Page 240 - Beyond Methods

228 Integrating language skills
be inadequate for developing integrated functional skills. Its inade- quacy arises because language skills are essentially interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Fragmenting them into manageable, atom- istic items runs counter to the parallel and interactive nature of lan- guage and language use.
It is then fair to say that, in the absence of any empirical sup- port, language skills are being taught in isolation more for logisti- cal than for logical reasons; that is, it is done more out of adminis- trative convenience and availability of time and resources than out of any sound theoretical or experiential knowledge. As was pointed out by Freeman and Freeman (1992, p. 138), a recognition of the tension between what should be rightfully done and what is actu- ally done is clearly brought out by textbook writers who continue to write separate books or separate chapters for each of the skill areas, while at the same time find it necessary, in their editorial comments, to readily acknowledge the importance of the integration of language skills.
The Need for Integration
Theoretical as well as experiential knowledge overwhelmingly point to the importance of integrating language skills. It is likely that the learning and use of any one skill can trigger cognitive and commu- nicative associations with the others. Several scholars have attested to this likelihood. Emphasizing the connection between reading and other skills, Krashen (1989, p. 90) argues that reading may very well be “the primary means of developing reading comprehension, writ- ing style, and more sophisticated vocabulary and grammar.” Simi- larly, listening activities have been found to help learners make the broader connection between the sociolinguistic concept of form and function and the psycholinguistic processes of interpretation and ex- pression (Rost, 1990).
Linking speaking with other skills, Martin Bygate (1998, p. 34) found it “inevitable that the real time processing of listening activi- ties, the exposure to language via reading and listening, and the attention to form-meaning relations in all skills can wash forward to help the development of speaking.” Such a connection is true of writing as well, as observed by Wilga Rivers (1981, pp. 296–7): “Writing is not, then, a skill which can be learned in isolation. . . .