INTERGATED SKILLS
Aleppo University Higher Institute of Languages M.A Program in TEFL Teaching Skills January 4, 2012
Integrated Skills
Supervised by: Dr Samer Issa
Resented by: Abdullah Gelilati Ala'a Kalagy Ghailan Abo Qasra Nader Bittar
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Integrated Skills
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Introduction A- Definition B- Seven statements to brainstorm C- Advantages
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Situations requiring skills integration
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Seven design principles of Integrated Skills
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Forms of Integrated-skill Instruction A- Content-based language instruction B- Task-based instruction
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Integrating language skills in the Curriculum: A- General materials B- EAP materials
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Integrated-skills Activities in the Classroom A- Listening and note-taking using audio/video materials B- Oral presentation C- Project work D- Role play/Simulation
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Introduction In this chapter, we consider some of the different ways in which language skills may be taught in an integrated way in the classroom. there are situations where either three or all four language skills can be integrated effectively. An integrated language skills approach is defined as 'the teaching of the language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in conjunction with each other as when a lesson involves activities that relate listening and speaking to reading and writing'. Richards, Platt and Weber (1985:144) .One important task of the jobs of the teacher is to make the students 'communicatively competent' in the target language and this will involve more than being able to perform in each of the four skills separately. By giving learners tasks that expose them to these skills in conjunction, and then they will gain a deeper understanding of how communication works in the foreign language as well as becoming more motivated when they see the value of performing meaningful tasks and activities in the classroom. Lubelska and Mathews (1997:16) provide seven statements relating to integrated skills for teachers to brainstorm with other teachers:
Integrating skills involves using some or all of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing to practice new material(vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar text/discourse).
All four skills must be practiced in every lesson.
As listening and speaking naturally go together, it is always desirable to integrate these two skills.
The sequence hear–speak-read-write is the most appropriate for integrated skills work.
A common topic, such as holidays or pets, is a device linking the separate activities in integrated skills lesson.
If we want to develop specific subskills (reading for gist, guessing unknown words etc.), it is necessary to focus on individual skills in some lessons.
Integrated skills maybe fine with a small group of adults, but it is difficult to do with large classes and in lessons lasting only 35 minutes.
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Advantages of the Integrated-skill Approach The integrated-skill approach exposes English language learners to authentic language and challenges them to interact naturally in the language. Learners rapidly gain a true picture of the richness and complexity of the English language as employed for communication. Moreover, this approach stresses that English is not just an object of academic interest nor merely a key to passing an examination; instead, English becomes a real means of interaction and sharing among people. This approach allows teachers to track students' progress in multiple skills at the same time. Integrating the language skills also promotes the learning of real content, not just the dissection of language forms. Finally, the integrated-skill approach, can be highly motivating to students of all ages and backgrounds.
Situations requiring skills integration The situations that require skills integration may be quite limited such as speaking on the telephone and taking down a message or taking part in a conversation. On the other hand they may be much longer and involve more skills integration as in the following example :
If we need to read lecture notes / articles / a paper in order to write a composition or an essay, we may do the following procedures : We discuss it with other learners / the teacher We compose a draft We rewrite it until we have a final version We read the teacher's feedback We speak to other learner's / the teacher about the feedback
We may read about a film or concert in a newspaper or magazine: We ask a friend if they would like to go We phone the box office to reserve tickets We ask the clerk for the tickets We watch the film /concert We discuss the film/performance with the friend on the way home
As the examples suggests we are constantly performing tasks that involve a natural integration of language skills. They also show that none of these stages is completely predictable .But at each stage there is a reason for using that particular skill.
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The notion of appropriacy will be developed in learners if they if they can see how the four skills can be used effectively in appropriate contexts, so overall competence in the foreign language is going to involve more than performing the four skills separately. It will also involve them in effective combined way. As integrated skills materials are more likely to involve learners in authentic and realistic tasks, their motivation level will increase as they perceive a clear rationale behind what they are being asked to. Harmer introduces a seven stage activity for integrating skills, which involves the following sequence: 1- Learners read an advertisement for a public relation job with a major airline . 2- Learners write an application . 3- The teacher divides the class into small groups and distributes letters from the other learners . 4- each member of the group reads each letter and scores each one from 0 to 5 depending on the quality of the letter . 5- The scores are added up and the winner chosen . 6- The group writes a letter to the winner and another letter to the un successful applicants . 7- The letters are read out to the class and feedback and comments are obtained . The overall aim and rationale of the activity is to provide solid integration of skills plus the notion that learners are writing for a purpose . Byrne 1981 with respect to integrated skills , makes a useful distinction between skill integration viewed as synonymous with reinforcement on the one hand and skill integration where the four skills are introduced and established naturally , or as naturally as is possible within a classroom context , on the other hand . In the former , integration typically involves linking the language skills in such a way that what has been learned and practiced is reinforced / extended through further language activities . In some cases this would involve a focus on listening and speaking first , followed by reading and writing as this would provide a convenient class-plus-homework pattern . However , this would not expose learners to contexts where the dour skills are established naturally and could deny learners the opportunity to use the four skills with a measure of appropriacy .
