INTEGRATING SKILLS Fredy Alexander duque

Centro Colombo Americano Manizales2009

Aims of the Unit

To be aware of the reasons of integrating the four skills (WHY?)

To learn ways of integrating the four skills (HOW?)

To study the implications of integrating the four skills for teaching

To be aware of the limitations of integrating the four skills

1. Why should we integrate the four skills?

2. How can we integrate the four skills?

3. What are the implications for teaching?

4. What are the limitations of integrating the four skills?

Topics for discussion:Topics for discussion:

Skills integration

An integrating approach for the development of communicative skills in the classroom, in which the four skills in the acquisition of knowledge of a foreign language can be taught in a coherent way, and practiced together.

Skills cannot

be isolated

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

TAKE THE ODD ONE OUT

1. Grammar - Vocabulary – Speaking – Pronunciation

2. Speaking – Listening – Reading – Vocabulary3. Skill – Cake – Receptive – Productive 4. Grammar – Vocabulary – Pronunciation –

Paraphrase5. Controller – Prompter - Guide - Assimilate6. Teacher – Student – Assistant - Lecture

How many SKILLS?

SKILLS

LISTENING

READINGRECEPTIVE

WRITING

SPEAKING

PRODUCTIVE

How many SUBSKILLS?• SCANNING• SKIMMING• NOTE

TAKING

• SCANNING• SKIMMING• SPECIFIC

PURPOSES

• GRAMMAR• VOCABULARY• PUNCTUATION• SPELLING

• GRAMMAR• VOCABULARY• PARAPHRASING• PRONUNCIATION• SPELLING

READING LISTENIG

WRITINGSPEAKIN

G

How can we integrate the four skills?

Design Class

the easiest form of integration

separation

liste

ning

spea

king

read

ing

writ

ing

gram

mar

The complex integration

integrate skills

Receptive Productive

Oral Medium

listening → speaking

Written Medium

reading → writing

The easiest form of integration is from receptive to productive skills. The second kind is complex integration.

Rote memorizations is promoted in the

integrated skills approach.

1. False. Communicating real information is better.

2. True. It is accompanied by sharing real information.

3. False. The focus is on a particular theme or content area.

4. True. It stregthens receptive skills.

Why should we integrate the four skills?

Skills integration generally refers to linking two or more of the traditional four skills of language learning: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

There are many situations in which we use more than one language skill.

One image One image for teaching English is that

of a tapestry. The tapestry is woven from many strands, such as the characteristics of the teacher, the learner, the setting, and the relevant languages. For the instructional loom to produce a large, strong, beautiful, colorful tapestry, all of these strands must be interwoven in positive ways.

a tapestry

loom(布织机 )

a loom

Why is important to integrate skills?

CONTEXTUALIZE INTERPRETE EXPLORE ANALYZE EXPERIENCE CHALLENGE CONFRONT ASSIMILATE PRACTICE SHARE

In addition to the four strands -- teacher, learner, setting, and relevant languages--other important strands exist in the tapestry. The most crucial of these strands consists of the four primary skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. This strand also includes related skills such as knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, syntax, meaning, and usage. The skill strand of the tapestry leads to optimal ESL/EFL communication.

Conditions for language learning

Jane Willis. 1996. A Framework for Task-Based Leaning. Oxford: Longman

Exposureto a rich but comprehensible input of real spoken and written language in use

Useof the language to do things

Motivationto listen to and read the language and to speak and write it

Instructionin language (i.e. chances to focus on form)

Essential Desirable

What are the implications for

teaching? Integration of the four skills is concerned with realistic communication. This means we are teaching at the discourse level.

Discourse: a whole unit of communication text, either spoken or written.

Implications

1. Focus on discourse 2. Adjusting/Adapting the

textbook 3. Adjusting /Adapting the

timetable

Focus on discourse

to be aware of the discourse features of the text and be able to make Ss aware of them.

Discourse features include aspects such as:

1. the way that the text is organized 2. its layout 3. the style of the language 4. the register

Focus on discourse

The term classroom discourse refers to the language that teachers and students use to communicate with each other in the classroom. Talking, or conversation, is the medium through which most teaching takes place, so the study of classroom discourse is the study of the process of face-to-face classroom teaching.

addition

reduction

replacement

extension

rewriting

reordering

8 options

omission

branching

Adapting textbooks

What are the limitations of integrating the four skills? It is necessary for teachers to maintain an appropriate balance between integration and separation.

Limitations of integrating the four skills Integrating the four language skills can be demanding of the teacher. This can also be time-consuming, requiring a lot of preparation. Sometimes teachers are so busy that they cannot spare much time for extra preparatory work.

Another limitation is the problem of designing suitable materials that take account of students’ different skill levels

Speaking

ListeningReading

Writing THE DIAMOND SKILL

First Halo (center)

Students repeat structures, drill, learn by rote, produce after a model.

WH questions Information

Individual

Second Halo (mid section)

Students interact using target structures, identify the parts of

language through class dynamics, rely on partner rather than on

textbook.

Statements

Interpersonal

Third Halo (external)

Students produce of their own accord, mistakes reveal experimentation

with language, interaction becomes spontaneous, student questions

seem to favor a hypothesis and thus manifest theory on language.

YES/NO questions confirmation

Social

INTENSIVE EXTENSIVE

What can you do as a teacher?

Mingle Prompt Organise Observe Orchestrate feedback Collaborate Cooperate Guide

STORY OF AN ORANGE

A type of activity

A pre-reading discussion of the topic to activate schemata.

Listening to a lecture or a series of informative statements about the topic or passage to be read.

A focus on certain reading strategy (for instance, scanning).

Writing a paraphrase of a section of the reading passage.

(Brown, 2001)

Conclusion

Simple integration: A receptive language skill serves as a model for a productive language skill.

Complex integration: a combination of activities involving different skills, linked thematically.

Limitations of integration should not prevent teachers from using the integrative approach.

Conclusion

Using integrative approach can help a teacher create a relaxed atmosphere in class that students’ all-round abilities are well improved. A combination of activities involving different skills enhances the focus on realistic communication, which makes the students be more motivated and more involved and engaged enthusiastically in classroom activities.