The Language Skills

There are four language skills — listening, speaking, reading and writing. These skills are integrated. not discrete. They supplement and invigorate one another. No single skill can be cultivated and developed in the absence of other skills.
The language skills have been classified into different categories. One classification states speaking and writing are active skills. Listening and reading, on the other hand, are considered to be passive skills. All the skills are active in nature, but not to the same degree.
Another classification makes a distinction between productive skills and receptive skills. When we speak or write, we actually produce some thing; when we listen or read, we receive something.
1. THE LISTENING SKILL
We hear what is said whether we wish to or not. This cannot be called listening. When we listen, we engage our mind actively. There is an element of choice in listening. So there is a difference between hearing and listening. As a term in language teaching, listening means lending ear to the spoken work with a purpose to understand the message. It is paying conscious attention to whatever is being said.
The listening skill consists of several sub-skills:
a. identifying sounds, words and structures;
b. constructing a meaning from them;
c. relating meanings to other items of information stored in our minds,
d. planning a response to what we hear.
Stages of the Listening Skill
As described above, the listening skill consists of various sub-skills or stages. These stages are as under:
a. Perception and Decoding: Perception means ability to recognize through senses. Decoding means making out the meaning of something. When a listener hears the spoken language, the language is in the form of a continuous flow of sounds and words. The first step is to recognize these sounds and words. These words form short stretches of language which we call sentences. The second step is to make out the meanings of these sentences. This information is stored in our memory.
b. Prediction by Neglecting Redundancy: Prediction means guessing what is likely to come. Neglecting Redundancy means ignoring what is superfluous or unnecessary. Speech reaches the listener in a quick flow of sounds. It is difficult to catch all of it. Some of the information is missed. So the mind ignores that information and tries to guess what is to come.
c. Short Term Memory: Through the ear, the message reaches our mind but it is in the form of chunks (pieces). Our mind also has the ability to remember or retain the received material. This mental capacity is called 'memory'. It is of two kinds: Short term memory (STM) and Long term memory (LTM). The function of the short term memory is to turn the sounds and words heard in a speech into internal meaning. This memory collects them and processes them into bigger pieces or phrases. These stretches of speeches are changed into meaningful sentences. After this has been done, the listener is able to predict what he is going to hear.
d. Long Term Memory: After the operation of the Short Term Memory, the message is stored in the mind in a jumbled (disorderly) form. It is not in its logical form. At this stage, the operation of the Long Term Memory starts. It relates the material that has gone before to the material that follows. It is, in fact, a process of collection of all that has gathered in the mind, and putting it in order so that it may become meaningful. The message many or may not be in the words of the speaker. But it is clear in the mind. We can recall this message later on.
e. Response: When we ask: What are you reading? And the listener replies: I am drinking water, there is something wrong. When a listener hears something and does not respond, or responds wrongly, it means that the message is not clear, or it has not been understood properly. The test of effective listening is the appropriate response.
We see that the act of listening is more a mental process. than a physical one. The highest level of proficiency in listening skill is the ability to understand the natural flow of a native speech.
A person who can understand the spoken English can:
a. recognize the characteristic English speech sounds, in isolation as well as in combination;
b. distinguish such sound from similar sounds in his mother tongue;
c. understand the lexical meanings of words in context and grammatical meanings of structures;
d. understand the meaning conveyed by stress and intonation patterns;
e. grasp the mood of the speaker and the theme of the discourse;
f. anticipate words and structures from the context for understanding speech at a normal conversational speed;
g. guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word from the context.
Listening: Comprehension Difficulties and Problems
When we listen to something or read something, we try to understand the message. But we realize listening comprehension is more difficult than reading comprehension. When the message is in the written form, we may read it at our own speed; we may read it again and again; we may take the help of a dictionary for the meanings of words. But these facilities are not available when we listen to a spoken message.
Comprehension Difficulties:
According to Rixon. these difficulties of listening comprehension may be summarized under four heads:
1. Sound Difficulties: Different people speak in different ways. The same sound may be produced by different people differently. Intonations and stresses may be different. The speaking speed of a speaker may be very fast. The listener has no control on the speed of the speech. As such, some of the message may go unheard. He may ask the speaker to slow down but the speaker cannot change his habit at such a demand. Sometimes, the listener, for various reasons, does not receive the word correctly. Words like ship and sheep, bird and bud may not be pronounced clearly, and may create confusion.
2. Words and Grammar Difficulties: Sometimes, the vocabulary of the listener is not good enough to understand the full message. Some words have special meanings. The listener may not understand them. In the written language. we use the grammar rules very strictly. But in conversation, we pay more attention to the communication of the message. We usually ignore the rules. The listener keeps trying to understand the rules and cannot keep pace with the speech which is being delivered. He cannot ask the speaker to repeat. .
3. Experience Difficulties: Sometimes, the topic of the speech is unfamiliar to the listener. He listens but cannot understand the terms and the themes. This happens in the class room when the teacher starts a lesson without any introduction to the topic of the lesson As a result, the students cannot respond to his questions.
Remedial Steps:
In tackling with these difficulties, the teacher should adopt some remedial (intended to improve) steps in the class room:
a. Attention to Production of Sounds: The teacher should make the students familiar with the correct production of sounds, proper accent and intonation. He should present a good model before them. He should be clear and slow in his speech. With the passage of time, he may be more fluent.
b. Motivation in Students: The teacher should make the students aware of the grammatical 'rules' in conversation. He should tell them while listening, they should pay more attention to the comprehension of the message. He should ask them to consult a dictionary to find that a word may have more than one meaning. He should instruct them to interpret the meanings of words in their context.
c. Peaceful Atmosphere: The teacher should see that the room is not noisy when he is trying to teach a lesson or when he is talking. In a noisy room, the students can miss many points of his speech.
d. Speech within Experience: The teacher should ensure that his speech may be about the topic within the experience of the students. His speech should not be packed with information. It should be simple so that the response of the listeners may be sure and positive.
e. Body Movements: Body movements may be used by the teacher while speaking. They will attract the attention of the students and as a result. They will listen more carefully.
They will supplement their listening with the interpretation of the teacher's movements.
Development of the Listening Skill
Unfortunately, listening is the skill which is neglected in our schools. It is presumed that listening is something 'nature; there is no need to learn it. The teacher supposes that the student already knows it. This is a mistaken view. Our students find it difficult to understand modern English spoken at natural speed. We must remember that listening is a process that involves not only our ears but minds also. It is a skill that must be learnt through practice. This practice should be regular, frequent, graded and interesting.
Activities to develop the Listening Skill
Some of the activities designed to develop the listening skill are as under: -

1) Word Identification Exercises: The teacher will give the students a list of the group of two words of nearly same sounds. He will speak out a word and ask the students to tick the word they listened to. The groups of words can be like these: pull, pool; hat, hate; bed, bad. This exercise gives practice in catching the correct pronunciation of words in a speech.
2) Dictation: Dictation is basically a test of writing. But it can be successfully used as an activity to develop listening. The teacher will speak or read out a passage and the listeners will write it down. This exercise can be simple or difficult, quick or slow according to the level of the class. A continuous exercise of this type will improve the listening skill.
