Unit 12 Integrated Skills

Aims of the unit:

In this unit we look at how we can integrate the four language skills. In
particular we are going to discuss the following aspects:
1. Why should we integrate the four skills?
2. How can we integrate the four skills?
3. What are the implications for teaching?
4. What are the limitations of integrating the four skills?
12.1 Why should we integrate the four skills?
here are many situations in which we use more than one language skill. !or
this reason alone" it is #alua$le to integrate the language skills" $ut there are other
reasons why integration can enhance the students% communicati#e competence.
&any educationalists stress the importance of $uilding new knowledge and
skills on to what students already know and can do. 'o" if students are a$le to read
a short story" this skill will help them to write their own story. In the same way" if
they can understand a dialogue a$out $uying things in a shop" they can use this as a
model for practicing their own speaking skills in a similar situation. (lso"
integrating the kills allows you to $uild in more #ariety into the lesson $ecause the
range of acti#ities will $e wider. Instead of )ust ha#ing listening" the students can
ha#e speaking" reading and writing practice. his can raise their moti#ation to learn
*nglish.
($o#e all" integrating the skills means that you are working at the le#el of
realistic communication" not )ust at the le#el of #oca$ulary and sentence patterns.
+ealistic communication is the aim of the communicati#e approach and many
researchers $elie#e that handling realistic communication is an integral part of
essential conditions for language learning:
Conditions for Language Learning

!"osure
to a rich $ut comprehensi$le input ofreal spoken and written language in use

Use
of do things ,i.e. e-change meanings.

Instru#tion
in language ,i.e. chances to
focus onform.

$oti%ation
to listen to and read the language andto speak and
write it ,i.e. to process and use the e-posure.
ssential
&esira'le






ssential and desira'le #onditions for language learning
Integrating the four skills emphasi/es the focus on realistic language and can
therefore lead to the students% all0round de#elopment of communicati#e
competence in *nglish.
12.2 (ow #an we integrate the four skills?
he essential form of integration is within the same medium ,either oral or
written." from recepti#e to producti#e skills.
+ecepti#e 'kill 1roducti#e 'kill
2ral &edium listening s"eaking
Written &edium reading writing
In other words" we would use a listening te-t as a model for the students%
speaking" and a reading te-t as a model for the students% writing. his is common
practice among teachers" and we will call it simple integration. he information
that the students get from the reading is useful in the oral acti#ity" while the writing
acti#ity is $ased on information from the oral acti#ity.
he fill0in0$lanks acti#ity that the students are asked to carry out in
completing the dialogue is actually a form of reading comprehension. (s the
comprehension 3uestions take the form of a realistic dialogue" the students can
then practice their oral skills as well as their reading skills. he dialogue can then
$e used as a $asis for the students% own con#ersations.
12.) What are the im"li#ations for tea#hing?
(s we noted earlier" integration of the four skills is concerned with realistic
communication. his means that we are teaching at the discourse le#el not )ust at
the le#el of sentences or indi#idual words and phrases. 4iscourse is a whole unit of
communicati#e te-t" either spoken or written.
!ocus on discourse: he main implication for teaching is that we need to $e aware
of the discourse features of a te-t and to $e a$le to make students aware of them.
his helps the integration of skills $ecause it makes clear the teaching points and"
for simple integration" the discourse features are the main language aspects that we
transfer from one skill to the other. 4iscourse features include aspects such as:
the way that the te-t is organi/ed
its layout ,for written te-t.
the style of the language ,formal or informal.
the register ,the #oca$ulary that is commonly found in such discourses..
(s teachers" we ha#e to use our professional )udgment" $ased on our
knowledge of the students" to decide how much detail we should include in our
lesson. It is important to keep a $alance. oo much information may confuse them.
oo little information may mean that they are not clear a$out the features of a
particular type of discourse.
Ad*usting the te!t'ook #ontents: (nother aspect of our teaching that
re3uires attention if we adopt an integrated approach is the use of the te-t$ook.
(lthough many modern te-t$ooks ha#e some integration of the four skills" we may
still need to make some changes to the contents.
his could in#ol#e altering the order of the contents. If the discourse of the
writing acti#ity is closely related to the reading passage" $ut is placed in a different
part of the unit in the te-t$ook" we could focus on the writing straight after we
finish the reading passage.
!or simple integration" we can design a listening or reading comprehension
acti#ity that $ecomes a plan for speaking or writing. !or comple- integration" it
could mean making changes to the acti#ities in the te-t$ook.
Ad*usting timeta'le: here also are practical implications for integrating the
four skills. 2ne is related to timeta$ling. In some schools" a whole lesson I gi#en to
teaching one skill. !or e-ample" there is a 5listening6 lesson one day" a 5reading6
lesson another day" and so on. 'ometimes this is encouraged $y the arrangement of
materials in the te-t$ook. We ha#e to make the timeta$le arrangements more
fle-i$le so that we can integrate the skills $etter.
12.+ What are the limitations of integrating the four skills?
While integrating the four skills can help the de#elopment of students%
communicati#e competence" we must not o#erlook the useful role that a separate
focus on indi#idual aspects of #oca$ulary" grammar and skills can play. If taught
well" these aspects can accelerate the students% language learning. It is therefore
necessary for teachers to maintain an appropriate $alance $etween integration and
separation.
Integrating the four language skills can $e demanding of the teacher. We need
to ha#e a good understanding of discourse" and to $e a$le to use te-t$ooks fle-i$ly.
his can also $e time0consuming" re3uiring a lot of preparation. 'ometimes
teachers are so $usy that they cannot spare much time for e-tra preparatory work.
(nother limitation is the pro$lem of designing suita$le materials that take
account of students% different skill le#els. he four skills tend to de#elop at a
different pace: recepti#e skills are stronger then producti#e skills" for e-ample.
his means that teachers ha#e to $e skilful or designing integrated acti#ities for
their students.
12., Con#lusion
In this unit we ha#e discussed why integrating the four language skills is
desira$le. It enhances the focus on realistic communication" which is essential in
de#eloping students% competence in *nglish. We then identified two ways of
integrating skills: simple integration" where$y a recepti#e language skill ser#es as a
model for a producti#e language skill" and comple- integration" which is a
com$ination of acti#ities in#ol#ing different skills" linked thematically.
We also discussed some of the limitations of integrating skills. he role of a
focus on indi#idual language elements" such as #oca$ulary and grammar" should
not $e o#erlooked" as they can play an important role in helping students to
understand the *nglish language system and in enlarging their range of language
production. Integration is also demanding of teachers in terms of finding or
designing suita$le materials" particularly when it is necessary to take into account
the differing rates of progress of students in mastering the indi#idual skills.
2#erall" howe#er" these limitations should not pre#ent teachers from using the
integrati#e approach. (s we ha#e seen from this unit" the focus on realistic
language in use can help students% to de#elop communicati#e competence.
7earning *nglish can $e more moti#ating" $ecause the students are using the
language for a real purpose" instead of" say" )ust practicing the grammar. Integration
re3uires skilful teaching" $ut it can $ring worthwhile results.