3. Development of the linguistic skills. Oral comprehension and expression.

Written comprehension and expression. The communicative competence in

English.

3.- Desarrollo de las destrezas lingüísticas: comprensión y expresión oral,

comprensión y expresión escrita. La competencia comunicativa en inglés.

INDEX

0. MIND MAP

1. INTRODUCTION

2. LEGAL JUSTIFICATION

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE TOPIC

4. DEVELOPMENT OD THE LINGUISTIC SKILLS

5. ORAL COMPREHENSION AND EXPRESSION

6. WRITTEN COMPREHENSION AND EXPRESSION

7. THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

8. CONCLUSION

9. DOCUMENTAL REFERENCES

10. GLOSSARY

1
 0. MIND MAP

To start with, we shall have a look at this brief scheme to have a clear idea of what is going to be
dealt along this topic:

2
 1. INTRODUCTION

Before starting to develop this topic, it would be necessary to begin with the following quote in order
to rethink about the current topic to be dealt:

"Language is not an aim, but rather a useful tool to communicate".

As Spanish law states, the teaching of English as a foreign language is one of the most important
subjects in most primary schools. Thus, the implementation of English at early stages has made it
necessary to establish objectives and methodologies far from the formal and traditional ones, typical
of other times, based on vertical and one-way communicative models that leads to a passive
coexistence, without interaction, active cooperation or participation.

However, nowadays we belong to the Information and Knowledge Society, proposing language as a
means of communication and fostering critical analysis, cooperation and participation among our
students, building a fairer and more democratic society.

Since the 1970's, the belief of language as a means of communication has inspired a new approach
in English teaching: the Communicative Approach. Therefore, the main purpose of English as a
Foreign Language at Primary level is to develop the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) in a very practical way, allowing students to practise these skills integrated and interrelated
from a communicative point of view.

We need to consider that students may feel less motivated to practice certain skills, because of the
difficulty that implies using a foreign language, and that is why it is remarkable to present the oral and
written language as a means of communication, letting students know that the main aim is not to use
language on its own, but to be able to communicate for real purposes (e-mails, e-Twinning. Skype...).

Therefore, according to this approach, students will not be supposed to understand every single word
they listen or read, or to speak and write without making any mistakes but, on the other hand, the
main aim to be reached will be the achievement of the Communicative Competence, being able to
communicate efficiently, both spoken and written, with the use of verbal and non-verbal means of
communication, establishing fluency over accuracy.

Based on this view, the present essay aims to study in detail the four basic skills of language,
which are listening, speaking, reading and writing.

For this purpose, the topic will be divided into three main sections.

In the first part, we will be dealing with the spoken word as well as the development of listening
and speaking skills in students when learning a language.

In the second part, we will examine the written word, so that reading and writing skills will be
analysed.

In the third part, we will refer to skills integration to develop the term Communicative Competence,
which is the main objective of Foreign Language Learning.

