UNIT 8 SPEAKING

Speaking is a productive skill. It involves interaction and producing information to convey meaning. At the moment of speaking most of the time we don't plan what we are going to say, so our speech could be somewhat inaccurate. In addition, speaking has some subskills that allow us to express what we want to say and be understood by others. It is the use of grammar, vocabulary and functions, the use of an appropriate register, body language, connected speech, text types, eloquence, interactive strategies. Moreover, interactive strategies involves: nonverbal signs, turn-taking (the organization of a conversation to know who speaks first, second and so on), and paraphrasing. Furthermore, using the  appropriate register formal or informal is essential in order to  reach the purpose of a conversation; it is inform, argue, persuade, etc. Additionally, speaking has a variety of text types that include conversations, lectures, presentations, etc; that present different structures, register, vocabulary, etc.

Finally, for teaching a speaking lesson it is important to follow a process that involves pre, during and post-speaking. According to Richards (2016), we have to get students' attention in the pre-speaking stage by making them discuss about the topic of their interest and teach them some useful expressions they can use. Then, in the during-speaking stage the teacher conducts the speaking task by focusing on fluency. After that, in the post-speaking stage the teacher makes students reflect about what they have learned and the difficulties of the task and at the end the teacher provides feedback. Moreover, another activity for teaching speaking could be controlled practice activities. According to Musserotte (2017) in these kind of activities students repeat the new form of language many times, this stage is important because students can realize what they do well and what needs reinforcement.

Additional information to teach speaking:

References:

Richards, J. (2017). What are the stages of a speaking lesson?. (2014). Professor Jack C. Richards. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from http://www.professorjackrichards.com/stages-speaking-lesson/

Musserotte, C. (2015). What is Controlled Practice and what is Free Practice? | Teacher Locker. Teacher Locker. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from http://www.teacherlocker.com/what-is-controlled-practice-and-what-is-free-practice/

Kay, J. (2010). British Council - Teaching Speaking Techniques. YouTube. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF7zsz8fi64

UNIT 7 LISTENING

Listening is a receptive skill. It involves understanding sounds and making sense of them. For this, we need to realize the context in which we are, the language and what we know about the world. In addition, to listen something first we have to understand spoken language and some features of it such as: stress and intonation, the body language that the speaker uses to convey a message, we have to understand that spoken language is not very organized  because of the hesitations and utterances, it also contains simple grammar and basic vocabulary. Moreover, spoken language has a variety of text types like dialogues, speeches, songs, etc in which people talk with different speed and accent. Thus listening requires to deal with features of connected speech. Furthermore, listening has some subskills which we can use depending on the reason for listening. We can listen for gist or global understanding, specific information, detail or listening intensively or extensively.

Finally, to teach this unit I would expose my students to authentic material in order that they can recognize the different aspects of real spoken language. So they can be exposed to different accents, speeds of delivery, text types, etc. Additionally, according to Verner (2017) some good sources of authentic materials are: TV commercials, news, weather reports, movies and TV, radio, another teacher. Moreover, we don't have to forget to apply the listening process (pre, during, post) because according to Houston (2016) it is very important to plan our listening lesson in order that students can be successful at listening. For pre-listening, I can make students relate their previous knowledge with the topic by discussing, brainstorming, etc. Then, for during listening I can make a variety of listening tasks that allow students to develop their subskills. To finish, for the post stage I can make students recall a piece of information they remember from the listening and discuss in pairs.

Additional information to teach listening:

References:

Verner, S. (2012). 10 Great Sources for Real Listening Practice: Part One. Busy Teacher. Retrieved 17 April 2017, from http://busyteacher.org/9357-10-great-sources-for-real-listening-practice.html

Houston, H. (2016). The Three Stages Of A Listening Activity - EFL Magazine. (2016). EFL Magazine. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from http://www.eflmagazine.com/the-three-stages-of-a-listening-activity/

TEFL Class Instruction: How to Teach Listening Skills in the ESL Classroom. (2011). YouTube. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2bXeP5dhqI

UNIT 6 WRITING

Writing is a productive skill. It involves producing the language and conveying a message but in a written way. Moreover, there are different text types such as postcards, emails, diaries, essays, etc. All of them contain distinct levels of formality, layouts and structure. For example, when we write a letter to a boss we use complex grammar and a formal register. Furthermore, writing has two subskills which are accuracy and communicating our ideas. First, accuracy involves the correct use of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling, etc. On the other hand, communicating our ideas  includes employing proper style and register, good organization of ideas in order to convey meaning. Moreover, when writing something we have to take into account the different writing stages that according to Luke (2011) are essential in order to produce an effective work. They are: planning (get ideas), drafting (first draft) , redrafting (move or add something) and editing (check and improve content).

Finally, to teach this unit to my students I will use the process writing approach that according to Ambon &Palomares (2010) it  is a procedure to formulate and develop ideas in writing and involves the writing stages. Thus I would make my students choose a topic and plan ideas (planning). Then, I would make their first draft (drafting) and improve it (redrafting), correct the content (editing) and finally evaluate their work (assessment).  Additionally, something else to this unit to my students would be to apply some activities in order to help learners develop accuracy such as labeling, copying, gap-filling, correct errors in texts, etc.

Additional information to teach writing:

References:

Luke, A. (2011). The Four Essential Stages of Writing. (2011). Aliventures. Retrieved 17 April 2017, from http://www.aliventures.com/essential-writing-stages/

Palomares,. (2010). The Process Approach to Writing. Es.slideshare.net. Retrieved 17 April 2017, from https://es.slideshare.net/maspalomares81/the-process-approach-to-writing

TEFL Class Instruction: How to Teach Writing Skills in the ESL Classroom. (2011). YouTube. Retrieved 22 April 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZUKAamXDU