is assigned to a superordinate category which will be
used for the final scaling of the 2018 Main Survey data: locate information, understand, and
evaluate and reflect. The cognitive processes within each category are briefly defined below.
Locate information
• Access and retrieve information within a text – scanning a single text in order to retrieve
target information consisting of a few words, phrases or numerical values.

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 • Search for and select relevant text – searching for information among several texts to select
the most relevant text given the demands of the item/task
Understand
• Represent literal information – comprehending the literal meaning of sentences or short
passages, typically matching a direct or close paraphrasing of information in the question
with information in a passage.
• Integrate and generate inferences – going beyond the literal meaning of information in a
text by integrating information across sentences or even an entire passage. Tasks that
require the student to create a main idea or to produce a summary or a title for a passage
are classified as “integrate and generate inference” items.
• Integrate and generate inferences across multiple sources – integrating pieces of
information that are located within two or more texts
Evaluate and Reflect
• Assess quality and credibility – evaluating whether the information in a text is valid,
current, accurate, unbiased, reliable, etc. Readers must identify and consider the source of
the information and consider the content and form of the text or in other words, how the
author is presenting the information.
• Reflect on content and form – evaluating the form of the writing to determine how the
author is expressing their purpose and/or point of view. These items often require the
student to reflect on their own experience and knowledge to compare, contrast or
hypothesize different perspectives or viewpoints.
• Detect and handle conflict – determining whether multiple texts corroborate or contradict
each other and when they conflict, deciding how to handle that conflict. For example, items
classified as “detect and handle conflict” may ask students to identify whether two authors
agree on the stance of an issue or to identify each author’s stance. In other cases, these
items may require students to consider the credibility of the sources and demonstrate that
they accept the claims from the more reliable source over the claims from the less reliable
source.
Texts
Texts can be classified along four different dimensions described in the framework: source,
organization and navigation, format, and type. Each dimension is briefly described below (Figure
7).

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 Source

Organiza
Type
tion

TEXT

Navigati
Format
on

Figure 7 – Text dimensions

Source
• Single – a single unit of text that has an author or a group of authors, a time of writing or
publication date and a reference title or number.
• Multiple – multiple units of texts where each has a different author, different publication times
or have different titles or reference numbers.
Organization and Navigation
• Static – texts with simple organization and a low density of navigation tools; typically texts with
one or several pages organized in a linear way.
• Dynamic – texts with a more complex, non-linear organization and a higher density of navigation
tools.
Format
• Continuous – texts formed by sentences that are organized into paragraphs.
• Non-continuous – texts composed of a number of lists or elements such as tables, graphs,
diagrams, advertisements, schedules, catalogues, indexes, forms, etc.
• Mixed – texts containing both continuous and non-continuous elements.
Type
• Description – texts with information that refers to properties of objects in space. Description
texts provide an answer to “what” questions. Examples include a depiction of a place in a
travelogue, a catalogue or a process in a technical manual.
• Narration – texts with information that refers to objects in time. Narration texts provide answers
to “when” or “in what sequence”. Examples include a report, a news story, a novel, a short story
or a play.
• Exposition – texts with explanations of how different elements interrelate in a meaningful way
and provide answers to “how” questions. Examples include a scholarly essay, a diagram showing
a model of memory, a graph of population trends, or a concept map for an entry in an online
encyclopedia.
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• Argument – texts that present the relationship among concepts or propositions. Argument texts
provide answers to “why” questions. An important subclassification of argumentative texts is
persuasive and opinionative texts, referring to opinions and points of view. Examples include a
letter to the editor, a poster advertisement, posts in an online forum or a review of a book or film.
• Instruction – a text that provides instructions on what to do. Examples include a recipe, a series
of diagrams showing how to give first aid or guidelines for operating software.
• Transaction – a text that aims to achieve a purpose such as requesting that something is done,
organizing a meeting or making a social engagement with a friend. Examples include a letter, an
email or a text message.
Scenarios
Reading is a purpose-driven activity; that is, it occurs when a reader wishes to accomplish a
particular goal, such as locating information to fill out a form or understanding a topic well enough
to participate in a discussion with peers. In many traditional reading assessments, however, the
“goal” is simply to answer a few discrete questions about a text on a general topic and then move
on to the next. In contrast to this artificial world of traditional reading assessments, the Reading
Literacy units developed for 2018 are scenario-based. Each unit begins with a fictional scenario
that describes the over-arching goal for reading the text or collection of texts in the unit. Thus, the
reader is given both a context and a purpose that helps to shape the way he or she searches for,
comprehends, and integrates information.
Scenarios were developed to address a range of situations. The framework describes several types
of situations that relate to the overarching scenario developed for each unit:
• Personal – situations that contain text that satisfies an individual’s personal interests in both
practical and intellectual ways. Examples include personal letters, fiction, biography and
informational texts that are read to satisfy curiosity or for leisure as well as personal emails, instant
messages and blogs.
• Public – situations that contain text that relates to activities and concerns of the society at large.
Examples include official documents, information about public events, message boards, news
websites and public notices.
• Educational – situations that contain text designed for the purpose of instruction and that is often
chosen by an instructor rather than the reader. Examples include printed or electronic textbooks
and interactive learning software.
• Occupational – situations that contain text that supports the accomplishment of an immediate
task. Examples include texts used to search for a job such as printed classified ads or online job
websites, and texts that provide workplace directions.
PISA results of Kazakhstani students in 2018.
• Students in Kazakhstan scored lower than the OECD average in reading, mathematics and
science.
• Compared to the OECD average, a smaller proportion of students in Kazakhstan
(С.Ирсалиев, А.Култуманова, Е.Сабырұлы, М.Аманғазы) performed at the highest
levels of proficiency (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject; at the same time a smaller
proportion of students achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level 2 or higher) in at
least one subject.(Figure 8)

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 Figure 8 – PISA results in 2018
What students know and can do in reading
• In Kazakhstan, 36% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in reading (OECD average:
77%). At a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find
information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose
and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so.
• Some a negligible percentage of students in Kazakhstan were top performers in reading, meaning
that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA reading test (OECD average: 9%). At these levels,
students can comprehend lengthy texts, deal with concepts that are abstract or counterintuitive,
and establish distinctions between fact and opinion, based on implicit cues pertaining to the content
or source of the information. In 20 education systems, including those of 15 OECD countries, more
than 10% of 15-year-old students were top performers.

Figure 9 – PISA results in 2018

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Kazakhstan’s mean performance in reading and science in 2018 was close to the level observed in
2009, when the country first participated in PISA. In contrast, in mathematics, mean performance
showed significant improvements from the 2009 level. Mathematics performance improved,
particularly amongst the highest-performing students; and the share of students who scored at
Level 5 or 6 in mathematics increased by 1 percentage point between 2012 and 2018. At the same
time, performance in reading and science declined amongst the highest-performing students. PISA
2015 results for Kazakhstan cannot be compared to results from previous years or to those from
2018 due to the potential of bias introduced by incomplete student-response data. PISA 2018
results fully met the technical standards. (Figure 9)
Adding the assessment of foreign languages to PISA.

The OECD has announced that foreign language skills will be assessed as an optional component
of the international PISA evaluation of education systems, beginning in 2025 with a comparison
of English language levels in schools worldwide. Tests will be developed by Cambridge
Assessment English, a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge, under a
Partnership with the OECD. Future cycles may include the assessment of other languages PISA is
designed to provide data to help countries to improve their education policies and outcomes. By
adding the assessment of foreign languages to PISA, the OECD aims to allow countries to monitor
progress and identify best practice in the teaching and learning of foreign languages.
Hanan Khalifa, Director of Education Transformation & Impact from Cambridge Assessment
English explained: “There have been many attempts to compare language learning around the
world, but none of these has provided a properly systematic approach to language education in
schools which can help to shape education policies at a national and regional level. As a department
of Cambridge University, we share its mission “to contribute to society through the pursuit of
education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence” and we are
delighted to support OECD by offering the expert input of our language assessment specialists and
to share the techniques and experience we have developed by assessing the language skills of tens
of millions of learners over the years and throughout the world.”
Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, said: “In today’s world it is
important to be able to communicate in more than one language. Learning other languages is a
powerful tool to facilitate global co-operation and intercultural understanding and to discover new
and innovative ways of thinking and working. Governments have been placing increased emphasis
on foreign language teaching and this new PISA assessment will help them see how they are
progressing and how their policies and practices compare with those among the most advanced
education systems”.
Around 600,000 students from randomly selected schools take part in each PISA assessment,
making it the world’s largest and most objective comparison of educational outcomes, and the
foreign language assessment will provide unprecedented insights into the effectiveness of
language teaching and learning worldwide.

3. Systems review. Approaches to teaching English.

What is an approach to language teaching?
An approach to language teaching may refer to our view of language and our view of how
language learning takes place. We may think, for example, that language is a set of grammar rules,
and that language learning takes place by learning those rules and using them to work out the
meaning of texts through translation. Sometimes approaches also refer to the ways or methods of
teaching that we use in the classroom and that are based on these views. Supporters of
communicative approaches, for example, believe that language is a tool to communicate meaning,
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and that, generally speaking, we learn language best by using it in communicative activities that
focus on fluency. In this unit the terms 'approaches' and 'methods' will be used interchangeably,
as they refer to views of language and language learning and the classroom practices that
correspond to these views.
Approaches involve our beliefs about teaching, language and language learning and how we
translate these beliefs into classroom practices. As you can imagine, there are many different
approaches to teaching. These reflect people's different views on what language is made up of,
how languages are learnt and what classroom practices effectively bring about learning. Certain
approaches have had a great influence on English language teaching practices and materials. Let's
look at some of them and their most typical characteristics:

• Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)

View of language: grammatical structures and functions are the most important aspect of
language.
View of language learning: language is learnt by first seeing new language in a context which
shows its meaning, practising it in controlled and guided conditions, then using it in freer
conditions which give the learner less language support.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus focuses on grammatical structures or functions.
• Lessons move from the presentation stage to the practice stage to the production stage.
• Learners should not be allowed to make mistakes during the practice stage.
• The teacher inputs language (provides examples and gives information about it), and guides
students.
• The learners are guided by the teacher and do not make decisions about what or how to learn.
• Typical activities are situational presentations and miming at the presentation stage, drills at the
controlled practice stage, role-plays and information-gap activities at the production stage.