3) Listen and Do Exercises: The teacher will ask the students to listen to him carefully and do as instructed He can proceed like this: Draw two circles on the of your page. Draw a square around them. Draw a bigger circle on the left of the square. Write you name above the square.
4) Check-list Exercises: The teacher will give the students a list of some random words or phrases. Then the students will listen to the passage read out by the teacher. They will be asked to check the list and give numbers 1,2,3,4 to the words as they occur in the passage.
5) Picture Identification Exercises: The students will be given a sheet of paper with pictures of persons, things, or numbers on it. They will listen to a passage read out by the teacher. On the basis of their listening, they will be asked to identify the pictures.
6) Questions-Answer Exercises: The teacher will give a list of questions to the students. Then, he will read out a passage to them. After this, he will ask them to answer the questions verbally or in writing. For this exercise, the teacher can •se different types of questions such as Yes/ No-Questions, Multiple Choice questions, Correct-incorrect sentences, True-false statements.
7) Cloze Exercises: "Cloze" is a German word which means a `gap' or 'missing part'. In this exercise, the teacher will give the students a list of words. Then he will read out a passage to them. After this he will give them the same passage in written form with blanks (missing words) at regular intervals. Every 5th 7th or 9th word may be deleted. On the basis of their listening, the students will fill in the blanks.
8) Information Transfer Exercises: Information Transfer means changing the information from one form into another. The students will receive information in verbal form and transfer it into the form of diagrams, graphs, lines on the map, labels, outlines, and study notes.

Some Principles of Teaching Listening Comprehension
Christina Bratt Paulston and Mary Newton Bruder in their book “Teaching English as a Second language: Techniques and Procedures" point out few general principles for teaching listening comprehension : These are"
1. Listening comprehension (LC) lessons must have definite goals, carefully stated. These goals should fit into the overall curriculum, and both teacher and students should be clear about their objectives.
2. Listening comprehension lessons should be constructed carefully step by step. The student should know exactly what the task is and he is given directions as to "what to listen, when to listen, and 'low to listen".
3. LC lesson's structure should demand active student participation. She states that the most active student participation involves a written response to the listening material, and that immediate feedback on performance helps keep interest and motivation at high levels.
4. It is advisable to give the students the writing assignment before they listen to the material. (It serves the same function as the "before" questions in the reading class).
5. Listening comprehension lessons should stress conscious memory work. One of the goals of listening is to strengthen the students immediate recall in order to increase their memory spans. "Listening is receiving. receiving requires thinking and thinking requires memory; there is no way to separate listening, thinking, remembering".
6. Listening comprehension lessons should be based on the principle "teach and not test". By this it means that the purpose of checking the students answers should be viewed only as feedback, as a way to letting the students find out how they did and how they are progressing. There should be no pass/fail attitude associated with the correction of the exercises.
2. THE SPEAKING SKILL
Speaking means conveying the message through the words of mouth. We speak when, we want to express our ideas, desires, and to establish social relationships. This skill is also called Oral Skill or Communicative Skill. This skill is very often neglected in our schools and colleges. Most of the students cannot speak English. They feel shy; they are afraid of committing mistakes. The classes are so large that every student cannot get a chance to speak. To develop this skill, the students need intensive practice. Speaking practice is usually done in pair and group work.
Andrew Wilkinson, the British linguist, coined the word 70RACY' in 1965 in order to stress the significance of the spoken element in language. By `ORACY' he means 'talking' and listening' whereas 'Literacy' means for reading and writing. He defines `Oracy' as:
"Oracy comes from practice in specific situations, whether these occur naturally in the class-room or elsewhere, or are created as a specific teaching device. It is helped by unconscious initiation, it is stimulated by the response to others, and speech becomes clearer in the necessity for communication. The main job of the teacher is to provide situations which call forth increasing powers of utterance".
The Skill of Speaking
A person who speaks English can:
a. produce the characteristic English speech sounds and sound patterns, both in isolation and in combination;.
b. use appropriate stress and intonation patterns;
c. use appropriate words and structures to express the intended meaning:
d. recall words and structures quickly'
e. organize his thoughts and ideas in logical sequence;
f. adjust his speech according to his audience, situation and subject-matter.
Four Types of Activities:
Language experts have organized oral skills into four distinctive types:
1. Drills or Linguistically Structured Activities:
In these activities, the teacher provides a particular structure and the students practice it by repeating it. Drills are a good example of this type.
2. Performance Activities:
In these activities, the student prepares himself beforehand and delivers a message to a group. A good example of such an activity is the student's speech.
3. Participation Activities:
In these activities, the student participates in some communicative activity in a 'natural setting'. One of the most commonly used participation activities is the discussion on some topic.
4. Observation Activities:
In these activities, a student observes something, writes a brief summary and presents his findings to the class.
SOME DEVICES / TECHNIQUES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPEAKING SKILL
Within the four types discussed above, there are many activities that may be used to develop the listening skill of the students. Some most commonly used activities are as follows:
1) Drills: The students are given a structure and are asked to repeat it. Drills are usually very controlled. They are fairly repetitive, and not very creative. However, they are a god practice for students to speak. They can be used to practice simple statements, question forms and answers.
2) Dialogues: A dialogue is a conversation between two persons. The students may be asked to talk, introducing themselves to each other. They may ask each others personal questions about their likes and dislikes.
3) Role-Play: This is also a form of dialogue. In this type of exercise, the students are asked to play the role of different persons and talk to each other. For example, a student may act as a shopkeeper and the other as the customer in a shopping situation. This exercise will encourage the students to speak in real life situations.
4) Information Gap Exercises: This is again a form of dialogue. In this type of exercise, one person has some information which the other person does not have. So there is an information gap. To fill up this gap. one person asks the questions, and the other answers these questions.
5) Chain-Stories: In this type of exercise, the teacher gives the first sentence of the story and the students go on adding sentences to it. For example,
The teacher says: Once there was a crow.
A student will add the sentence: He was very thirsty
In this way, the story will be completed. Every student will get a chance to speak.
6) Short Lectures: The students may be given some easy topics. They will prepare them in verbal or written form. Turn by turn, they will come to the stage and deliver a lecture for two minutes before the class.
7) Discussions: This is the advanced stage of speaking. The teacher will give some topics to different groups of students. He will give them instructions how to proceed. The students will discuss the topic. Then, the teacher will ask the leader of the group to give the result of their discussion.
Some Suggestions for Developing Spoken English
1. Practice in the early stages of learning should be limited, however, to the sounds, the vocabulary or the structural patterns which are being taught for active production.
2. Practice should, not be in isolated periods or of meaningless sounds, words or sentences. This deadens interest in the new language learning.
3. Pupil's initial contact with the flow of speech will come from listening to the sentences, the teacher gives.
4. Listening, imitation and repetition are the key activities to learn correct pronunciation and intonation. Students need to practice in groups as well as independently.
5. Sound differences could be carefully handled.
6. The teacher has to keep control over the learning process by correcting immediately pupil's mistakes. He need not point out the mistake but he arranges for the correct practice exercises indirectly.
7. Living through a situation and finding to use the language as a compelling force always helps in acquiring a sound language habit. Can the teacher of English devise such situations when it is the second or the third language to learn? It is not uncommon to find that the child even when he is at play he uses the new sounds as he hears them being used by other children in his play groups, without even knowing what each sound or word means. In a very short time he has learnt the meanings of the words by using them in the right place at the right moment.
