SPEAKING AND WRITING AS PRODUCTIVE SKILLS

Аннотация

This article deals with problems and their solutions of teaching productive skills in English. Key words: teacher, learner, speaking, writing, English, skill, framework, communicative aspects. The process of learning English is slow and progressive and it could be interpreted as a series of challenges to face. This process consists of the development of certain skills. According to the common framework, these are divided into productive and receptive. Receptive skills comprise reading and listening. They are important because they allow learners to understand contents, textbooks, works or documents. Productive skills consist of speaking and writing and they are significant because they permit learners to perform in communicative aspects such as oral presentations, written studies and reports among others. Therefore, these skills need to be developed and learnt properly. When it comes to the differences between speaking and writing, there are some characteristics of them. Speaking and writing differ mostly in that speaking is time bound, that is, words and phrases are selected as they are spoken, and once they are they cannot be unspoken. Writing, on the other hand, can be, and most often is, revised and edited. It results in shorter, simpler sentences in speech, accompanied by false starts or repetition of ideas which facilitate fluency in speech. Much more than is the case in writing (although online chat is now a major form of communication), speech is often reciprocal and conversation coconstructed - the listener can respond to the speaker, either by 7 speaking or by way of body language or facial expression, and the speaker can therefore adapt their speech to accommodate the listener. Actually, productive skills are considered very important in both learning and teaching. Speaking and writing skills are called productive skills. They are crucial as they give students the opportunity to practice real-life activities in the classroom. These two skills can be used to check how much the learners have learned. Teaching writing is important because written communication is a basic life skill. Students may need to take notes, fill in forms, and write letters, reports, stories etc. Many need to fill in detailed questionnaires relating to health, education and employment. Sufficient ability of writing skill gives one the confidence and marks his expertise on a particular language. Speaking is probably the language skill that most language learners wish to perfect as soon as possible. Speaking is more frequently used than writing. The main role of spoken language is to socialize individuals. On the contrary to writing, spoken language is produced and processed in real time, the speaker and hearer have limited time to plan and produce what they want to say and understand what they hear. Speech is generally used in face-to-face conversations. Spoken language is supported by body language such as gestures or facial expressions. There are numerous types of speaking activities such as: a. Pictures Stories: Picture stories can be used with all students, particularly those with limited literacy skills. Learners can interpret a story based on a picture sequences. Students work collaboratively to put the story in the correct order. Once they have done so, they stand in a circle and tell the story. b. Information-gap Activities: Informational-gap activities are often used to practice specific language points and they are also ideal for general fluency practice. The teacher giving assignment to gap information in the picture, gives clue or key word. c. Groupings: Finding connections among other students is a concept of groupings. In creating groups, teacher and learners need to negotiate what they will discuss. d. Mingle Activities: A mingle activity involves learners mingling around and gathering information from other students in the class on a given topic. Mingle activities have the 8 benefit of maximizing student participation for learners at all levels. e. Discussion Activities: Any learners can take part in discussion activities, it can be about current events, cultural issue, education, work, or anything that is relevant to learners’ lives. When presenting tasks, teachers should tell learners about the language function to be produced in the task and the real context(s) in which it usually occurs. They should be provided with opportunities for interactive practice and build upon previous instruction as necessary Teachers should also be careful not to overload a speaking lesson with other new material such as numerous vocabulary or grammatical structures. This can distract learners from the primary speaking goals of the lesson. Moreover, there are some aspects of effective writing too. Before looking at how to teach writing skills, aspects of effective writing can be considered. Correctness and accuracy are needed in the following areas. a. Grammar: Grammar is important for writing. However, when we speak we are more