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Integrated skills in the classroom Nunan describes "the integrated language lesson" as being an effective language lesson as it can incorporate a range of different factors that maximize language learning potential. (1989: 130) Developing a unit of material to practice the integration of language skills in the context of a restaurant, Nunan includes seven design principles when it comes to integration of language skills: 1. authenticity : A taped conversation is scripted from authentic interaction between a waiter and a restaurant customer for learners to listen to. 2. task continuity: One activity builds on what went before; listening leads on to reading and discussion. 3. real- world focus: the materials make an explicit link between the classroom and the ‘real’ world. 4. language focus: Learners are systematically exposed to the language system and are encouraged to identify patterns and regularities through discovery learning. 5. learning focus: the tasks encourage learners to develop learning skills and skills in learning-how-to-learn which lead to self-monitoring and self-evaluation. 6. language- practice: the activities give the opportunity to learners to oral practice in a communicative context. 7. problem solving: learners work in pairs or in small groups to try to facilitate language acquisition. I.
Forms of Integrated-skill Instruction
Two types of integrated-skill instructions are 1. Content-based language instruction It emphasizes learning content through language. In other words, teaching is organized around the content or information that students will acquire in the sense that in content-based instruction, students practice all the language skills in a highly integrated, communicative fashion while learning content . Content-based instruction draws on the principles of Communicative Language Teaching, as in this sense the subject matter of language teaching is not grammar or functions or other languagebased unit of organisation, but rather from outside the domain of language, i.e. content. CBI views language use as involving several skills together. Here, students are involved in activities that link the skills, because this is how the skills are generally involved in the real world. Hence students
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might read and take notes, listen and write a summary, or respond orally to things they have read or written. (Richards and Rodgers, 2001: 204) . On the other hand, content-based instruction likewise is basically pertinent when it comes to ESP (English for Specific Purposes) or EAP (English for Academic Purposes) as the focus is on the content, not the language. The content-based model integrates the language skills into the study of a theme (e.g., urban violence, cross-cultural differences in marriage practices, natural wonders of the world, or a broad topic such as change or happiness). The theme must be very interesting to students and must allow a wide variety of language skills to be practiced, always in the service of communicating about the theme. 2. Task-based instruction It stresses doing tasks that require communicative language use. In task-based instruction, students participate in communicative tasks in English. The communicative task is defined as a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in authentic language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form. The task should also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right. (Nunan, 1989: 10) The task-based model is beginning to influence the measurement of learning strategies, not just the teaching of ESL and EFL. In task-based instruction, basic pair work and group work are often used to increase student interaction and collaboration. For instance, students work together to write and edit a class newspaper, develop a television commercial, enact scenes from a play, or take part in other joint tasks. II.
Integrating language skills in the Curriculum:
1. General materials: Materials which are designed for GE learners tend to allow learners to express what they want to say and to give some depth to expressing it. From the integrated skills point of view the 'read, think and discuss' sections of a unit build up the learner's sense of anticipation through a reading passage that moves on to a listening exercise and then moves on to discussing. The materials lead the learner, while reading the passage, to build up some anticipation that can only be satisfied by listening to an interview to find out the full picture. 8
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2. EAP materials: Materials practicing the integrated skills of listening and writing (note-taking for instance) can be very useful in a number of academic and educational contexts. On the other hand, integrating the four skills into topic areas appeal to EAP learners. Materials such as Panorama ( Williams, 1982), study skills for higher education (Floyd, 1984), Learning to study in English (Heaton and Holmstrom, 1992) and study speaking (Lynch and Anderson, 1992) all include material under the broad umbrella of 'study skills' and are based on target analysis of needs and are designed to try to replicate the skill areas that learners will find most useful in educational/ academic contexts.
