We Welcome the participants

Development of Communication Skills in

Teaching & Learning English among English

as Second Language Learners (ESL)

Dr . Vijayeswari Subba Naidu

Ms. Masiha

Ms Manal

Presentation made on 02.11.2014 in the workshop held

at the English Department of Addarb College, Jazan

University

Specific Objectives:

To define the expected learning experiences and strategies

adopted to learn English;

To present problems in developing English

communication skills;

To suggest some development strategies;

To elicit additional problems from the participants.

Major objective:

To identify problems & define strategies that could be

adopted for the development of communication skills

among the ESL Learners.

The Expected Learning Experiences

&

Strategies Adopted among ESL Learners

The Expected Learning Experiences

Enjoyment of communication in English;

Awareness about the importance of

communication through languages;

Realization of the interesting aspects &

richness of the language;

Familiarization with English sounds &

rhythm;

Skill in Active Listening and speaking.

Skills that help improve communication ability

Listening skill

Speaking skill

Reading skill

Writing skill

Problems in Learning English Communication

1.Problems of students

2.Problems of teachers

Problems of Students

Problems in Teaching - Learning

English Communication

Lack of motivation: self efficacy vs. losing self esteem

People get motivated to do something they feel is worth doing

and expect to succeed in doing.

Past experiences affects motivation as under:

the better experiences develop over confidence in

self efficacy which results in anxiety. Reactions such

as anxiety results in ignorance of classroom

activities;

the bitter experiences affect confidence, self worth

and a low sense of self efficacy which make students

lose their belief in their ability. As a result, they give

up.

Problems in LSRW –

Students lack skill in…

Correct use of rules of grammar & applying the rules

automatically in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Involving actively in the classroom as they have no

confidence over their word power;

Pronouncing & in uninhibited production of speech;

Communicating ideas with effective choice of words.

Eliciting meaning of new words and interruption of

attention to search meaning affects their reading as well as

in writing skills

Problems in learning Grammar:

Mechanical drills in which students substitute pronouns for

nouns or tense of verbs can help students memorize

irregular forms and challenging structures.

But, students do not develop the ability to use grammar

correctly in oral and written interactions by doing

mechanical drills, because these drills separate form from

meaning and use.

The content & the response is set in advance; the student

has to supply the correct grammatical form, without really

needing to understand or communicate anything.

The main outcome due to this drills is: Grammar is boring.

Problems of the Teachers

Monitoring large classes:

Use of the mother tongue , L1 is also another hurdle.

They feel that it is unnatural to speak a language with

partners who speak the same L1.

Self-conscious learners feel nervous and embarrassed

when asked to speak English.

Time limit related to completing prescribed syllabus.

Rote learning practice limits participation as the

students want to pass the course and their participation

in home assignments that aims developing critical &

creative thinking

Development of

Communication Skills

Developing skill in Listening

Figure out the purpose for listening.

Activate background knowledge of the topic to predict

or anticipate content.

Attend to the parts of the listening input that are

relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest.

Select top-down and bottom-up strategies that are

appropriate to the listening task and use them flexibly

and interactively.

Post listening tasks help improve students'

comprehension and confidence

Develop skill in speaking

Have a strong drive to communicate in English;

Make an uninhibited talk even when you make mistakes;

monitor their speech as well as that of others;

Pay attention to meaning;

Speak English with friends because they could help if gotstuck in speaking activities.

Shed down the feeling they do not have enough wordpower/vocabulary to use in interactions.

Learn at least 10 new vocabularies every day from theprescribed text.

While reading students should be enabled to-

Figure out the purpose for reading.

Activate background knowledge of the topic

Select & focus on specific items in the

memory input.

Select strategies that improves

comprehension and confidence (top-down

and bottom-up skills)

Make a self assessment of their abilities in

comprehending, when the reading task is

completed.

Developing skill in writing

Locate ideas from spoken instructions

Sequence & analyze spoken instructions

Discuss & brainstorm for ideas

Interpret implicit ideas.

Locate main idea and support idea

Summarize & give structure of final

output

Strategies for Learning Grammar

Realize a separation between declarative knowledge &

procedural knowledge.

Declarative knowledge enables a student to describe a

rule of grammar and apply it in pattern practice – use

it while reading articles.

Procedural knowledge enables a student to apply a

rule of grammar in communication – use it oral and

written communication.

Communicative drills

Communicative drills encourage students to connect

form, meaning, and use because multiple correct

responses are possible.

Students respond to a prompt using the grammar point

under consideration, but providing their own content.

For example, to practice questions and answers in the

past tense in English, teacher and students can ask and

answer questions about activities the previous evening.

Development strategies

Teachers’ responsibilities

Avoid - test-speak – too much use of questions to

concentrate on grammar & correct errors; give learners

opportunities to speak for themselves.

Avoid - talk-to speaking - speaking constantly to explain

grammar and vocabulary but do not give learners

opportunities to participate.

Use ‘real-speak’ to develop interactive speaking skills.

Real speaking allows learners to express ideas and

practice structures in personalized interaction.

Develop a personal relationship with students:

What to do in large classroom?

Create a supportive classroom atmosphere

Accept mistakes as a natural part of

learning

Encourage risk –taking among

students

Use humor

Involve students in personalizing the

physical environment of the classroom

& determine the dynamics of the lesson

Cohesiveness

Interaction, co-operation & sharing of personal

information in English among learners are important in

creating cohesive learner group;

Smaller-group tasks where students mix with each other;

Co-curricular activities & outing

Whole-group projects that help in building group

cohesiveness.

Make curriculum & teaching materials relevant to

students:

Teacher should personalize the

curriculum

Relate the subjects to everyday

experiences

Map the background life of the

students with examples

Provide additional materials where

necessary.

Make learning enjoyable by making interesting

tasks

Engage the learner’s fantasy and yield tangible,

finished products are likely to inspire learners –

Exhibitions for and by students.

Use goal-setting methods in your classroom:

Teacher can show students

how to break down tasks and

assignments into small steps

How to set a timeline for

reaching the goal

How to monitor/evaluate

their own progress.

Provide learners with experiences of success:

Building self-esteem and self-

confidence is an important aspect of

classroom motivation.

Creating multiple opportunities for

students to experience success is

also vital for academic achievement.

Remove anxiety-provoking

environment:

Teachers must avoid competition, with successful andunsuccessful learners.

Cooperation and collaboration with strong and weeklearners must be encouraged.

Tests and assessments should be made lessthreatening.

Avoid labeling learners as ‘slow’ ’weak’ or ’better’than others.

Use rewards and grades in a motivating manner

Grades should reflect learner effort

and improvement and not just

achievement levels.

Continuous assessment and self and

peer evaluation procedures should be

encouraged.

10. Use Motivational Quotes, speech and aids

And also

Excellent Power Point Templates ,

Good Graphics

Creative Icons, Buttons, Images

Effective Teaching and Effective Learning Process

Teacher Student

Planning and strategies

Methodology

Preparation

Presentation

Promote thinking skills

Technology integration

Satisfaction

Motivation

Result

Evaluation

Group Work

Attitude & perception

Critical thinking

Willingness to learn

Cooperative learning

Goal orientation

State of the mind

Self-regulated

Reason application

Accountability

Provide suggestions to improve communication skill

Provide us your suggestions

Enlighten us developing

communication skills