Teaching Speaking and Writing

What are productive skills?

Speaking and writing are called productive skills because learners produce language to communicate. Listening and reading are known as receptive skills. The British Council uses the same distinction in its teaching terminology.

For a teacher, the distinction helps identify the focus of a task. A learner might understand a model conversation or recognise a sentence structure without yet being able to use the language independently.

Our training considers what support learners need between understanding language and expressing their own meaning. It connects the knowledge developed in grammar and vocabulary training with decisions about classroom communication.

Accuracy and fluency

Accuracy concerns how correctly learners use language. Fluency concerns how readily they can communicate without repeated hesitation or breakdown. The TQUK productive skills unit asks trainees to distinguish between the two and consider their relative importance.

Our course material asks you to identify the purpose of speaking work before choosing an activity. You need to know whether learners are practising particular language, developing their ability to communicate more freely, or working towards another clearly defined aim.

That decision affects the support and feedback you provide. It also gives you a basis for judging the task: a conversation and a piece of controlled language practice should not be evaluated as though they have identical purposes.

Learning to teach speaking

Asking learners to talk does not tell them what they are expected to do. Our speaking training considers topic choice, instructions, language preparation and how learners will interact.

You look at who is speaking to whom, whether learners have enough knowledge of the topic and how the task gives them something to communicate. The course also considers confidence and participation, including how a teacher can monitor without taking over the conversation.

The TQUK unit covers a range of communication activities, including discussions, role play, problem solving and information gaps. Trainees examine their suitability for different levels. The important work is selecting an appropriate task and understanding its purpose, rather than collecting activities without knowing when to use them.

These choices connect with lesson planning. A task that looks straightforward to the teacher may still require preparation and support for the learners.

Helping learners manage a conversation

Spoken communication involves responding to other people, not only producing a prepared sentence. The qualification includes work on clarifying meaning, checking understanding, agreeing and disagreeing, changing the subject and interrupting appropriately.

Our course material also considers the situation in which language is used. Who is speaking, who is listening and what the speaker hopes to achieve can influence tone, formality and vocabulary choices.

Pronunciation contributes to this work through the way meaning is expressed in speech. The pronunciation page explains the related training in sounds, stress, intonation and connected speech without repeating it here.

Learning to teach writing

Writing requires attention to what the learner wants to communicate and how the text will work for its reader. Our material covers spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, style, sentence structure, paragraphing and the connections between ideas.

Trainees consider the support learners need at different stages. The TQUK unit identifies copying, guided writing and free writing. These involve different degrees of independence and different demands on the learner.

During preparation, you consider whether the task asks learners to practise a form, organise ideas or create a text of their own. You also consider the language and models available to support them.

The aim is to understand the teaching behind a writing task. Setting a topic and collecting the finished work leaves important questions unanswered about how learners will prepare, what they need help with and how their writing will develop.

Adapting tasks for different learners

Our training asks you to take account of the learners’ level and reasons for studying English. The language demands of a speaking or writing task need to be manageable, while its subject and purpose need to make sense to the group.

For children, that connects with the preparation described on our young learner page. For older learners and adults, the course material also considers relevance to study, work and other communication needs.

You examine how much structure a task provides and how independently learners can work. Support is part of making communication possible; it should be selected for the class rather than added automatically to every activity.

Feedback on speaking and writing

Feedback should relate to what learners were working on. The course asks trainees to consider which difficulties need attention, when correction is useful and how it affects the learner’s willingness to continue.

Spoken work involves decisions about intervention during an activity and feedback afterwards. Written work allows the teacher to look closely at the text, but still requires a decision about what the feedback should help the learner improve.

Our material includes teacher, peer and self-correction, while the TQUK productive skills unit addresses ways of correcting written work. These are choices to evaluate, not one method that must be used for every mistake.

The Assessment and Feedback page explains this wider part of the training, including the distinction between supporting pupils and assessing trainees on the course.

Connecting speaking and writing with other skills

Our handout considers speaking alongside listening and writing, rather than treating each skill as a separate subject in every lesson. Learners may need to understand other people’s contributions before they can respond, and a written text may support later communication.

Trainees therefore consider which skill is the main focus and how the other language work supports it. More activities do not automatically make a better lesson; the parts need to serve the intended learning.

The complementary listening and reading page covers material selection and comprehension. Together, the two pages describe the four skills within the wider curriculum.

Speaking and writing in the Level 5 qualification

Teaching Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing is a dedicated unit within the TQUK Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (RQF).

The unit addresses accuracy and fluency, communication activities at different levels, the development of writing, correction and a range of spoken communication functions. Essential TEFL’s handout provides supporting material on speaking, writing and classroom feedback.

Our wider programme connects study with demonstrations, preparation, teaching practice and reflection. Trainees use feedback to consider the clarity of their instructions, learner participation and whether the work matched its aim.

See the full Level 5 curriculum. Qualification reference: 601/5234/5. TQUK’s official TEFL/TESOL information provides information about the qualification.

Questions about speaking and writing training

Will I learn how to teach speaking to beginners?

The course considers communication work at different levels. Trainees examine appropriate language, clear instructions and the support learners need before taking part, rather than assume that a general discussion task suits every class.

Does teaching writing only involve correcting grammar?

No. The training also considers purpose, organisation, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, style and the development of more independent writing. Grammar is one part of that preparation.

Are speaking and writing separate courses?

No. They are studied within Essential TEFL’s Level 5 programme and are paired in the TQUK productive skills unit. See the full course details for the programme and entry requirements.