Tonight, we explore Three

Questions.
Why Should We Integrate the Four language
Skills?
What Kind of Instruction Lends Itself to
Integrating the Skills?
What Kinds of Activities Can We Use to Integrate
the Skills Effectively and Meaningfully?

Question I: Why Should We

Integrate the Four Language
Skills?
Define: Language
Define: Communication
The Four Macro-skills in Everyday
Interactions

Interlude # 1: Please take two minutes

and define language.
After writing your definition, please share it
with a neighbor.

What important
word appears in
both definitions?

Communicatio
n.
So, our task is to
teach our students
to use this method
or system of
communication
called English.

language (n.)
1. The method of human
communication, either spoken
or written, consisting of the
use of words in a structured
and conventional way
2. the system of
communication used by a
particular community or
country
- from oxforddictionaries.com

OK. So, how do we communicate?

What does it mean to communicate?

To express our thoughts and feelings

To share ideas, information and news
To interact with others in a meaningful way
To do all of the above through all four language
skills

In the real world, we often

employ all four skills in
tandem in order to
communicate.
Interlude # 2: Can we
think of a few examples?
With a neighbor, try to
identify a few. You have five
minutes.

The four macro skills (listening,

speaking,
reading and writing) are
all an integral part of typical
language proficiency and use.
Akram and Malik, 2010

Arguably, we use all four language skills in many

of our
day-to-day interactions.

Truism of the Day

Every act of communication
takes at least two people and at
least two of the four language
skills:
A Productive Skill and a Receptive
Skill

The integrated-skill approach, as

contrasted with the purely segregated
approach, exposes English language
learners to authentic language and
challenges them to interact naturally in the
language. Learners rapidly gain a true
picture of the richness and complexity of
the English language as employed for
Oxford, 2001
communication.
In order for students to communicate fully in English,
they need competence in all four language skills.

Question II: What Kind of

Instruction Lends Itself to
Integrating the Skills?
Two Forms of Instruction which Lend
Themselves to Skills Integration
Promoting Interaction at All Phases in
a Lesson

Two Forms of Integrated-Skill Instruction

1. Rebecca Oxford (2001) identifies two types of instruction
which are clearly oriented toward integrating the skills.
2. Content-based Instruction: students practice all the
language skills in a highly integrated, communicative fashion
while learning content such as science, mathematics, and
social studies.
3. Task-based instruction: students participate in
communicative tasks in English.

Content-based Instruction (CBI)

Three Models of Content-based Instruction
Theme-based Model: integrates the language skills into the
study of a theme (e.g., life in America; crime and violence;
innovation and innovators) According to Oxford, this is the
most useful and widespread form of CBI.
Adjunct Model: co-enrolled in two separate courses, one for
language and one for content
Sheltered Model: subject matter is taught using English
tailored to the students proficiency level.

Interlude # 3: In pairs or trios, take 15 minutes to talk about what

kinds of topics you feel would be suitable to use for a theme-based
ESL class for adult learners? Why these topics? Be ready to
defend your answers!

Two for Beginner Level Learners

Two for Intermediate Level Learners
Two for Advanced Level Learners

Task-based Instruction (TBI)

According to Rebecca Oxford (2001),
Students interact and collaborate in pairs and groups on tasks which
mimic or mirror real-world tasks.
Attention is paid to language meaning more than language forms.
Students often work together to produce a non-linguistic outcome, such
as creating an advertisement, acting out a scene from a movie or play,
making a plan to go to the movies, or producing a class book or recipes.
TBI can be used at all levels, but the tasks become more complex at
higher levels of proficiency in English.

According to David Nunan (2013), tasks

have the following characteristics
1. Meaning is primary.
2. Learners are not given other peoples meanings to
simply repeat.
3. There is some sort of relationship to comparable
real-world activities.
4. Task completion has some priority.
5. The assessment of the task is in terms of outcome.

So, what are some examples of

appropriate tasks?
A cookbook comprised of recipes from all the class

members
A PowerPoint presentation on a topic of interest to the
class
A poster presentation on a topic of interest to the class
A guidebook to the school or program in which the
students are enrolled
A handbook and presentation on making a home
emergency kit

Interlude # 4: Work with your partner(s) to

come up with 3 or 4 tasks which you feel
would be appropriate for adult learners. You
have 10 minutes for this task.

