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In this unit, I have learnt that in any language the two receptive skills are reading and listening and the two productive skills are speaking and writing. These skills are equally important and need to be incorporated through a balanced approach in order to create an 'integrated' skills lesson. It is important to recognise there are two main reasons and motives for reading and listening; for a purpose and entertainment. I have learnt reading and listening do not just rely on a student's eyes and ears because they also need to use their minds to understand words and process using 'pre-existing knowledge'. I now realise students will need to employ predictive, deductive, scanning and skimming skills, as well as be able to elicit detailed information at various times. I have learnt that it will be important to recognise potential problems which can arise, when teaching receptive skills, so that I can be prepared to help my students overcome these issues. I can assist students by teaching them difficult language and structures before beginning a reading or listening activity. I realise a balance is needed between pre-teaching structures and allowing students a chance to tackle new vocabulary independently. I now know it is important to choose texts carefully so they are suitable to the students' ability and to give them confidence in their skills. Teachers need to vary topics and tasks to create interest for the students and motive them to learn. Most importantly, I have learnt that to create a successful receptive skills lesson there are a number of key elements to be included; materials that interest/motive students, build interest before reading or listening, pre-teach complex vocabulary, vary the type of material, use material to practice different skills, use realistic comprehension tasks to aid understanding and incorporate activate phases that naturally lead on from the texts.