Finally, the main conclusions and the bibliography used to develop this topic will be compiled.
3
 2. LEGAL JUSTIFICATION
Throughout this topic we will follow the Organic Law 2/2006, May 3rd, of Education (LOE),
modified by the Organic Law 3/2020, December 29th (LOMLOE), (hereinafter LOE-LOMLOE),
as well as the curricular regulatory framework from Royal Decree 157/2022, March 1st, which
establishes the ordering and minimum teachings of Primary Education (hereinafter Royal Decree
157/2022).
To consider the own features of our region, we will bear in mind the Decree 81/2022, July 12th, which
establishes the planning and curriculum for Primary Education in the autonomous community of
Castilla-La Mancha.
In addition, the Decree 81/2022 (article 7) establishes, as one of the main objectives related to our
area, the objective f) “To acquire, in at least one foreign language, the basic communicative
competence that allows them to express and understand simple messages and function in everyday
situations, approaching A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages”.
Besides, we will also bear in mind the general objective e) "To know and use the Spanish language
appropriately and, if any, the co-official language of the autonomous community and to develop
reading habits".
Even though all the key competences from Decree 81/2022 (article 10) will always be developed,
the linguistic communication competence, which refers to the ability of using a language,
expressing ideas and interacting with other people orally or by written, will specially be taken into
account for the development of this topic. Besides, the digital competence will take special
emphasis within our area through the enhancement of the ICTs for the development of the different
linguistic skills, using critically the ICTs in order to obtain, analyse, produce and exchange
information.
Also, the Foreign Language area contributes to the acquisition of multilingual competence, which
not only integrates the communicative dimension, but also the historical and intercultural aspects that
lead students to know, understand and respect the linguistic and cultural diversity present in its
environment.
Likewise, we will consider the LOE-LOMLOE approach along the educational process and the
teaching-learning process, inspired by Objectives 4 and 5 for the Sustainable Development (ODS
in Spanish) of the 2030 Agenda, with the purpose of guaranteeing an inclusive, equitable and quality
education, promoting lifelong learning opportunities, as well as achieving gender equality and the
empowerment of all women and girls.
Besides, we should bear in mind the Universal Design for Learning (DUA in Spanish), which is a
didactic approach whose primary objective is to provide an educational response to the diversity
present within the classroom based on strategies through which to develop the multiple forms of
motivation of students and promote knowledge expression.
Furthermore, we should also consider the development of the Center's Digital Strategy (EDC in
Spanish), which defines and specifies the lines of action of a center in order to allow teachers,
students and the center to achieve digital competence, emphasizing didactic methodologies and
digital inclusion, being integrated in the Educational Project, as promoted by LOE-LOMLOE ( article
121).
Additionally, we will consider article 27 of the Spanish Constitution , which refers to the freedom of
teaching and the right to education.
We should also consider the premises established in Title I, Chapter II, Article 16. General
Principles of the LOE-LOMLOE, with the aim of not just contributing to the development of the
communicative competence, but above all to ensure an integral formation that contributes to the full

4
development of the personality of our students, bearing in mind that cognitive skills, being
indispensable, are not sufficient, so that is why it is crucial to develop transversal competences within
our students, like critical thinking, creativity, ability to communicate, attitudes of confidence,
enthusiasm, constancy and so on.

In this way, we should allow our students to be able to face the challenges of the current 21st century,
helping them to acquire the basic knowledge necessary to manage intercultural situations,
democratic coexistence and the resolution of conflicts based on respect and equal rights, achieving
all this through the knowledge (to know), skills (to know how to do) and attitudes (to know how to
be necessary for the acquisition of the specific competences of our area.
In this sense, we should consider the relevance of the key competences within the curriculum, giving
relevance in the application of knowledge into real life ("knowing to do") but, above all, making it
motivating for the students ("wanting to know").
In accordance with this approach, our area's main objective will be the acquisition of basic
communicative competence in the foreign language, as well as the development and enrichment of
intercultural awareness of students, favouring empathy, developing curiosity for the knowledge of
other cultures and facilitating intercultural communicative competence, establishing relationships with
speakers of other languages and respecting their customs and their culture.
We shall now move on to consider the main objectives to be achieved at the end of the current topic:

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE TOPIC

At the end of this topic, we will be able to:

 Identify the four basic skills of language and understand their main features.

 Recognise the difference between productive and receptive skills.

 Value the relevance of acquiring the Communicative Competence.

 Understand that skills integration should always take an active part within the classroom.

Let's move on to have a look at the development of the four linguistic skills, considering them all as a
whole, with coherence and cohesion among them.

5
6
 4. DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANGUAGE SKILLS

We deal with an essential topic, since successful communication, which is the basis of understanding
among human beings, depends on communicative competence and the mastery of the four linguistic
skills. In addition, the Foreign Language Curriculum for Primary Education emphasizes the
significance of this topic by including in its curricular elements the development of listening, speaking,
reading and writing with a communicative purpose, as well as paying attention to the components of
communicative competence, such as the use of extralinguistic strategies, linguistic and socio-cultural
aspects, etc.

