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Receptive skills include reading and listening. Lessons need to have a balanced approach of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Motives for listening and reading can differ depending on the situation. The two main reasons are for a purpose; when reading/listening takes place to achieve some particular aim or for entertainment; when we listen/read information because we find it pleasurable. How each person reads and listen can also differ. Our minds must not only be able to recognize and understand words but also be able to grasp their overall meaning from a pre-existing knowledge of the world. Each person's understanding of the context that they read or listen will depend on their expertise in the areas of predictive skills, specific information, general idea, detailed information and deduction from context. Predictive skills are when one predicts the content of an article or dialogue from a headline or introduction. Scanning is when for example a person listens to the news only concentrating when a particular story comes up. Skimming is where the person reads or listen to a text/dialogue only to understand the gist of it. Detailed information is for example when one reads/listen to detailed directions on how to get somewhere. Deduction of the context is when the reader or listener sometimes need to be able to understand the meaning of individual words or phrases and to see beyond the literal meaning. Problems with listening and reading are mainly in connection with the language contained in the text, the topic, interest and tasks are given. Sentence lengths, word length and a number of unfamiliar words can also present problems to learners. The more language we expose the students to the more they will learn but other solutions include pre-teaching vocabulary and careful selection of texts. The topic of the text can also help to mitigate the students. A variety of topics, over a period of time, is needed to ensure that all of our students are equally catered for in the end. If the teacher can get the students motivated and engaged in the tasks there is a much greater possibility that they will read/listen with real enthusiasm whether or not they were originally interested in the topic. An important feature in the teaching of receptive skills concerns comprehension tasks. The teacher needs to provide comprehension tasks that promote understanding as opposed to just checking to understand. A good task shouldn’t be too easy or too difficult. In conclusion the basic keys to successful receptive skills lesson are; choose material that interest the students, build interest before reading/listening, pre-teach complex vocabulary or structures, vary the type of material, use the material to practice different skills, use realistic comprehension tasks that aid in understanding and incorporate activate phases that naturally lead on from the text.
