LSRW
Learning a second or a foreign language is more
than learning a description of it. It is developing the ability to use the
language on habit level. This is true of not only second language learning but
also of first language learning. In today’s era of globalization, the English
language is widely accepted as an international and connecting language all
over the world. To be successful and keeping pace with this globalized world,
one has to be adept in the English language.
To master this language, one has to work on all
the four skills of the language – listening, speaking, reading and writing
(LSRW). These four skills help to be a better communicator there by helping us
to successful in personal and professional life. Success and communication are
very closely related with each other. Lack of communication skill will
certainly affect the future of any student. The LSRW method plays its central
role in the enhancement of this English speaking.
When we learn a language, there are four skills
that we need for complete communication. When we learn our native language, we
usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read and finally to
write. These are called the four “language skills”.
11) LISTENING :
Listening is receiving language through ears.
Listening involves identifying the sounds of the speech and processing them
into words and sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to receive individual
sounds (letters, stress, rhythm and pauses) and we use our brain to convert these
into message that mean something to us.
Listening is any language requires focus and
attention. It is a skill that some people need to work at harder than others.
In addition, teaching the learners a lot of listening activities is a good way
of enlarging their vocabulary. People who have difficulty concentrating are
typically poor listeners. Like babies, we learn this skill by listening to
people who already know how to speak the language. This may or may not include
native speakers. For practice, we can listen to live or recorded voices. The
most important thing is to listen to a variety voices as often as you can.
Therefore, to become a fluent speaker in English,
we need to develop strong listening skills. Listening is not only helps we
understand what people are saying to us, but it also helps us to speak clearly
to other people. It helps us learn how to pronounce word properly, how to use
intonations and where to place stress in words and sentences.
22)
SPEAKING :
Speaking is the delivery language through mouth.
Speaking is also known as the productive skills in the oral mode. It, like the
other skills, is more complicated and it seems at first and involves more than
just pronouncing words. To speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body
including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips.
These are three kind of speaking. We should
understand which are interactive, partially interactive and non-interactive
speaking situations include face to face conversation and telephone calls, in
which we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition or slower speech
from our conversation partner. Whereas in partially interactive situations, its
involve giving a speech to the audience and no interruption during the speech.
The speaker nevertheless can see the audience and judge from the expressions on
their faces and body language whether or not he/she is understood. The
non-interactive speaking can be defined as recorded speech such as when
recording a speech for radio broadcast.
Speaking skills could be improved by understanding
para-linguistics attributes such as voice quality, volume and tone, voice
modulation, articulation, pronunciation etc. This could be further enhanced
with the help of debates and discussions.
33)
READING :
Reading is the receptive skill in the written
mode. It can develop independently of listening and speaking skills, but often
develops along with them especially in societies with a highly developed
literary tradition. Reading can help build vocabulary that helps listening
comprehension at the later stages, particularly. In other words, reading is the
process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning to them.
When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation
marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences
and paragraphs that communicate something to us.
Reading can be silent or aloud. It is an important way to
of gaining information in language learning and it is a basic for a language
learner. Reading is therefore a highly valuable skill and activity and it is
recommended that English learners try to read as much as possible in English.
Moreover, it is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to
construct or derive meaning. Like all language, it is a complex interaction
between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior
knowledge, experiences, attitude and language community which is culturally and
socially situated. Reading process requires continuous practice, development,
refinement, creativity and critical analysis.
44)
WRITING :
Writing is the process of using symbols to
communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. Writing is the productive
skill in the written mode. It too is more complicated and often seems to be the
hardest of the skills, even for native speakers of a language, since it
involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and
presentation of thoughts in a structured way.
To write clearly, it is essential to understand
the basic system of a language. In English, this includes knowledge of grammar,
punctuations and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is
correct spelling and formatting. Writing skills may be improved through giving
exercises on composition and creative writing. Nowadays, motivation for writing
includes publication, storytelling, correspondence.
A writer may write for a personal enjoyment or
use, or for an audience of one person or more. The audience may be known
(targeted) or unknown. Taking notes for study purposes is an example of writing
to one’s self. Blogging publicity is an example of an unknown audience. A
letter to a friend is an example of writing for a targeted audience. As with
speaking it is important to consider your audience when writing. There are many
different styles of writing, from informal to formal.
The four language skills are related and connected
to each other in two ways; which is the direction of communication and the
method of communication. Listening and reading are known as ‘receptive’ skills
while speaking and writing are known as ‘productive’ skills. You will need to
master these skills whether you are learning English. All language learners
will need to develop their skills in each of these areas, and your language
classes should incorporate activities related to all these skills.
