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Gabrielatos,
C. (1998). Receptive skills with young learners. In Gika,
A-S. & Berwick, D. (eds.), Working with Young Learners: A way ahead. Whitstable,
Kent: IATEFL, 52-60. |
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Also here: |
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Introduction In
this article I will argue for the benefits of receptive skills development
(i.e. reading and listening) with children (seven to eleven) at
beginner/elementary levels who are able to recognise words in print. I will
then outline objectives and discuss text and task selection. My survey of EFL
coursebooks, as well as my observations of lessons and discussions with
teachers, indicate that courses for children at beginner/elementary levels
usually concentrate on vocabulary and grammar teaching. Texts are normally
used as vehicles for the presentation of new language, whereas systematic
receptive skills development is reserved for intermediate levels. Teaching
materials may involve some ‘comprehension’ tasks (usually questions), but
this alone hardly seems to constitute systematic skills development. True, texts can be used for the
presentation of language items, but it is not helpful to equate all
text-based lessons with language work (see also McDonough & Shaw, 1993:
103-105; Underwood, 1989: 23). The main objective of a receptive skills
programme is not the teaching of more grammar and vocabulary,
but the development of the learners’ ability to
understand/interpret texts using their existing language knowledge.
Of course, receptive
skills development can be combined with language input
in the same lesson, but the
procedures need to be staged in such a way so that the ‘language’ component
does not cancel out the ‘skills’ one. For example, explaining
all unknown lexis before learners read or listen to a text will cancel out
training in inferring the meaning of lexis in the text. |
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Key words Reading,
listening, English language teaching, language teaching methodology, EFL,
ESL, ESOL, ELT, TESOL. |
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Relevant details This
article is based on a seminar entitled ‘Receptive skills development with
mixed-ability young learners’, which I conducted for Greek state school
teachers of English, September 1997 (organised by the Greek Ministry of Education and the British Council, Athens),
and my paper ‘Receptive skills development with young learners’, given at the
2nd IATEFL Greece
Symposium, Athens, March
1998. |
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Related article |
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Ramirez, D. & Alonso, I. (2007). Using
digital stories to improve listening comprehension with Spanish young
learners of English. Language Learning
& Technology 11(1), 87-101. |
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Related article by the same author |
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Gabrielatos, C. (1997). Teaching Reading and Listening for Exam
Preparation. ELT News 99-102
(published in 3 parts). |
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If you know of any related publications or discussions
freely available online, please contact me. |
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