Thus, learning a language in Primary Education has a practical objective: being able to communicate
and, in order to use a language effectively, we need to combine different abilities or skills

We can identify four major skills when using a language to communicate: listening. speaking, reading
and writing. Thus, according to Harmer, these major skills can be classified according to the medium
and the activity of the speaker.

In this way, speaking and listening are related to the language expressed through the aural medium,
whereas reading and writing are related to the language expressed through the visual medium.

If we classify these skills according to the activity of the participants, speaking and writing are said to
be productive skills (since they demand some kind of production on the part of the language user),
whereas listening and reading are receptive skills (since the language user receives oral or written
language).

THE FOUR SKILLS INTERRELATED AS A WHOLE

Medium Medium
AURAL VISUAL
Activity Receptive (INPUT) 1st Listening 3rd Reading
Activity Productive (OUTPUT) 2nd Speaking 4th Writing

According to the Communicative Approach, the four skills must be worked on and integrated at the
same time, but not to the same extent, as reading and writing are abstract activities that require more
maturity from children.

Therefore, in order to achieve a proper learning, it is convenient to take into account some principles
so that children learn in a natural way, in the same way they learnt their mother tongue:
o not speaking before listening
o not reading before speaking
o not writing before reading

As it can be seen, the written word comes after the oral word, in order not to interfere and have a
negative influence on pronunciation, and so as to reinforce oral learning "students can read and write
down to memorize vocabulary".

Therefore, it would be desirable that written skills are reached at the end of Primary Education,
emphasizing oral skills over written skills in Primary Education. In fact, especially at the beginning of
7
Primary Education, reading and writing should be kept to a minimum, as students have not mastered
yet those skills in their mother tongue.

After having explained how the four skills are classified, we will go on developing each skill
separately. In order to do so, we will follow Jeremy Harmer's way of classification.

Therefore, we will provide a definition of each skill and its main strategies, as well as the stages
that must be followed to carry out the activities in which these skills may be involved.

First of all, we will deal with the analysis of the skills expressed through the aural medium via spoken
words.

8
 5. ORAL COMPREHENSION AND EXPRESSION

Let us start with the LISTENING skill, which can be defined as the ability to understand and respond
to spoken language, being the first skill to be developed when leaming a language, being more than
just hearing, which corresponds to the ability to relate signals received by our ears to the
phonological and grammatical system of the language.

However, far from passively receiving and recording aural input, listening activities should engage the
listeners actively in the interpretation of what they hear.

According to Byrne, it is important to remember that, as in mother tongue acquisition, "a learner's
ability to understand language (reading) needs to be more extensive than his ability to produce
language (speaking)".

Listening can be found quite difficult, as English is a stress-timed language, with students taking into
account stress, rhythm and intonation patterns to effectively reach listening, which may be found
quite difficult. Besides, students do not have reference to go back at what has been said, as in
reading, so that is why it would be desirable to teach our students some STRATEGIES when dealing
with the listening skill, for both students and teachers.

Regarding the strategies for students, we could consider:

→ Identifying the topic.
→ Predicting and guessing information using their prior knowledge.
→ Inferring the meaning from context.
→ Deducing the opinion and attitude of the speaker.
→ Listening for global understanding/getting the general idea (skimming)
→ Listening for specific information/extracting specific information (scanning).
→ Listening for detailed information.

Regarding the strategies for teachers, we could bear in mind:

→ Using simple input of language (short sentences, familiar information, unfamiliar vocabulary
paraphrased, clear change of text)
→ Ensuring and checking that students understand the instructions.
→ Respecting the silent periods.
→ Using visual support (maps, graphs, illustrations, picture cue cards, charts)
→ Using verbal and non-verbal means of communication.
→ Presenting the information in short and simple sentences.