Teaching English Pronunciation
Those illiterate people who mispronounce their words expose themselves to the ridicule of people around them. If we do not wish to make ourselves a butt of ridicule, we should make an effort to learn the correct pronunciation. It is a badge of good breeding. There are some educationists who hold that absolutely correct pronunciation should not be demanded in the beginning because it is very difficult for the young learners to acquire it at that stage.
There are others who hold that English being a living language should be taught as such. There is the "Standard Pronunciation" or the "Received Pronunciation" which should be adopted by the foreigners.
PROBLEMS OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
English pronunciation is more slipshod and slovenly than of any other language in Europe. There is no correspondence between spelling and pronunciation. Sometimes the words are pronounced alike but they are spelled differently and vice versa.
The following are the difficulties that our students face in learning English pronunciation:
1) Difficulties with new vowel and consonant sounds: English has certain vowel and consonant sounds which do not occur in the mother or national tongue of our students. These sounds present difficulties to the students.
2) Difficulties with stress: The stress system in English is different from what it is in the mother tongue. The stress in English carries meaning e.g. 'rebel, re'bel. If we stress the first syllable in rebel, it becomes a noun, but if we stress the second syllable, it becomes a verb. Likewise, the meaning of an utterance is different depending upon which word is stressed. A Pakistani mother tongue does not observe such distinctions.
3) Difficulties with intonation: The intonation of English is also different from that of the mother tongue. It is very difficult to learn it. It has been rightly said that whereas it is easier to master individual sounds in English, it is very difficult to master the stress, rhythm and intonation patterns.
4) Difficulties with rhythm: English is stress-timed language, that is, the stressed syllables in English occur at equal intervals of time. It is very difficult for the learner to master the rhythm of English as his own language is syllable-times.
5) Difficulties with orthography: English is not a phonetic language, that is, the pronunciation of a word is not the combination of the various letters constituting it. Consider the words knife, enough. The spelling of an English word is not a sure guide to its pronunciation.
How to remove these Difficulties?
The difficulties of pronunciation can be overcome by attending to the following points:
1. Importance of the teacher's model
The importance of the teacher's model can hardly be over­emphasized. The pronunciation of a student cannot be better than that of his teacher as the student learns pronunciation through imitation. It is for this reason that in certain countries the best teachers of English are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the beginners in language. As Such the teacher of English should ensure that his own pronunciation is good. He should listen to the English programmes over the radio. He should look up the dictionary in case he is in doubt about the pronunciation of a word.
2. Model of pronunciation to be followed
There are some educationists who hold the view that we should aim at teaching the Received Pronunciation (R.P.) (R.P. is the pronunciation of Southern England. It is used by B.B.C. and is taught in Public Schools in England. It has been so well described by Daniel Jones and A. C. Gimson). R. P. is favoured because it enjoys the widest intelligibility.
3. Emphasis on pronunciation
Stress has to be laid on the teaching of pronunciation. This is specially so in the early classes because when once the habits of wrong pronunciation are formed, it will be very difficult for the students to get rid of them later on and to form the new ones. It is for this reason that the teachers whose pronunciation is good should be asked to teach the beginners classes in English.
4. Teaching difficult sounds
The difficult sounds for the student are those that do not occur in his mother tongue. Such vowel, diphthong and consonant sounds should be listed at the beginning of a lesson.
The following steps should be followed in teaching the sounds that are new to the student:
Step a): Production of the new sound by the teacher:
The teacher speaks a number of words containing the new sound. This provides sufficient ear training to the students to recognize the new sound. The students are also told the position of various speech organs in producing the sound. For example, in producing /w/, lips are closely rounded, as in whistling. In producing /v/, the lower lip is pressed against the upper teeth.
Step b): Production of the new sound by students:
Students are asked to speak the words containing the new sound after the teacher.
Step c): Presentation of minimal pairs:
As some sounds are likely to be confused with others they should be presented in minimal pairs. (A minimal pair is a pair of words which differ from each other in one sound only, the position of the sound remaining the same. E.g. bed, bad, good god). First the students learn to recognize the two sounds and then to produce them.
Step d): Testing:
The teacher speaks a word from one column and asks the students to speak out the corresponding word from the other column.
5. Using audio-visual aids
Audio-visual aids such as linguaphones, tape-recorders, radio, television and language laboratory can also be used profitably for teaching pronunciation. The students may listen to linguaphones and these provide them ear training. The students can also listen to tapes for stress, rhythm and intonation and get their own voice recorded. Senior students can improve their pronunciation by listening to the radio or watching programmes in English on television.
3. THE READING SKILL
- Reading is one of the four language skills. It is generally agreed that the two main aims of reading are information and pleasure. It is of great value and importance. The most acceptable definition of reading is "the process by which we make sense of text". In simple words, reading means looking at the written word and understanding the message. In this sense, it consist of two steps: recognizing the letters of the alphabets, and comprehension. At the higher stage, comprehension is the most important aspect of reading.
Like listening, it is a decoding process. But it is a very complex process and involves many physical, intellectual and often emotional reactions. Further. it entails the ability to recognize graphic symbols and their corresponding vocal sounds. Thus reading skill consists of three important components viz.
a. Recognition of the graphic marks.
b. The correlation of these with formal linguistic elements.
c. The correlation of these with meaning.
Importance of Reading
Dr. West-suggested that reading should be given the key place in the total scheme of teaching English as a foreign language. Teaching of reading is important because:
a. Reading indicates towards knowing of the language.
b. Reading helps in knowing world's news, important information through newspapers, journals, books etc.
c. It is a source of recreation. In leisure hours, one can go through books, magazines, journals etc. C. C. Fries rightly remarks, "Our main purpose is developing the ability to read among our children.
Analysis of the Skill of Reading
Like other language skills, reading is also a complex skill involving a number of simultaneous operations. So far, we know very little about the complex mental processes associated with the learning and the use of language; and therefore, any attempt at an analysis of the skill of reading is bound to be largely speculative in nature. The one given below tries to sort out some of the more obvious aspects of this complex skill. A person who comprehends written English can;
1) read a passage at normal speed;
2) understand the lexical and the structural meanings of the words phrases and sentences;
3) take in complete phrases or groups of words at once and when reading aloud, use appropriate sounds juncture, stress and intonation patterns;
4) guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word from the context;
5) consult a dictionary to find out the meaning of an unfamiliar word;
6) skip over unnecessary passages while skimming for information;
7) read silently without moving the lips;
8) distinguish between the writer's opinion and statement of facts;
9) locate the 'topic sentence' of a paragraph'
10) make a summary of the important points of the passage;
11) infer the mood of the write, e.g. serious, jocular, sarcastic, etc.
12) recognize the meaning of various graphic signals, e.g, punctuation marks, paragraph indentation, capitalization, etc.
Kinds of Reading
The Reading Skill is classified into four categories:
a. SILENT AND ORAL READING
It is the most important type of reading. "We all read faster than we speak and children must be initiated into the silent reading habit as early as possible".
Morrison says:
"Loud reading by students should be followed by silent reading".
Objectives of Silent Reading
(1) To enable students to read without making sounds and moving lips.
