The Integration of the Four Skills in English in an Indian Classroom : A study of the integration of speaking, listening, reading and writing in the English classroom in a primary school in Vadodara, India

The aim of this study and field trip is to study how English as a second language is taught in a school in India. The focus will be on the materials used during the lessons and how they are used by the teacher. My concentration will be on a primary school in Vadodara, Gujarat in India and my delimitation will be on English learned as a second language in a governmental school. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how English teachers in local government schools in Vadodara, Gujarat focus on the integration of the four skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing during the English lessons. I have gathered data through interviews, observations and through the material used during the lesson. The results of the empirical findings are that even though the government has specific goals, focusing on the teaching of the four skills, for the schools these goals cannot be attained. These goals can be found in the syllabus which is presented in the theoretical background of the essay. Even though the teachers state that they can use different materials teaching English, the only material used in the classroom is the textbook and all the lessons are based on it. To be able to "pronounce English words and word-clusters and sentences occurring in the text; correctly" was a speaking goal that was difficult for the students to attain. The reason for that may be because of the teachers’ lack of proficiency in the English language.