Mastering English: Reading, Speaking, Listening & Methodologies
Reading Comprehension Strategies
We read different types of texts every day. It is very important that teachers use the right texts for the learners. The texts have to be interesting and motivating. Moreover, they must have the right level of difficulty. If the text is difficult, the comprehension task could be easy. If the text is easy, the comprehension task could be difficult. Reading comprehension skills and strategies help learners stay engaged and think about what they are reading.
In our class, a reading lesson is divided into three parts: introductory activities, main activities, and post-activities. The three parts are very important. Also, we usually practice some sub-skills like finding words or finishing reading the story at home. The sub-skills focused on are skimming and scanning. Skimming a text means reading quickly, without being interested in details. Scanning a text means reading a text searching for specific information which we need.
In conclusion, reading comprehension is one of the most important parts of learning a language. It is important that we are interested in the text and we must practice a lot. We can’t be good at reading comprehension if we don’t practice a lot.
Developing Speaking Skills
Speaking is one of the most important parts of English class. To develop this skill, we need intensive practice. Speaking practice is usually done in pair or group work. It is important we pronounce words, use intonation, and an appropriate register when we speak.
In class, we practice aspects like oral fluency, the right register, and interactive strategies. We usually memorize a short dialogue to practice memory. Also, we communicate information to one another to practice interaction and fluency. It is better that teachers don’t correct us.
To start practicing it, firstly our teacher helps us to prepare a speaking task. Secondly, we do the tasks and then focus on language problems.
In conclusion, improving speaking skills may be difficult, but the teacher must encourage learners to use the language for social interaction in the classroom. If we want to improve our English speaking, we need to practice a lot. We must use the language in class and ask and answer questions. Moreover, it is very important not to be shy.
Improving Listening Skills
Listening is the most important basic skill to communicate successfully since speaking and listening are connected. Moreover, if you aren’t able to listen, it isn’t possible any communication with the others. Listening helps you to improve your pronunciation too.
To practice listening, the students often listen to a text and then the teacher asks them a few questions about it to be sure that they understood the listening.
When listening, it is important that you take notes and identify relevant points, recognize discourse markers or cohesive devices, and understand if it is a question or an order, and look for inferred information if the speaker is angry, or sad, or happy maybe.
To improve our listening skill, we need different types of activities. The three stages are:
- Pre-listening: to know vocabulary and connect with the background knowledge. Example: give information about the topic.
- While-listening: here they will develop the skills. Ex: hear once or twice the listening without reading.
- Post-listening: listening task. Ex: write about what they heard.
In conclusion, I think it’s very useful to improve listening skills because it is the best way to communicate with others in a foreign language. The better you pronounce, the better natives understand you. We must practice a lot because we can’t be good at listening comprehension if we don’t practice.
Language Teaching Methodologies
There have been many different methodologies for teaching a foreign language along the years. These methodologies have been researched to suit all types of learners, according to their levels.
The main methodologies are:
- Grammar translation: the classical method.
- Principle Eclecticism: fitting the method to the learner, not the learner to the method.
- Direct method: speaking the target language is becoming important.
- Content-based: task-based approaches.
- Audio-lingualism: based in behavioral psychology.
- Humanistic approaches.
- Communicative language teaching: the modern standard method.
There are two goals of Language Teaching. On one hand, we have communicative competence and, on the other hand, grammatical competence. Grammatical competence is often the focus of many grammar practice books and determines the knowledge we have of a language specific when we build sentences.
Communicative competence is related to being successful at being able to use well the language of communication. When planning a language course, we must work around Syllabus design and methodology. The content, vocabulary, and grammar to teach according to the skill level belong to Syllabus design. Decisions about how best to teach the contents belong to Methodology. These two ideas have been changing in the last 50 years, we can group them in three phases:
- Traditional approaches
- Classic communicative language teaching
- Current communicative language teaching