(2) To enable students to read with ease, speed and fluency.
(3) To make students read with comprehension.
(4) To get students, vocabulary expanded.
Advantages
(1) It is time saving and quick.
(2) It saves energy as well.,
(3) It develops the ability to read with interest.
(4) It acts as a deterrent against the tendency so common amongst beginners to translate what they read in English into their mother tongue.
(5) It is quite useful in later life as it is used in public places and libraries.
(6) It initiates self-education and deep study.
Limitations
(I) It is not good for beginners.
(2) It does not teach correct pronunciation.
(3) It cannot be checked if students are actually reading.
(4) Mistakes cannot be checked and corrected.
(5) It is not interesting.
(6) Sometimes students are not interested in any passage, so they leave it out.
Loud Reading/Oral Reading
This type of reading is also known as oral reading. It is introduced after two months of reading, i.e. when pupils learn what they have to read in a book.
Objectives of Loud Reading / Oral Reading
(1) To enable students to read with correct pronunciation, articulation, intonation, stress and rhythm.
(2) To enable students to read with expression.
(3) To test students knowledge of speaking words, phrases and sentences.
(4) To give practice.
(5) To understand the meaning.
(6) To prepare pupils for effective silent reading.
Advantages
1) Students learn the proper method of reading.
2) Students develop the skill of speech and giving lectures.
3) The mistakes related to pronunciation can be corrected.
4) It trains various sensory organs such as eyes, ears mouth etc.
5) Students learn by imitation, which is a natural method of learning.
Limitations
1) In the opinion of E. W. Manzel, loud reading is not a source of pleasure.
2) It does not help in penetrating the meaning. A. W. Freshly says, "The danger of too much reading aloud is that it may lead to the short circuiting of the meaning, where by the written word does not convey meaning but becomes merely a symbol for the collection of sounds and is translated straight in sound".
3) In later life it is silent reading which is preferred.
4) If a student becomes habitual to loud reading, he can not become an extensive reader.
5) Generally the students of a class pay no heed to what the other student is reading aloud.
b. INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE READING
`Some books are to be tasted others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested'--- this famous dictum of Francis Bacon can still give us valuable guidance about the kinds of reading habits to be developed in our pupils. The dictum implies that the pupils should have practice in two kinds of reading:
(I) Intensive Reading
(2) Extensive Reading
Intensive Reading: The pupils read not only for detailed comprehension of meaning but also for mastering the structures and vocabulary. As has already been noted, a non-native speaker can hope to surpass even the native speaker in the use of the written language. This he can achieve through intensive reading. In this kind of reading, the learner can practice the language in his spare time even without a teacher. Therefore, intensive reading is still regarded as a very potent means of learning a language. Indeed. some experts regard intensive reading as the only practicable means of learning a foreign language like English. But the general consensus is that at the initial stages, reading should be primarily confined to the identification of words and sentences spoken in the oral lessons. Once the pupils have acquired sufficient speed in reading such familiar matter. they would be able to take in new words and sentences in their stride.
Extensive Reading: The pupils read for information or simply for the pleasure of reading. In this kind of reading, the primary object is general comprehension; not language study. Since the aim here is to read rapidly, the ability to locate the 'topic sentence' of a paragraph and to comprehend its general meaning by skimming will be useful. This enables the learner to ignore certain paragraphs or passages and concentrate on the ones he is interested clin. The ability to guess the approximate meaning of a new rapid notes of relevant information for future use is also a necessary component of this useful skill of extensive reading.
Some people think that reading cannot be taught but only learnt, but all of us will agree that the teacher's job is to tell students many different ways to attacking a text. A notable linguist Brumfit states his ideas that there are two approaches to reading:

Reading for Accuracy (intensive)
Reading for Fluency (extensive)

Both these approaches obviously need different classroom procedures. Intensive reading needs close guidance of teacher. The aim of intensive reading is to arrive at a profound and detailed understanding of the text.
The extensive reading is mostly done out of class. The class time is too short to achieve fluency, on e has to read a great deal which can be only done in the spare time. People read in different ways using different strategies and skills. But, when a reader is a foreign language learner then lie needs slow. careful and laborious reading strategies in order to extract the maximum information form it.
Therefore, let us one again revise what intensive and extensive reading are:
Intensive Reading: This kind of reading aims at reading shorter texts, which needs accuracy for detail.
Extensive Reading: This kind of reading emphasizes less on gaining accuracy and more on gaining fluency, since extensive reading is usually done outside the classroom, and for the readers own pleasure, and extensive reader is at liberty to:
(a) Pick up a book of his own interest.
(b) Read the book at his own pace whenever he feels and gain as much exposure as he wants in a language.
How to Teach The Reading Skill
A teacher has to teach the text book intensively. For the promotion of the reading skill of the students, he adopts certain techniques and teaches the lesson in stages. According to Eddie Williams, a teacher should adopt three-phase approach to teach reading:
(1) Pre-reading (Before-reading) Activities:
The purpose of these activates is to prepare the students for the text. First, the teacher introduces the text and arouses the general interest. The introduction must be brief. He may ask some students to talk briefly about the topic of the text. He may have a brief discussion about the topic. Secondly. he gives the students a reason for reading. This is necessary to motivate them. The reason may be getting information about some field or person. or getting pleasure from some story or incident. Lastly, the teacher provides some language preparation for the text. He will point out the important words of the text and ask the students to guess their meanings from their context (words surrounding a word).
(2) While-reading Activities:
These activities focus on the intensive (deep) study of the actual text. Before starting activities. the teacher will divide up the longer text into smaller parts. Reading smaller pieces of text, is easier. Moreover, different activities can be used for different parts of the same text. First, the teacher will ask the students to read the text silently. Then, he will ask them to point out the writer's main purpose or the overall message. For example, he may ask: What is the function of the text? What information does it prove? Secondly, after the main idea of the text is known. the teacher will ask the students to read the first or last sentence of each paragraph and pick up the supporting details of the main idea. Thirdly, the teacher will talk of the structure (arrangement of elements) of the text. A text may be of different types and organizations. It may be a narrative, an explanation with examples, an argument etc. For example, the teacher may ask: How is the text organized or developed? What type of text is this? Lastly, the students can be asked to transfer information from the text to a diagram or chart.
(3) Post-reading (After-reading) Activities:
These activities focus on the follow-up ( to check up on result) to the text. In doing this, the students will consolidate or reflect upon what they have learnt. They will relate the text to their own knowledge, interests or views. Christine Nuttal, a famous language expert, has suggested some post-reading activities. First, the teaches will encourage the students to express their own opinion on the text; secondly, he will ask them to link their knowledge with the content of the text; thirdly, he will ask them to distinguish facts from opinions; fourthly, he will ask them to think of the ideas and feelings unexpressed in the text; lastly, the teacher will ask them to summarize the text. Usually, translation is not recommended in foreign language reading comprehension. But as translation is a part of our examination system, we can use it as a follow up activity.
SOME DEVICES TO PROMOTE FAST READING
Sometimes we have to go through a text quickly to obtain the requisite information. These devices are as under:
(1) Skimming: It means reading a text quickly in order to get the gist of the text. The reader is just concerned with the main idea and leaves the other minor or supporting details. Skimming is a useful reading technique especially in extensive reading. It is useful when a reader does not have much time to go through the whole text in detail. So, skimming enables us to read just the relevant parts in a book which might interest us.
