Effective Language Skills: Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening & Pronunciation
Speaking
A1) The Elements of Speaking Production
Connected speech: Effective English speakers need to be able to produce individual phonemes of English.
Expressive devices: This includes the tone of voice, volume, and speed.
Lexis and grammar: The use of common lexical items is important.
Negotiation: Effective speaking benefits from the use of language to seek clarification.
A2) Mental and Social Processing
Language processing: Effective speakers need to process language and put it in a coherent order.
Interacting with others: This involves interpreting information from others.
On-the-spot information processing: Interpreting information in the moment.
B) Classroom Speaking Activities
B1) Acting from a script. B2) Communication games
B3) Discussion. B4) Prepared talks
B5) Questionnaires. B6) Simulation
Role play: Reality of function – environment simulation – structure
B7) Roles of the Teacher
Prompter – participant – feedback provider
C) Speaking Lesson Sequences
Activity: Communication and game
Focus: Controlled language processing
Age: Any Level: Elementary
Writing
A) Writing Conventions
A1) Handwriting
A2) Spelling
How we hear and then write, spelling sounds.
A3) Layout and Punctuation
B) Approaches to Studying Writing
This means focusing on the result.
B1) Process and Product
When concentrating on the product, we focus on the aim of the task.
When concentrating on the process, we focus on writing, spelling, and punctuation.
B2) Writing and Genre
B3) Creative Writing
Suggest imaginative tasks such as writing poetry and stories.
B4) Writing as a Cooperative Activity
Group writing activity.
B5) Using the Computer
B6) Roles of the Teacher
Motivator – resourcer – feedback provider
Reading
A) Extensive and Intensive Reading
Extensive reading materials: They must read material that they can understand, reading for pleasure. There are some adapted books for some readers.
The role of the teacher in extensive reading programs: Encourage, promote them to read, persuade, how many books they are going to read.
The role of the teacher in intensive reading: Organizer – observer – feedback organizer – prompter
A3) Intensive Reading: The Vocabulary Question
Clearly, we need to find some accommodation between our desire to have students develop particular reading skills (such as the ability to understand the general message without understanding every detail).
The time: Time limit – word phrase limit – meaning consensus
Listening
A) Extensive and Intensive Listening
A1) Extensive Listening
They can also listen to tapes of authentic material, provided that it is comprehensible.
A2) Intensive Listening
Using taped material.
Advantages: Taped material allows students to hear a variety of different voices apart from just their own teacher’s. Portable.
Disadvantages: In big classrooms with poor acoustics, it is often difficult to ensure that all students in a room can hear equally well. How many times? How long?
A3) Intensive Listening
‘Live’ listening: Reading aloud – storytelling – interviews – conversation
A4) Intensive Listening Roles of the Teacher
Organizer – machine operator – feedback organizer – prompter
Teaching Pronunciation
A1) Perfection vs Intelligibility
A2) Problems
What the student can hear – intonation problem
A3) The Phonemic Alphabet
A4) When to Teach Pronunciation
Whole class – discrete slots – integrated phases – opportunistic teaching