Language skill refers to the ability to use a language properly. In other words, the learner should be fully proficient in all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
These are the 4 main language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing
When the learner learns the language, if he does not have complete control over the above four skills of language, then language skills remain incomplete. The teacher should teach the language to the learner during language teaching to develop all four skills equally.
A person’s ability to communicate depends on the proficiency of language skills. How much competence you want to express your feelings and thoughts also depends on the use of language skills.
Our country is a multilingual country. Many regional dialects and languages are spoken here. Language is not only education but also a means of attainment for ideas, exchange, administration, trade, communication, tourism, employment, etc.
Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are the four types of Language skills, all these skills have a vital role in the personality development of a person.
- To communicate with other people in society, a person expresses his thoughts by speaking or writing and in turn receives the thoughts of another person by listening or reading.
- The purpose of language education is to develop proficiency in people.
- Language skills play an important role in the all-around development of an individual.
Language Skills – Listening, Speech, Reading, Writing.
It (Language Skills) means the development of four basic skills.
- Listening – semantic aspect of a language.
- Speaking – phonetic aspect of a language.
- Reading – phonetic-cum-graphic aspect.
- Writing – graphic aspect of a language
Read: How language skills are different than communication skills?
1. Listening – Language Skills
‘Hearing’ is not just listening to sounds however, hearing means extracting the meaning, contemplating the things heard, and giving feedback on the meaning.
Listening skill is absolutely necessary to have the concentration of the brain and restraint of pleasures. After the birth of a child, his initial education depends on his hearing power.
If there is a defect, he can neither learn the language nor express his feelings therefore his language knowledge will remain equal to zero. The child acquires language knowledge by imitation/listening only.
Importance of Listening Skill
- The child starts listening just after birth. These inscribed sounds form the basis of the child’s language knowledge. Because of listening well, the child can listen to sounds and can understand subtle differences.
- It develops the ability to recognize subtle differences in sounds.
- Listening skills form the main basics for developing other language skills.
- It develops reading skills.
Objectives of Listening Skill
- To develop the ability to receive meaning by listening.
- To inculcate interest in language and literature among the students.
- Motivating students to listen and participate in literary activities.
- To develop the ability to summarize the source material.
- Listen patiently, and follow the etiquette of listening.
- Maintaining a state of mind of receptivity. Understanding the context and meaning of words, phrases, and expressions.
- To provide motivation to listen carefully to any source material.
Ways to develop listening skills and solve problems
It is the main responsibility of a language teacher to contribute fully to the development of language skills.
1. Teaching should be provided according to the ability of the students i.e. the nature of the material presented. It should be commensurate with the ability so that students can listen to it completely.
2. Before the presentation of the material to the students, the environment of the raw material should be like this so that students can listen carefully to the teacher’s presentation such as proper seating arrangement and a peaceful atmosphere.
3. It is also necessary for a teacher to know the mood of the student for the development of listening skills because the development of listening skills will not be possible until the student is mentally ready for listening.
4. The teacher should solve all the problems before the presentation of the material so that it should benefit the students in two ways.
In the first stage, the student starts having confidence in the teacher, and in the second stage, he starts listening carefully to the facts.
2. Speaking Language Skills
Speech means “oral expression”. When the student tries to express his thoughts and feelings clearly, he has to resort to speaking skills.
The French writer Calathél has said- “A few moments of pause and silence during the speech destroy the power.
make it strong.”
Three main elements in speech
- Stress: Stress means emphasis If we make a sound with more energy the sound will come out with force this indicates that there are degrees of stress.
- 2 pitch: which is the degree of highness or lowness in which one speaks.
- Intonation: it means the melody of speech, the changing pitch of the voice, it includes the rising and falling of the tone.
Aims of Speaking Skills
The main objectives of speech skills can be clarified as follows –
- The main objective of speaking skills is to develop an ability in the students to effectively present their feelings and ideas so that they can make a concise presentation of all the facts.
- To inculcate a sense of self-confidence by removing hesitation and understanding in the students and thereby Speak with confidence in a fluent manner on various matters.
- To develop in the students the ability to use idioms and proverbs according to the context so that they could make the presentation effective.
Main Problems in Speaking Skills
Many types of problems are experienced by the language teacher in the development of language skills.
The major problems with speech skills are as follows –
- Students use faulty sentences in their speech to justify the narrator, given, assert and adjective do not get space, due to which speech skills become defective.
- According to the need for the topic and knowledge in the speech, the lack of emotion and life also makes it defective and speech becomes ineffective.
Measures and Solutions to Problems Relating to the ‘Development of Speaking Skills
Language teachers and the school system have an important role in the development of speech skills.
- The teacher should develop a sense of confidence in the child for the development of speech skills. Children’s hesitation should also be eliminated in the classroom.