(2) Scanning: It means reading a text quickly in order to look for specific piece of information. This reading skill is very useful in our daily life when we are looking for a telephone number in a telephone directory or searching for the meaning of some unfamiliar word in a dictionary. Therefore, instead of going through the whole directory or dictionary we just settle for the specific areas where we can find that particular information.
(3) Previewing: This gives us the first impression about a book. We can have fair idea about the book by looking at:
(a) The title
(b) The blurb or back titles,
(c) Reviews,
(d) The foreword or preface,
(e) The contents page, and
(f) The index
(4) Predicting: This is a kind of guessing game. The reader is utilizing his previous knowledge of language and subject, and is looking forward to reading what he predicts will be in the book.
(5) Anticipation: Anticipation in reading means guessing about the text at a global level or at an overall level. Anticipation means the reader is constantly anticipating what the next line or page would bring. The difference between the anticipation and prediction is that anticipation is global at the entire book level, while prediction is local or at a sentence level.
(6) Silent Reading: As we know, reading is cognitive activity. The imagination of a reader is all the time playing an active role where he is thinking, rethinking, giving pauses, referring back, sometimes even skipping certain lines or pages. Silent reading is a reader private activity and unlike reading aloud when the reader is deprived of this privilege.
(7) Reading in Chunks: Williams says that "the reader is not simply a passive object fed with letters, words and sentences, but is actively working on the text and is above to arrive at understanding without looking at every word." This reading technique once again enables us to avoid unnecessary concern about individual letter or word which can slow down our reading speed; instead, we look for the general idea or message of the book or the writer. Giving Ico much importance on individual word and its meaning, a reader is likely to miss the overall message or meaning of the text.
(8) Guessing The Meaning of Unfamiliar Words: As mentioned in reading in chunks, a competent reader is the one who does not stop over a particular word and look up for meaning in the dictionary but is able to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word with the help of the context. Suppose your task is to teach a novel to your B. A. students. You can actually start a discussion on the author of the book and the book itself, so that your students will form an idea about the book and of course their interest is also aroused.
SQ3R : A USEFUL READING SKILL
Students study books or articles to get information or pleasure. Reading may be a part of studying with a serious purpose like an examination in mind. Now the question is how to read? There are many effective ways and skills of studying. One of the most widely used study skills, which is also very useful in reading is the SQ3R Method. It was developed by Robinson in 1961.
SQ3R (S+Q+R+R+R) stands for the first letters of the five steps in studying a text. The five steps are as follows:
1. S stands for Survey
2. Q stands for Question
3. R-1 stands for Read
4, R-2 stands for Recall
5. R-3 stands for Review
1. Survey :
It means to get an overview of the reading material. Its aim is to discover the over-all meaning. general outline and main points of the text. While reading a text, the student should use the skill of skimming. He should look at the headings to see the major points. He should also inspect the graphic aids such as maps, tables, graphs and pictures. For making a survey, he should use some other markers such as the title, the author's name his qualifications and background. A glance at the table of contents can given a summary of different chapters. Chapter headings, sub-titles, margin-titles can also help to understand the text. The date of publication can establish whether the book is modern or old.
2. Questions:
After surveying the text, the student gains the general id;..1 of the text. Now he should devise questions that may he answered in the text. This step gives the student a sense of purpose. Questions can be framed by rephrasing headings and sub-headings. If the writer himself has given some questions at the beginning or end of the text, they should be noted. At the third step of "Read", the student should see if the questions have been answered. The questions may be like these: Why does the author want to talk about this subject? How far can this information be useful for us? Has the author presented something new? Has he used examples to explain his points? Has he presented his material systematically?
3. Read:
This is, in fact, intensive reading. The student should read the text with full attention. First, he should try to understand the writer's main plan. Then, he should try to find the main idea in each chapter or section, He should underline them to consult later on, After the first reading, the text may be read second time. This will confirm whether the student has picked up rightly the main idea and the supporting details. The student should take notes during this careful second reading. At this third step, the student should try to find out the answers to the questions that he has framed at the second step.
4. Recall:
Literally 'Recall' means call back or remember. In this technique, recall means bringing back to mind what you have gathered from the text. As the student has completed reading, he tends to forget some parts of it. Recall is a sort of revision to consolidate what the student has read at the third step. In other words, at this step, the student makes a summary of the text. He should check on what he has learned. Recall helps the student to set the information in memory.
5. Review:
`Review' means the second examination or critical evaluation. This is the repetition of the steps the student has taken so far: surveying, questioning, reading, recalling. He should review the text and his notes to check if any important thing is not left out. It gives the student a unified vision of the text. It creates in him a critical attitude of mind.
PROBLEMS IN LEARNING TO READ ENGLISH
Our students face several problems in learning to read English. These problems are as follows:
(1) No mastery over the spoken form: Learning to read a foreign language is different from learning to read the mother tongue. The two situations are different. When the child learns to read his mother tongue at the age of five years or so, he has already mastered its sound system and basic structures in the spoken orm. He also knows vocabulary relevant to his range of experience. But when the child learns to read English, he knows nothing about its sound system, structures or vocabulary. The implication for the teacher of English is that the child must first be made aware in the spoken form whatever he is going to read.

Rightly has Ryburn observed, "It may be laid down as a general principle, that in his first year, a pupil should never be required to read any word with which he is not already familiar through conversation... The closer this rule is adhered to, the better will be the result. In trying to familiarize a pupil with the sound and 'feel', of a word before we require him to read it, we are simply following the treatment meted out to him when he learns to read in his mother-tongue".
(2) The Problem of English Spelling: Unlike oriental languages, English is not a phonetic language, that is, the pronunciation of a word is not the combination of the sounds of the letters constituting that word. Consider the word knowledge, the student has, therefore, to learn the pronunciation of each word separately.
(3) The Problem of Script: English is written in Roman script, which is different from the scripts in which oriental languages are written. The child in certain case is already familiar with the scripts of oriental languages. When he learns the Roman script, he is mastering new script.
In learning Roman script there is the additional difficulty of learning two kinds of letters, namely, capital letters and small letters. Scripts in oriental languages do not have capital and small letters.
(4) The Problem of Interference from the Mother-tongue: The child carries the habits of reading the mother tongue to reading of English. Some of these habits are defective, e.g. wrong eye movements, halted reading, backward movement of the eye to get a second look, lip movements, sub-vocal reading, etc.
METHODS OF TEACHING READING
The following are the main methods of teaching reading:
1. The Alphabetic Method.
2. The Phonic Method.
3. The word Method or the Look and Say Method.
4. The Phrase Method.
5. The Sentence Method.
(1) The Alphabetic Method
This is the oldest method used in Pakistan to teach reading. The method consists in teaching the students the names of the various letters of the alphabet in that very order. After the students learn to identify the various letters, the letters are combined to
form words, e.g. t-a-b-l-e = table.
This method has been criticized on the following grounds:
(i) English is not a phonetic language, that is, the pronunciation of a word is not the combination of the sounds of the various letters constituting it. Consider: Knowledge.
(ii) The methods is dull and monotonous as the letters of the alphabet do not stand for anything.