• Lexical Approach
View of language: vocabulary is the most important aspect of language. Vocabulary consists of
individual words and different kinds of chunks (see Unit 2) such as collocations, idioms, fixed
expressions.
View of language learning: language is learnt by learning chunks as whole and complete units.
Chunks need to be noticed by learners in order to be learnt, i.e. learners need to become aware of
chunks and focus on them.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus focuses on lexis.
• Learners work with authentic written or spoken texts in the classroom.
• Learners are given activities which encourage them to notice chunks in texts, e.g. noting them
down, underlining them.
• After noticing chunks, learners are asked to carry out tasks which will involve them in using the
chunks.

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 • Communicative Approach
View of language: communication is the most important aspect of language. Meaning is
communicated through functions, grammar, vocabulary, discourse and skills.
View of language learning: the best way to learn lapguage is to use it in interaction, rather than
to learn about it.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus focuses on tasks, functions and topic areas based on learners' communicative needs.
• Pair and group work enable lots of interaction to take place in the classroom, so they are a key
part of classroom activities.
• Communicating meaning is very important.
• Fluency is more important than accuracy. Classroom activities focus on fluency
much more than accuracy.
• Authentic materials (examples of real language used for real communication) provide useful
input for learners and are therefore often used in the classroom.
• In the classroom, learners become active users of the language; the teacher's role focuses
particularly on setting up communicative activities, providing correction after fluency activities,
and inputting language when needed.

• Grammar-Translation
View of language: language is made up of grammatical rules.
View of language learning: language is learnt by analysing and applying grammatical rules.
Classroom practices:
• Studying grammatical rules presented through grammatical terms, then applying them in
exercises.
• Working out what language means by applying rules.
• Learning lists of words by heart.
• Translating texts and/or isolated sentences from LI to L2 or vice versa.
• Emphasis on grammatical accuracy.

• Guided discovery
View of language: language has patterns of meaning and use.
View of language learning: learners learn language best if they work out patterns and rules of
language themselves rather than being given them by the teacher.
Classroom practices:
• The teacher gives learners examples of a target language area, e.g. a text containing several
examples of the past tense, a recording containing several sentences each with different patterns
of sentence stress. The teacher then asks the learners to work out what the rules of use seem to be
for the target language.
• The teacher often gives the learners the rules after they have worked them out or asks them to
complete gapped rules.
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• This approach is often used together with PPP, Task-based Learning and the Functional
Approach.

• Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

View of language:
• Language serves to communicate meaning.
• All aspects of language help communicate meaning, e.g. skills, discourse, lexis,
grammar, functions.
View of language learning:
• Language is learnt mainly through acquisition and through using it. Language does not need to
be obviously focused on.
• Language is learnt best when you use language to learn something else.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus is based round learning about the subject matter and cognitive (thinking and
learning) skills related to a school subject, e.g. maths, history, art.
• The school subject is taught in the L2 (L3/L4).
• The specific kinds of language learnt are the language needed for learning about the subject.
• Lessons focus on the subject rather than on language.

• Functional Approach
View of language: functions are the most important aspect of language.
View of language learning: as for PPP.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus focuses on functions usually graded according to their frequency of use in practical
daily life and to learners' communicative needs.
• The Functional Approach does not have any typical practices of its own. It often makes use of
PPP tages in lessons, or of communicative activities.

• Total Physical Response (TPR)

View of language: grammatical structures and vocabulary are the most important aspect of
language.
View of language learning:
• Learners learn by being exposed to language. Comprehension comes before production.
• Learners often need a silent period (a period of time during which learners hear language rather
than produce it, as babies do) to take in language, so they should not be forced to speak before
they are ready.
• Language is learnt best when it is accompanied by doing things physically.
• Learning takes place when learners are relaxed.
Classroom practices:
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• Used mainly with young learners and beginners.
• The syllabus focuses on grammatical structures and vocabulary involved in giving and following
instructions.
• Lessons involve the teacher giving instructions and the learners physically carrying out the
instructions in the classroom, e.g. 'Walk to the table', 'Open the door'.
• At more advanced stages and after their silent period, learners give one another instructions.

• Content-based learning
View of language: grammatical, lexical, functional areas and skills are all important.
View of language learning: language is learnt best if presented to learners through interesting
topics which help them increase their knowledge of the world.
Classroom practices:
• The syllabus focuses on grammar, lexis, functions or skills.
• Used mainly in primary and secondary schools.
• Language is presented through topics related to school subjects or learning about the world.

Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you.
• Many teachers want to know which approach to teaching is best. But in fact it is difficult to say
that one approach is better than another. For example, for a group of motivated upper-intermediate
I8-year-olds who are learning English for their future jobs in the tourist industry, a communicative
approach may well be very useful. However, for another group of I8-year-olds taking a grammar
exam to get into university a Structural Approach might be more suitable.
• The best approach to use depends on who your learners are and what your teaching conditions
are. Consider learners' age, level of English, motivation to learn, expectations of learning,
previous learning experience. Think, too, about the aims of the course your learners are on, what
resources are available to the classroom, class size and number of hours of English in the course.
• Some people believe in an eclectic approach which uses classroom practices from a variety of
approaches/methods. This can be a successful approach, but it needs to be used carefully. If you
are constantly changing your methods and approaches, your learners may become confused and
begin to think that you are not very sure of your teaching style. It is important to mix techniques
in a way which is coherent, so that all activities develop well out of one another and work towards
the lesson's aims.

• Test Teach Test Approach (TTT)

In this method, however, you test your students on a language concept before teaching it to them.
By doing this, you get a read on what they already know. It also gives your students a chance to
discover the language concept on their own (similar to the discovery approach) before you teach
it to them. If you were going to teach the past tense using this method, you might give your
students a test on the past tense. While they take the test, your students can observe how the past
tense is used in context (as in the discovery approach) in the test questions. After the pretest, you
teach the grammatical concept directly. You teach them to add –ed to a regular verb to make the
past tense in English. After teaching the concept, you test your students again. So after your lesson
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on past tense formation in regular verbs, you give your students another test on it. In this way,
they have the opportunity to discover the language concept, learn it directly, and then practice
using it correctly in the final test.

• Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

This is a general term for the range of processes and activities that employ computers in the
teaching and learning of a new language. CALL can be used even when classes are out and in the
teacher’s absence. Language learning technology in its present form is student-initiated and
student-centered, giving all the time and all the room in the world for students to practice.
Language practice can be had in the privacy of one’s room and at a moment’s notice. And the
kicker is that students get to do all this without fear of being negatively judged by others (Read for
more details Day3PR1)

• The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model (SAMR Model)

The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model offers a method of seeing how
computer technology might impact teaching and learning. It also shows a progression that adopters
of educational technology often follow as they progress through teaching and learning with
technology. While one might argue over whether an activity can be defined as one level or another,
the important concept to grasp here is the level of student engagement. One might well measure
progression along these levels by looking at who is asking the important questions. As one moves
along the continuum, computer technology becomes more important in the classroom but at the
same time becomes more invisibly woven into the demands of good teaching and learning.
Grammar
Teaching grammar is probably one of the most challenging aspects of teaching a foreign language.
We need to make sure the students assimilate what we are trying to deliver and feel comfortable
using it on a day-to-day basis. Grammar provides a whole cohesive system concerning the
formation and transmission of language. The question is, how do we pass on this knowledge?
Firstly, we need to understand it ourselves and, even better, develop that passion and enthusiasm
in our students.
The word ‘gramma’ meaning ‘letter’ has come down to us in a path through several languages.
(Dykes 12) According to various scientific sources the word “grammar” could be limited in two
notions: 1) the grammar aspect of speech found in speaking, listening, reading and writing (e. g.
article — a/an, the; speech patterns — I speak English; verb forms of the person — speak/speaks,
spoke, spoken) and 2) abstractions defining language situations (e. g. the first place of the
subject in the sentence; the plural suffix of the noun).
To develop one’s speech means to acquire essential patterns of speech and grammar patterns in
particular. The automatic use of grammar items in our speech (oral and written) supposes
mastering some particular skills. The acquisition of grammatical habits and skills involves the
following stages: perception, recognition or identification, imitation, substitution, transformation,
combination, expansion, production and construction. All these stages are recognized and
practised by most teachers.
The aim of the first stages is to understand topical texts, which involves only the power of
perceiving and recognizing grammatical forms, not of constructing them, as in the further stages
of writing or speaking the language. The first or mechanical, pre-grammatical stages may be
utilised to convey a good deal of grammatical information not directly through rules, but indirectly
through examples. In the first stages – perception, recognition and imitation – a great part of
grammatical knowledge will be unconscious instead of analytic and systematic. The second stage
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includes substitution, transformation and combination. The use of substitution or variation tables
presumes some prior learning of specific structural elements, the possessive pronouns, the singular
and the plural forms of the verb “to be” in the third person. At a later stage substitution tables can
be used to familiarize students with the logical segmentation of sentences into subject, predicate,
object and adverbial modifier.
Deductive and inductive approaches are core approaches in grammar presentation. A deductive
approach is derived from the notion that deductive reasoning works from the general to the
specific. In the deductive approach rules, principles, concepts, or theories are presented first, and
then their applications are treated which means that we reason from general to specific principles.
The deductive approach is teacher-centered. A teacher presents grammar by presenting rules, and
then examples of sentences. Once learners understand rules, they are told to apply the rules given
to various examples of sentences. Giving the grammatical rules means no more than directing
learners’ attention to the problem discussed. In this regard, learners are expected to engage with it
through the study and manipulation of examples. Michael Swan (qtd. in Thornbury 233) outlines
some guidelines for when the rule is presented (Figure 10).

the rules should be true

the rules should show clearly what limits are on the use of a given form

the rules need to be clear

the rules ought to be simple

the rules needs to make use of concepts already familiar to the learners; and 6.
the rules ought to be relevant

Figure 10 – The guidelines for rule presentation

As every approach to language teaching, it has its benefits and drawbacks. The table below
illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of the deductive approach to teaching grammar
(Figure 11).

