TEACHING LANGUAGE SKILLS

Integrated or not?

Have a look at the following activity and decide with your partner whether they combine, or
integrate, at least two of the four main skills. Tick (✔) the ones that do.
1 Reading a newspaper.
2 Having a telephone conversation with your friend.
3 Delivering a speech that you have memorised.
4 Chatting with your neighbour while standing in your driveway.
5 Taking notes during a lecture at university.
6 Taking notes for yourself while you read a chapter in your textbook.
7 Listening to a song on the radio.
8 Writing a report with two colleagues about a project you’ve been doing together.
9 Leading a discussion in a meeting for your tennis club about when and where to have
the annual picnic.
10 Talking with the parents of a learner whose class work has been unsatisfactory this
term.
Are these all real-life activities? Do most of them involve only one skill or more than one
skill?
A PROCEDURE FOR TEACHING RECEPTIVE SKILLS

A TYPICAL PROCEDURE FOR GETTING THE STUDENTS TO READ A WRITTEN TEXT

OR LISTEN TO A RECORDING INVOLVES TYPE I AND TYPE II TEXTS .
TYPE I – GENERAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONSE
TYPE II – DETAILED RESPONSE

LEAD –IN
-

-COMPREHENSION /RESPONSE TASK

-READING /LISTENING
-TEXT-RELATED
 THE LANGUAGE ISSUE
WHAT IS LONG
THAT SENTENCES
MAKES A OR THE
TEXT NUMBER OF
DIFFICUL UNFAMILIAR
T? WORDS
EXTENSIVE READING AND LISTENING
 COMPREHENSION TASKS

 WE NEED TO USE COMPREHENSION TASKS WHICH PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING ,

AND WE NEED TO MATCH TEXT AND TASK APPROPRIATELY .

TESTING AND TEACHING

APPROPRIATE CHALLENGE
A PROCEDURE
FOR TEACHING
PRODUCTIVE -LEAD-IN
SKILLS -TASK
-MONITORING
-FEEDBACK AND
FOLLOW-UP
DEALING WITH DIFFICULTY

-IMPROVISING
-DISCARDING
-FOREIGNISING
-PARAPHRASING