(iii) A single letter stands for more than one sound. For example, the letter a stands for eight different sounds. The letter u has different sounds in put, but.
(iv) As the alphabet method makes a letter the unit of reading, students who are taught by this method fail to acquire good speed in reading.
(2) The Phonic Method
In this method the students are told the common sounds of various letters, instead of their names. Then these sounds are combined to form words. The words to be taught at the early stage are those with more or less regular spellings, e.g. hat, mat, rat.
This method has been criticized on the following grounds:
(i) In English the forms of various letters do not invariably correspond to the sounds represented by them. Hence phonic method is not suitable for teaching English.
(ii) All the words cannot be taught by this method. There are a large number of words in English which have silent letters, e.g. dumb, doubt.
(iii) As in this method the letter is the unit of reading, this retards the speed of reading.
(iv) Phonic Method makes use of unusual vocabulary, e.g. nag is used for a horse. As Dumville says, "the words of the early lessons are selected because of their phonetic spelling and the consequent ease with which they can be manipulated on phonic lines. But these words are neither the most interesting nor common words of ordinary speech".
(3) The Word Method or the Look and Say Method
In this method the word is the unit of reading. A word is written on a flash card and it is accompanied by the picture for which it stands. For example, the word table is written and there is a picture of a table.
Instead of using flash cards the blackboard may be used. In this case matchstick figures are drawn by the teacher. The word method is also called 'the Look and Say Method' as the students look to the picture and say the words. In this method first some nouns are taught and then verbs. Sentences are constructed using these nouns and verbs and certain structural words. Later on adjectives and adverbs are added to the sentences.
The advantages of this method are:
(i) It makes the word the unit of learning rather than the letters. So the students acquire better speed in reading.
(ii) As words have meaning, so reading becomes interesting. P. C. Wren has rightly called this method as "the cone and only rational method".
(iii) In this method we proceed from the concrete to the abstract. The child sees the actual object, then the word signifying it, and then the symbols that represent the same. The disadvantages of this method are:
The demerits of this method are as under:
(a) As all words cannot be represented by pictures, they cannot be taught through this method.
(b) It encourages the bad habit of reading one word at a time.
(4) The Phrase Method
In this method, the phrase is the unit of approach. The method is based on the belief that phrases are more interesting than words.
The limitations of the Phrases Method are:
(i) A phrase does not express a complete idea. So it lacks interest.
(ii) It is time consuming to start learning reading through phrases as finally they have to be blended into sentences.
(5) The Sentence Method
In this method, the sentence in the unit of approach. The advantages claimed for the Sentence Method are:
(i) It lays the foundation of all the attitudes and skills for good reading.
(ii) It helps to prevent word by word reading. It encourages correct habits of eye span.
(iii) According to Schonell, "One of the greatest values of the Sentence Method lies in the help it offers to the pupil from the context and from the continuity of meaning that can be embodied in the material".
(iv) It makes the job of reading interesting.

Conclusion
From the above discussion, it will be clear that no single method of teaching reading is suitable for all occasions and for all learners. Depending upon his own peculiar circumstances and group of pupils, the teacher has to use a judicious combination of all the above methods. Further, as has been stated in the beginning, all the methods lie on a scale which extends from single letters to the entire discourse; and we al take recourse to both atomistic and holistic strategies in reading. The sentence method is useful for developing longer eye-spans which facilitate rapid reading. On the other hand, the phonic method will help the pupils to del with new words. Since our ultimate goal is to prepare the pupils to read on their own, this point is of crucial importance. To use English as a Library Language, the pupils must develop the habit of independent reading.
THE PRINCIPLE OF READING READINESS
What is the suitable time for introducing reading in a programme of foreign language learning? This is the question that is usually asked by the teachers. The answer to this question lies in child's readiness to receive the printed matter quite different from that of his mother tongue. The success of children in reading depends on their readiness to read. In a class there are some children who are eager to learn to read, but on the other hand there are some who are reluctant to. This depends on a number of factors.
a. General maturity
b. Level of general intelligence
c. Ability of visual and auditory discrimination and recognition of word patterns.
d. Environmental factors in reading ability.
e. Emotional attitudes of interest .
These factors act inter-dependently in equipping a child for learning to read. A child who is mature and intelligent, and whose visual and auditory powers are excellent and whose home and language background are wide, usually learns to read earlier than the child who is ill-equipped in every one of the five named factors. Children who come from very poor homes and who show certain unfavourable emotional attitudes are always poor readers. With such a picture in mind, the importance of 'The principle of reading readiness' will be realized by each of us.
What is Reading Readiness?
The term 'readiness' means a number of different things:
a. It may mean the pupil's level of maturation in regard to the factors mentioned above.
b. It may mean a programme of activities designed to bridge the gap from home to school.
C. It may mean training in particular skills related to reading — the differences between letter shapes and word patterns, looking at words and pictures, and so on.
It is obvious that 'reading readiness' is really only one aspect of a wider provision for fitting children to the task of school learning. Provision for reading readiness must include a wide variety of activities that involve the use of language, listening to stories, handling books, working in groups, training in attention and other experiences.
Therefore, there are FOUR main fields in which we should look for readiness:
Factors Influencing Readiness:
a. Mental level
b. Experimental back ground and verbal level.
c. Social and emotional attitudes
d. Physical conditions
(1) Mental Level; Mental level of the child can be determined from his reactions in class as shown in such situations as:
(a) His ability to understand a story;
(b) His ability to look at and interpret pictures;
(c) His ability to carry out simple instructions;
(d) His ability to know the meaning of simple words'
(e) His ability to make some recognition of words'
(f) His ability to see likeness and similarities in words.
(2) Experimental Background and Verbal Level: In assessing reading readiness, this is perhaps the most important field. In this field we try to assess the child's vocabulary knowledge and his ability to participate in speech situations, to ask and answer questions, to relate stories or simple parts of stories told to him, his interest in picture books.
The teacher can check the pupil's readiness by having discussions that deal with home situations. Pictures, together with name words, are presented to the child. The child has to identify the picture to which the word refers. He can do so by pointing or saying the number of the picture.

(3) Social and Emotional Attitudes:
Though Teachers are occasionally inclined to overlook this factor in reading readiness, yet it has importance in determining early progress in reading. The estimate of these attitudes will be based on classroom observation of the child at his play; and from the various other activities in which he engages himself. Perhaps, the most important elements for the teacher to note are:
(a) His ability to listen continuously;
(b) Whether he performs his task earnestly or gives it up quickly;
(c) His ability to cooperate and play with others;
(d) Any undue tendency towards withdraw, timidity, undue fear, etc.
Emotional attitudes of interest and self confidence which are revealed by the children during the reading readiness period are essential to success in reading.
(4) Physical Conditions:
The physical conditions of the child play a very important role in the field of reading. The teacher has to see whether a child is physically fit for l eginning to read or whether he requires some attention to make him physically effective for the task of learning to read. The conditions that the teacher should note are the following:
(a) The Child's Vision: If the eye-sight of the child is defective, he will not progress in reading. He will shirk reading books. He will usually complain of sore eyes or headaches or any other signs of visual discomfort. It is seen that the children usually hide this disability, but the teachers are advised to consider this important. In such cases the child should be asked to get his eyes tested.
