THE TEACHING OF SKILLS

THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGE SKILLS
Đặng Hiệp Giang
Secondary Education Dept.
MOET
Jan, 2010
Learning Styles and Strategies
Learning styles are innate (something you are born with) preferences, or styles for ways of learning concepts, language, or anything else.
Learning strategies are techniques which a student consciously uses when learning. A strategy is the way a student learns vocabulary, reads a story, or studies for a test.
For example, some students memorize vocabulary on a list; others prefer to learn new words in context.
Recognizing learning styles
I prefer more accurate speaking, reading, and writing. _________
I learn new vocabulary by using pictures, drawings, or any visual image that I can connect to the word. _________
I am more willing to discuss topics with other people. I don’t really like to solve problems on my own. _________.
I don’t like to guess meaning and vocabulary from the reading text. __________.
I like to take my time to think about an issue before I discuss it with others ________
I like my new English class. We are doing a lot of listening and video watching. I enjoy listening to language._________
Left-brain dominance
Visual
Group
Intolerance of ambiguity
Reflective
Auditory
Presenting and Practicing
Language

teachers need to present new language items to students and create situations where the language can be practiced
Students expect lessons to contain some degree of language study, either long and intensive or short and sharp, depending on whichever is appropriate.
The Stages of Presenting and Practicing Language
1. find out how much students already know about the language point;
2. presentation;
3. check if students have understood the presentation;
4. practice (controlled and/or free).
Ways to Present Language Items
Explanation
Demonstration
Illustration
Discovery / deducing meanings
You can follow the procedure in the book, adapt it, supplement it or omit part(s) as necessary.
Use of English and Use of Mother Tongue
Use English as much as possible with your students!
When presenting new language, try to illustrate the language through the use of pictures and/or mime.
Build a set of classroom language and put it in practice.
Get Students Involved
Eliciting
When presenting language, get the explanations from students!
How?
Practice asking questions that draw responses out of students
Advantage: know how good students are!
Get Students Involved
Pair work and group work
More variety
Time used more efficiently
Peer learning
STT increased whilst reducing TTT
Ss learn to do things without teacher
Get Students Involved
create an enjoyable and exciting learning environment
use topics and materials that the students find interesting
connect classroom topics to students` personal lives
develop good, supportive relationships with students
make students aware of their potential and goals
make second language culture more approachable
How to organize pair and group work?
Start with what you feel comfortable
Add variety as students become more confident to avoid over-familiarity.
Take time loss into lesson plan
What to do during pair and group work?
allow students to work at their pace and in a way that suits them.
offer help when necessary.
answer students’ questions.
let students know that time is closing in; e.g. “just five minutes to complete what you’re doing”.
monitor what is going on. Whilst monitoring, note down mistakes and examples of good work.
What to do during pair and group work?
Give a lot of encouragement, verbal or nonverbal encouragement.
Create an open, warm, and non-threatening classroom atmosphere.
Build exercises from easy to more difficult to make students comfortable using new words or forms.
Some disadvantages of group and pair work and what to do
Students might go off task => Explain carefully and check that they have understood before forming groups
Students might get noisy. Monitor carefully and say something immediately if it gets too loud.
Students might use their own language. Make it clear from the start that you expect students to use English

Speaking
One of the most difficult aspects for students to master.
Give students as many opportunities as possible to speak in a supportive environment.
What involved when speaking: ideas, what to say, language, how to use grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation as well as listening to and reacting to the person you are communicating with.
How to Encourage Speaking
setting controlled speaking tasks and moving gradually towards freer speaking tasks;
setting tasks that are at the right level for the students or at a level lower than their receptive skills;
setting tasks that are easily achievable and gradually moving towards more challenging tasks;
praising students’ efforts;
using error correction sensitively;
creating an atmosphere where students don’t laugh at other people’s efforts.
Key Elements to Setting up Speaking
Language used
Don’t make any assumptions about students’ knowledge.
Preparation
Give students time for preparing what they are going to say and how they’re going to say it as well as the language they will use.
Why are the students speaking?
Use tasks and activities as authentic as possible.
Types of Tasks that Encourage Speaking
Information gap
Discussions: reaching a consensus
Discussions: moral dilemma
Debates
Role play
Problem solving
Steps to activity
Present activities step-by-step:
Model the conversation dialogue.
Highlight all the conversation strategies you want the students to learn.
Ask students to do one practice first with you or with a partner.
Have students practice on their own.
Teaching materials to be used
Textbooks that have plenty of conversation practice
Teacher-adapted dialogues from English-speaking TV programs
Dialogue-rich audio or video from textbook programs
Listening
For gist:
for main idea
Extensive listening:
for pleasure and enjoyment
For specific information:
for specific information and disregard the rest.
For detailed information:
to understand all information given.
Predicting:
encourage students to think what is going to happen next
Listening stages:
Pre-listening: Orient students toward the topic
While listening: Note or mark ideas & words of importance
Post-listening: Check understanding; Feedback

Speaking and Listening supporting different learning strategies
asking a teacher or other native speakers for repetition, explanation, or examples
repeating language from a CD or video
taking part in and listening to conversations
working with other students to solve a problem
recording one`s own speech; then correcting pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary
taking notes
Reading
Reading types:
Reading for gist
Reading for detailed information
Reading for specific information
Predicting
Reading stages:
Pre-reading: Orient students toward the topic
While reading: Note or mark ideas & words of importance
Post-reading: Check understanding; Feedback
Writing
Process vs. Product
Types of tasks:
Controlled; Freer; Free
Stages:
Brainstorming, Writing; Feedback and Correction
Free writing:
Time for preparation
Reason for writing
Creating interest in the topic and activating students’ knowledge
Coherence and cohesion
Steps to Writing
Brainstorming and noting down any ideas connected to the topic.
Deciding from the brainstormed list which ideas are the most relevant to the topic, task or title.
Deciding which order to put those ideas in. This can be done in the form of a plan or a mind map.
Preparation of the first draft; the focus at this stage is organization of the piece of writing. This doesn’t mean that grammar and accuracy are not important; it just means that they are not the focus at this stage.
Revision and editing of drafts, focusing initially on content, relevance and organization. Then moving onto correcting grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and linkers.
The final stage is the production of a finished piece of work.
Reading, Vocabulary, and Writing activities supporting different learning strategies
previewing, skimming, or scanning the material before studying or reading
guessing meaning of unknown words from context
reading aloud
repeating new vocabulary aloud or silently
using images to remember new vocabulary
using reference materials to check spelling, pronunciation, or meaning
free writing (diary, journal)
Roles of teachers
Facilitators, Managers, and Resources
explain the activity in simple language
model the activity so learners understand what to do
check for understanding before beginning
provide preparation time for each group
monitor the activity closely
join each group once the students get comfortable working in groups
Questions and Comments

THANK YOU!