- Students should accept the teacher’s speech and errors in a positive way. One should take the help of intimate behavior to remove it.
- The teacher should motivate the students to participate in speech-related competitions. They should be provided with page nutrition from time to time.
- To encourage students to use the same word in speech like ‘means’ and the same sentence over and over again. To make the speech effective.
Methods of Enhancing Speaking Skills in Language Skills
- Storytelling: It is an activity in which a speaker narrates the story before the listeners in an efficient way so that listeners understand up to a maximum extent.
- Roleplay: In this activity, the learner acts and behaves like another person with the help of dialogue and speech mimicry.
- Speech and conversation
- Simulation
- Pictures
- Debate
- Discussions
3. Reading Skills
When we start teaching a child, the letter’s suffixes, merge in the cell part of our brain to form a picture and we pronounce it.
“Reading is a process that negotiates the meaning between the text and its reader”.
According to Katherine Okner, “Reading is a complex learning process that involves the use of visual, audio circuits Including the relation to the learning center of the brain”.
- Reading skill in a simple sense refers to the ability to read written language.
- In language skills, reading skill means pronouncing written language and taking part.
- Reading is the easiest and simplest way to acquire knowledge.
Importance of Reading Skill
- Without the ability to read, many types of obstacles arise in the life of a human being.
- Reading is helpful in the attainment of education.
- Reading skill is a means of learning because reading a textbook only shows knowledge. By reading the Sambhbhath Granth, the desire for knowledge calms down to some extent.
- The modern era is the age of ‘specialties’, a person wants to achieve excellence in whatever profession he/she is associated with. He/She wants to get the latest information from books and the Internet.
Objectives of Reading Skill
- Teaching pure reading.
- The use of punctuation marks, semicolons, etc.
- To awaken the tendency of self-study by reading.
- The student learns by reading correct pronunciation, sound, proper force etc.
- Reading increases vocabulary.
Errors Related to Reading
- Tuck-to-reading.
- Improper posture while reading, keeping the book near or far from the eyes.
- Pure pronunciation.
- Absence of proper flow in reading.
- Failure to see the letters properly due to visual impairment.
- Difficulty in the course material.
- Errors in letters or ligatures.
- Lack of feeling or emotion.
- Lack of reading guidance.
- Teacher’s behavior.
4. Writing Skills
Writing skills make your written communication effective, for example – Letter writing, article writing, e-mail writing, and business writing. It makes you able to express yourself in words.
Paying sufficient attention to your writing skills is important because it improves Grammar and the use of proper punctuation and spelling in your sentence.
Writing skill involves clarity and brevity in written communication and increases engagement with people.
Qualities of good writing
- Clarity
- Cohesiveness
- Logically
- Lucidity involves vocabulary syntax illustrations etc.
Objectives of Writing Skill
- The student will be able to express the feelings systematically after thinking and observing.
- Students can write legible articles.
- Can write the correct spelling of words.
- Students will be able to gain knowledge of phonemes, phonological groups, words, hymns, and idioms.
- Can use stop signs appropriately.
- Will be able to write transcription, typography, and dictation.
- Will be able to use grammatical language.
- He will be able to optimize the alignment of words, phrases, and phrases in sentences.
- Will form pure sentences with different compositions.
Merits of Writing Skill
- The writing should be beautiful, clear, and shapely.
- It should have fluency and commitment.
- The topic (educational) material should be divided into appropriate paragraphs.
- Effectiveness in language and style.
- The language should be grammatical.
- Be concise, clear and effective when expressed
Techniques of Writing Skill
Montessori Method – Montessori emphasized the proper use of eyes, ears, and hands in teaching writing. According to them, the child was first asked to point his fingers at letters made of wood or cardboard, or plastic.
Then they should move the pencil to the same letters. The pencil should be usually colorful. Similarly, the child learns to write them after getting acquainted with the nature of letters.
Outlining Method – In this method, the teacher puts the dots on the blackboard or slate with chalk or pencil or writes down the sentence, and asks the students to write with a pencil on their target, so that the words, Sentences, and letters emerge. Thus through practice, he learns to write letters.
Independent imitation method – in which the teacher writes the letters on the blackboard, copies or slate and the students see those letters, he himself should make letters under them in the same way.
Comparison Method – The comparison method is considered useful in Hindi-speaking areas. The child has already practiced writing the mother tongue in the third and fourth grades. Thus: the Hindi language quickly while comparing it can be learned.
Things Needed for Teaching Writing
These things are as follows-
- Teach the child to write only when he takes an interest in writing.
- The teacher should not pay attention to the writing speed of the child in the beginning, without paying attention to the letters, and words, and Pay attention to the correctness of the sentences.
- There should be no indifference towards writing in the mind of the child.
- Attention should be paid to the individual diversity of the child while teaching to write not all kids are the same and can write.