Integrating skills
in the language
classroom
Peter Lucantoni
Peter Lucantoni
• Started teaching in 1979 in UK, MA TESOL
University of Edinburgh, lived and worked in
Europe and Middle East, now based in Cyprus
• Author, Educational Consultant & Teacher
Trainer for Cambridge University Press
• Cambridge TKT, CELTYL, CELTA & DELTA
trainer and Cambridge CELTYL assessor
• Examiner for Cambridge ESOL speaking
examinations
Workshop overview
• What does integrated mean?
• What are skills, language skills and subskills?
• What does integrating skills mean?
• How can we integrate language skills in
the classroom?
• Conclusions
What does integrated mean?
• When we integrate things, they combine,
or work together to make something more
effective
• An integrated system or organisation
combines different groups or ideas in a
way that works well
What does integrated mean?
• The teeth on a zip fastener need to
combine in order for it to become
effective
• Equally true is that language skills need
to combine, to be integrated, in order
for communication to become effective
What are skills?
• Try not to think about ELT! Discuss and
try to agree on a definition.
What are skills?
• The ability to do something well needs to
continue to be consolidated and practised
or we can easily lose our skill
• If Rooney stopped practising, would he
continue to be a skilled footballer?
• And what about the pianist and
carpenter?
What are skills?
• People who have a skill demonstrate the
ability to do something well – a skilled
footballer scores goals, a skilled pianist
plays well, a skilled carpenter makes
beautiful furniture
What are skills?
• We are not necessarily born with the skill
to do something
• Usually, skills are developed during life –
Rooney, the pianist and the carpenter all
needed plenty of lessons and practice
before they became skilled
Language skills and sub-skills
• To be completely effective in a language
we need to be competent in the skills of
reading, writing, listening and speaking, as
well as in thinking about language
• Look at Units 2 and 11. Find examples of
all the language skills discussed here
Language skills and sub-skills
• However, being skilled in a language
necessitates also having good language
sub-skills
• What are sub-skills? Why are sub-skills
important, and when do we use them?
Language skills and sub-skills
• People who use a language employ a
number of sub-skills, or strategies
• Sub-skills are chosen depending on the
task to be completed
Language sub-skills
skimming
note-
analysing
Language
sub-skills
presenting
taking
for details
Skimming:
WHY?
Language sub-skills
note-taking:
WHY?
analysing:
WHY?
presenting:
WHY?
Language
sub-skills
for details:
WHY?
Language sub-skills
• A language learner’s
proficiency in the various
sub-skills will be
different; furthermore,
every learner’s needs in
each sub-skill will be
different from the next
learner’s needs
Language sub-skills
• One of our roles as teachers of E2L is to
help learners to develop those skills and
sub-skills which they
•
are weak in
•
need for a particular purpose
• Also, we need to help them identify which
sub-skills are most appropriate for a
particular task
Language sub-skills
• Look again at Units 2 and 11. How many
examples of sub-skills practice can you
find? Make a list. Look at these examples:
Unit 2 Page 19 Exercise 3 – listening
for gist;
Unit 11 Page 89 Exercise 3 – proofreading writing
• Compare your lists. Same or different?
Language sub-skills
• So, learners need to be able to identify
which sub-skills are required for a task, &
then to implement them
• Outside the classroom, this happens
automatically: people ‘are able to select
those sub-skills that are most important to
their task’ (Harmer, 1991)
Language sub-skills
• But language learners
need to be trained to
identify & apply sub-skills,
& they need practice &
consolidation, in the same
way that Rooney does
Integrating skills
• ‘The learner must develop skills
and strategies for using language
to communicate meanings as
effectively as possible’ (Littlewood, 2001)
What does integrating skills mean?
Integrating skills
• ‘Language skills are integrated;
they ‘cooperate’ with each other’
(Lucantoni, 2002)
• ‘Language users employ a
combination of skills at the same
time’ (Harmer, 1991)
Integrating skills
goal
integrated
communicative
language
competence
• Confidence and independence need to be built
and developed in using language in ‘real’
………. situations
• While language and grammar are important,
communicative ………. should be our ……….
• And of course an ………. approach to language
teaching & learning will find room for focusing
on specific areas of ………. where necessary
Integrating skills
• Confidence and independence need
to be built and developed in using
language in ‘real’ communicative
situations
• While language and grammar are
important, communicative
competence should be our goal
Integrating skills
• And of course an integrated
approach to language teaching &
learning will find room for focusing
on specific areas of language where
necessary (eg, lexis, grammar)
Integrating skills
• Choose an authentic text and think
of one of your classes for which you
think the content and level would be
appropriate
• Design an integrated skills lesson
using the text and your ideas from
this workshop
Workshop review
• What does integrated mean?
• What are skills, language skills and subskills?
• What does integrating skills mean?
• How can we integrate language skills in
the classroom?
• Conclusions
• Lucantoni, P, Teaching & Assessing Skills in E2L,
Cambridge University Press 2002
Bibliography
• Harmer, J, The Practice of English Language Teaching,
Longman 1991
• Littlewood, W, Communicative Language Teaching,
Cambridge University Press 2001
• Oxford, R, Integrated Skills in the EFL/ESL Classroom,
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pric/is_/ai_34107059
18 180408
• Oxford, R, Language learning strategies. What every
teacher should know, Heinle & Heinle 1990
• Nunan , D, Designing tasks for the communicative
classroom, Cambridge University Press1989
• Tanner & Green, Tasks for Teacher Education,,
Longman 1998]
Any
questions?
peter@cup-training.org