RECEPTIVE SKILLS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Magdalena Bobek

Introduction

As language teachers we know that language skills cannot be taught separately, but are

tackled simultaneously within the language teaching process. In my assignment I would like

to discuss the two receptive skills of reading and listening. Judging from past experience, I

find these two skills very demanding for young learners, but essential to master in their

language acquisition. In analysing some of the key issues related to reading and listening, I

will also try to point out some of the problems associated with the teaching of the skills and

discuss possible solutions with particular reference to my own teaching context.

Reading: Key Issues and Problems

There are many reasons why we read. Examples taken from Rivers and Timperley (1978:187)

of some of the reasons that L2 students read, include:

- to obtain information for some purpose or because we are curious about some topic

- to obtain instructions on how to perform some task for our work or daily life

- to keep in touch with friends by correspondence or to understand business letters

- to know when or where something will take place or what is available

- to know what is happening or has happened (as reported in newspapers, magazines,

reports)

- for enjoyment or excitement

The aim in teaching reading is to help L2 learners become as efficient readers as possible in

English as their second or foreign language. Wallace (1992:74) claims that:

The more fluently and widely the second language reader reads, the more exposure to

the key structures and vocabulary of the second language he or she gains.

This makes sense, but there are also other factors that influence reading comprehension and

reader efficiency. A key issue involved in reading is the manner in which texts are decoded

by the reader. McDonough and Shaw (2003:97) refer to the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up'

strategies working together to achieve comprehension. In the top-down approach readers

interact with the text by 'activating knowledge of the world, plus past experiences,

expectations and intuitions, to arrive at a meaning of the text' (ibid). The bottom-up approach,

as Hockly (2007: 89) states,

[…] starts from the individual symbols (or sounds, in the case of listening),

words, grammatical class, sentence structure, and allows the reader/listener to build up

meaning from the constituent parts of the text.

The readers' knowledge of the world or 'schematic knowledge', as defined by Alptekin

(1993:136) is:

[…] an important part of the 'fit' which exists between people's culture-specific

cognition and their native language.

Cook (1997:86) explains that 'schemas vary according to cultural norms and individual

experience'. This is what the reader brings to the text which in turn influences how he/she

processes it, or in Alptekin's (1993:137) words:

[…] readers make use of culture-specific schemas in relating input to what they already

know and, consequently, construct the writer’s intended meaning.

According to Alptekin (ibid), the problem arises when the learners' schematic knowledge

comes into contact with teaching material containing target-language cultural elements. When

the cultural background elements are missing and there is a lack of knowledge of the L2

culture, reading becomes 'a time-consuming, laborious, and frustrating experience'(Brown et

al., 1977:no pagination in Alptekin ibid). Paran (1996:27), summarizing Wallace (1992),

believes that L2 readers become more dependent on the bottom-up approach. He argues that

because of their insufficient linguistic ability, they also need 'a large amount of contextual

support, since many of the words they are decoding are either unknown to them or accessed

slowly' (ibid:29).

One of the main reasons for the difficulties presented above is the material used in English

Language Teaching (hereafter ELT). According to Alptekin (1993:138): 'most textbook

writers are native speakers', who write ' chiefly through culture-specific schemas' acquired in

'their own English-speaking society'. He also makes the point that it is not economical for

publishers to use the learner's cultural content, because it would not be appropriate for

learners in other cultures (ibid). Widdowson (1996:68) argues, however, that contexts 'cannot

be replicated versions of native-speaker contexts of use', and as summarized by Hockly

(2007:96), he advocates 'carefully chosen texts' to which L2 readers can respond

'authentically'. As a result, coursebooks vary in authentic material. Whatever the case may be,

it remains up to the teacher to select and evaluate the importance that texts have for the L2

learners in their language acquisition and to use them to this end.

Teaching Reading: Problems and Solutions

It is my belief that teachers should not be slaves to their coursebooks, but should choose

materials for classroom use wisely, keeping in mind their learners' needs and purposes for

reading. Sometimes certain texts may be omitted, either because of their irrelevance to the

purpose at hand or lack of time. Teachers may also want to use supplementary reading

material from other sources, which will better serve the aim of the lesson. McDonough and

Shaw (2003:99) suggest that teachers should supply 'materials that stimulate interest and do

not have an overfamiliar content.'. Alptekin suggests building:

conceptual bridges between the culturally familiar and the unfamiliar […] through the

use of comparisons as techniques of cross-cultural comprehension or

the exploitation of universal concepts of human experience as reference points for the

interpretation of unfamiliar data.'(1993:141-142).

