INTEGRATING SKILLS IN AN EFL

LESSON PLAN AT UNIVERSIDAD DE

EL SALVADOR, FACULTAD
MULTIDISCIPLINARIA DE
OCCIDENTE

Por: Msc. Roxana de Trigueros

English Language Department
UES, FMOcc
Date: 01/02/2017

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 INTEGRATING SKILLS IN AN EFL LESSON PLAN AT UNIVERSIDAD DE EL
SALVADOR, FACULTAD MULTIDISCIPLINARIA DE OCCIDENTE
By: Mde. Roxana de Trigueros
English Language Department
UES, FMOcc
Date: 01/02/2017

As children we learn our mother tongue by imitation, just by listening and then
speaking. That is input and output. We learn our mother tongue by experimenting
language in a very natural environment. To listen and understand a language and
then speak it, it is not needed to know how to read or write it. These two last skills
are learnt in an academic environment. So the question is Can a nonnative speaker
learn a language without knowing how to read or write it? Well the answer is Yes.
That is something definitely possible.
When teaching EFL for communicative purposes at the University of El
Salvador, Western University Campus, teachers face the problem that the language
is not being taught in a natural environment. So most of the practice that the students
will get will be inside the classroom, in a very controlled environment. However, now
with technology students are being bombard with English when they use online
means of communication or technological gadget. Without knowing English has
become part of our daily life. Would that mean that it has become easier for a
student to learn English? Well, it only means that they have more opportunities to
practice the language. The facility to learn a language depends on students
intelligence and capacity to empower themselves with the English language.
A teachers job is to awaken, to motivate and to guide students intelligence
and capacities for learning EFL. In this rubrics, teachers have made great efforts to
develop the four macro skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. As previously
established listening and speaking can be learned in an academic environment
without teaching reading and writing. However, for communicative academic
purposes reading and writing are not left behind since EFL is taught to persons that
can read and write in their own language.
Since we are persons, we learn by using our multiple intelligences, our
capacities and our skills. Our body is made to work as a team. For example when
you write you need your psychomotor skills. Then when teaching EFL we need to
combine the four macro skills to achieve the empowerment of one of them.
Furthermore, the integration of skills can be defined as the combination of two or
more skills within a communicative task (READ, 1985). For example here are some
useful combination of two skills:
- Listening and speaking

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 - Listening and reading
- Reading and writing
- Speaking and writing
- Listening and writing (READ, 1985)
Now we have an idea of integrated skills for communicative competences.
With this information, we can continue to develop an integrated skills lesson plan.
The content of an integrated skills lesson plan is as follows and remember to time
each activity:
A lesson plan begins with generalities as name of the institution,
authors, unit number, topic, and target structure.

Continue writing the objectives, time, and material you will use.

Next, start to think about the warm up. Remember that a warm up may
last from 5, 10 or 15 minutes. It can be a review of the last topic or a
hit to begin with a new one.

Now you will find yourself with the presentation of the topic. This is to
introduce the topic without any grammar explanation. For example you
may use a reading (follow the steps of a reading), a dictation, a dialogue,
a game, a song or any activity you may find suitable to introduce the
topic.

Go alone with the grammar notes. Try to make it simple. It may last
from 10 to 20 minutes tops. Make this part interactive.

The practice has begun. Begin with controlled practice and remember to
integrate skills. In an ordinary lesson plan, the controlled practice is divided in
listening controlled practice, speaking controlled practice, reading controlled practice
and writing controlled practice. As previously said the skills are naturally developed,
achieved, empowered and learned if you integrate them.
Start by integrating the listening controlled skill practice with the
speaking controlled skill practice. So take techniques, activities, games,
songs, dialogues to work on these skills.

Continue integrating the speaking controlled skill practice with writing

controlled skill practice. From then on, you may develop students

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 controlled skills practice as follows: Reading and writing controlled
practice; writing and reading controlled practice.

The semicontrolled practice is next. You may integrate as previously listening

semicontrolled skill practice with writing, speaking and writing semicontrolled
practice. Then do the - Speaking Reading Writing Speaking ( Writing)
semicontrolled practice, continue with Reading Writing Listening Speaking
( Writing) semicontrolled practice and end with Listening Speaking Reading
Writing semicontrolled practice (READ, 1985). If you consider that to combine
more than too skills takes too much time from your syllabus consider just combining
two or three of them only.
To close continue with the free practice and as done previously you may
consider combining more than one skill; begin with- Listening Writing Speaking
Writing free practice, go alone with the Speaking Reading Writing Speaking
( Writing) free practice, next do the Reading Writing Listening Speaking
( Writing) free practice and end with the Listening Speaking Reading
Writing free practice (READ, 1985).
After all the practice you have done with your students close the topic with a
wrap up which is a short review of the topic. Do not forget the homework assignment,
bibliography, websites and appendix or annex students will need to work on to
develop certain activities. An annex and an appendix are both forms of addendums
to a main document. An appendix contains data that cannot be placed in the main
document and has references in the original copy or file. An annex, on the other
hand, is usually a standalone document that offers additional information than
contained in the main document (Jasuja, 2017).

Bibliography
Jasuja, N. (01 de 02 de 2017). Diffen. Obtenido de Diffen:
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Annex_vs_Appendix

READ, C. (1985). "Integrating the skills". En C. READ, "Integrating the skills" (pgs. 72-74). Oxford:
MATTHEWS, A. et al. (eds.). Obtenido de "Integrating the skills".