ELTWeekly Issue#18, Article: Integration of Skills in English Language Teaching By Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi

Integration of Skills in English Language Teaching

By Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi

Integration of skills is a very important practice in the teaching of any language. No skill can be taught in isolation and segregation. There exists a deep, profound and inseparable connection between language use and the context in which it is entrenched and embedded. A kind of connectedness exists in the way we use the primary skills of language, identified as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The teacher faced with a set of predetermined and prearranged curricula and prescribed textbooks, what most of them do, is to place additional and extra emphasis on a specific skill designated for a specific class, while helping learners freely to use all the skills necessary for successfully carrying out a classroom activity. Even if the class is supposed to focus on one specific skill at a time, teachers and learners do the inevitable, namely, follow an integrated approach. By designing and using micro strategies that integrate language skills, we will be assisting learners to engage in classroom activities that involve a meaningful and simultaneous engagement with language in use.  A discussion with examples from text can be initiated and participants can individually work on them. Let us take an example of teaching a poem to class I students, which is an authentic literary piece. It has not been simplified for the suitability of learners of primary section. 

The skills of Listening and Speaking are the primary skills to be taught in the poem ‘Frogs at School”. But without mentioning to the pupils, the teacher can integrate so many other skills, which would be useful at a later stage to the students. When we begin the poem, the number system can be explained with twenty being linked to the plural form of‘s’. Such as ‘froggies’, coats, vests. The singular form like ‘pool’ can be easily linked to the use of the article ‘a’. Thus more examples at this point can be mentioned in order to drill the number system. The direct speech can be brought to attention at how when we talk, it must be put in quote marks. Adjectives such as ‘rushy’ ‘green’ ‘white’ etc can also be compared and contrasted with their opposites. Thus in this way the teaching of grammar is integrated while teaching this poem. I encourage you to look into many other aspects of grammar.

New vocabulary words such as pet name ‘froggies’, and then ‘rushy’ ‘vests’ and so on can be explained and pupils can be encouraged to give such kind of words.

Association of the poem and the picture must be developed by making the learners observe the following aspects. There are total 20 frogs in the picture too. It has been observed that the children actually count and they cannot be deceived, or made to doubt the teaching material as the base is being developed. There has to exist a kind of trust between the learner and the lesson. The ‘coats of green’ is not actually the coat but the outer skin of the frogs. Same goes with the inner white skin. Thus the aesthetic and creativity of the poet can be discussed with the pupils in a simple language and similie of such kind can be asked to vent the child’s imagination.

Last but not the least; we must draw the attention of the learner towards the good habits to be inculcated in them. Neatness of school uniform, punctuality, the rules to be followed, first the pupil studies and then only can play and so on. If the teacher gives moral lessons directly then they would not be so effective, but in this case the pupil would feel if froggies can do it then why can’t I??   

The poem is of the same level of the child. It refers to a genuine problem faced by teachers, pupils and parents. It takes the learner outside the classroom and he can relate it to his own condition and situation. Thus this is a great opportunity of inculcating so many ideas and thoughts in the minds of the learners, beside tone, intonation, rhyming sounds, rhythm, and so on, which may be looked into while teaching the skills of Speaking and Listening. Reading will automatically come when the teacher and learner are reading and assimilating the whole poem. Later they can be asked to write too, if need be. Thus while teaching the feelings of the poet have to be transferred to the learners in order to gain maximum from the learning material.

[This has been practically practiced in the classrooms and with effective results. Do suggest any other ideas that come to your mind.].

Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi is the Deputy Director at Amity School of Languages. She has done a Project on “A Study of Verbal Interaction in Waiting for Godot” for the M.A. degree and has ompleted her PhD thesis on “A Study of Verbal Interaction in the plays of Samuel Beckett” for the Degree of Ph.D. at University of Lucknow, India. She has conducted over 75 workshops on ELT with St. Edmunds College in Shillong, with Ratna Sagar in Lucknow, with University of Yemen in Republic of Yemen and with Orient Longman and Macmillan in various parts of India for school teachers and principals. 

** ELTWeekly would like to thank Prof (Dr) Shefali Bakshi for contributing this article.