Using Short Texts to Teach English as Second Language: An Integrated Approach

Abstract

The teacher of English Language is often hard pressed to find interesting and authentic ways to present language to target second language speakers. While language can be taught and learned, part of it must be acquired and short texts provide powerful tools for doing so and reinforcing what has been taught/learned. This paper starts from research, but utilizes the studies and experience to present a way of integrating language skills through the use of short texts. Short texts provide opportunity to focus on detail on aspects of reading (nominal and pronominals, direct references, allusion, imagery, inference making, use of schemata), listening and speaking, vocabulary, grammar and even writing skills in ways that a full length text may not. In addition, short texts give weak language learners a sense of fulfillment as readers, instead of the frustration of reading long texts without comprehension. The paper will utilize four short texts to demonstrate to teachers how they can enable their learners to develop different skills of/in English as the target language. The texts and approaches are versatile, and depending on tasks could be used with any students SL learners of high school, or even university, as long as tasks are set at the right cognitive and literary levels. The methods discussed here could also be used with other languages.