What are the four basic English learning skills?

Learning English as a beginner can be quite overwhelming. Knowing when to begin with and which language skills to cultivate is a good start in learning English. But what skills do we really need to focus on? There are four skills in English to take note of: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. All of these skills are equally important, and it’s essential to balance them to obtain fluency in English. So, how are they important?

• First is listening. It is not just hearing words or sounds; it is about understanding what someone is saying. Children’s first exposure to language is through listening to what adults around them say. That’s how they learn their native languages. It is also the same in learning a foreign language. We also learn how to read through listening to the sounds of each character or symbol that we see and making sense out of them.
• Reading expands one’s vocabulary. It facilitates learning through understanding written texts. Reading also helps students retain what they hear as it activates their sense of sight and imagination. 
• Improving one’s speaking skills is what many learners desire. When a child hears a word, repeats it, and uses it in a proper context, that’s the start of their English-speaking journey. For example, they learn colours through listening and looking at the pictures. When they go out and point at things and say their respective colours, that’s already a huge step for them as they slowly gain confidence in speaking. It’s also the same with adults. We acquire words through listening and reading, and use these words to express our ideas. 
• Writing is the penultimate skill to learn. For little kids, they learn to listen to the words, mimic them, and say them independently. Then comes writing, which not only requires dexterity of their little hands but also memorizing letter strokes and forming them into groups of sounds to make a word. It’s also the same with older kids. However, this time, their range of vocabulary, grammar skills, and formation of ideas in written form will be put to the test. 

The skills are generally acquired in this order: listening (input), speaking (output), reading (input), and writing (output). These four skills are intertwined, and they should be learned together to become more confident and proficient in using the English language.

Speaking 

Speaking is a productive skill in the sense that learners produce their own words and sentences to express their ideas orally.  

Many students are passive learners, as many learning materials and activities they can do at home are mostly listening activities. However, we need to bridge the gap between these skills. We need to improve our speaking skills to communicate better. Through constant practice, we can speak to people in English effectively. 

There are informal and formal speaking. Just like in your native language, we talk informally to our family members, close friends, colleagues, or even in small talks with strangers. We normally use formal language in speeches, interviews, etc. Depending on where you want to focus, you can find many resources on the internet. Of course, it is always important to balance these two. We acquire these needed colloquial words, terminologies, and slang through listening and reading. 

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t have anyone to practice with. Start practicing alone by reading aloud. Practice describing photos. Record yourself while speaking and use speech recognition apps to help you with your pronunciation. You can even have a lighthearted conversation with the AI Assistant on your phone! What’s more important is you say words aloud, and let your vocal apparatus (lips, tongue, throat, teeth, etc) get acquainted with English sounds.

Moreover, there are many websites that offer free resources. Look for a whole-packaged resource that has a video, script, and worksheets. This way, you can read aloud or do shadowing with the video by reading the script, and doing worksheets will help you retain words and check your understanding. 

You can also find an English conversation partner. Ask friends if they’re willing to learn with you. If not, there are language exchange websites where you can practice with other people from other parts of the world. You can also book English classes online and join one-on-one or group classes. 

Scared that people might not understand what you say? Here are some speaking tips to follow:

• Speak slowly. Speaking fast doesn’t make you sound fluent. 
• Say words clearly. Remember your read-aloud practice? Enunciating words properly will make them more understandable to listeners.
• All accents are beautiful and unique. You might get self-conscious if you have an accent. But don’t worry, as long as you say your words clearly, you won’t have any problem getting your point across. 
• It’s okay to make mistakes. To err is human. Thinking too much about mistakes might lead you to make more. So, why don’t you relax and go with the flow? Talk with someone you share interests with. 

Reading

Many learners find reading boring, but finding the right reading material can spark their interest, too! Reading is a receptive skill, but it still requires active participation from the reader. A reader receives information and interprets written information. It is a crucial skill as it helps readers acquire vocabulary and contextualize it in sentences without producing their own. 

The benefits of reading:

1. Reading helps boost cognitive development and even our mental well-being. It is also faster to expand vocabulary by reading diverse topics. Grammar structure is also more apparent as written texts provide more examples of correct sentence structures, which help learners emulate better writing skills. 
2. It is self-paced, and reading materials can be convenient. You can bring your book or printed materials anywhere. You can even download a copy on your phone and read it while waiting in a queue or taking a bus ride. 
3. It is also important to instill a love of reading in young learners. According to a study, kids who have strong reading skills in their native language transfer these skills to their second language. Learners with high literacy have fast acquisition skills of words and sentence structures.  

When thinking of reading materials for kids, make sure to plan ahead. You need to consider if the reading material is appropriate, interesting, and relatable. It is also good to prepare follow-up comprehension questions to check understanding of the text. 

Writing

The last of the four English basic skills is writing skills. Meaning, it is the most difficult to master compared to other language skills. One needs to be proficient in spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, as well as have a wider range of vocabulary. It’s a productive skill, which means that learners produce content and express their ideas through writing. 

It sounds intimidating, but there are many helpful ways to improve your writing skills. It might be scary to stare at the empty, white space, but you can start writing like how you speak. Relax, this is just a start to take you out of the writing slump and scare away the fear of writing. Next, edit what you wrote. Missing punctuation, misspelled words, letters that need to be capitalized, subject-verb agreement, etc. Try keeping a daily journal. Use AI to create relatable writing prompts for you. Dedicate at least five minutes just to writing. Then, you can use a free grammar checker online to check mistakes. Compare the results to your writing and take note of which area needs to be improved. Do it daily, and you will see the result. Consistency is the key. 

There are also many fun writing exercises for young learners. Exercises like writing sentences about things they like or don’t like, sentence train, and word games are just a few. Keep it light and engaging. What’s important is for the kids to produce the words and sentence structures they learned in written form.