Carrollton, Mississippi TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

The two productive skills are speaking and writing. Both skills are equally important for learning English. Writing requires a greater degree of accuracy, whereas speaking requires a greater degree of fluency. People communicate with each other for one of the following reasons: they have some communicative purpose, they want to say something, they want to listen to something, or they are interested in what is being said. The teacher must use these to create the need and desire, in the students, to communicate. Accuracy activities are concentrated on producing the correct language, whereas fluency activities are concentrated on allowing the students to experiment and be creative with the language. There are three types of activities which can be taught: controlled activities (accuracy based and language controlled by the teacher), guided activities (accuracy based but more creative and productive), and creative communication (fluency based where scenario is usually created by the teacher but the language content is created by the students). Many students are reluctant to speak in class for a number of reasons, including: lack of confidence, fear of making mistakes, peer intimidation, lack of interest in the topic, previous learning experiences, and cultural reasons. Teachers must overcome these issues by creating a comfortable atmosphere where students are not afraid to speak or make mistakes, and enjoy communicating with the teacher and their fellow students. Some techniques that teachers can use to encourage communicative interaction are: pair-work, group-work, controlled and guided practice before fluency activities, making speaking activities purposeful (creating a desire and need to communicate), change the classroom dynamics, careful planning, and allowing students to think about what they are trying to say. It is important for teachers to provide feedback to students indicating how well they are communicating. Teachers should note recurrent errors in grammar, pronunciation, and use of vocabulary so they can prepare remedial lessons to correct these errors at a later date. Handwriting can be a major challenge for students of English because of differences with their native language. Handwriting is personal with students having their own styles but teachers must encourage them to improve it so it can be easily read by others. Correct spelling is also important for students to learn. Teachers need to draw the students' attention to the different ways of pronouncing the same letters (or combinations of letters) and have them do exercises to discover spelling rules. One of the best ways to help students with spelling is through extensive reading. To help students learn different layouts of writing, they need to be exposed to, and be given the chance to practice with many different styles. Creative writing should be encouraged, as it engages the students and the finished work usually provides them with a sense of pride. Games should be regarded as an integral part of teaching EFL because they can be useful, controlled practice of using the language. Many games are specifically devised for learning the English language and other conventional games can be adapted and used as good material for activities during lessons. I learned a lot about teaching productive skills in this unit. I think it is important for teachers to encourage students to get as much exposure to the language as they can outside of class time. Students can be encouraged to read aloud on their own, selecting books of interest to them, and record it to hear how they sound. Students can also be encouraged to creatively write on their own and share their work with others. Creative work can bring a sense of pride and confidence to students, motivating them to do more and giving them more exposure to the language.