22
 1. It is traightforward and time- 1. Younger learners may
saving; struggle to understand the
concepts or grammar
Benefits

2. Some rules can be more

simply and clearly explained terminology given;
than elicited from examples; 2. It is teacher-centered, so it
3. A number of direct may hinder learner
practice/application examples involvement and interaction;

Drawbacks
are immediately given; 3. The explanation is not that
4. Meets the learners’ memorable;
expectations about classroom 4. It may encourages the belief
learning particularly for those that learning a language is
who have an analytical style. simply a case of knowing the
rule.

Figure 11 – The benefits and drawbacks of the deductive approach

An inductive approach comes from inductive reasoning stating that a reasoning progression
proceeds from specific examples to general rules. In comparison with the deductive approach, it
involves learners’ participating actively in their own instruction and encourages them to develop
own mental set of strategies for dealing with tasks. In other words, this approach attempts to
highlight grammatical rules implicitly in which the learners are encouraged to conclude the rules
given by the teacher. Similar to the deductive approach, it has its benefits and drawbacks (Figure
12).

1. It enhances learning 1. It can be is time and

autonomy and self- energy-consuming;
Benefits

reliance; 2. Learners may have

2. It is learner-centered; the wrong concepts of
the rule taught;
Drawbacks

3. It develops problem-
solving and
communication skills;
4. It develops cognitive
skills and motivation.
3. It may frustrate the
learners with their
personal learning style.

23
 Figure 12 – The benefits and drawbacks of the inductive approach

We should remember the ultimate goal of teaching grammar - providing learners with the
knowledge of how the language is constructed so that they can easily communicate. In other words,
whatever exercises are given, the most crucial thing is that the teacher provide the students with
an opportunity to be able to produce the grammatical item making use of syntactically and
semantically correct examples of sentences comprised of appropriate and relevant vocabulary.
Generally, we recommend the following class structure when teaching grammar:
• Begin with an exercise, game, listening, etc. that introduces the grammar concept.
• Ask students questions that will help them identify the grammar concept to be
discussed.
• Follow with another exercise that more specifically focuses on the grammar concept,
but takes an inductive approach. This could be a reading exercise with questions and
responses in the structures that are being taught.
• Check responses, ask students to explain the grammar concept that has been introduced.
• At this point introduce teaching explanations as a way of clearing up
misunderstandings.
• Provide an exercise which focuses on the correct construction of the grammar point.
This could be an exercise such as a fill the gap, cloze or tense conjugation activity.
• Ask students to once again explain the concept.

Lexis

When teaching systems, it is crucial to differentiate between vocabulary, lexis, and vocabulary.
Refer to the table below to see the difference between these three notions (Figure 13).

24
 Vocabulary

• refers mainly to single words and very tightly linked two- or three-word
combinations.

Lexis

• refers to 'internal dtabase' of words and complete fixed/semi-fixed combinations

that we can recall and use without constructing new phrases.

Grammar

• refers to the ability to consturct new phrases and sentences out of word
combinations and grammatical features to express precise meaning.

Figure 13 – Differentiating between lexis, vocabulary, grammar

Lexis is a powerful tool to carry the meaning. Scrivener (226) suggests that the translation
approach may lead to the long lists of words and their translations defy memory.

“Lexical items live within their own languages, and though a dictionary translation can
give an introduction to the meaning of a word, it can never really let us into the secrets of
how that word exists within its language.”

Teachers should find a systematic way to help learners with lexis. A systematic approach to
teaching lexis will learners at each stages of learning lexis: meeting new lexical item, practicing,
memorizing, and recalling and using it. When presenting lexis, remember that the most effective
way to present lexical items is to connect them in some way. You can connect them to a certain
event, location, the same grammar rule, or function. At the presentation stage it is important to
choose the correct and most effective technique to convey the meaning (Figure 14). Remember
that the separate words are not much use on their own. When you present lexical items, do not just
teach isolated items, but make sure that learners get to hear and use them in realistic sentences.

25
 Using a realia (showing learners a physical object )

Doing a mime or action

Reading a short text

Using a cline or diagram, a picture of something

Explaining the meaning by giving an oral or writtten definition.

Givving an opposite meaning

Telling a short anecdote (personal story)

Figure 14 – Different ways of conveying the meaning

Having seen and heard a new lexical item, learners then need opportunities to become more
familiar with it, to practise recognising, manipulating and using it. Usually, lexical practice
activities are based around the following ideas: discussions, communicative activities and role play
requiring use of the lexical items; making use of the lexis in written tasks. There are many
published exercises on lexis. They include: (Figure 15)

matching parts of
matching pictures to matching lexical items
lexical items to other
lexical items to others
parts

using prefixes and

suffixes to build new
lexical items from given
words
using given lexical
classifying items into
items to complete a
lists
specific task

filling in crosswords, filling in gaps in

memory games
grids or diagrams sentences

26
 Figure 15 – Exercises on lexis

Functions
Parker suggests that function is what the language is used for in language learning. They refer to
what items of language actually do in a real context, as opposed to what they might mean literally.
These include suggesting, criticising, refusing, agreeing and disagreeing, enquiring, talking about
the past, and giving advice. She explains that introducing students to the function of language, the
teacher can give them to perform tasks or talk about the past, present, or future. Although, the
beginner level can learn how to greet people. Here are some tips on teaching functions (Figure 16).

Intonation

• The tone in speaking and emphasis is just as important as the particular

choice of words.

Appropriacy

• Learners should be aware of different situations which either for formal

English for a less formal option.

Context

• Remember that functions do not appear in isolation.

Figure 16 – Tips for teaching functions

Functions can be categorized into five groups: personal, interpersonal, directive, referential,
imaginative (Figure 17).

27
Personal
• clarifying or arranging
one’s ideas;
• expressing one’s thoughts
or feelings;
• expressing moral,
intellectual, and social
concerns;
• expressing the everyday
feelings.
Interpersonal
• greetings and leave-
takings;
• introducing people to
others;
• extending and accepting,
refusing invitations;
• making/breaking
appointments for
meetings;
• apologizing;
• indicating agreement or
disagreement;
• arguing or debating and
etc.
Directive
• accepting or refusing
direction;
• making suggestions in
which the speaker is
included;
• persuading someone;
• requesting and granting
permission;
• asking for help;
• warning someone;
• asking for directions or
instructions and etc.

Referential
• talking or reporting about things,
actions, events, or people in the
environment;
• identifying items or people;
• describing someone or something;
• understanding messages or
descriptions;
• explaining or asking for explanations
of how something works;
• formulating and supporting opinions
and etc.
Imaginative
• story-telling, narrating events;
• expanding ideas suggested by others
or by a piece of reading;
• creating rhymes, poetry, stories, plays,
or scripts;
• discussing a poem, a story, a text, an
advertisement, a piece of music, a
play, a painting, a
• film, a TV program, etc.

Figure 17 – Function types

28
 4. Language skills: Receptive and productive skills.
Principles of teaching listening skills
The importance of listening

Listening is an important skill not only in the school but also outside the classroom. Anderson
and Lynch (2003) say that “we only become aware of what remarkable feats of listening we
achieve when we are in an unfamiliar listening environment, such as listening to a language in
which we have limited proficiency” (Anderson, A., Lynch, T., 2003, 3p). Most of people make
mistakes thinking that they know a second language if they can write and speak on it. Researches
show that it is not enough to speak and write on the second language, as people must have the
efficient listening skills to communicate effectively. Mendelson states that listening takes up 40-
50 % of communicating total time while speaking takes 25-30 %, 11-16 % of time is spent to
reading; and writing is about 9 % (Mendelson, D.J., 1994, 9p). This shows listening skill is the
basic one to learn the language. On this case, Nunan (1998) also said that 50 % of the time students
devote to listening skills in learning foreign language (Numan D; 1998). Rost demonstrates the
importance of listening in language classroom in this way:
1. Students can’t understand any language without listening input. Without listening input in
the right level learning simply cannot start.
2. Listening gives students possibilities to interact and communicate meaningfully. By
interacting students deeply understand spoken language. Access to the native speakers is
essential because misunderstanding the language motivates students to communicate and
learn more about it.
3. Also, authentic spoken language challenges students to understand language like native
speakers do.
4. By listening tasks teachers draw students’ attention to new language forms, like grammar,
interaction patterns, vocabulary ( Rose M.,1994, 141-142pр ).
Listening plays an important role in daily life, not only in academic learning, as by listening
people support effective communication. Anderson and Lynch emphasize that listening and
speaking skills can’t be separated, as people understand massages by communicating (listening
and speaking) (Anderson, A., Lynch, T; 2003).

