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Building ESL Skills

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Progressively building new listening, speaking, reading and writing skills requires practice within the classroom, as well as in real-life situations. Strategies on how to learn new skills, learning how to learn, are equally important. Task-based activities closely related to the student's purposes for studying English make the best exercises in using language meaningfully. They often produce forms of higher thought in the areas of critical and creative thinking, and engage the student with the substance and essence of his or her own individual and collective life. When practice, learning strategies, and task-based activities connect through experience with the student's inner world, deep learning occurs, opening new pathways for communication as language skills grow naturally.

Listening

Strategies 1. Focus attention on what is being said.

2, Relax and let the ideas flow into your mind.

3. Don’t worry about understanding every word.

4. Relate what you hear to something you know.

5. Listen for key words and ideas.

6. Guess what is being said.

7. Check out guesses by asking, "Is this what you mean?"

8. Keep a notebook for new words, meanings, ideas, idioms.

Activities

Where can I hear English?

Listening quizzes and activities for all levels

Listening Activities from ITESOL Journal

Listen to JFK's Inaugural Speech

Folksongs from around the world

U.S. & global radio stations

National Public Radio

Speaking

Strategies 1. Think about what you want to say.

2. Be aware of the structures you are using.

3, Take risks communicating your ideas.

3. Accept that making mistakes are part of learning.

4. Use repetition, gestures, synonyms, definitions.
examples, acting out the idea to be understood.

5. Practice speaking on cassette and listen to the tape for good points, and areas that need improvement.

6. Take every opportunity to speak English.

Activities

Simple phrases, sentences, questions

Conversation practice

Going to a party

Useful expressions in business

Presentation assistant

American English Pronunication Practice

Pronunciation Basics

Reading

Strategies 1. Preview the material first, look over the texts, think about the title, look at the pictures.

2. Imagine what you might learn from reading.

3. Relax as you read; feel the words flow.

4. Ask yourself questions about the material.

5. Keep reading when you find a word you do not understand. Look up the new word later.

7. Note any parts you do not understand.

8. Think about what you learned from reading and make a concept map,

Activities

Comprehending business problems

Biographical dictionary

Folktales from around the world

Interactive news

Reading quiz

Reading exercise

Online books, magazines, newspapers

Writing

Strategies 1. Gather information about your topic.

2. Brainstorm ideas with other people.

3. Make a plan or concept map for your ideas.

4. Begin writing and let your ideas flow. Don’t worry about mistakes.

5. Rewrite making necessary changes.

6. Think of writing as a process. The end product develops gradually.

7. Consult with other students or teacher for editing advice and rewrite again.

8. Share your writing with others.

Activities

Business email nettiquette

Writing business missions and goals

The writing den

How to be heard--write a letter

Write a story with interactive tools

Writing a letter--setting the tone

Punctuation Tips

Grammar

Strategies !. Use grammar as the framework for communicating your thoughts, feelings and ideas.

2. Learn grammar actively; draw pictures, physicalize actions, make timelines for tenses.

3. Remember that grammar is the limited structure on which unlimited expression depends.

Activities

Resources, handouts exercises

Grammar practice exercises

Interactive grammar quizzes

Perfect tenses

Guide to grammar and writing

Some strategies adapted from Making It Happen 2nd. Ed,by Patricia A. Richard-Amato, Addison-Wesley Publishing Group, 1996, pp. 55-57.

Page created by Joy Kidstry, July 7, 2003. Updated 3/13/04,

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