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The 4 Language Skills

The 4 Language Skills

When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need for complete communication. When we learn our native language, we usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write. These are called the four “language skills”:

  • Skill #1: Listening
  • Skill #2: Speaking
  • Skill #3: Reading
  • Skill #4: Writing

The four language skills are related to each other in two ways:

  • the direction of communication (in or out)
  • the method of communication (spoken or written)

Input is sometimes called “reception” and output is sometimes called “production”. Spoken is also known as “oral”.

Note that these four language skills are sometimes called the “macro-skills”. This is in contrast to the “micro-skills”, which are things like grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

01. English Listening Skills

What is Listening?

Listening is receiving language through the ears. Listening involves identifying the sounds of speech and processing them into words and sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to receive individual sounds (letters, stress, rhythm and pauses) and we use our brain to convert these into messages that mean something to us.

Listening in any language requires focus and attention. It is a skill that some people need to work at harder than others. People who have difficulty concentrating are typically poor listeners. Listening in a second language requires even greater focus.

Like babies, we learn this skill by listening to people who already know how to speak the language. This may or may not include native speakers. For practice, you can listen to live or recorded voices. The most important thing is to listen to a variety of voices as often as you can.

02. English speaking skills

Speaking is the delivery of language through the mouth. To speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips.

This vocalized form of language usually requires at least one listener. When two or more people speak or talk to each other, the conversation is called a “dialogue”.

Speaking can be formal or informal:

  • Informal speaking is typically used with family and friends, or people you know well.
  • Formal speaking occurs in business or academic situations, or when meeting people for the first time.

Speaking is probably the language skill that most language learners wish to perfect as soon as possible.

03. English Reading Skills

“Reading” is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us.

Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that other people can hear).

Reading is a receptive skill – through it we receive information. But the complex process of reading also requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense, reading is also a productive skill in that we are both receiving information and transmitting it (even if only to ourselves).

04. English Writing Skills

“Writing” is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.

Generally, we write using a pen/pencil (handwriting) or a keyboard (typing). With a pen/pencil we usually write on a surface such as paper or whiteboard. A keyboard is normally attached to a typewriter, computer or mobile device. Voice recognition programs allow those who can’t see or use their hands to have their thoughts transcribed.

To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a language. In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct spelling and formatting.

A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one person or more.

When we say that someone ‘speaks’ a language fluently, we generally mean that they are proficient in all four skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing.