Difficulties Encountered by Students in Learning the Productive Skills in EFL Classroom and the Relationship between Speaking and Writing: Case of First Year LMD Students at Abou Bekr-Belkaid

Abstract

Language plays a vital role in the development of human ability since it is the major means to communicate effectively in a target situation. When teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), the learners need to master the four language skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing in order to achieve a high level of abilities in producing and receiving the target language in its oral or written forms. Students encounter difficulties in speaking and writing as productive skills and they consider them as the main skills that should be improved. In this chapter, light will be shed on both speaking and writing skills through three parts. The first part includes the main concepts related to the speaking skills containing its definition, importance, main aspects, students’ difficulties in this skill and some principles used in teaching speaking. The second part consists of the concepts connected to the writing skills in which the researcher provides its definition, methods to teach this skill, its importance and purposes as well as some strategies to enhance the EFL learners’ level in the writing skill. The last part deals with the correlation between speaking and writing skills including the similarities and differences and the strategies used to improve both skills.