Intensive and extensive listening

Intensive listening (IL)
Intensive listening is one of the approaches which is used to teach foreign language
classrooms. The key objective of the intensive listening lesson is often to teach students new
language forms (grammar or vocabulary). The lesson consists of three stages:
1. pre-listening: in this stage warm-up, lead-in activities are used to prepare students for the
listening materials. Students work on new vocabulary and grammar in pre-listening;
2. while-listening: in while listening stage, students complete some worksheets
according to listening material and leaning objectives.
3. post-listening: in post listening students answer comprehension questions, analyze
listening material and do follow-up activities.
Listening to the passage doesn’t occupy too much time. It depends on the level of the passage,
if the passage or while listening task is difficult students are allowed to listen to the 2-3 minute
material twice sometimes three times and totally it takes 9 minutes, so most of the classroom time
students spend on doing while / post listening tasks and activities.
Teachers need to select meaningful listening resources and create appropriate activities which
help students to reach learning objectives. If teachers work with beginners then they need to give
29
a short, simple listening passage for general understanding and give chance to listen it several
times while doing activities (Handoyo P. W, Andrzej C., 2011, 29-30pp).
The tasks should be created to motivate students to listen to the passage several time.

So, tasks should have:

• objective,
• motivation,
• fun, and
• challenge.

Extensive listening (EL)

Extensive listening is listening for general understanding. The aim of extensive listening is
to get general idea through skimming the passage.
Why should we implement extensive listening? What is its purpose? What do learners expect
from extensive listening? It has the five key purposes to conduct the lesson:
- revealing students to large amount of spoken texts giving extended time that promotes
students’ development of understanding and listening skills,
- giving an opportunities to students to listen to interested topics and to provide fun and
enjoyable listening experience,
- developing general understanding of spoken texts by motivating students to listen for
meaning than focusing on form,
- encouraging students’ listening fluency and automaticity by improving recognition of
language speed, like sounds, words, phrases and grammar. Students can listen to spoken texts at
normal pace,
- improving confidence in listening in the target language through making the listening
experience interesting.
EL Activities
EL activities are not only for listening and using exclusively aural input. Students listen to the
spoken texts for comprehension and pleasure which fit to their interests and proficiency level.
However, some materials, which are interesting for students are too complicated to understand,
do not fit to their level, so teachers need give additional textual or visual input. Some authentic
materials like, news, movies are entertaining, as they are visualized, sometimes given with
captions or subtitles. That is the main reason when students are involved in some watching and
reading activities during listening. Overall, here are five types of EL activities students can do -
listening only, shadowing/ overlapping while listening (active listening), reading while listening,
listening and viewing, and combined listening, viewing and reading activities
(Francisca M. Ivonea, Willy A Renandyab., 2019,7-10pp).

General listening types:

The two main types of listening - the foundations of all listening sub-types are: Comprehensive
Listening, Discriminative Listening,

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 Comprehensive Listening. Comprehensive listening is for understanding the
message. This type of listening is basic to all listening sub-types. To understand speaker’s massage
listener needs appropriate vocabulary, grammar, in generally listener must know language.
Comprehensive listening may have such difficulties like two different listeners may understand
the same listening massage differently. This problem may be doubled in groups, classrooms or in
meetings where one massage listened by everyone in the room, may have numerous meanings.
Comprehensive listening should be supported by non-verbal communication (the tone of voice,
gestures, other body language). This.3 non-verbal language can help to build communication and
understanding, at the same time it can lead to misunderstanding. In any listening situations it is
important to use such skills like clarification, reflection.
Discriminative listening is first heard before birth, in the womb. This is the most essential
form of listening without understanding the meaning of words, phrases, grammar but simply the
different sounds that are made. It occurs when babies start distinguishing their parents’ voices –
the voice of the father is different from mother’s. Discriminative listening is developed through
childhood into adulthood. By growing up our ability to distinguish different sounds is improved.
Getting elder we have ability to identify delicate differences in the way that sounds are made –
this gives us opportunity to understand sounds' meaning. Without knowing language emotions and
feelings of the speaker help us to distinguish and understand foreign languages or identify between
regional accents and clues. We have ability to identify the subtlety of sounds, like happiness,
sadness, anger or stress, which helps us to understand what is said without knowing a word of
heard language. When discriminative listening skills are used together with visual impetus, like
body-language, we start to understand speaker’s massage deeper – for example determining
somebody is happy despite what and how they are saying it.

Specific listening types

Listening types can be determined by the aim of the listening. Mostly, the three main listening
types are used in communication. They are:
Informational Listening (Listening to learn).
Critical Listening (Listening to analyze and evaluate).
Therapeutic or Empathetic Listening (Listening for understanding feeling and emotion).
Listeners may have several goal to listen at a time – for example, one may listen for information
(listening to learn), at the same time tries to be empathetic.
Informational Listening. Informational listening is when you are involved in listening to
know, to learn something. This happens when you listen to the radio, news, watch documentaries,
when you ask somebody for help or some advice about something and when they start to explain
you how to cope with it (a recipe, a mobile-phone), you listen to learn something.
All types of listening require attentive listening and demand concentration to understand,
whilst there is no necessity to listen actively in informational. When you listen for information or
for instruction you take certain, new information or facts. You do not have to listen to criticize or
analyze as you have learning, informational purpose. While listening you write main information,
take notes, so that you can review the notes afterwards.

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 Critical Listening. In critical listening you are involved and you become active listener as
your purpose is to evaluate or scan what is being said. This type of listening is mainly for problem
solving or decision making. Critical listening is like critical reading; after critical listening or
reading you analyze the material according to what you know already or believe. If informational
listening is for taking specific, certain information or facts, this type of listening is for analysing
opinion in detail and making a judgement. The word ‘critical’ doesn’t mean that you are listening
to something negative or faulty information and you do not need to bring the listened information
to naught or criticize. It means involving in listening by asking questions like, ‘what is the
speaker’s massage?, What is he trying to say’, ‘what is the key point being presented?’, ‘how
does it differ from my thoughts, beliefs, knowledge or opinion?’. Critical listening is crucial to
learning. Our knowledge, beliefs, values, ideas, thoughts depend on how we process received
information and create our feelings, emotions about the world, also it is based on how we identify
pros and cons to make a justified decision. An open-mindedness is important in critical listening,
as for stereotypes or preconceived ideas shouldn’t take place in this process. Being open – minded
one becomes a better listener and deepens knowledge, broadens perception of other people and
relationships.
Therapeutic or Empathic Listening. Therapeutic listening is when a listener tries to
understand speaker’s feelings and emotions. When a listener puts himself / herself into the
speaker’s shoes and feels their emotions. It happens when a speaker makes a listener feel not only
his /her feelings but also engages the listener to understand his/her point of view. Empathic
Listening doesn’t involve listeners to make judgements or give advice but encourage speakers to
explain and develop their feelings and emotions. In this listening clarifying and reflecting on what
is being said is made for avoiding misunderstandings. In interpersonal relationships showing
empathy is a desirable – when you communicate with your friends, relatives, colleagues and even
with unknown person. In this case a speaker may feel better as he /she is listened very carefully
and their feelings are felt by listeners, even in listening process both a speaker and a listener may
be in one world, in one feeling https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-types.html.

Listening involves understanding spoken language. Spoken language is different from written
language (Figure 18).

Written language Spoken language

Stays on the page; doesn`t disappear.
Uses punctuation and capital letters to show
sentences.
Consists of letters, written words and
sentences, and punctuations joined together
into text.
Often has no visual support.
Is usually quite well organised: sentences are
complete, follow one another in a logical
sequence and are joined to previous or
Disappears as soon as it is spoken. Sometimes
it is spoken fast and sometimes slowly, with
or without pauses.
Indicates sentences and meaningful groups of
words through stress and intonation.
Consists of sounds, single words, sentences
utterances (complete sense units) and
incomplete sentences joined together in
connected speech.
The speaker uses body language to support
his/her communication; gestures and facial
expressions.
Is not so well organised; e.g. it contains
interruptions, hesitations, repetitions and
frequent changes of topic.

32
 following sentences. Topics are usually
separate from one another.
Usually uses quite exact vocabulary and more Often uses rather general vocabulary and
complex grammar. simple grammar.
Figure 18 – Differences in written and spoken languages
As we can see, spoken language is generally less planned and less well-structured than
written language.

Listening also involves understanding different speed of speech and different accents.
Features such as speed of delivery and accent are part of connected speech, i.e., spoken language
in which words join together to form a connected stream of sounds. Other features of connected
speech are word and stress, linking sounds and words together and the use of contracted forms.
One reason why learners have problems understanding spoken language is because they are not
used to dealing with features of connected speech. (Spratt M., Pulverness A., Williams M., 2017,
p.134)

Listening in a foreign language is a complex process. Students have to be able to understand

the main idea of what is said, as well as specific details. They may need to check any predictions
they have made, and understand the speaker’s meaning, emotions and opinions. They may have to
infer relationships between speakers, or identify the context in which the speakers are operating.
Students may well have to use several of these skills in the course of a single listening activity.

