Integrating skills in the language classroom

1. Integrating skills in the language classroom Peter Lucantoni

2. Peter Lucantoni • Started teaching in 1979 in UK, MA TESOL University of Edinburgh, lived and worked in Europe and Middle East, now based in Cyprus • Author, Educational Consultant & Teacher Trainer for Cambridge University Press • Cambridge TKT, CELTYL, CELTA & DELTA trainer and Cambridge CELTYL assessor • Examiner for Cambridge ESOL speaking examinations

3. What does integrated mean? What are skills, language skills and sub-skills? What does integrating skills mean? How can we integrate language skills in the classroom? Conclusions Workshop overview

4. What does integrated mean? • When we integrate things, they combine, or work together to make something more effective • An integrated system or organisation combines different groups or ideas in a way that works well

5. What does integrated mean? • The teeth on a zip fastener need to combine in order for it to become effective • Equally true is that language skills need to combine, to be integrated, in order for communication to become effective

6. What are skills? • Try not to think about ELT! Discuss and try to agree on a definition.

7. What are skills? • The ability to do something well needs to continue to be consolidated and practised or we can easily lose our skill • If Rooney stopped practising, would he continue to be a skilled footballer? • And what about the pianist and carpenter?

8. What are skills? • People who have a skill demonstrate the ability to do something well – a skilled footballer scores goals, a skilled pianist plays well, a skilled carpenter makes beautiful furniture

9. What are skills? • We are not necessarily born with the skill to do something • Usually, skills are developed during life –Rooney, the pianist and the carpenter all needed plenty of lessons and practice before they became skilled

10. Language skills and sub-skills • To be completely effective in a language we need to be competent in the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, as well as in thinking about language • Look at Units 2 and 11. Find examples of all the language skills discussed here

11. Language skills and sub-skills • However, being skilled in a language necessitates also having good language sub-skills • What are sub-skills? Why are sub-skills important, and when do we use them?

12. Language skills and sub-skills • People who use a language employ a number of sub-skills, or strategies • Sub-skills are chosen depending on the task to be completed

13. Language sub-skills • skimming • note- • taking • analysing • for details • presenting

14. Skimming: WHY? Language sub-skills • note-taking: WHY? • analysing: WHY? • for details: WHY? • presenting: WHY?

15. Language sub-skills • A language learner’s proficiency in the various sub-skills will be different; furthermore, every learner’s needs in each sub-skill will be different from the next learner’s needs

16. Language sub-skills • One of our roles as teachers of E2L is to help learners to develop those skills and sub-skills which they • are weak in • need for a particular purpose • Also, we need to help them identify which sub-skills are most appropriate for a particular task

17. Language sub-skills • Look again at Units 2 and 11. How many examples of sub-skills practice can you find? Make a list. Look at these examples: • Unit 2 Page 19 Exercise 3 – listening for gist; • Unit 11 Page 89 Exercise 3 – proof- reading writing • Compare your lists. Same or different?

18. Language sub-skills • So, learners need to be able to identify which sub-skills are required for a task, & then to implement them • Outside the classroom, this happens automatically: people ‘are able to select those sub-skills that are most important to their task’ (Harmer, 1991)

19. Language sub-skills • But language learners need to be trained to identify & apply sub-skills, & they need practice & consolidation, in the same way that Rooney does

20. Integrating skills • ‘The learner must develop skills and strategies for using language to communicate meanings as effectively as possible’(Littlewood, 2001)

21. Integrating skills What does integrating skills mean? • ‘Language skills are integrated; they ‘cooperate’ with each other’(Lucantoni, 2002) • ‘Language users employ a combination of skills at the same time’ (Harmer, 1991)

22. Integrating skills • goal integrated communicative language competence • Confidence and independence need to be built and developed in using language in ‘real’ ………. situations • While language and grammar are important, communicative ………. should be our ………. • And of course an ………. approach to language teaching & learning will find room for focusing on specific areas of ………. where necessary

23. Integrating skills • Confidence and independence need to be built and developed in using language in ‘real’ communicative situations • While language and grammar are important, communicative competence should be our goal

24. Integrating skills • And of course an integrated approach to language teaching & learning will find room for focusing on specific areas of language where necessary (eg, lexis, grammar)

25. Integrating skills • Choose an authentic text and think of one of your classes for which you think the content and level would be appropriate • Design an integrated skills lesson using the text and your ideas from this workshop

26. What does integrated mean? What are skills, language skills and sub-skills? What does integrating skills mean? How can we integrate language skills in the classroom? Conclusions Workshop review

27. Bibliography • Lucantoni, P, Teaching & Assessing Skills in E2L, Cambridge University Press 2002 • Harmer, J, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman 1991 • Littlewood, W, Communicative Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press 2001 • Oxford, R, Integrated Skills in the EFL/ESL Classroom, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pric/is_/ai_3410705918 180408 • Oxford, R, Language learning strategies. What every teacher should know, Heinle & Heinle 1990 • Nunan , D, Designing tasks for the communicative classroom, Cambridge University Press1989 • Tanner & Green, Tasks for Teacher Education,, Longman 1998]

28. Any questions?

29. peter@cup-training.org