(b) The Child's Hearing: If the child opens his mouth frequently, or he misunderstands questions or asks for words to be repeated or he is reserved in the class, then the teachers should guess that he is suffering from some hearing defect. Some children feel difficulty in certain speech units. The teacher should know with which particular speech sound he has difficulty. The teacher should asses a child's ability to discriminate between words which sound alike such as:
Cat Cad, Cab, Catch, Cap,
and
sake, sale, shape, shop,
and
man, men, map
In this test of sounds, the child stands with his back to the tester and says whether the word pairs are the same, or different.
(c) The Child's Speech: Speech handicaps are sometimes linked with hearing defects. With hearing loss, the consonants f,s,z, t,d, and "th" are particularly affected. Whenever a speech defect is present, language development and reading attainment are seriously affected. Children with speech defect feel difficulty not only of articulation but also of intonation.
MOTIVATIONAL READINESS
A discussion of initial reading readiness will naturally lead to the role of interest and motivation in reading. A child cannot be a proficient reader unless he has a strong desire to learn. The instinct of imitation is the very first motivator and the child attempts to read only because he wants to imitate his teacher and parents. Anyhow, lack of motivation is one of the common causes of poor reading ability. "Reading is a socially learned habit". But in our society, particularly in villages, mostly the people are not literate, so reading cannot be a 'habitually learned response'. In such a situation the teacher has to play an important part in developing reading motivation in his pupils. He should not introduce the reading of English alphabet because these will appear to be different scripts and children may feel difficulty in learning them. It may not be advisable also to have a long delay in introducing English reading material. Firstly, the pure oral work cannot hold pupil's motivation and attention for a considerable period of the class hour. Secondly, the children in big cities see and guess particular themes displayed on notices al round them. To hold them back from reading may amount to spreading discouragement among them.
Many non-reading activities should be provided by the teacher for his pupils during the preparatory stage. The special exercises in the second language can be done by successive events of a story already known to the children in their own language. This will be to their interest, and will help in the development of sequential thinking and further motivation. Drawing of sketches by pupils with specific end in view can motivate children.
4. THE WRITING SKILL
Writing is the last of the four language skills. It means conveying the message through symbols written on a piece of paper. As such it has two aspects: Mechanical and Creative. Mechanical aspect means knowledge of letters, words, spellings, punctuation,. Creative aspect means the knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and usage. While teaching writing to the students, we use different exercises and sub-skills at different levels.
Analysis of the Writing Skill
Like the other language skills, writing is also a complex one. We may say that a person who can express himself in written English can:
a. Write the letters of the alphabet at a reasonable speed;
b. Spells the words correctly;
c. Recall appropriate words and put them in sentences;
d. Use appropriate punctuation marks;
e. Link sentences with appropriate sentence connectors and sequence signals (e.g., pronouns, definite article, etc.);
f. Organize thought and ideas in logical sequence and in suitable paragraphs around topic sentences;
g. Evaluate the significance of a word or a sentence in the over-all context of the written passage;
h. Use the form and register appropriate for the subject-matter and the audience.
Teaching of Composition
The word composition has been derived from the word compose. To compose means to put together. Composition means the act of putting together words. In the words of Prof. Chapman, "Almost any written exercise is in fact composition. When a pupil is asked to supply a missing word, he is completing the composition of a new sentence. Composition in the usual sense of word is, therefore, only a connected form of written exercise".
What Does Composition Involve
Written composition involves three different aspects:
a. Language Aspects:
1) Sentence construction, paragraph making etc.
2) Application of the language material such as vocabulary, and structure.
3) Correct spellings and punctuation.
4) Appropriate beginning and end.
b. Skill Aspect:
This consists in mastery of the mechanics of writing.
c. Intellectual Aspect:
This consists in the proper display of imagination to compose thoughts and ideas into readable form.
Controlled, Guided and Free Compositions
We have been using the term controlled composition without defining it. The term 'controlled’ and 'guided' compositions have been used freely in the past as if they were inter- changeable. There is subtle difference between the two. In a controlled composition both the content and the language are determined by the teacher. Thus completion of sentences, fill in the blanks, picture prompts, or memory of a model shown by the teacher in the class can be considered controlled composition. On the other hand if the teacher provides the situation and helps the class to prepare its written work then the composition is guided and not controlled because each piece of work differs in its use of language though the content and basic organization may be the same. A free composition means when only title is provided and every thing else is done by the student logistically and content- wise.
Though we have divided composition writing into three types, the division cannot be water-tight or rigidly isolated.
In the early stages of language course, the students will be asked to write controlled and then guided composition which will lead to free composition. The student is made to progress gradually till he is able to write on ordinary topics.
It is extremely harmful to push the chidden, while still at early stage of language learning, into writing free composition which is an exercise meant for advanced stages of learning English. The absence of or neglect of controlled and guided written work will discourage the pupils in many ways. A heap of red marks of correction on their written exercise will do more harm than benefit to the pupils. If there are so many mistakes, students never bother to make a note of them which get fixed up in their minds.
Types of Controlled Composition
This consists in the proper display of imagination to compose thoughts and ideas into readable form.
Different types of exercises may be chosen for controlled written work. We shall discuss here main categories of these composition forms. Each category has a number of exercises included therein.
a. Skill Exercises: The exercises mentioned in this category can be :
(1) Transcription and;
(2) Dictation (already discussed in the previous chapter)
b. Simple Language Exercises:
(1) Pairing sentences or Parts of Sentences.
Examples: Directions: Below are two columns. Pair the right part of the sentences from column B with that in column A.

A
B
1)
I saw a cow
Which was very interesting.
2)
We met a boy
That was white in colour.
3)
He gave me a book
Who was very smart.

Directions: Read the sentence parts in the two columns below. Arrange them in progressive sequence in a paragraph to present a developing picture.
A
She ran to the baby.
She took the baby home. Every one was happy.
B
because the baby was back home.
to pick it up and kiss it.
because all were waiting for it.
c. Transformation Exercises:
The purpose of these exercises is to see how far the pupil is able to change the given structure with or without meaning: Examples:
Do as directed:
1. A boy is reading a book. (change into plural).
2. He goes to school every day (Turn into negative).
3. She will sing a song (Turn into past tense)
Directions: Turn the following sentences into statements:
Question: Does he go to school?
Statement: He goes to school.
Question: Did he go to school?
Statement: He went to school.
Question: Is Azhar a good boy?
Statement: Azhar is a goody boy.

d. Substitution Tables:
(Please refer to Drill Exercises).
Types of gided Composition
A A Situation:
A situation may be created by the teacher followed by some statements covering that situation. Let a student be asked to come and write on the blackboard. The teacher describes the situation, thus:
He is Azhar, Azhar is your class-mate.
He is standing near the blackboard.
A piece of chalk is in his hand.
He is going to write on the blackboard.

The pupils may be asked to repeat the sentences after teacher. Now he gives the following guide words to the pupils to reproduce the situation:
He is Azhar
Standing class-mate
blackboard
A piece of chalk hand
going to blackboard
write
b. Use of a Picture:
A picture depicting some situation is hung on the wall. The children look at it very minutely. The teacher describes the Pictures, then he gives the guide word to the pupils to reproduce the picture in language on the paper.
c. Questions and Answers:
A simple topic may be chosen by the teacher. Questions are posed, written on the blackboard and answered orally by the teacher with the help of the pupils. The guide words are written on the board to describe the topic in questions.