Here are some of the main skills involved in listening, together with a brief description of
what each skill involves.
Listening for the main idea – Students listen to identify the overall ideas expressed in the
whole recording.
Listening for details – Students listen for groups of words and phrases at sentence level.
Listening for specific information – Students listen for particular information at word level.
Predicting – Students try to guess key information contained in the recording before they
listen.
Inferring meaning – Students listen to identify the difference between what the speaker
says and what they actually mean.
Identifying emotion – Students listen to identify the mood of certain speakers.
Listening for opinions – Students listen to identify the attitude of certain speakers.
Inferring relationships – Students listen to identify who the people are in the recording and
what the relationship is between them.
Recognizing context – Students listen to aural and contextual clues to identify where the
conversation takes place, who is speaking, etc. (Spratt M., Pulverness A., Williams M., 2017,
p.135)

Stages of teaching a listening activity

Before listening:
Prepare students for the listening activity by:
• Making them interested with an interesting introduction to the topic.
• Giving them a reason for listening asking them a question to answer.
• Explaining the new words.
• Explaining the new structures.
During listening:
33
 • Students listen to the text for the first time.
• Helping them guess what will happen next after listening to a part of the text.
• They compare their predictions after their first listening.
• Ask some questions to answer before they listen a second time.
• Students listen a second time.
• They do some activities e.g. filling in a table while listening the second time.

Post listening
• Check students’ understanding of the whole listening text by asking more questions on
details.
1. The teacher reads aloud the text (the story) from the audio script with five or six mistakes
(not the grammar of course). Students correct these mistakes either immediately or by
making a list of these mistakes and tell the teacher of them after listening. (Department of
English and Humanities, 2015, р.251)
Principles of teaching speaking skills

Speaking is the second language skill we acquire in our native language. It is what is known
as a productive skill, or an active skill, as it requires us to use our vocal tract and our brains to
correctly produce language through sound. It is the second of two natural language skills.
Speaking is a skill that involves many components, such as grammar, strategy,
sociolinguistics and discourse; speaking is more than simply making the right sounds, choosing
the right words or getting the constructions correct. Speaking is probably the language skill that
most language learners wish to perfect as soon as possible. Speaking is more frequently used than
writing.
The main function of spoken language is to socialize individuals. On the contrary to writing,
spoken language is produced and processed in real time, the speaker and hearer have limited time
to plan and produce what they want to say and understand what they hear. Speech is generally
used in face-to-face conversations; it is temporary, spontaneous and variable. Spoken language is
supported by body language such as gestures or facial expressions (often called non-verbal
communication).
We teach speaking as learners consider this particular skill as one of the most important and
also the most challenging skills. Speaking communication is the most common way of building
interpersonal relations. Furthermore, speaking is important if we want to get things done, find out
information and give instructions. (Spratt M., Pulverness A., Williams M., 2017, p.143)

The list that people often do when they speak

Pronounce words Ask for and give information

Answer questions
Use intonation
Ask for clarification and/or explanation
Monitor and correct ourselves
Take part in conversation
Use an appropriate register
Take part in discussion
Greet people
Plan what we will say
Smile
Use grammar and vocabulary
Use word and sentence stress
Start speaking when someone else stops
Tell stories
Use language accurately
Paraphrase, i.e. find other ways of saying things
Interrupt other speakers
Hesitate
34
 Figure 19 – Speaking instructions
The Four Types of Conversations

When talking with someone, it is helpful to know what type of conversation you are in. You can
do so based on a conversation's direction of communication (a one-way or two-way street) and its
tone/purpose (competitive or cooperative).

If you are in a one-way conversation, you are talking at someone, rather than with someone.
If you are in a two-way conversation, participants are both listening and talking. In a competitive
conversation, people are more concerned about their own perspective, whereas in a cooperative
conversation participants are interested in the perspective of everyone involved.

Based on direction and tone, I grouped conversations into four types: debate, dialogue,
discourse, and diatribe.

• Debate is a competitive, two-way conversation. The goal is to win an argument or convince

someone, such as the other participant or third-party observers.
• Dialogue is a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants to exchange
information and build relationships with one another.
• Discourse is a cooperative, one-way conversation. The goal to deliver information from the
speaker/writer to the listeners/readers.
• Diatribe is a competitive, one-way conversation. The goal is to express emotions, browbeat
those that disagree with you, and/or inspires those that share the same perspective.

To highlight the differences between these types of conversations, let’s use politics as an example:

• Debate: two family members from opposite sides of the political spectrum arguing over
politics.
• Dialogue: two undecided voters talking to each other about the candidates, trying to figure
out who they want to vote for.
• Discourse: a professor giving a lecture on international affairs.
• Diatribe: a disgruntled voter venting about the election’s outcome.

It is important to know which type of conversation you are in, because that determines the purpose
of that conversation. If you can identify the purpose, you can better speak to the heart of that
conversation. But, if you misidentify the conversation you are in, you can fall into conversational
pitfalls.

Principles of teaching reading skills

What is reading?

Reading is one of the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is a receptive
skill, like listening. This means it involves responding to text, rather than producing it. Very simply
we can say that reading involves making sense of written text. To do this we need to understand
the language of the text at word level, sentence level or whole-text level. We also need to connect
the message of the text to our knowledge of the world. Look at this sentence, for example:
The boy was surprised because the girl was much faster at running than he was.
To understand this sentence, we need to understand what the letters are, how the letters join
together to make words, what the words mean and the grammar of the words and the sentence. But
we also make sense of this sentence by knowing that, generally speaking, girls do not run as fast
as boys. Our knowledge of the world helps us understand why the boy was surprised.
35
 Key concepts

A text is usually longer than just a word or a sentence. It often contains a series of sentences, as in
a letter or even a postcard. Connected text is referred to as discourse. Discourse is connected by
grammar and vocabulary and/or our knowledge of the world. Reading involves understanding
these connections. For example:
The boy was surprised because the girl was much faster at running than he was. But after he found
out that her mother had won a medal for running at the Olympic Games, he understood.
The second sentence gives us a possible reason why the girl was so good at running. But we can
only understand that this is a reason if we know that Olympic runners are very good. This means
we need to use our knowledge of the world to see the sense connection between these two
sentences (coherence). The grammatical links between the sentences (cohesion) also help us see
the connection between them. For example, in the second example sentence 'he' refers to 'the boy'
in the first sentence, and 'her' refers to 'the girl', and linking the sentences there is the conjunction
'after'. So, understanding a written text involves understanding the language of each sentence and
the relationship between sentences using our knowledge of language and our knowledge of the
world.
Reading also involves using different reading skills. They include:
Reading for specific information (Scanning)
Reading for detail
Deducing meaning from context
Understanding text structure
Reading for gist (Skimming)
Inferring
Predicting
These are sometimes referred to as reading skills and sometimes as reading subskills. They help
us read in different ways according to our purpose for reading. When we read, we do not
necessarily need to read everything in a text. How we read depends on what and why we are
reading. For example, we may read a travel website to find a single piece of information about
prices. But we may read a novel in great detail because we like the story and the characters, and
want to know as much as we can about them. So, our reasons for reading influence how we read,
i.e. which reading subskill we use.
If we read a text just to find a specific piece or pieces of information in it, we usually use
a subskill called reading for specific information or scanning. When we scan, we don't read the
whole text. We glance over most of it until we find the information we are interested in, e.g. when
we look for a number in a telephone directory.
Another reading subskill is reading for gist or skimming. This is sometimes also called
reading for global understanding. It involves glancing through a text to get a general idea of
what it is about. For example, you skim when you look quickly through a book in a bookshop to
decide if you want to buy it, or when you go quickly through a reference book to decide which
part will help you write an essay, or glance at a newspaper article to see if it is worth reading in
detail.
A third reading subs kill is reading for detail. It involves getting the meaning out of every
word and out of the links or relationships between words and between sentences. If you read a
letter from someone you love who you haven't heard from for a long time, you probably read like
this. Sometimes in books on English language teaching, this skill is called intensive reading.
Inferring is another skill readers sometimes use to get meaning from a text. When they
read, they work out what the writer's opinion on a topic is or what his/her feeling is. To infer these
things we notice what words, register, grammar or style the writer has used to refer to something.

