Cornelius, Oregon TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

In the previous unit, the topic about receptive skills (reading and listening) was discussed. In this unit, the other two language skills which are the productive skills (speaking and writing) are the topics for discussion. It covers accuracy and fluency as well as speaking and writing activities that can be used in the different stages of the lesson. Typically, language learners develop receptive skills first before they develop productive skills. As receptive skills progress, productive skills progress too. Although that is the case, these four skills are still equally important, and they need to be improved simultaneously. In the productive skills, two crucial factors to consider are accuracy and fluency. Accuracy is the ability to use correct forms of language as in vocabulary and grammar. Accuracy activities target the production of accurate language and is usually employed in the study phase where language is controlled by the teacher. This can include drills, prompts, gap fills, and matching activities. Some activities that specifically improve writing include sentence transformation exercises, punctuating texts, copying, proofreading activities and labelling. Fluency is the ability to produce language creatively and expressively. Fluency activities, usually done during activate phase, let the students use language more freely, with lesser focus on accuracy. Students can achieve this in discussions, debates, role-play, communication games, simulations, and information gap. For developing writing skills, activities can include story completion, and writing letters, emails, or greeting cards. For students to improve on their productive skills, the teacher must plan lessons carefully and make the activities meaningful and relevant. One way to keep the students’ interest throughout the lesson is by personalizing the topic. Most English language learners’ reason for learning is for communicative purposes – to be able to express their thoughts, ideas, opinion and emotions. It would be helpful for them to use the language in the context of their own lives since the emphasis is on making language learning relevant to their own interests and experience which makes it more motivating. So far, from the time the ESA approach was introduced, I became familiar and more comfortable with its structure. The addition of the sample ESA lesson plans in the units gives me ideas on how to go about creating a lesson plan that effectively teaches the language.