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