Integrated-skills Activities in the Classroom: 1. Listening and note-taking using audio/video materials Teachers wishing to incorporate listening and note-taking skills can use audio/videotape material available on the market or to record a short sequence on a topic relevant to the needs of their own learners. One suggestion might be to ask learners what they know or think about the topic. Next, the teacher can play a short sequence on the tape and ask them to take notes. When they have finished, the learners can be asked to compare their work with that of other students. A natural follow-on activity would be discussion work. Then the students could be asked to reconstruct the overall 'message' of the tape from their own notes. 2. Oral presentation: One way to begin this activity is to take cuttings from newspapers or magazines in existing teaching materials. The learners can then take notes and try to pinpoint aspects of what they have read that will be worth discussing. They are then given time to prepare short talk in front of the class. During the presentation, the other learners are required to take notes so that they can ask questions, after the talk has finished. Hence, we, as teachers, can sometimes experiment with student assessment by asking the students to assess each other‟s work (peer assessment). Small groups of students can take notes on the presentation and are asked questions that might cover the presentation, like what they thought of the presentation; was it well organized…etc. This activity can thus interrelate the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in a motivating way. 3. Project work: Projects with integrated 'themes' can provide a relevant way of giving learners an effective forum in which to develop these skills. An example of this is the theme of 'civilization' as its starting point 9
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examines how it may be seen from opposing points of view. Viewpoint A is concerned with becoming better acquainted with it; viewpoint B is concerned with escaping from it. One suggestion for reading materials for viewpoint A would be magazine articles or books on the 'Grand Tour'. For viewpoint B materials from magazines and newspapers on 'getting away from it all' and ' living on a desert island' could be provided. Possible listening activity might be included as well as a speaking activity that might involve discussion prompts such as 'what problems do you think people would have on a Grand Tour/desert island?' 4. Role play/Simulation: Both role play and simulation offer a flexible yet principled way of tailoring integrated skills to learner needs. Role play activities involve the learner in „role assumption‟; in other words, the learner takes on a different role from his/her normal one by „playing the part‟ of a different person. Role play is used more in EGP. It may be desirable, however, to give learners more practice in language "use", even though it may be argued that the communication is not entirely natural. Simulation work usually requires the learners to take part in communication that involves personal experience and emotions. Because of this, simulation is often seen as being central to ESP situations where that task/s to be worked upon can be related directly to the learner‟s actual or intended occupation. As a consequence, the learners will not only learn more about the communicative use of language in the L2, but will learn more about the setting/ scenario relevant to their occupational field. Tips on Successful Classroom Role-play/Simulation: These types of activities encourage positive attitudes towards the target language, their peers and the teacher. They also release the teacher from the centre stage position. However, there is threephase sequence for staging a role-play/simulation in the class room: 1- Learners are given informational/linguistic input necessary to carry out the simulation. 2- Learners work on the activity by discussing the task. 3- The teacher gives feedback on the activity just performed, like discussing errors. The Role of the teacher: some of the possible teacher roles are:
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a- Facilitator: students might find that they are stuck for words and phrases. This may need the teacher to act as a sort of “walking dictionary” giving assistance when necessary. b- Spectator: the teacher watches the role-play and offers comments and advice at the end. c- Participant: it is sometimes appropriate to get involved and take part in the role-play yourself. Keep it real and relevant: Try to keep the roles you ask students to play as real to life as possible, because it may be hard for students who have little opportunity to travel to imagine that they are at Madison Square for example. Error Correction: The teacher should not jump in and correct students‟ mistakes right on the spot because this kind of correction demotivates students. What we have to do concerning errors can be done through recording the role-plays either on cassettes or on videos if we have the equipment, or fellow students maybe be able to correct some mistakes made by their peers. Making notes of common mistakes and dealing with them in future classes ensure that the students don‟t lose motivation by being corrected on the spot or right after the role play. Activity 1: At the Clinic Before we start the role-play, we need to do the following: 1- Ask students to look at a picture of sick people 2- Ask simple questions related to the reason why they are there and what‟s the matter. 3- Ask students to match the symptoms with the people in the picture. After being introduced to the new vocabulary items, students are asked to do the following: you’re a doctor. When your patient arrives, ask several questions to find out what the problem is. Write notes bellow and offer two pieces of advice. Activity 2: Shopping Before we start the role-play, students have to listen to a conversation between a salesperson and a customer. Now explain the situation: Role play a conversation between a salesperson and a 11
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customer. Imagine that you need some new clothes for a new job, for a party, or for a trip, go to the department store and try to do some shopping while you are there. At end of the speaking activity, the student who is playing the role of the customer can write a list of the things he/she has bought and read it aloud in front of the class. Conclusion: Eventually, after we have discussed those three techniques mentioned above, we can notice how the language skills are all integrated and this helps our students promote the four skills without any kind of stress because stress itself blocks out the learning process. So the use of these techniques gives our Students the chance to practice the language with so much ease within a relaxing environment.
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Works Cited
Nunan, D. 1989. Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J.C, and Th. S. Rodgers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press. Williams, M & Wright, T (1996) A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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