9
Moving on, the Communicative Approach and the Learner-centred Approach emphasize this
active role of the learner. Therefore, Jessons must be planned in a way that ensures children's
involvement in classroom activities.

In this sense, a listening lesson, in order to be effective, must follow 3 STAGES:

1. Pre-listening stage: which is a preparatory phase to make sure that students will be able to
understand the listening, with the main objective of preparing students for what they are going to
hear, familiarizing students with the topic, creating expectation and increasing the pupils' interest and
motivation. This can be achieved through activities like predicting content from a title, commenting on
pictures or photographs, asking for the students' opinion on the topic, pre-teaching key words
(vocabulary) and grammar exercises, among others.

2. While-listening stage: with the aim of developing listening strategies and keeping the students
active. Thus, teachers should aid students showing them how to reduce writing to a minimum while
listening (using drafts), organising the activities (guiding students through the text) or asking
questions to focus the students' attention on the crucial elements of the text.

Within this stage, we could find extensive listening "skimming”, which encourages global
understanding, with activities like matching pictures, sequencing a story, answering questions, gap-
filling, following instructions. Thus, students discover alone the meaning they are exposed to, being
appropriate for the first levels of Primary Education.

3. Post-listening stage: with the aim of checking comprehension and evaluating, using extending
lists, summarising, matching with a reading text, performing role plays, practising pronunciation,
vocabulary and structures from the text, etc.

Within this stage, we could find intensive listening "scanning", which allows students acquire
vocabulary, grammar structures and phonetics, requiring a specific search of information of any kind
(sounds, words, intonation patterns, etc.), dictations, gap-filling activities, finding differences, etc.

All in all, we as teachers should prepare our students to be able to think by themselves in
communicative situations, allowing students to put into practice the above linguistic strategies to
maximize their comprehension of aural input, distinguishing relevant from non-relevant information
and helping them to understand without word by word.

Thus, the Teaching Learning Process should be focused on the process, rather than the product.

Next, we will provide some listening ACTIVITIES so as to develop this receptive skill and let students
get information, entertain and socialize:
 Ear-training: distinguishing sounds, stress, rhythm and intonation.
 Games: motivating and affective ways of learning "Bingo, Simon says".
 Giving instructions: Total Physical Response, dictations.
 Completing: texts, songs, dialogues, etc.
 Identifying mistakes.
 Finding differences: from 2 listening.
 Problem-solving.
 Extracting information: general or specific information.
 Dictations: being useful for spelling and discrimination of phonemes.
 Listening for pleasure: radio, tv programmes, etc.
10
Among interesting MATERIALS and RESOURCES to be used within the listening skill, we could find:

 Podcast: distributing multimedia files over the Internet.

 CDs, DVDs, recordings and audiobooks.
 ICT resources: websites, Skype, Youtube, British Council Kids, Webquests, etc.
 Digital and interactive whiteboard.
 Assistants in bilingual schools.
 Anglo-speaker visitors (penfriends).
 Visual aid (maps, graphs, illustrations, picture cue cards, charts).

After having explained the listening skill, we will go on to address the SPEAKING skill, which should
start to be practised when students have understood meaning and have reached oral
comprehension.

SPEAKING can be defined as the ability to communicate in speech within an appropriate context,
not only involving using words, but also segmental and suprasegmental phonemes, as well as verbal
and non-verbal means of communication, with the main aim of speaking fluently, that is to say, the
speakers should be able to express their ideas clearly, correctly and without too much hesitation.

Nevertheless, there are often silent periods, which should not be interpreted as learning absence.

According to Krashen, the ability to speak fluently comes with time, after the acquirer has built up a
certain linguistic competence by understanding the input. In addition, errors are normal because, as
Chomsky states, they are part of the Teaching Learning Process, being positive evidence that
learning is taking place.

