It's Never Too Late to Integrate!

Hello! 

Some days ago I`ve read an absorbing and beneficial article by Martha Walsh Dolan “Integrating Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing in the Classroom” and I want to share it with You!

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Integrating Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing in the Classroom by Martha Walsh Dolan

In natural, day-to-day experience, oral and written languages are not kept separate and isolated from one another. Instead, they often occur together, integrated in specific communication events.

When we communicate, we use not only one language skill. For example, during telephone conversation, we listen and speak. I strongly believe that integration of all skills has a lot of advantages. Students are exposed to authentic language and are involved in meaningful activities. I think it is a good idea to show them the whole picture of functioning and complexity of the language. Teachers are given the power to lead students and the way of integrating skills is the most effective and motivating for students.

Martha Walsh Dolan described aims and priorities of an Integrated Class in her article. She presented two types of integrated-skill instructions: Content-Based Language Instruction and Task-Based Instruction. In Content-Based Instruction, students practice all the language skills in a highly integrated, communicative fashion while learning contents such as science.
In Task-Based Instruction, pair and group work is often used to increase students` interaction. For instance, students work together to write and edit a class newspaper or enact scenes from a play.

Moreover, the methodologist provided us with “The Hero: An Integrated Course in Action”. The more this approach is valuable, the more it is challenging for teachers and students.

According to Barbuzza et al (2008) the essential part of teaching is to insert the realization of what learners can do with the language, rather than using the forms of language. We have to remember the rule: “Skills cannot be isolated”.