Sara Davila
World Learning/SIT Graduate Institute Licensed Trainer
Educational Consultant
Daegu, South Korea
Chicago, Il
www.saradavila.com
Understanding the Four Skills: Language Teaching
When teaching EFL language learners teachers need to be aware of the four skills used to
interact with language. These are the skills students need in order to communicate in a
functional way in English. These four skills are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. While
grammar is an important part of language acquisition it is not a skill of language and should not
be confused with a skill. Grammar is the science of language. Grammar is the very definition of
language. In order to learn to communicate in a language it is more useful for students to work
to utilize talents in the fours kills before trying to attempt to understand the grammar of
language.
Speaking
Speaking is the first skill of communication. The act of speech itself is what allows learners to
begin to phrase thoughts to share with others. In order to understanding speaking teachers
should consider the various aspects of speaking that a learner utilizes to create a coherent
picture of comprehension.
Inflection
• tone
• volume
• pitch
• clarity
• pronunciation
• speed of speaking
Direction
• focus of eyes
• phsycial movement of
hands
• use of posture
• use of materials for
attention
• collaboration with
other speakers
• knowledge of other
speakers status
• acting or actions
Words
• context and situation
• relvance
• word choice
• formal speech
• informal speech
• cognates
• tenses of speech
• numbers
• parts of speech
• wants or needs
communicated
The physical act of speaking requires a great deal more than the mere use of words to
communicate. Learners use a number of factors to choose words for speech, to choose types of
speech, and to communicate in context or situations. For teachers this can affect the type of
lesson to use in order to best facilitate speaking with students.
Listening
Listening is a skill as important as speaking for learners who wish to functionally communicate
in English. Indeed speaking without listening provides little direction for a conversation. In order
to function in a conversation a person must be able to comprehend what is being said by the
conversation partner. Listening allows a learner to determine what the best possible avenues of
response can be. As with speaking, listening involves the use of multiple points of feedback to
help a learner create meaning.
Environement
Ambient sounds
background noises
Intonation
Words
tone of voice
cognates
volume
familar words
speed of speaking
pronuncation
known noices
movements
inflection
context
meaning
word choice
order of spoken parts
pauses
questions
silence
answers
Listening requires more than just a knowledge of vocabulary. Students engage in listening by
looking at situations in context, interpreting the body language of speakers, watching facial
experiences, assessing word choice, and considering how and when silences is used in a
response. When planning listening lessons and activities teachers should be mindful of these
other requirements. While the us of a CD is perhaps the most common way to practice listening
it rarely provides the best practice tool for students who want to develop listening skills.
Reading
Reading is a skill that allows students to interact with language in a visual way. Students acquire
knowledge by engaging with materials that are printed, static, and unchanging while the student
is interacting. This can be very beneficial to student who require a longer amount of processing
time in order to understand and own language. Reading, like speaking and listening, requires
more than comprehension of vocabulary for learner success.
•alphabet
•numbers
•dirction of reading
•punctuation
•order
•style
•spelling
•phonics
•mechanics
•length
Form
•word choice
•cognates
•word order
•context
•expression
•comprehension
•inference
•content order
Words
When reading, student apply a number of visual skills to help interpret meaning of reading.
Reading as a language skill also begins to engage more with the function of language itself or
grammar. It is important to remember, however, that high grammatical comprehension is not
important for high reading comprehension. In fact, most students do not consciously consider
grammar at all when reading.
Writing
•Spelling
•Punctiation
•Order
•Format
•Placement on page
•Characaters
•Mechanics
•Directoin of character creation
Words
Form
Of the four skills writing is one of the most useful and the most complicated. In order to write
effectively students must come to an understanding of how shapes created in a specialized
order relate to words, how words used together create meaning, and how the form and function
of writing can be used to communicate a personal though to the audience. In order to master
the skill of writing students will interact with writing in a range of ways.
•Word order
•Word choice
•Intent of meaning
•Purpose of writing
•Communicative need
•Practice or response
•Notation
•Summary
Writing asks that students be able to clearly express personal thoughts, personal ideas, or
personal understanding clearly and concisely for a shared audience. For students to be able to
successfully achieve this a understanding of the basic form and science of writing is key to
being able to clearly produce thoughts. As with reading, writing as a skill interacts more strongly
with the root of language, grammar; having a grasp of basic grammatical principles helps to
greatly clarify a students experience with writing.
Skills Sets: Productive vs Receptive
Speaking and Writing are both productive skills. These two aspects of language requires that
students produce a tangible product. In a speaking lesson this may be the communication that
students create. It could be how students respond to a question or the type of questions
students as in response to materials. Something is produces.
Writing is also a productive skill in that students demonstrate ability to write by creating
something. Students may write from a prompt, write to complete an activity on a worksheet,
write an essay, write a poem, or write role play or dialogue. In order for teachers to assess
writing students must actually produce some type of writing.
Listening and Reading are both receptive skills. These skills require students to take in
language and can be more difficult for teachers to assess. In order to assess the receptive skills
teachers much structure activities that allow the students to demonstrate interaction and
engagement with the language. This can include asking questions, fill in blank sheets, acting out
responses, or providing shared thoughts and ideas provoked based on presented listening and
reading materials.
Productive
• Speaking
• Writing
Receptive
English
• Listening
• Reading