36
 There are other skills the reader can use. Deducing meaning from context involves
reading the words around an unknown word or thinking about the situation the unknown word is
used in to try and work out its meaning. For example, imagine you see a text in Portuguese which
you know gives facts about Portugal. You see this sentence: Lisboa e a capital de Portugal. You
can probably deduce the meaning of Lisboa. To do this, you use what you have been told about
this text and you deduce from your knowledge of English that capital means 'capial' and Portugal
means 'Portugal'! From your general knowledge you know that Lisbon is the capital of Portugal.
so you work out that Lisboa means 'Lisbon'. And you are right! When we read we don't always
know the meaning of all the words we meet. This skill helps us understand unknown words without
making use of a dictionary or some other reference resource.
Predicting means using clues before we begin reading, to guess what a text may be about.
We might, for example, look at a newspaper's headlines or photos, the title of a chapter or unit, the
name of a writer or even the stamp and address on an envelope to make an informed guess about
the general contents of the text. Prediction helps us decide if we wish to read the text (if the stamp
and address on the envelope suggest the text is probably a bill, we may not be so keen), and to
make sense of it when we start reading it, because it gives us the opportunity to link the topic of
the text to our knowledge of the world, and more especially to our knowledge of the topic of the
text. As we read through a text, we continue predicting, using what we are reading to sense what
will come next.
Understanding text structure involves understanding how certain types of text generally
develop. For example, if we read a problem-solution essay, we expect that it will first discuss the
problem, then suggest a solution, then draw a conclusion. If we read a letter of complaint in
English, we generally expect the first paragraph will say why the writer is writing, the second will
give the details of the complaint and the third what the writer wants in answer to his complaint.
Readers expect certain information to come in certain sequences. They use this knowledge to
know where they are in the text and find their way through it. Understanding the meaning of
conjunctions is an important part of this skill as they often signal how an argument will continue
or is about to change.
Extensive and intensive reading are ways of reading. Extensive reading, sometimes called
reading for pleasure, involves reading long pieces of text, for example a story or an article. As you
read, your attention and interest vary - you may read some parts of the text in detail while you may
skim through others, so you might use a variety of reading subskills.
Sometimes, especially in language classrooms, we ask learners to read texts so that we can
examine the language they contain. For example, we might ask learners to look for all the words
in a text related to a particular topic, or work out the grammar of a particular sentence. The aim of
these activities is to make learners more aware of how language is used. These activities are
sometimes called intensive reading. This way of reading does not involve reading for meaning or
comprehension (understanding) of the text. It involves reading for language study. Sometimes in
books on English language teaching, this skill is called reading for detail. When we read about
reading we need to be quite clear what skill is being referred to in order not to get confused!
Understanding different text types is something else good readers can do. Some examples
of written text types are letters, articles, postcards, stories, information brochures, leaflets and
poems. All these kinds of text types are different from one another. They have different lengths,
layouts (the ways in which text is placed on the page), topics and kinds of language.
We can see that reading is a complex process. It involves understanding letters, words and
sentences, understanding the connections between sentences, understanding different text types,
making sense of the text through our knowledge of the world and using the appropriate reading
subskill. Reading may be a receptive skill but it certainly isn't a passive one!
Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

• If learners know how to read in their own language, they can transfer their reading skills
to reading in English. Sometimes though, they find this difficult, especially when their
37
 language level is not high, so they need help to transfer these skills. Teachers can check
which reading subskills their learners are good at, then focus on practising the subskills
they are not yet using well. They can also help them by pre-teaching vocabulary (teaching
vocabulary from the text before the learners read the text), by asking learners to predict
text content and with certain kinds of learner, encouraging them to predict text structure.
• To help learners bring their knowledge of the world to understanding a text the teacher can
do lead-in activities before the class looks at the text. Lead-in activities generally involve
looking at the pictures around a text or at the title and trying to predict what the text will
be about. They can also involve using brainstorming (thinking of and listing ideas or
vocabulary about a topic) to predict what vocabulary the text might contain, discussing the
general topic of the text or talking about experiences of it.
• Giving learners lots of opportunities for extensive reading, in or out of class, helps them to
develop their fluency in reading. Graded readers (books with language made easier for
language learners) are a very useful way of giving learners extensive reading practice,
helping them build up their confidence in reading and consolidate the language they know
and gradually extend it to include new language. Nowadays you can find graded readers
on a very wide variety of subjects and at a large number of language learning levels.
• Which reading skills we need to teach depends on the age and first language of the learners.
Some learners of English, e.g. young children, may not yet know how to read in their own
language. They need to learn how letters join to make words and how written words relate
to spoken words both in their language and in English. Other learners may not understand
the script used in English as their own script is different, e.g. Chinese, Arabic.
• We can choose the right texts for our learners. Texts should be interesting in order to
motivate learners. Texts should also be at the right level of difficulty. A text may be
difficult because it contains complex (complicated) language and/or because it is about a
topic that learners don't know much about.
• To make sure learners get used to a range of text types we can give them different kinds of
texts to read, e.g. articles, stories, postcards, emails, brochures, leaflets, etc.

The activities in a reading lesson often follow this pattern:

1. Introductory activities: activities focusing on the topic of the text, pre-teaching

vocabulary and possibly asking learners to predict the content of the text.
2. Main activities: a series of comprehension activities developing different reading subskills,
focusing initially on general then more detailed comprehension.
3. Post-task activities: activities asking learners to talk about how the topic of the text relates
to their own lives or to give their opinions on something in the text. These activities require
learners to use some of the language they have met in the text.
• Notice that the list of reading skills does not include reading aloud. The purpose of reading
aloud is not reading to get information from a written text, and it is not something that a
user of a language usually does. Reading aloud takes place mainly in the language
classroom where it is often used to check learners' pronunciation or to check their
understanding of a text. Reading aloud well is a difficult thing to do as it relies on
understanding a text very well, and on being able to predict what will come next in the text.
If it is used in the classroom, it is most usefully done after other work on comprehension
of the text has been completed successfully and the learners have a good understanding of
the details of the text (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williarr, 2011, p. 31-34).

38
 Principles of teaching writing skills

Writing is one of the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Writing and speaking are productive skills. That means they involve producing language
rather than receiving it. Very simply, we can say that writing involves communicating a
message (something to say) by making signs on a page. To write we need a message and
someone to communicate it to. We also need to be able to form letters and words, and to
join these together to make words, sentences or a series of sentences that link together to
communicate that message (Mary Spratt, Melanie Williams, 2011, p. 26)

Key concepts

All written text types have two things in common. Firstly, they are written to communicate
a particular message, and secondly, they are written to communicate to somebody. Our
message and who we are writing to influence what we write and how we write. For
example, if you write a not to yourself to remind yourself to do something, you may write
in terrible handwriting, and use note form or single words that other people would not
understand. If you write a note to your friend to remind him/her of something, your note
will probably be clearer and a bit more polite.
Writing involves several subskills. Some of these are related to accuracy, i.e. using the
correct forms of language. Writing accurately involves spelling correctly, forming letters
correctly, writing legibly, punctuating correctly, using correct layouts, choosing the right
vocabulary, using grammar correctly, joining sentences correctly and using paragraphs
correctly.
But writing isn’t just about accuracy. It is also about having a message and communicating
it successfully to other people. To do this, we need to have enough ideas, organize them
well and express them in an appropriate style.
Writing also often involves going through a number of stages. When we write outside the
classroom we often go through these stages:
- Brainstorming (thinking everything we can about the topic);
- Making notes;
- Planning (organizing our ideas);
- Writing a draft (a piece of writing that is not yet finished, and may be changed);
- Producing another draft;
- Proof-reading (checking for mistakes in accuracy) or editing again (Mary Spratt,
Melanie Williams, 2011, p. 26-27)
Prewriting strategies
Pre-writing strategies use writing to generate and clarify ideas. These strategies help you with both
your invention and organization of ideas, and can aid you in developing topics for your writing
(writing.ku.edu/prewriting-strategies).

Listing or making a list is a process of
generating a lot of information within a
short time by generating some broad
ideas and then building on those
associations for more detail. Listing is
particularly useful if your starting topic
is very broad and you need to narrow it
down.
1. Jot down all the possible terms that emerge
from the general topic you are working on.
This procedure works especially well if you
work in a team. All team members can generate
ideas, with one member acting as scribe. Do
not worry about editing or throwing out what
might not be a good idea. Simply write down
as many possibilities as you can.

39

Clustering, also called mind mapping
or idea mapping, is a strategy that allows
you to explore the relationships between
ideas.
Freewriting is a process of generating a
lot of information by writing non-stop for
a predetermined amount of time. It allows
you to focus on a specific topic, but forces
you to write so quickly that you are unable
to edit any of your ideas.
The Journalists' Questions
Journalists traditionally ask six questions
when they are writing assignments that
are broken down into five W's and one
H: Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?,
and How? You can use these questions to
explore the topic you are writing about for
an assignment. A key to using the
journalists' questions is to make them
flexible enough to account for the specific
details of your topic.
The journalists' questions are a powerful
way to develop a great deal of information
about a topic very quickly.
2. Group the items that you have listed according
to arrangements that make sense to you. Are
things thematically related?
3. Give each group a label. Now you have a
narrower topic with possible points of
development.
4. Write a sentence about the label you have given
the group of ideas. Now you have a topic
sentence.
1. Put the subject in the center of a page. Circle
or underline it.
2. As you think of other ideas, write them on
the page surrounding the central idea. Link
the new ideas to the central circle with lines.
3. As you think of ideas that relate to the new
ideas, add to those in the same way.
1. Freewrite on the assignment or general topic
for five to ten minutes non-stop. Force
yourself to continue writing even if nothing
specific comes to mind (so you could end up
writing “I don’t know what to write about”
over and over until an idea pops into your
head. This freewriting will include many
ideas; at this point, generating ideas is what
is important, not the grammar or the
spelling.
2. After you have finished freewriting, look
back over what you have written and
highlight the most prominent and interesting
ideas; then you can begin all over again,
with a tighter focus. You will narrow your
topic and, in the process, you will generate
several relevant points about the topic.
• Who?:
Who are the participants? Who is affected?
Who are the primary actors? Who are the
secondary actors?
• What?:
What is the topic? What is the significance of
the topic? What is the basic problem? What are
the issues related to that problem?
• Where?:
Where does the activity take place? Where
does the problem or issue have its source? At
what place is the cause or effect of the problem
most visible?
• When?:
When is the issue most apparent? ( in the
past? present? future?) When did the issue or
40
 problem develop? What historical forces helped
shape the problem or issue and at what point in
time will the problem or issue culminate in a
crisis? When is action needed to address the
issue or problem?
• Why?:
Why did the issue or problem arise? Why is
it (your topic) an issue or problem at all? Why
did the issue or problem develop in the way that
it did?
• How?:
How is the issue or problem significant? How
can it be addressed? How does it affect the
participants? How can the issue or problem be
resolved?