Besides, we should take advantage of the fact that, at Primary Education, students are not very afraid
of making mistakes, so that is why we should always congratulate their effort and participation,
making emphasis on fluency over accuracy, as we would demoralise our students if we constantly
stopped them to correct them).

Regarding the STRATEGIES that we may consider, we could find the following ones:
→ Using minimal responses, encouraging students to participate in different types of
interactions.
→ Recognising the different communicative situations, with the use of greetings, apologies,
invitations…
→ Developing non-verbal means of communication, through gestures, body language, stress,
rhythm and intonations, tone of voice, etc.
→ Enhancing extra linguistic strategies, for example, with the use of Total Physical Response
activities.
→ Using the language in an appropriate context, according to the participants involved in the
communicative exchange.
11
 → Considering slow pace, loud and clear voice.

Moving on, in order to achieve oral fluency, learners must go from the initial stage of imitation to the
final stage of free production, with the first and second stages being preparatory for the third stage, in
which real communication takes place.

Let's have a look at the different STAGES:

1. Lead in stage: with the aims of warming-up and breaking the ice.

2. Presentation/Imitation stage: being the first contact of students with the new language to be
dealt with, with the role of the teacher being that of informant, transmitting information. Thus,
activities need to be fun, lively and varied, for instance: substitution and repetition drills, songs,
chants, poems, rhymes.

3. Practice stage: with students practising (preferably in pairs or small groups) the language already
presented, and with activities being controlled and guided by the teacher, working as a conductor and
corrector of the teaching Learning Process. We could distinguish between:

- Controlled practice: with students using correct and simple language within a situation or
context.

- Guided practice: done in pairs or small groups, performing activities, practising a model
dialogue with possible variations.

4. Production stage: which is the most genuine communicative stage, as students will have to put in
practice in a creative way all they have learnt, with coherence, cohesion and fluency, without the
teacher's control, as the teacher will be working as a facilitator and animator. Thus, communicative
activities will be fostered, like playing card games, giving mini-talks, role-play, problem-solving, group
discussions, drama, etc.

Regarding the ACTIVITIES, we should consider that speaking is the only skill that cannot be
practised alone, and that is why it is so relevant to practice this skill at school, letting our students et
engaged and participate actively within the Teaching Learning Process. Regarding oral language
within the classroom application, we could find:
 Monologues: involving narration, oral explanation and descriptions.
 Dialogues: considering spontaneous conversations, discussions, dramatization, role-plays,
interview, expositions, etc.

Now that we have dealt with the spoken word, let's move on to analyse the skills expressed through
the visual medium via written words, that is, READING AND WRITING.

12
 6. WRITTEN COMPREHENSION AND EXPRESSION

Let us start with the READING skill, which can be defined as an interactive process that goes on
between the reader and the text, resulting in comprehension.

Thus, reading comprehension is a receptive skill and, therefore, shares common features with
listening. The main common feature is that reading is an active process in which the meaning of
graphs should be decoded. However, when reading, students can work at their own pace, going back
to revise.

However, far from passively receiving and recording visual input, reading activities should engage the
readers actively in the interpretation of what they read, bringing their own background knowledge to
bear with the information contained in the visual text.

There are two main APPROACHES to teach reading in English:

1. Look and say (picture + word): teachers often use it as part of vocabulary teaching, so when
children learn to say a new word, they learn to read it. The teacher can help children with whole word
recognition by decorating the classroom with functional print (posters, words of songs, signs, labels,
questions written in English).

2. Phonics "Jolly Phonics": when starting to teach reading, it is advisable to teach the way in which
letters sound, rather than the names of the letters, as some of the letters of the English alphabet do
not match the sounds of the language.

Regarding reading STRATEGIES, we could bear in mind the following ones:

→ Silent reading (paying special attention to understanding).
→ Reading aloud (paying special attention to suprasegmental phonemes).
→ Being aware of the purpose of the text.
→ Making predictions about the upcoming text.
→ Reading selectively (paying attention on specific information).
→ Revising prior knowledge.
→ Figuring out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary.
→ Underlining, re-reading and making notes.
→ Interpreting the text.
13
 → Evaluating the usefulness of the text already read.