Encouraging Interaction at Every Stage of a Lesson

Plan Leads to Better Skills Integration
(please see the article in the folder)

Promoting interaction both within and outside the

language classroom can have a positive impact on
language learning. It gives learners opportunities to
receive comprehensible input and feedback, try new
hypotheses about how English works, and listen to and
incorporate feedback in the form of recasts.
McKay and Schaetzel, 2008

OK. So, whats a recast?

Opportunities to interact can be

included in all phases of a language
lesson preview, presentation,
practice, and evaluation.
MacKay and Schaetzel, 2008

By incorporating interaction into every phase of

a lesson, we can engage all four skills
throughout the lesson more thoroughly.

Question III: What

Kinds of Classroom
Activities Can We Use to
Integrate the Skills
Effectively?
Jigsaw Activities
Dictogloss

Jigsaw Activities,

from Bohlke (2013)

Same principle as information gap activities in that each

student in a group is provided with only some of the
information he/she needs
Students work together until everyone has finished the activity
Each student becomes an expert on something and then
shares that knowledge with experts on other topics
Much of the learning is student-to-student; teachers become
facilitators

Interlude # 5:
With your
partners, please skim the four
articles provided in your folders.
Then, discuss how they are
thematically linked.
Finally,
discuss how you could use these
four articles for a jigsaw reading
activity in a High Intermediate or
Advanced class.
You have 15
minutes.

Dictogloss,
from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/dictogloss
A dictogloss is a classroom dictation activity where learners are required to
reconstruct a short text by listening and noting down key words, which are
then used as a base for reconstruction.
Example: Learners discuss the sea and vocabulary related to it. The teacher
then explains the task, and reads a short text on the sea to the class, who just
listen. The teacher reads the text again, and the learners take notes. In groups,
the learners then reconstruct the text. This in turn can be followed up with
comprehension questions.
The dictogloss is often regarded as a multiple-skills and systems activity.
Learners practice listening, writing and speaking (by working in groups) and
use vocabulary, grammar and discourse systems in order to complete the task.

And now an example

of a dictogloss!
Please take out a sheet of paper.
Your instructor will read a
paragraph
about
the
U.S.
Congress three times.
First,
please just listen. The second
time, please listen and write.
The third time, listen and
complete the dictation. Finally,
work with a partner and

Interlude # 6: Create a Dictogloss With your

partners, please create a dictogloss along the lines
of the one we just did. You have a choice of two
topics. Please follow the stipulations indicated. You
Beginning
or
have 15 minutes.
Advanced: Job Interviews
Intermediate: Weather
(CASAS Competency 2.3.3
interpret info about weather
conditions)

Vocabulary: winter weather; sleet; freezing rain; flurries;

drizzle; showers; taper off; precipitation; a chance of

Structures: oral reduction gonna; modal auxiliaries

(CASAS Competency 4.1.5 identify

how to interview appropriately for a job)

Vocabulary: business attire; eye contact; firm handshake; pay attention

to ; calm; confidence; nervous; fidget; project; stretch the truth;
nonverbal communication

Structures

gerunds + infinitives

And so, so wrap up, have we answered

the initial three questions we posed?
Why Should We Integrate the Four language Skills?
What Kind of Instruction Lends Itself to Integrating the
Skills?
What Kinds of Activities Can We Use to Integrate the
Skills Effectively and Meaningfully?

References
Akram, A. and Malik, A. (2010).A. Integration of Language Learning Skills in Second Language

Acquisition. International Journal of Arts and Sciences. 3(14),

Bohlke, D. (2013). Fluency-Oriented Second Language Teaching (in Celce-Murica, M., D.
Brinton, and M.A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (4th ed.),
Boston: Heinle.
McKay, S. and Schaetzel, K. (2008). Facilitating adult learner interactions to build listening and
speaking skills. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved from
www.cal.org/caela.
Nunan, D. (2013). Task-based teaching and learning. (in Celce-Murica, M., D. Brinton, and M.A.
Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (4th ed.), Boston: Heinle.
Oxford, R. (2001). Integrated skills in the ESL/EFL classroom. ERIC Digest. ERIC Identifier:
ED456670.