Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
The main difficulties in teaching productive
skills in English for beginners
Yerlen Aidana1
1
Graduate student 2-nd course;
Kyzylorda University named after Korkyt Ata; Republic of Kazakhstan
Abstract. This analytical article examines the difficulties of beginners in
learning productive English language skills. In this research work the question
of how to learn English correctly and productively with the help of spoken,
written skills and the integral role of the teacher is considered. Productive
skills such as speaking and writing, which requires hard work from teachers, are
also taken into consideration. Revealed the need to obtain information about
strategies for teaching productive skills in order to teach them step by step.
Language acquisition works better if teachers are well aware of the theoretical
foundations of teaching productive skills and can use them ideally in the
classroom. The text acts as the main tool for developing skills. The main
difficulty is the problem of motivation for teaching English.
Keywords: productive skills, spoken language, speech experience, written micro
and macro skills.
Introduction. Most English lectures do not pay enough
attention to the development of speaking skills, because the
teacher does not feel confident and competent in this area,
and the students themselves do not feel the need for these
skills. In most cases at lectures, universities, we found
teachers who only speak, and the student does not get the
opportunity to speak to the audience in English; if they do
speak, they often repeat what the teacher says. In
conversational English classes, the opportunity to speak
should be given, because conversational skills can only be
developed by involving students only in the process of
speaking and interacting. Most of the time when we think, the
teacher tends to neglect the speaking skill that the student
should be using. The teacher should provide more opportunities
for communication in English only. The ability to use language
is called language skill. When students learn a language,
they usually master the four language skills to communicate
in that language. When they learn their mother tongue,
students usually first learn to listen, then speak, then read,
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
and finally write. They are called the four language skills.
Methodology.
In the course of the study, methods of the theoretical
(study of scientific sources, pedagogical and psychological
literature on the research problem) and empirical level were
used.
Results.
So, in order to learn a second or foreign language,
students also need to follow these steps. Teachers tend to
talk about how students use language in terms of the four
skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. They are
often divided into two types. Perception skill is a term used
to refer to reading and listening, skills in which meaning is
extracted from discourse. A productive skill is a term for
speaking and writing, skills in which learners actually have
to create their own language. Productive skills are speaking
and writing because students need to clearly articulate words
and write to create speech. Students acquire language by
listening to conversations, music, videos, as well as reading
comprehension, newspaper, poem, book, etc. They then move on
to the next stage, where they develop a language to express
their thoughts using productive skills. Speaking is the oral
production of language. Speaking includes expressing ideas
and opinions, expressing a desire to do something, negotiating
or solving problems, or establishing and maintaining social
relationships [1]. So, speaking is the oral process of
creating a language. On the other hand, writing is a
productive skill in writing. When we talk about writing, there
is usually a two-way distinction between writing:
institutional and personal. Institutional writing includes
textbooks, reports, statements, business correspondence,
while personal writing covers personal writing and creative
writing. Speaking is a productive auditory/verbal skill. It
consists in creating a systematic verbal statement to convey
meaning [2]. Every opportunity should be taken to speak to
the audience. This can be done by trying to convey to students
that they are aware of their need for language, and by
speaking they increase their fluency and self-confidence. At
first, students may be shy and reluctant to speak in front of
people. However, there are ways (repeated work and pair work)
to provide a safer, less public environment in which students
can begin to practice speaking. As a productive skill,
speaking is very important. In the past, speaking was not a
popular activity to practice in our classes. But now the
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
process of speech activity has changed a lot. Now teachers
are trying to encourage students to improve their
communication skills through spoken language. To successfully
master the skill of speaking in the target language, it is
necessary to develop the following auxiliary skills:
– The ability to comprehensively formulate the
phonological features of the language;
– Knowledge of stress, rhythm, intonation patterns;
– Acceptable degree of fluency;
– Transactional and interpersonal skills;
– Skills of pronunciation of short and long speech turns;
– Interaction management skills;
– Use of appropriate formulas and fillers [3].
Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar
and pronunciation. In supervised and guided activities, the
focus is usually on accuracy, and the teacher makes it clear
from feedback that accuracy is significant. In spoken language
accuracy is very important and teachers should encourage
students to use the language correctly. Fluency is also the
ability to continue speaking spontaneously. Since the main
purpose of fluency is to enable students to speak in this
way, the teacher should shorten the speaking time to give
students more space to talk [4]. Also, if teachers correct
students in the middle of a fluency task, it can interrupt
the flow of speech and it is often difficult for students to
continue after correction, while others in the classroom may
be reluctant to speak for fear of a similar interruption.
Thus, instructors should give proper instruction before work
focused on accuracy or work focused on fluency.
For productive English learning for beginners, the next
skill is the writing skill. Aspects of writing skills include
firstly the micro and macro skills of writing, then the
mechanical components of writing, and finally the cohesion
and coherence of writing.
The first aspect of writing skill is its micro and macro
components. Micro and macro skills for written communication
that focuses on both the form of language and its function.
First, the micro-writing skills cover several important
aspects. They create the graphemes and spelling pattern of
the English language, create writing at an efficient speed
appropriate to the purpose, create a suitable word core, and
use appropriate word order patterns using acceptable
grammatical systems such as tense, subject, verb, etc. [5].
Meanwhile, macro writing skills cover some other aspects.
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
They perform the communicative functions of written texts
according to form and purpose, conveying connections between
events and conveying relationships such as the main idea,
supporting ideas, given information, summarizing and giving
examples, and finally develop a set of writing strategies.