FREE COMPOSITION
Free Composition is the culmination of controlled, written work. Free written work in no way dispenses with teacher's assistance. He is to give guidance with regard to the collection of ideas, developing an outline, supplying some language material etc. While composing free written work, the pupil is expected to collect and digest a lot of information and material before he can put in a readable form. This will gradually help the pupils to acquire a style of writing.
The following types of free composition may be considered for appropriate stages:
a. Paragraphs on topics of interest:
This is the simplest type of free composition. A paragraph may be written on certain simple process of happening, the details of which the pupils have carefully noted.
The teacher may do well to give the pupils some important key words that he might use in a particular paragraph.
b. Descriptive, Narrative, Biographical, Autobiographical Pieces:
These types of free written work may be composed in two to three paragraphs. The pupils may be asked to first observe and then to go a certain place. (Class-room, library, laboratory, drawing room, tuck-shop etc.) or a scene (at a Railway Station, bus-stand, river bank, cinema house etc) or a person (peon, shop- boy, gardener, rickshaw driver etc.) as the pupils observe, let them note a paragraph. The pupils may be asked to narrate an account of an event or a natural account that they might have observed and experienced. It is important to see that the pupils maintain the sequence in their narration. Similarly, biographic and autobiographic are important forms of free composition in which the pupils give a proof of their language ability as well as their ability to observe keenly.
c. Dialogue:
It is an interesting form of free composition. In the school however, when it is to be attempted as a piece of composition, it takes the form of a conversation between two persons, say a student and a stationer, a fruit seller, a policeman, a stranger, or a ticket collector etc. Such a piece of composition must first be enacted in a classroom followed by students writing.
d. Stories With / Without Outlines:
Story-writing is an important form of free composition. Most of the stories are well-known to pupils as they have heard them or written them in their mother tongue. Writing stories in English is often transferring one language into another. A story may be introduced by the teacher with the help of a set of pictures, or a chart depicting its different stages. By putting leading questions, various details of the story are brought home to the students stage by stage. After the story is complete, it may be reconstructed by the class bit by bit. The teacher may give them an outline of the story along with key words written on the blackboard. The pupils may be asked to develop the story with the help of the given outline and key words.
At a more advanced stage or occasionally with the purposes of giving a break, the teacher may ask the students to compose a story which he has narrated to them. No outline is given. A few key words may be written on the board. Or, sometimes, it becomes a useful exercise in free composition if the students are diverted away from the conventional beginning or ending or middle of story. Let the pupils think imaginatively to give a different version of the story form the one presented to them.
e. Letters — Personal and Formal:
Letter-writing is half-way house between 'chained composition' and 'free composition'. In this conventional form of writing the various parts are fixed and the pupils are required to adhere to them. Of course, the opening and closing salutations vary with the type of letter personal or formal to be written. At the early stage letter writing is a simple form of controlled writing. But at the advanced stage, a letter gives expression to one's thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes of the writers. Letters thus, may be used to cover variety of-subjects of both individual and public interest.
f. Creative Writing:
Creative writing in the form of articles, short plays, stories. accounts of educational trips or outlines etc. may be done by the students,. These may later on be given place in the school magazine which may be brought out once a year.
Some other Forms: Other forms of free written work can be:
(1) Reports of proceeding, activities or programmes.
(2) reviews and comments on events.
(3) Advertisements, invitations, telegrams, news reports etc.
g. Summarization:
Preparing short summaries of the reading matter is a valuable exercise. Pupil's practice in continuous writing will help them in preparing gist's or short summaries. Mr. Morris says in this context: It is an excellent introduction to free expression as it supplies the matter and much of the vocabulary and allows the pupil to concentrate on form. Even if the pupil merely selects appropriate sentences from the text and links them together, he is engaging himself in a valuable exercise as the transcribed sentences form a model composition.
h. Expansion of Ideas:
This is also an advanced form of written composition meant for higher classes only. The idea meant for expansion should be analysed by the teacher and the relevant points by written on the board. Some language material including guide words should also be given to the class.
i. Development of an Outline:
This exercise is also suitable to higher classes. Necessary aids to development may be provided by the teacher. Aids like pictures, charts, etc. supporting the outline may be put before the class and the pupils be encouraged to ask questions to fill in the details. Key words/ sentences/ phrases may also be written on the blackboard to help the class develop the outline properly.
MAKING FREE COMPOSITION EFFECTIVE
It is a matter of observation and experience that pupils are likely to make a number of recurring errors in their free written
work.
If free composition is to be made effective the incidence of errors must be reduced.
The teacher must give pre-thinking to the various aspects of composition work. The topic selected should be particular, limited concrete and realistic. They must possibly, spring from pupils own life and real life situation. For this purpose the teacher will have to plan composition work in the beginning of the term, keeping in mind the immediate needs of the pupils.
Topics for composition must be related to the pupils own experience; it must be more exact with better continuity and less confusion of thought.
A free composition must have three dimensions:
a. Topic discussion at the pre-writing stage.
b. Writing of the composition, and
c. Correction.
Topic Discussion:
The purpose of topic discussion is to help the pupils with ideas. The details of the topic are discussed and pupils actively participate in the discussion. The teacher may ask a number of questions to highlight various aspects of the topic. This will lead the pupils to prepare an outline of the composition.
Actual Writing:
After the topic has been thrashed out, the pupils are to actually write the composition with the help of outline which the students have prepared themselves. The teacher should guide the pupils in respect of the setting of the composition i.e., it must have the beginning, the middle and the end. It is better if the composition is written under the supervision of the teacher.
Corrections:
Correction of the written work of the pupils is desirable as well as essential. "The teacher should go round, asking a pupil to revise, drawing individual attention to errors, to a wrong sentence and giving help whenever asked for, and noting down in his diary common errors found in the written work. Self correction by the pupils themselves is a good habit which the students should be trained to cultivate. Prof. P. Gurrey is of the opinion that many grammatical and spelling mistakes of pupils are due to their carelessness. Pupils revision of their own written work is a practical training for the pupils detecting their mistakes. Once the mistakes have been detected, the pupils may be asked to correct them and rewrite the correct form again and again to fix them in their language habit.
When pupil's written work is corrected by the teacher, the mistakes may be indicated in the margin. The teacher may use a system of symbols to indicate in the margin. The teacher may use a system of symbols to indicate mistakes.
The teacher's function is not only to indicate the existence and the nature of a certain mistake, but he should also not fail to give the correct form whenever the pupil fails to supply the right form by himself. Most correction will be a waste of time if the pupils are not made to practice a number of times the correct forms of mistakes.
ENGLISH SPELLING
Spellings in English language are very irregular and present a serious hurdle to the foreign students. Serious efforts have been made to reform them but so far they have yielded no fruitful results. The English people are a convention-loving people. They find it hard to give up conventional spelling. The Americans have succeeded in effecting some basic reforms but that has not solved the problem. Correct spelling is a part of courtesy due to the reader and the absence of it is a sign of lack of good education. The ability to spell correctly indicates that the person is an observant reader and a cautious writer.