Cotonou, Benin TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

There are four basic skills in any language: reading and listening (receptive skills) and speaking and writing (productive skills)and all are equally important. We read and listen for two reasons or we have two different motives: we either do it for a purpose or we enjoy it, in which case it is done for entertainment. It is our mind that recognizes and literally understands the words, but then it grasps the overall meaning from the pre-existent knowledge and that is how we gain true understanding. We employ different skills when we read or listen, and there are different points to bear in mind when we teach these skills. I have learned that all four skills should be taught because they are all important, but we cannot focus on all four in every lesson; however, after deciding what we want to focus on in a particular lesson, we should try and incorporate the other skills as much as possible. We should teach or lead students to employ different skills when reading and listening. This will create an interesting atmosphere and encourage their learning. Building interest before reading or listening is something that should never be forgotten - when students are interested and motivated, they are active, and there is nothing more important than having students who actively participate. And we have to prepare realistic comprehension tasks so they can see the purpose of what is being taught. These are not passive skills - you are not just to read a text or listen to it - and say: "OK, now, I am done. This is it!" Without understanding what has been read or listened to, and without incorporating activate phases that naturally lead on from the text that has been read or listened to, teaching would have no sense or use.