Language Skills: LSRW Muhammed Sahad A S What is LSRW? • L-S-R-W is the four skills of language learning, a set of four capabilities that allow an individual to comprehend and produce spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. • These skills are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. In the context of firstlanguage acquisition, the four skills are most often acquired in the order of listening first, then speaking, then possibly reading and writing • A perfect curriculum for learning would include content for all the previously mentioned four abilities. However, it is seen that most of the times the reading and writing skills are given more significance over the previous two abilities • In reality, in the process of learning, listening and speaking should take precedence over reading and writing Why LSRW is necessary for students? • English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce or Higher education. • Mainly, in present market placement patterns are changed with the latest trends by including writing assessments like Image skill and Email writing. To crack the latest placement students must be perfect in reading and writing assessments. • Currently, Students who are very good in technical are lagging in communication. As communication plays very important role in workforce and higher education, students must be perfect in communication. • The advantages of normally learning any subject / topic can be upgraded incredibly when the LSRW method is practiced in the same sequence as listed. Receptive Skills and Productive Skills • When we’re talking about communication, it comes with two important parts which are productive and receptive speech. These two are the core of communication and are often talked about in any language class. • The relationship between productive and receptive skills is that while they are both parts of communication, their difference is that productive skills are focused on the skills needed in giving information, while receptive skills are focused on receiving information. So in general, • Reading and listening involve receiving information and so they are called the receptive skills. • Speaking and writing are known as the productive skills because they involve producing words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs What are receptive skills? • Receptive skills are skills we use to understand a language or a concept. Its a part of the communication process. It is our ability to process the information given to us into something that we can understand. In short, it is our ability to process and receive information. • Receptive skills include listening and reading skills . • Eg.: Understanding my presentation Difference between reading and listening texts Listening Reading A listening text can seem “unstructured” A reading text is usually more obviously organized. Unfamiliar regional/national accents can cause problems. For some students the written script is unfamiliar. Meaning is conveyed by the stress on key words and the intonation of the voice. In a reading text the fact that English words are not always spelled like they sound can cause difficulty. If the students can also see the speaker, gesture and expression will also aid understanding. Students have to listen in ‘real time’ and are expected to participate immediately. Students can take their time, check back on details, puzzle out meaning. All students have listening skills in their own language. Not all students may be skilled in reading their own language. What are the different ways of Reading? • Skimming • Scanning • Intensive reading • Extensive reading What makes reading a text easy or difficult? Generally, reading texts are easier if: • They contain ‘simple’ language- structures and vocabulary familiar to the students. • They are short • They contain short, simple sentences • They are clearly organized- e.g. there is a straightforward storyline or a clearly signposted argument. • They are factual • They are in standard English- with no specialized vocabulary. • The topic is concrete and familiar • There is support in the way of layout, titles, pictures, graphs etc. How can you help students to understand a reading text? • Focus on their general or global understanding before their grasp of detail. • Encourage the students to use what they already know- their knowledge of the world and of English. • Help them to predict what they are going to read by activating any knowledge they may have of the topic or the text type. • Remind the students of the reading skills they employ in their own language. • Encourage them to use any visual clues available- layout, pictures etc. • Encourage the students to deduce the meaning of unknown vocabulary by guessing the meaning of the word from clues in the context. • Give plenty of support, especially with lower students or those who are not confident about reading. • Encourage the students to work together and help one another. What are productive skills? • Productive skills are skills that we use to produce a language. It is what we use to put together the language into something that other people would understand. In short, they are our means of communicating properly with others. • Productive skills include writing and speaking skills. What do you mean by speaking skills? • Accuracy • Fluency - the teacher can comment favorably on any strategies the students used to increase their fluency What types of speaking activities can we use in a classroom? • Controlled Activities • Guided activities: • Creative or freer communication: How can you encourage the students to speak? • Encourage student interaction: you should aim to create a comfortable atmosphere where students are not afraid to speak and enjoy communicating with you and their fellow students. • Give plenty of controlled and guided practice: students should get a chance to learn new vocabulary and grammar structures, expressions and model sentences before using them ‘for real.’ • Making speaking activities communicative: encourage purposeful and meaningful interaction between students Why receptive & productive skills are important? Receptive and Productive skills are important because it is a means we use to communicate properly with others. Humans are social creatures and communication is part of our daily lives. Furthermore, excellent receptive and productive skills allow us to have more career opportunities in the future. 1. Receptive skills help a person communicate properly 2. Receptive skills is a way to measure a person’s proficiency in a language 3. Receptive skills promote better relationship to others 4. Receptive skills open a lot of career opportunities What is the difference between productive and receptive skills? • The difference between productive and receptive skills is that productive skill is focused on giving or producing information while receptive skill is focused on acquiring or receiving information. • Furthermore, most people have higher receptive skills than productive skills. • Basically, productive skills are used to give or produce information. Receptive skills are used to accept or receive information. • Productive came from the root word produce. The reason is that it is more on the production side of communication. • Receptive came from the root word receive. The reason being it is more on the receiving side of communication. Furthermore.. • Another difference is the core of productive and receptive skills. • When we are talking about productive skills, its core is writing and speaking. When we are talking about receptive skills, its core is reading and listening. • Level of mastery towards each other. - Our productive skills are usually lower than receptive skills - we can use contexts (sentences, body language) for receiving information or receptive skills. - The difference in skill level between productive and receptive skills is fairly obvious when learning a new language. • The relationship between receptive and productive skills is that they are in harmony with each other when it comes to communicating. While both are different in terms of handling information because one is on giving and the other is on receiving, they work together in order for us to understand one another. Thank You.