All this would certainly help stimulate the L2 readers' schematic knowledge. It is important,

however, to remember that in the majority of language classes learners' knowledge varies

extremely, and that some learners have difficulty getting close to any reading material. That is

why I strongly support pre-reading tasks, as they serve to bring the text closer to the reader

allowing for easier interaction. They can include discussions of pupils' similar life

experiences, discussions of similar topics in articles from newspapers, magazines or the

Internet or a questionnaire on the topic. In the young learner classroom pre-reading activities

can be done either in L1 or L2, depending on the linguistic ability of the learners. The

learners' first connection with the reading material is through the eyes of the teacher and the

way he/she presents it. Once a link between reader and topic has been made, reading can

begin, as well as the particular tasks planned for the given text.

McDonough and Shaw (2003:95) believe that it is important to 'match reading skill to reading

purpose', something I fully agree with. It is also important to clearly define what we want to

do with a certain text and not to overdo the tasks related to it. When working with texts, it

would be wise to take Gairns and Redman's (2003: 170) advice into consideration, which is:

'set a clear task, set a time limit, clarify the reading aims, have a clear policy on vocabulary

pre-teaching'.

Some of the activity types presented by Greenall and Swan (1986:3-5) are frequently used in

my teaching context, such as 'dealing with unfamiliar words', which also include exploring

lexical sets and other collocations. 'Checking comprehension, extracting main ideas' and

'reading for specific information' (ibid) often follow the first reading. The activities depend on

the type of text we are dealing with, whether it is a short story, an article, a dialogue, a recipe

or a letter, as well as the reading itself, whether it is individual reading, group reading or

reading out loud. When practising a grammatical structure, I try to connect it to the content of

the corresponding text which allows the pupils to focus not only on the structure as such, but

also on understanding the meaning it conveys within the text. By linking the reading content

to the pupils' own life experiences and letting them continue with the grammar in this more

familiar context, they are able to remember the grammatical structure better, and remain the

focal point within the learning process.

In my attempt to help slow readers, I often put pupils into mixed ability groups where they

take turns reading out loud to each other. In each group there are more or less the same

number of pupils as there are paragraphs in a given text. The texts are carefully chosen and

range from 4 to 5 paragraphs maximum. Each pupil is responsible for one of the paragraphs.

He/she must read it out loud to the rest of the group, lead the group discussion in analysing

unknown words or phrases and paraphrase the main idea in the paragraph. Slower learners

feel less intimidated and participate better. Like Wallace, I also believe it is important to

'ensure that text, context, and reading task give maximum support to the second language

learner's current linguistic and schematic knowledge' (1992:42-43).

'Automaticity of word recognition', referred to by Paran (1996:30), as well as word meaning,

is something I strive for with my learners. One way of achieving this is by exposing them to

as much reading as possible through the annual reading badge competition prepared by the

DZS – Epicenter in Ljubljana. Books are carefully chosen for each level of language learning

and include topics ranging from detective stories to science fiction and romance. For pupils,

who excel in the language, I often choose texts that they can approach with a critical eye,

texts that have the 'potential to raise issues', as Wallace (1992:103) suggests, and allow

readers to challenge and react to the author's point of view based on their own life

experiences. Critical reading is welcome in the ELT classroom, as it breaks the monotony of

reading only for grammar purposes and gives reading a new freshness.

Listening: Key Issues

There are quite a few similarities between listening and reading. Hockly (2007:104-105)

summaries that:

Both imply the processing and comprehension of either spoken or written

discourse, and therefore draw on knowledge of spoken and written grammar. Both

imply knowledge of different text types, and the fact that there are corresponding ways

of listening and reading. […] Schematic knowledge is clearly

important for both activities, as are bottom-up and top-down processing.

McDonough and Shaw (2003:118), however, present some particularities that apply only to

listening, one of them being that the listener cannot go back to what has been said, unless it

has been recorded or purposely repeated; various sounds in the background can interfere with

the understanding of the message being conveyed; verbal speech is often accompanied by

visual aid and is grammatically less complicated; there is also a tendency to change the topic

or leave sentences unfinished. They go on to explain that authentic spoken language varies:

[…] in degrees of formality, in length, in the speed of delivery, in the accent of the

speaker, in the role of the listener, and according to whether it is face to face or

mediated in some way (ibid:119).

All these facts prove that even though listening is categorised as a receptive skill, it is very

closely linked to speaking, since the listener's ability to interpret the spoken message is

influenced by the factors governing it.

What is actually involved in listening? According to Vandergrift (1999:168):

It is a complex, active process in which the listener must discriminate between sounds,

understand vocabulary and structures, interpret stress and intonation, retain what was

gathered in all the above, and interpret it within the immediate as well as the larger

sociocultural context of the utterance.