Figure 20 – Prewriting strategies

The “Rule of Three” structure
It is important that your essay has a clear introduction, main body and conclusion. Put simply,
you should:
- Say what you are going to say;
- Say it;
- Say what you have said.
The actual number of paragraphs in the main body of the text depends on the topic, the
discipline, and the number of words you have to write.
The crucial feature of the structure is that each paragraph only contains one main idea.
! First and last sentences of paragraphs are important. First sentences should tell the reader
something clear and specific about the point you are about to discuss.
Last sentences should make the relevance of the point totally clear.

You could use a diagram like this to help you order your ideas. Write each of your main points
into a section of the structure (libguides.bham.ac.uk/asc/essayplanning).
Introduction: Introductory paragraph
Second introductory paragraph if necessary
Body of essay 1st main point
2nd main point
3rd point
Conclusion Concluding paragraph
Figure 21 – Essay structure
Giving feedback and marking in writing
It is important to give feedback so learners can know what they have done well and have
guidance on how to get better.

You need to have a plan for feedback. Who gives it? How is it given? What is the focus?
(www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/process-writing ).

41
Who How What
Teacher - To the class as a - Content
Learners whole - Language
- To learners - Process
individually
- Spoken
- Written
Figure 22 - A plan for feedback

Order Tip Benefit

1 Focus on specific points only for feedback Learners focus on points at a
time so they can clear up any
problems
2 Use a correction code with symbols Helps learners to identify and
correct their own mistakes
3 Ask learners to check each other’s work Learners learn both from the
(peer review) mistakes and good points of
their peers’ work. It also
helps them to edit their own
writing.
4 Give tasks that are easy to mark. (A So that even in big classes
numbered paragraph ordering exercise) learners can get their work
marked by the teacher.
5 Tell learners the marking (assessment) Clear assessment criteria
criteria (how the marks are awarded and helps learners to understand
why) the important aspects of the
task and what is expected of
their work.
Figure 23 – Orders, tips and benefits of giving feedback
Using a correction code
Here are some ideas for getting learners to really think about the errors they are making and
to learn correcting themselves.
1. The teacher develops the correction code with learners.
2. The correction code is always displayed on the classroom wall.
3. The learners mark each other’s first drafts (peer correction).
4. The teacher marks the second or third drafts.
5. The correction code is not used in formal assessment tasks.
6. The teacher uses this method with adult learners.
7. The teacher suggests using only three or four symbols with young learners.
(www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/unit-7-responding-writing).
Types of feedback:
Method Form: written / spoken Focus
Peer to peer correction Written and spoken Grammar, vocabulary,
cohesion and linking,
organization of ideas
Teacher feedback to pairs of Spoken Use of language and word
learners choices
42
Peer to peer evaluation written Positive comments about
essay structure, vocabulary,
grammar, cohesion, ideas and
support
Figure 24 – Types of feedback

43
 3. Lesson Frameworks

Receptive Skills: Reading/Listening

Main Aim: By the end of the lesson, students will have improved at reading (or: listening to) a
(text/audio type) for gist (or specific information) and detailed comprehension in the context of ...
Subsidiary Aim(s): To practice speaking for fluency
Intro (set up context)
Pre-text discussion (pairwork!)
Option 1: you may choose to pre-teach blocking vocabulary at this stage
Reading/Listening 1:
for gist or specific information
Option 2: you may choose to pre-teach blocking vocabulary for the second task
Reading/Listening 2: for detailed comprehension

A brief post-text discussion (optional): sharing opinions about the text

Productive task preparation
(set up a communicative speaking task)
step by step instructions, generating ideas for the task (consider note-taking), demonstration.
Task performance
Speaking in pairs or mini groups
Time-efficient (!) feedback on content (task achievement) and language

Additional notes:
● You need to provide a task each time BEFORE they read/listen to the text. “Just read/listen
to it”is not a task. You need to say “Read/Listen AND ….” Students need a task to complete
while they read/listen, not after. See your notes from input
● Reading is an individual, silent task. We don’t read in pairs. We don’t read aloud.
● When reading for detailed comprehension, consider asking students to underline
justification for their answers and focus the paircheck/open class feedback on those.
● After listening for detailed comprehension, have the copies of the script ready. Be ready to
re-play the recording, but it should not be done multiple times. Have copies of the script
ready to resolve conflicts about the answers quickly
● If reading/listening for detailed comprehension + feedback took longer than you planned,
consider cutting out one of the speaking stages: either post-text discussion or the productive
task (last three stages).

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 Language Systems (Grammar/ Functions):
Text-Based Presentation
Main Aim: By the end of the lesson students will be better able to use (target language) to
(communicative goal) in the context of…
Subsidiary Aims:
● To practice reading for gist.
● To practice speaking for fluency.

Intro/Pre-text discussion (pairwork!)

set up context, prepare the students for the reading task
Reading/Listening for gist to familiarize the students with the text
Noticing the target language in the text
Clarification of Meaning, checking understanding
Clarification of relevant aspects of Form and Pronunciation
Controlled practice (written/oral) of Meaning, Form and Pronunciation of the target
language.
Productive task preparation (set up semi-controlled/freer practice (FP)
step by step instructions, generating ideas for the communicative task, demonstration
Task performance
Students communicate in pairs (oral FP)
or do a meaningful, communicative writing task (written FP)
Time-efficient (!) feedback on content (task achievement) and language

Additional notes:

● Make sure your main aim, clarification, controlled practice and production focus on the
same target language.
● Be careful of overly long lead-ins and clarification stages. You need to provide a balance
of language input and practice.

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 Language Systems (mainly Vocabulary): Test-Teach-Test

Main Aim: By the end of the lesson students will be better able to use (target language) to
(communicative goal) in the context of …
Subsidiary Aims:
● To practice speaking for fluency.

Intro (set up context)

TEST 1
monitor and take notes, find out what needs to be taught
‘TEACH’ stage:
clarify the Meaning of the target language that caused difficulties in Test 1, check
understanding
Clarify relevant aspects of Pronunciation/Form,
address anticipated problems.
TEST 2
Check whether your clarification has worked well, and the students can understand and use the
target language correctly.
Provide more Controlled practice if Test 2 revealed the need for extra practice.

Productive task preparation

(set up semi-controlled/freer practice (FP)
step by step instructions, generating ideas for the communicative task, demonstration
Task performance students communicate in pairs (oral FP) or do a meaningful,
communicative writing task (written FP)
Time-efficient (!) feedback on content (task achievement) and language

Additional notes:
● Make sure your main aim, your clarification, your controlled practice and production
focus on the same target language.
● Be careful of overly long lead-ins and clarification stages. You need to provide a balance
of language input and practice.

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 Productive Skill: Speaking
Main Aim: By the end of the lesson, students will have practiced speaking for fluency while
(provide a real-life task, role-play or communicative goal) in the context of (topic)
Subsidiary Aims:
● To introduce and clarify functional phrases for…
● To listen for gist

Intro (set up context)

Pre-text discussion (pairwork!): consider letting the students share previous experiences in
similar situations/contexts
Listening for gist to familiarize the students with the model text
Noticing tasks/Clarification of useful features (choose the ones relevant for your lesson):
focus on the purpose of the conversation,
focus on the useful language, clarify MPF where necessary (provide
some controlled practice if needed), focus on the appropriate register,
focus on organization, e.g. a conversation pattern/roles for a dialogue, or on a template (if it’s
a story/a presentation)
Productive task preparation (set up a communicative speaking task)
step by step instructions, generating ideas for the task (consider note-taking), demonstration
Task performance
Speaking in pairs or mini groups
Time-efficient (!) feedback on content (task achievement) and language
Consider task repetition after feedback:
let the students swap partners and do the task again, now taking feedback into account and
trying to do it even better this time.
Provide time-efficient feedback on content and language.

Additional notes:
● This is a speaking lesson, not a language lesson. Consider focusing on useful
features/sub-skills that go beyond language, encourage the students to show interest,
develop their argument, ask follow-up questions, etc.
● Focus on Pronunciation of useful language could prove very helpful in a Speaking lesson.
● Balance your input/task cycle. For a 45 min slot, spend 10 min on intro/gist tasks, 15 min
on noticing/clarifying, and start Task Preparation 20 min before the end of the slot.

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 Productive Skill: Product Writing
Main Aim: By the end of the lesson, students will have practiced writing in the context of
writing a (genre + topic)
Subsidiary Aims:
● To practice reading for gist.
● To introduce/revise a set of linkers/functional phrases for…

Intro (set up context)

Pre-text discussion (pairwork!): consider letting the students share previous experiences in
similar situations/contexts
Reading for gist to familiarize the students with the model text
Noticing tasks/Clarification of the useful features
(choose the ones relevant for your lesson): focus on the purpose and the target reader of the
message, focus on the genre features:
- useful language (clarify MPF where necessary, provide CP if needed)
- appropriate register,
- organization (template), paragraphing
Productive task preparation
(set up a communicative writing task)
step by step instructions, generating ideas for the task (consider sharing ideas orally, in pairs),
demonstration
Task performance: writing individually
Feedback/Sharing: let the students read each other’s writing tasks.
They can respond to messages or choose the most interesting ones (feedback on
content/task achievement)
If the Ss have written parts of a story/an essay, they can put these together and see if they fit
into a whole (feedback on content/task achievement)
They can discuss how the tasks could be improved (FB on language).
Time-efficient feedback on most common errors.
Collect the writing tasks to provide more detailed FB on content/language

Additional note:
● Focus on Form/spelling of useful language could prove very helpful in a Writing lesson.
● Still, this is a writing lesson, not a language lesson. Consider focusing on useful
features/sub-skills that go beyond language, focus on organisation and layout, etc.
● Balance your input/task cycle. For a 45 min slot, spend 10 min on intro/gist tasks, 15 min
on noticing/clarifying, and start Task Preparation 20 min before the end of the slot.

