Essay Example on Effective Language Learning: The 4 Fundamental Skills

Language is the root of communication, and its absence would imply the death of communication. Language has four necessities which are reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and they all play a crucial role in the language learning process (Sadiku, 2015). Learning these four skills is a fundamental skill, but due to factors such as lack of teachers, not all children learn sufficiently (Genlott & Gronlund, 2013). The societal change and shift to an information society due to technology advancement and opportunities are increasing the importance of literacy skills to more people today. These literacy skills help in selecting, interpreting, analyzing, and producing information. Reading, speaking, and writing are increasingly becoming important in society today.

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Reading is essential in hunting knowledge and acquiring wisdom (Sadiku, 2015). It is the most prominent language skill that provides a productive approach in enhancing language, for example, through vocabulary. When people are rich in vocabulary, they listen better as their understanding capacity is high, and they can write better as they have a vast range of words to select from and speak better as they possess intense word power (Sadiku, 2015).

Sadiku (2015) described writing skill as a hard copy for the expression or intellectual level. Klimova (2012) argued that writing skills help in fostering communication, developing thinking skills, expressing one's personality, making logical and persuasive arguments, preparing for employment, providing and receiving feedback, and offering a chance to reflect and later evaluate one's ideas. Written language in modern society has a high social prestige status and is crucial in educational and social function (Klimova, 2012). Further, writing is essential in teaching language since its acquisition entails knowledge and acquisition of other language skills; listening, reading, and speaking.

Speaking is equally important as the other skills. This skill is dependent on other skills since when people read words, writes ideas, and listens to thoughts; they can effectively express themselves - the speaking skill in play(Sadiku, 2015). Speaking encompass different context such as friendly, public, or academic setting, all which have equal demands for the skill. We cannot communicate without speech, and language reduces to a script in the absence of speech. Speaking effectively and correctly is important in any setting, such as the workplace, as people communicate well across departments. Any gap in communication, which is impacted by language skills, often results in problems and misunderstandings.

Conclusion

In conclusion, reading, speaking, and writing are interdependent and can be defined as a chain cycle where the whole communication process would collapse when one ring in the chain is broken. Excellent command over language in the changing information society is crucial as it shapes the communication process and can determine one's life.

References

Genlott, A. A., & Gronlund, A. (2013). Improving literacy skills through learning reading by writing: The iWTR method presented and tested. Computers & Education, 67, 98-104. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.03.007

Klimova, B. F. (2012). The Importance of Writing. Paripex - Indian Journal Of Research, 2(1), 9-11. doi:10.15373/22501991/jan2013/4

Sadiku, L. M. (2015). The Importance of Four Skills Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening in a Lesson Hour. European Journal of Language and Literature, 1(1), 29. doi:10.26417/ejls.v1i1.p29-31