Current Trends in the Development and Teaching of the four Language Skills

Esther Usó-Juan, Alicia Martínez-Flor, Esther Usó-Juan, Alicia Martínez-Flor

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9783110189681
• eBook ISBN: 9783110197778
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Current Trends in the Development and Teaching of the four Language Skills builds connections from theory in the four language skills to instructional practices. It comprises twenty-one chapters that are grouped in five sections. The first section includes an introductory chapter which presents a communicative competence framework developed by the editors in order to highlight the key role the four skills play in language learning and teaching. The next four sections each represent a language skill: Section II is devoted to listening, Section III to speaking, Section IV to reading and Section V to writing. In order to provide an extensive treatment of each of the four skills, each section starts with a theoretical chapter which briefly illustrates advances in the understanding of how each skill is likely to be learned and taught, followed by four didactically oriented chapters authored by leading international specialists. These pedagogical chapters deal specifically with four key topics: 1) areas of research that influence the teaching of a particular skill; 2) an overview of strategies or techniques necessary for developing a particular skill; 3) an approach to the academic orientation of a particular skill, and 4) unique aspects of teaching each skill. Moreover, all chapters incorporate two common sections: pre-reading questions at the beginning of the chapter in order to stimulate readers' interest in its content, and a section entitled suggested activities at the end of the chapter in order to allow readers put the ideas and concepts presented into practice. The accessible style and practical focus of the volume make it an ideal tool for teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher trainees who are involved in teaching the four language skills in a second or foreign language context.

Table of contents

• Frontmatter
• Contents
• Approaches to language learning and teaching: Towards acquiring communicative competence through the four skills
• Towards acquiring communicative competence through listening
• Areas of research that influence L2 listening instruction
• Learning how to listen using learning strategies
• Academic listening: Marrying top and bottom
• Teaching listening: Time for a change in methodology
• Towards acquiring communicative competence through speaking
• Areas of research that influence L2 speaking instruction
• Questions as strategies to encourage speaking in content-and-language-integrated classrooms
• Turn-taking awareness: Benefits for teaching speaking skills in academic and other contexts
• Teaching speaking: A text-based syllabus approach
• Towards acquiring communicative competence through reading
• Areas of research that influence L2 reading instruction
• Developing strategic L2 readers… by reading for authentic purposes
• Finding a path to fluent academic and workplace reading
• Teaching reading: Individual and social perspectives
• Towards acquiring communicative competence through writing
• Areas of research that influence L2 writing instruction
• Techniques for shaping writing course curricula: Strategies in designing assignments
• Written in, written out: Who sets the standards for academic writing?
• Teaching writing: Orienting activities to students’ goals
• Backmatter