Next, the main STAGES regarding reading activities will be analysed:

1. Pre-reading stage: in which the main aim is to develop the skill of predicting, preparing students
to what they are going to be dealing with, making students aware of the type of text and clarifying the
purpose of the reading activity, as well as motivating, assessing students' prior knowledge, etc. Some
examples would imply using the title, predicting content, looking at pictures, skimming to find the
main idea, brainstorming, etc.

2. While-reading stage: in which the main aim is to develop the skills of skimming and inferring
meaning from context. For instance, the Dominoes or the Bingo.

Regarding this stage we could consider extensive reading "skimming”, which refers to getting the
general idea of the text.

3. Post-reading stage: with the main aim of internalizing the language of the text and integrating
skills, promoting the learning of real content, being highly motivating for students.

Regarding this stage we could consider intensive reading "scanning", which refers to getting
specific information. Some examples would be suggesting a title, underlining the required
information, answering questions, chart filing, etc.

Once the reading skill has been considered, we will focus on how to write in English.

Thus, the WRITING skill involves more than just the production of graphic symbols, as symbols have
to be arranged according to certain conventions, being considered as the most difficult skill to be
acquired, owing to the following CHARACTERISTICS:

 Writing lacks immediate feedback.

 Writing does not reflect suprasegmental phonemes, that is, stress, rhythm and intonation
patterns.
 Writing demands a higher level of correction.
 Writing is not an everyday activity.

According to Krashen, the ability to write comes with time, after the acquirer has built up a certain
linguistic competence by understanding the input. In addition, errors are normal, because as
Chomsky states, they are part of the Teaching Learning Process, being positive evidence that
learning is taking place.
14
When dealing with correction of written work, instead of correcting all the mistakes (which would be
time consuming from the teacher's point of view, and discouraging for the students), we could correct
mistakes selectively (regarding certain areas of study), indicating mistakes so that students can
correct them (sp=spelling) or even letting students identify and correct their own mistakes (in pair
and group correction).

According to Matthews, we may distinguish 5 SUB-SKILLS related to writing:

1. Graphic skills: writing words correctly (capitalization, punctuation and spelling).
2. Grammatical skills: using a great variety of sentence patterns and constructions.
3. Stylistic skills: expressing meaning in a variety of styles and registers.
4. Rhetorical skills: writing with cohesion to link parts of a text.
5. Organisational skills: writing with coherence to summarize relevant points.

In this sense, writing correctly in a language requires a lot of practice, being a slow ability to be
acquired. For that reason, in Primary Education it should be done in a guided way.

To improve the written expression, we can bear in mind the following STRATEGIES:
→ Using descriptions.
→ Using general and specific vocabulary.
→ Paraphrasing longer texts or paragraphs.
→ Simplifying difficult ideas.
→ Writing words correctly (with coherence and cohesion, according to the context).
→ Recognising the different communicative situations: (greetings, apologies, invitations, etc.)
→ Following slow pace, structured and clear writing.

Furthermore, in the early stages of learning English, Students will generally write very little, as they
may be still coping with some features of the writing process in their native language. Therefore, we
must be especially sensitive to the different writing demands we may find in our classroom and the
different strategies of supporting their writing.

The following STAGES must be followed when teaching to write:

1. Controlled practice: copying material provided by the teacher is of great pedagogical value
because it helps students reinforce spelling and sentence structure, helping them to retain words.

Listing, classifying words into categories, putting lists of words in alphabetical order, etc.

2. Directed/Guided practice: we could distinguish between word-level (making a list, a personal

dictionary, crosswords, matching labels to pictures, anagrams); sentence-level (writing speech
bubbles for cartoons, sequencing sentences, definitions, descriptions) and paragraphs.