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4. Content Infographics to assist English teachers

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 GLOSSARY
An opinion essay - a formal piece of writing which requires your opinion on a topic. Your opinion
should be stated clearly. Throughout the essay you will give various arguments on the topic and
these will be supported by examples.
A problem/solution essay - an essay in which you are required to present solutions for a problem.
Body language – a type of a nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed
to words, are used to express or convey the information. Such behavior includes facial expressions,
body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space.
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) - presents a
comprehensive descriptive scheme of language proficiency and a set of Common Reference Levels
(A1 to C2) defined in illustrative descriptor scales, plus options for curriculum design promoting
plurilingual and intercultural education.
Chat - a means of exchanging text or hypertext messages over a computer network in real time,
as well as software that allows organizing such communication.
Connected speech – the way that speech sounds are produced in a continuous stream rather than
separately.
Context Clues - a form of information (such as a definition, synonym, antonym, or example) that
appears near a word or phrase and offers direct or indirect suggestions about its meaning.
Controlled practice - a stage in a lesson where learners practice new language in a limited form.
Controlled practice is used to describe exercises that are designed to re-enforce a specific language
point and require a particular answer such as crossword puzzles, word searches and gap-fill
worksheets.
Debate - a type of talk, in the process of which the participants display a significant disagreement
in opinions and at the end each of them comes to their own decision. Disputational talk exists in a
competitive atmosphere not focused on cooperation.
Deduce meaning from context - to guess the meaning of an unknown word by using the
information in a situation and/or around the word to help, e.g. I drove my van to the town centre
and parked it in the central car park. Van must be some kind of vehicle because you drive it and
park it.
Dialogue - a cooperative, two-way conversation. The goal is for participants to exchange
information and build relationships with one another.
Diatribe - a competitive, one-way conversation. The goal is to express emotions, browbeat those
that disagree with you, and/or inspires those that share the same perspective.
Dictation - the process of writing down what someone else has said
Differentiation - the process by which teachers adapt, modify, or change their teaching styles and
methods in order to meet the needs of all students.

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Discourse - a cooperative, one-way conversation. The goal to deliver information from the
speaker/writer to the listeners/readers.
Drafting is writing a paragraph or essay from start to finish, using notes about ideas and
organisation.
Eclectic method/approach - a term sometimes used for the practice of using features of several
different METHODS in language teaching, for example, by using both audiolingual and
communicative language teaching techniques.
Explicit learning - learning language items by means of overt strategies, such as techniques of
memorization.
Extensive reading - involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading
skills/
Formal writing - that form of writing which is used for the business, legal, academic or
professional purpose
Free practice - which involves learners producing language using the target content freely. Free
practice is used to describe activities that are designed to allow the students to practice the language
point in an unrestricted manner, usually including the use of previously learnt language. Examples
of free practice activities include class debates, role plays and class surveys.
Implicit learning - a process by which information is learned outside of conscious awareness. It
is a process of detecting associations within an environment and storing this information in the
form of abstract representations.
Informal writing - often understood as casual writing, which uses colloquial language
Intensive listening/reading - getting more detailed understanding of some segments of the text,
transcribing certain segments in the text, guessing the meaning of a word or phrase from context,
looking at certain grammatical structures in the text to see how they can aid comprehension, etc.
Lexical units - a constituent unit of lexicon, no matter if it is understood as an external or internal
lexical system, presented in a word-book or a theoretical dictionary stored in our mental lexicon.
Each lexical unit has individual phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic properties.
Lingistic cultural aproach - includes skills and abilities of analytical approach to the study of
foreign culture in comparison with the culture of your own country.
Linking words - are the words used to show relationships between ideas and paragraphs.
Oral fluency – the ability to speak a language easily, well, and quickly.
Phonics - a method for teaching people how to read and write an alphabetic language (such as
English, Arabic and Russian).
Phonetical units - a written element that represents a sound and is used in combination with a
radical to form a character.
PISA - a triennial survey of 15year old students around the world that assesses the extent to which
they have acquired key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in social and economic
life.
Pre-writing - is the first stage of the writing process.
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Probabilistic forecasting - is realized during the auditory perception of the speech by the
interpreter, based on which he makes the hypothesis about the development or completion of
author’s speech.
Productive skills - the term for speaking and writing, skills where students actually have to
produce language themselves. Speaking and writing are called productive skills because we use
the language to produce a message through speech or written text.
Proofreading - the process of reviewing the final draft of a piece of writing to ensure consistency
and accuracy in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting.
Punctuation marks - symbols that are used to aid the clarity and comprehension of written
language. Some common punctuation marks are the period, comma, question mark, exclamation
point, apostrophe, quotation mark and hyphen.
Reading / listening in detail (deep) – when we read or listen to a text in order to gather as much
detail as we can about every part. Reading in detail, in contrast to skimming and scanning, is a
slow and careful process in which we often stop to think, go back, and re-read.
Receptive skills - a term used for reading and listening, skills where meaning is extracted from
the discourse. Reading and Listening are called receptive skills because when we listen and read
something we receive the language, understand it and decode the meaning.
Reviewing/Revising - a process of rearranging, adding, or removing paragraphs, sentences, or
words.
Scanning - reading a text quickly in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.
Skills – сomponents of practical activity appearing during implementation of necessary activities
brought to perfection through multiple drill (“abilities in action”).
Skimming - reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning.
Specific information - is often factual in nature, for example, a name, a place, a profession, an
object, a number or a quantity. When you listen for specific information, you need to have some
idea of what you’re listening for before you listen and while you’re listening.
Spelling - set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes to represent a language in
its written form
Talk - а teaching method applied for enhancing the mental activities of students; during discussion
the students review and reinforce existing knowledge, acquire new knowledge by answering
questions posed by the teacher and their peers.
Teaching grammar in context - an approach for teaching grammar when it is embedded and
integrated into other aspects of the curriculum, such as creative writing and analytical reading,
rather than a standalone activity.
Test, teach, test (TTT) - an approach to teaching where learners first complete a task or activity
without help from the teacher. Then, based on the problems seen, the teacher plans and presents
the target language. Then the learners do another task to practise the new language.
Text-based - an approach for teaching grammar where a text is used in a special sense to refer to
structured sequences of language that are used in specific contexts in specific ways.

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Total Physical Response (TPR) - a language teaching method built around the coordination of
speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity.
Word order - it’s what makes your sentences make sense.
Writing skill - includes all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ideas through the
written word.

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 References:
1. Anderson, A., Lynch, T., Listening. Oxford University Press.
2. “A Short Guide to Essay Planning and Structure: Home.” LibGuides,
libguides.bham.ac.uk/asc/essayplanning.
3. Dykes, Barbara. Grammar for Everyone. ACER Press, 2007.
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ELT, 252 TEFLIN Journal, Volume 30, Number 2, July 2019.
5. Handoyo P. W, Andrzej C., Extensive Listening in the Language Classroom,
Nova Science Publisher.
6. Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. Pearson Education Limited, 2007.
7. Mendelson, D.J., Learning to listen, USA, Dominie Press,
8. Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williarr. Second edition The Teaching Knowledge
Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. Cambridge University press, 2011
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10. Parker, Alison. “Why Teach Functions?” Teflengland, 2009,
ww.teflengland.co.uk/blog.asp?blogid=26.
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strategies.
12. “Process Writing.” TeachingEnglish, www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/process-
writing.
13. Rose M., Introducing listening. London, Penguin book,
14. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-types.html
15. Scrivener, Jim. Learning Teaching. Macmillan, 2011.
16. Spratt M., Pulverness A., Williams M. Methodology course for teachers of English. TKT
Handbook for teachers, cambridgeenglish.org, 2017
17. Spratt, Mary, et al. The TKT Course Teaching Knowledge Test: Modules 1, 2 and 3.
Cambridge University Press, 2011.
18. “Teaching Reading and Writing.” TeachingEnglish,
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-reading-writing.
19. Thornbury, Scott. How to Teach Grammar. Longman, 1999.
20. Teaching Productive Skills to the Students: A Secondary Level Scenario. Department of
English and Humanities, December 2015.
21. “Unit 7: Responding to Writing.” TeachingEnglish,
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/unit-7-responding-writing.
22. Zemach, Dorothy E., and Lisa A. Rumisek. Academic Writing from Paragraph to Essay.
Macmillan, 2011.
23. Нехожина Ю. С. Linguistic and cultural studies as one of the main aspects of English
language teaching [Электронный ресурс] / Ю. С. Нехожина // Научное обозрение:
электрон. журн. – 2019. – № 2. – 1 электрон. опт. диск (СD-ROM).
24. Ариян М.А. Лингвострановедение в преподавании иностранного языка в старших
классах средней школы // Иностранные языки в школе 2000 3. Акимова О. С.
Формирование лингвострановедческой компетенции старших школьников //
Молодой ученый. 2016,№8. — С. 896-898.

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25. О 75 «Основные результаты международного исследования PISA-2015», 2017 год:
Национальный отчет/С.Ирсалиев, А.Култуманова, Е.Сабырұлы, М.Аманғазы –
Астана: АО «Информационно-аналитический центр», 2017 – 241 стр.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzSGEeaYvJc (Refered date 14.01.2021)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x368M5hDu_w (Refered date 14.01.2021)
26. Source: OECD, PISA 2018 Database, Tables I. B1.10, I. B1.11 and I. B1.12.

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