Integration of

Language Skills
Presented by: Pn Suraya bt Harun, PISMP L3,
TSL3103 Linking Theory to Practice, Sem 1 2015.

Integration of language skills

Discuss the principles of integration of language
skills
Discuss the purpose and rationale of integration
of language content in the teaching of language
skills
Discuss the strengths and limitation of each
method

 Earlier the teaching of four skills had been done

in separate segments.
However, a recent trend is toward skill
integration.
That is, rather than designing a curriculum to
teach the many aspects of one skill, say, reading,
curriculum designers are now taking a whole
language approach whereby reading is
treated as one of two or more interrelated skills.

Whole
Language
Approach

Inventors
Noam Chomsky and Goodman

Definition

The simultaneous,
integrated teaching of
listening, speaking,
reading, and writing within
a meaningful context

PRINCIPLES:
Teach English as spoken by native speakers
No phonics!

The whole is greater than the sum of

its parts
Emphasis on experience and exposure to
meaningful content

 Lessons should be learner centered

The teacher leads and guides
No dyslexic students everyone
remembers

WLA is a label that has been used to

describe:

Cooperative learning
Participatory learning
Student-centred learning
Focus on community of learners
Focus on the social nature of language
Use of authentic, natural language
Meaning-centered language
Holistic assessment techniques in testing
Integration of the four skills

A lesson in a so-called reading class

A pre-reading discussion of the topic to activate
schemata
Listening to a teachers monologue or a series of
informative statements a bout the topic of a
passage to be read;
A focus on a certain reading strategy, say,
scanning
Writing a response to or paraphrase of a reading
passage.

Why Integrated Skills?

Why do you think the teaching of the
skills were not integrated in the first
place?

Why Integrated Skills?

Why do you think the teaching of the
skills were not integrated in the first
place?
1. Focus was on forms of language
2. Administration purposes; easier to program
separate courses in reading and speaking & so
on, to order books and to place students in
courses.
3. Not all classes are integrated e.g. ESP

Why Integrated Skills?

As Hinkel (2006. p 113) noted, In an age of
globalization, pragmatic objectives of language
learning place an increased value on integrated
and dynamic multiskill instructional models
with a focus on meaningful communication and
the development of learners communicative
competence. ( Brown, 2007, p 286)

MODELS OF SKILLS INTEGRATION

Content-Based Instruction
Task-Based Language
Teaching
Theme-Based Instruction
Experiential Learning
The Episode Hypothesis

1. What is content-based instruction?

In content-based instruction, students
practice all the language skills in
a highly integrated, communicative
fashion while learning content such as
science, mathematics, and social studies.
.

What is content-based instruction?

(cont.)
They learn about this subject using the language they
are trying to learn, rather than their native language, as
a tool for developing knowledge and so they develop
their linguistic ability in the target language.
This is thought to be a more natural way of developing
language ability and one that corresponds more to the
way we originally learn our first language.

2. What is Task-Based Language

Teaching?
In Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT),
students participate in communicative tasks in
English.
Tasks are defined as activities that can stand
alone as fundamental units and that require
comprehending, producing, manipulating, or
interacting in authentic language while attention
is principally paid to meaning rather than form
(Nunan, 1989)

 In task-based instruction, basic pair work

and group work are often used to increase
student interaction and collaboration.
For instance, students work together to write
and edit a class newspaper, develop a television
commercial, enact scenes from a play, or take
part in other joint tasks.

Main features of TBLT:

meaning is primary
there is some communication problem to solve
there is some sort of relationship to comparable
real world activities
task completion has some priority
the assessment is done in terms of
outcomes

3. What is Theme-Based Instruction?

The theme-based model integrates the
language skills into the study of a theme (e.g.,
urban violence, cross-cultural differences in
marriage practices, natural
wonders of the world, or a broad topic such as
change).
The theme must be very interesting to students
and must allow a wide variety of language skills to
be practiced, always in the service
of communicating about the theme

4. Experiential Learning

(David Kolb)

Experiential Learning
EL is a philosophy and methodology in which
educators purposefully engage with students in
direct experience and focused reflection in
order to increase knowledge, develop skills, and
clarify values.

Experiential Learning
* also refer to as learning through action,
learning by doing, learning through experience,
and learning through discovery and exploration,
all which are clearly defined by these well-known
maxims:

 Throughout the experiential learning process, the

student is actively engaged in posing questions,
investigating, experimenting, being curious,
solving problems, assuming responsibility, being
creative and constructing meaning.

5. The Episode Hypothesis

John Oiler came up with the episode hypothesis
based on Francois Gouins, the Series Method
(the presentation of language in an easily
followed storyline )
The girl goes and seeks a piece of wood.
She takes a hatchet.
She draws near to the block.
She places the wood on this block.
She raises the hatchet.
She brings down the hatchet.
The blade strikes against the wood.
etc.

 According to Oiler (1983b,p. 12),

"text (i.e., discourse in any form) will be easier
to reproduce, understand, and recall, to the
extent that it is structured episodically."
The presentation of language is enhanced if
students receive interconnected sentences in an
interest-provoking episode rather than in a
disconnected series of sentences.
Lets compare the following dialogues:

Dialogue 1:
Jack: Hi, Tony. What do you usually do on
weekends?
Tony: Oh, I usually study, but sometimes I go to
a movie.
Jack: Uh-huh. Well, I often go to movies, but I
seldom study.
Tony: Well, I don't study as much as Greg. He
always studies on the weekends. He never goes
out.
The episode hypothesis goes well beyond
simple "meaningful" learning.

Read Dialogue 2:
Darlene: I think I'll call Tina's mother. It's almost five and Chrissy isn't
home yet.
Meg : I thought Tina had chicken pox.
Darlene: Oh, that's right. I forgot. Chrissy didn't go to Tina's today. Where
is she?
Meg : She's probably -with Gary. He has Little League practice until five.
Darlene: I hear the front door. Maybe that's Gary and Chrissy.
Gary : Hi.
Darlene: Where's Chrissy? Isn't she with you?
Gary : With me? Why with me? I saw her at two after school, but then I
went to Little League practice. I think she left with her friend.
Darlene: Which one?
Gary : The one next door ... the one she walks to school with every day.
Darlene: Oh, you mean Timmy. She's probably with him.
Gary : Yeah, she probably is.
Darlene: I'm going next door to check.

 You can see that this conversation, while easily

understood, clearly presented, and perhaps quite
relevant to students learning English, lacks a
sense of dramaof "what's going to happen
next?"
Most of our communicative textbooks have
many "Jack and Tony" types of presentation.
They may illustrate certain grammatical or
discourse features, but they don't grip the
learner with suspense.

Tips for teachers:

In order to integrate the language skills in ESL/EFL
instruction, teachers should consider taking these
steps:

* Learn more about the various ways to

integrate language skills in the classroom
(e.g., content-based, task-based, or a
combination).
* Reflect on the current approach and
evaluate the extent to which the skills are
integrated.

Tips for teachers:

* Choose instructional materials,
textbooks, and technologies that promote
the integration of listening, reading,
speaking, and writing, as well as the
associated skills of syntax, vocabulary, and
so on.
* Integrate the other language skills
through appropriate tasks.

Conclusion:
Conclusion
With careful reflection and planning, any teacher
can integrate the language skills and strengthen
the tapestry of language teaching and learning.
When the tapestry is woven well, learners can
use English effectively for communication.

Tutorial task (in groups of 4)

Choose one of the models.
Briefly describe the model?
Discuss the strengths & weaknesses
of the model.
Design a lesson using the model to
integrate the language skills.

Thank you...for today.