15
3. Free production: with students being encouraged to produce writing "free essays, compositions",
considering sentence and text structure, organizing ideas, performing instructions, exchanging
letters, writing games "describing famous people, writing stories" and reports, advertisements or
questionnaires.

Next, we will provide some ACTIVITIES related to writing:

 Games: being motivating and affective ways of learning "Treasure map".
 Completing: texts, songs, dialogues, filling in speech bubbles, etc.
 Identifying mistakes.
 Finding and writing the differences: from 2 readings.
 Problem-solving: task-based approach (developing the learning standards and key
competences.
 Extracting information: general or specific information.
 Writing for pleasure: comics, stories, diaries, e-mails.

Now that we have considered the 4 skills in an integrated way, we shall go to have a look at the
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE which is the main objective to be achieved within our foreign
language area.

16
 7. THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

The concept of Communicative Competence was firstly introduced by Chomsky (1957), who argued
that it was impossible for people to acquire a language by simple repetition and reinforcement, as
children do not repeat what adults say, but produce their own sentences never heard before.

However, Dell Hymes (1971) stated that, in order to learn a language, a native speaker does not
only need to utter grammatically correct forms (as Chomsky thought), but he also has to know the
rules of use, that is, where and when to use a sentence, and to whom.

Thus, mastering a language implies being communicatively competent, which does not only involve
linguistic knowledge, but also psychological, social and cultural knowledge.

As a result, Hymes replaced Chomsky's notion of competence with his own concept of
Communicative Competence, distinguishing the following four ASPECTS:

1. SYSTEMATIC POTENTIAL: which considers that a native speaker has potential for creating
language.

2. APPROPRIACY: which considers that a native speaker knows what language is appropriate in a
given situation, in a particular context.

3. OCCURRENCE: which considers that a native speaker knows how often something is said in the
language and if it can actually be performed.

4. FEASIBILITY: which considers that a native speaker knows whether something is possible in the
language, that is, although some structures may be grammatically correct, they may not be possible in
the language.

These four categories have been adopted for teaching purposes and, later, linguists Canale and
Swain (1980) expanded the previous description of Hymes, establishing five SUBCOMPETENCES:

1. Grammatical competence: which refers to the ability to put into practice the linguistic units
according to the rules of use established in the linguistic system, including grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation and spelling).

2. Discourse competence: which refers fo the ability to use different types of discourse and organize
them according to the communicative situation and the speakers involved in it, with coherence and
cohesion.

3. Sociolinguistic competence: which refers to the ability to adequate the utterances to the specific
context according to the accepted usage of a particular linguistic community.

4. Strategic competence: which refers to the ability to make adjustments in the course of the
communicative situation, and the capacity to use verbal and nonverbal strategies in order to make
communication effective.

5. Sociocultural competence: which makes reference to awareness of the social and cultural context
in which the Foreign Language is used.

Above all, being competent refers to be communicatively competent (mastering a language), showing
that one can do something (ability) and wants to do something (attitude), rather than just possessing
17
knowledge, not only implying linguistic knowledge, but also psychological, social and cultural
knowledge.

8. CONCLUSION

Along this topic we have analysed the spoken word, being understood as the development of
listening and speaking skills in students when learning a language, as well as the written word,
considering reading and writing skills. Later on, it has been discussed the importance of skills
integration in order to develop the communicative competence, which is the main objective of Foreign
Language Learning, emphasising the fact that being competent does not only involve the ability to
speak with fluency, but also dealing with the rest of the language skills, integrated as a whole, rather
than isolated.

We would like to remark that, as it has been proven in this topic, it is important that the activities and
techniques used in the classroom are aimed to develop the four linguistic skills in our students so that
they can take part actively in any communicative situation.

Therefore, only through the development of the 4 linguistic skills will our students be able to become
communicatively competent, and that is why these 4 skills should be practised in every lesson,
aiming activities to develop both oral and written comprehension “listening and reading skills" and
expression "speaking and writing skills", so that students can develop them all at once, using
language in different opportunities and contexts and building up their confidence.