This includes, for example, precise use of pre-recording
tools, free writing of first drafts, use of paraphrases and
synonyms, obtaining feedback from peers and faculty, and using
feedback for revision and editing.
To complement the ideas about micro and macro writing
skills, it can be said that this writing includes several
sub-skills: correct spelling, correct letter formation,
legible writing, correct punctuation, use of correct layouts,
correct choice of vocabulary, correct use of grammar and
correct use of paragraphs. Thus, writing skills must be
inculcated at every stage of writing an essay. This will allow
students to get used to writing more effectively by using and
obeying these writing skills.
Mechanical components are the second major issue of
writing. Like other English language skills, writing has its
own mechanical components such as handwriting, spelling,
punctuation, and the construction of well-executed sentences,
paragraphs, and texts. The previous components are the
foundation of the writing skill. Therefore, these components
need to be introduced into the process of teaching and
learning to write.
The last aspect will focus on the discussion of coherence
and coherence in writing skills. These two aspects play an
important role in the process of writing good paragraphs and
cannot be separated during the writing process, since they
are closely related to each other. Making writing more
accessible requires both cohesion and consistency. The first
thing to know is consistency. Cohesion can be defined as the
linking relationship of a number of linguistic elements that
can be seen in the surface structure of a text. There are two
types of cohesion. These are lexical (repetition of words)
and grammatical coherence (pronoun, possessive reference and
reference to the article). On the other hand, coherence is
defined in a slightly different way, that is, whether a
written work can be easily read and understood. To achieve
consistency in writing, the author needs to focus on the
movement of the sentence. The transition from one sentence to
the next sentence should be spoken logically and smoothly. In
other words, sentences should be fluid [6].
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
Discussion
Before looking at how to teach writing skills, we can
look at aspects of effective writing. Correctness and accuracy
are required in the following areas:
a. Grammar: Grammar is important to writing. However,
when we speak, we are more likely to use simple grammar, and
it is easier for us to get rid of incorrect sentences. When
writing, each grammatical error is highlighted, which is why
it is especially important to know the rules.
b. Vocabulary: The ability to choose the most accurate
words to express your thoughts in writing is the key to being
understood.
c. Spelling: There are several spelling rules in English,
and the relationship between how a word is spelled and how it
is pronounced is less clear-cut than in many other languages.
Our students need to learn the spelling of each word[7].
d. Punctuation: This helps us understand written text in
the same way that intonation helps us understand another
person's speech.
To explore the theories and concepts discussed in the
literature review, practical data were collected through
questionnaires. The questionnaires are attached as annexes 1
and 2 at the end of this document. To get a clear idea, the
questionnaire for teachers was prepared in two aspects:
qualitative and quantitative. Questions were open-ended for
qualitative data and closed questions for quantitative data.
The table below shows the opinions of teachers and
students about different views on teaching and learning
English language skills, i.e. speaking and writing.
5
% 11%
9%
58%
17%
I completely agree I agree Neutral Disagree I don't agree at all
1-diagram
I always speak English with my teachers and classmates
during my English class
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
4
10 %
%
44%
14
%
28%
I completely agree I agree Neutral Disagree I don't agree at all
2-diagram
I can speak English fluently
72% of students fully agreed or agreed with the statement.
This reflects that only a few respondents feel they are unable
to communicate in English with others (teacher, classmate,
etc.), while many can speak English with some difficulty but
can carry on a conversation in English.
Conclusions
Summing up the above, we can say that only 75% of students
strongly disagree, disagree with the statement. This means
that the majority of respondents claim that English is not
spoken in English classes.
Teaching productive skills such as speaking and writing
requires hard work from teachers. It is necessary to obtain
information about strategies for teaching productive skills
in order to teach them step by step. Language acquisition
works best if educators are well aware of the theoretical
foundations of teaching productive skills and can ideally use
them in the classroom. Micro and macro skills, mechanical
components, and cohesion and coherence are important
characteristics of writing. Each of them contributed to the
creation of good paragraph compositions. Therefore, they
should be considered at every stage of the writing process,
especially when educators want to make their students' written
work more accessible.
References:
[1] Avetisyan, N.G. English for business communication. Tests (for
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Proceedings of the 2nd International
Scientific and Practical Conference
«Scientific Progressive Methods No
and Tools»
131
(November 6-8, 2022).
Riga, Latvia
PEDAGOGY AND EDUCATION
bachelors and masters) / N.G. Avetisyan, K.Yu. Ignatov. - M.: KnoRus,
2018. - 94 p.
[2] Garagulya, S.I. English for students of technical colleges /
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[3] Gorlach, B.A. English for agricultural universities: Textbook /
B.A. Gorlach. - St. Petersburg: Lan, 2016. - 256 p.
[4] Kamyanova T.G. Successful English. A systematic approach to the study
of the English language / T.G. Kamyanov. - M.: Eksmo, 2017. - 96 p.
[5] Kostygina, S.I. English for university students: Reading, writing
practice and oral speech practice / S.I. Kostygin. - M.: Academia,
2015. - 176 p.
[6] Maslova, M.E. English: reading tests / M.E. Maslova. - Rn /
D: Phoenix, 2015. - 352 p.
[7] Stepanova, S.N. English for the direction "Pedagogical education" /
S.N. Stepanova. - M.: Academia, 2018. - 256 p.
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