Because of 'the transient nature of the language material' (McDonough and Shaw 2003:119)

listening requires the listener to recognize and process both the micro-skills involving sound

together with those involving meaning in order to achieve comprehension (ibid:120-121).

The role the listener plays in a given situation is also important, whether he/she is only the

recipient of language in the so-called 'transactional speech', referred to by Brown and Yule

(1983a, in McDonough and Shaw:119), or 'both listener and speaker' in 'collaborative' speech,

as referred to by Rost (1990,1994, in ibid) In the latter speech the listener plays a role 'in

shaping and contolling the direction in which it moves' (ibid). The listener must also be aware

of features of spoken discourse, such as Grice's (1975) politeness and co-operative principles,

which may influence comprehension. Let us also not forget the background knowledge that a

learner has, as well as his/her schema, which influence how he/she will interpret and react to

the spoken message (McDonough and Shaw 2003). Listening in the young learner classroom

is a very demanding skill to master mainly because of the different obstacles the learners

have to overcome during the listening process.

Teaching Listening: Problems and Solutions

Some of the problems in teaching listening include the 'speed' of the listening material, which,

as Underwood (1989, in McDonough and Shaw 2003:125) points out, cannot be controlled.

He also points out that some learners have a limited vocabulary and attempt to understand

every word, but fail to recognize 'signals' (ibid). Lack of background knowledge causes an

even greater void between the listener and the listening material and learners may find it

difficult to concentrate in L2 (ibid). As Ridgway (2000:181) points out, they listen with only

'half and ear'. Another important matter is the listening material itself. It is important not to

use texts that are too long or too advanced for the learners' level of knowledge. According to

Field (2000:186), when weak L2 listeners and readers are confronted 'with texts of ever-

increasing complexity', they simply 'give up'. To overcome this problem Thornbury (2001:59)

advocates the use of 'material that is within students’ linguistic competence', or to 'adapt it

accordingly'.

It often takes a lot of effort on the part of the teacher to keep the learners motivated

throughout the entire listening activity. Pre-listening activities are of major importance in

activating the learners' 'knowledge schema' (McDonough and Shaw 2003:127). What is

important here is to set the scene, so that the pupils can build an image in their minds of what

they are about to listen to. 'It is also an oppportunity to pre-teach essential vocabulary and

provide clear task orientation' (Hockly 2007:115). Underwood's (1989:112-114) examples of

'while' listening activities are similar to those in my teaching context. The type of activity

used, however, depends a lot on the listening material itself. Pupils with limited vocabulary

often work in pairs together with better pupils, to get as much out of the listening as possible.

I will pause from time to time to allow for reflection. Comprehension questions are used to

check the pupils' general understanding of the material. However, I often add 'comprehending'

questions as well, a strategy advocated by Thornbury (2001:59), whose answers cannot be

found on surface level, but require a deeper understanding of the text. This usually triggers

discussion which can be very interesting. The post-listening activities in my teaching context

can range from easy exercises like filling in the blanks or role play to more demanding ones

like writing an ending or a description of one of the characters. The level of difficulty of the

activity depends on the linguistic ability of the learners themselves.

Pronunciation of the listening material is a key to understanding it. According to Underwood

(1989:98) 'students need to practise listening to the kind of speech they will actually

encounter in real life’. Since English is becoming an international language, Andrewes

(1993:48), as summarized by Hockly (2007:112), considers it wise for listeners to experience

'non-native speaker accents' as well. The listening material I use offers a fair amount of

different accents, even though the British one still prevails. To compensate for that I

sometimes invite foreign speakers to give talks in order to expose the learners to as many

accents as possible. Participating in international projects has given pupils the opportunity to

practise not only the listening skill, but all the others as well and become 'participants' in real

encounters, not just 'overhearers', as mentioned by Hockly (2007:107). Giving pupils frequent

opportunities to interact in the target language, such as in class debates or group presentations

on topics of interest forces them to start thinking in English as well.

Conclusion

Language skills are not separate entities. They frequently overlap and influence each other

throughout the learning process. Reading and listening efficiency in L2 is influenced by the

learners' schema, which, according to Cook (1997:86), 'can help explain students'

comprehension problems'; by the learner's linguistic ability and by the reading and listening

material. Learners have 'individual learning styles' , according to Field (2000:187), and so the

strategies used by the teacher in achieving comprehension are vitally important. In teaching

the language skills a greater focus should be put on the needs of the learners and their

purposes for learning the language.

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