For that reason, we should all bear in mind the human, social and cultural dimension of
communication, which involves dialogue, socialization and cooperation, apart from the technical
dimension of communication referring to transmission of information, so that our students can take an
active role so as to develop a more democratic and fairer society.

In order to achieve so, there should be a change in our attitude, changing those traditional
methodologies in which the teachers impose the teaching and learning pace and rhythm, having an
only answer, controlling the materials without the consent of their students and, all in all, basing the
teaching methodology upon vertical and unidirectional communicative models.

As stated by Larsen and Freeman, teachers in communicative classrooms should find themselves
talking less and listening more, becoming active facilitators of their students learning. In that way, our
main goal as teachers will be to allow our students acquire the communicative competence.

All in all, apart from becoming good and efficient communicators, ceasing to be disabled speakers,
our students will develop their human dignity, becoming whole human beings, which should be the
main aim when dealing with education.

"Through learning a language, we learn about culture.

Through learning about culture, we learn respect for others.
Through learning respect for others, we can hope for peace.”

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 9. DOCUMENTAL REFERENCES

Bibliography
ALBA PASTOR, C. (2022). Universal Design for Learning: Education for All and Inclusive Teaching
Practices. Morata.
AMARO, A. (2014). Attention to diversity in Primary Education. Univérsitas.

CHOMSKY, N. (1968). Language and Mind. Editorial Harcourd Brace and World.

FERREIRO, R. (20061. Didaclic Strategies Of Cooperalive Learning. Social Constructivism: a New

Way of Teaching and Learning. Trillas.

GARDNER, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books.
GENTO, S. (2003). Special Education. Sanz y Torres.

HOUSE, S. (2011). Didactic of English. Classroom Practice. Graó.

JOHNSON, D.W. (1999). Cooperative Learning in the Classroom. Paidós.

MEDINA, A. (2009). Didactics: Basic Training for Education Professionals. Universitas.

PUJOLAS, P. (1991). Attention to Diversity and Cooperative Learning in Compulsory Education.

Aljibe.

VYGOTSKY, L.S. (1997). Problems of General Psychology. Plenum.

Webgraphy
 DELORS, J. (1996). Education holds a treasure. Electronic document in:
http://www.unesco.org/educacion/pdf/DELORS.

 https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es

 http://www.educa.jccm.es/es

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State Legal references
 Organic Law 8/1985, July 3rd, regulating the right for education (LODE).

 Organic Law 2/2006, May 3rd, of Education (LOE), modified by the Organic Law 3/2020,
December 29th (LOMLOE).

 Royal Decree 157/2022, March 1st, which establishes the ordering and minimum teachings of
Primary Education.

Specific legal references from Castilla-La Mancha

Law 7/2010, July 20th, on Education in Castilla-La Mancha.

Decree 85/2018, November 20th, which regulates the educational inclusion of students in the
autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.
Decree 81/2022, July 12th, which establishes the planning and curriculum for Primary Education in
the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.

Order 121/2022, June 14th, of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, regulating the
organization and operation of public centers that teach Infant Education and Primary Education in
Castilla-La Mancha.
Order 185/2022, September 27th, of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, regulating the
evaluation in Primary Education in Castilla-la Mancha.

Resolution 14/06/2023, of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, issuing instructions for the
2023/2024 academic year in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.

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 10. GLOSSARY

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH: based on the promotion of the use of authentic language in real-
life situations, through the use of skills integration

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: being communicatively competent, mastering a language.

LISTENING: ability to understand and respond to spoken language.

SPEAKING: ability to communicate in speech within an appropriate context.

READING: interactive process that goes on between the reader and the text, resulting in
comprehension.

WRITING: skill that involves the production of graphic symbols.

SKIMMING: reading strategy that consists on reading a text getting an overall idea.

SCANNING: reading strategy that consists on reading a text deeply.

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