








































Teaching Techniques 
 

Dr. Adil Bentahar, Assistant Professor, English Language Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE; email 
badil@udel.edu 

Kenneth Cranker, Assistant Professor, English Language Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE; email 
kcranker@udel.edu 
 

Enhancing Intensive English 
Program Reading and Writing 
Courses through Integrated-Skill 
Activities 

GATESOL Journal 
2021, Vol. 31(1), pp. 54–60 

doi:10.52242/gatesol.113 
ISSN: 2331-6845 

 
Adil Bentahar 
University of Delaware 
 

Kenneth Cranker 
University of Delaware 
 

Abstract 
In an increasingly competitive global Intensive English Programs (IEPs) environment 
(Benshoff, 2018), developing courses that efficiently meet student needs and equip students 
with skills essential for university success is paramount. Many IEPs develop reading and 
writing (RW) courses around one textbook for reading and another for writing, essentially 
separating RW skills from listening and speaking skills (Oxford, 2001). However, our 
university foundation-year program has started to integrate listening and speaking skills with 
instruction and assessment into RW courses. Instructors have observed what appear to be 
increased gains in learning when students pre-read, read, discuss, listen to related lectures, 
present, and then write about academic topics. Students’ writing reveals greater voice as they 
seem to understand topics more deeply and have developed greater fluency with ideas and 
terminology and an increased ability to paraphrase, summarize, and synthesize, aligning with 
findings in related literature (e.g., Horowitz, 1986). This integrated-skill approach also more 
closely resembles university tasks than the segregated-skill approach does. This article 
explains the integrated-skill approach, examines its impact on revitalizing IEP RW instruction, 
and showcases some sample activities. 
 
Keywords 
reading and writing (RW), extensive reading, integrated-skill approach (ISA), student success, 
Intensive English Programs (IEPs) 

 
Background 
Although the concept of the integrated-skill approach (ISA) is not new to Intensive English 
Programs (IEPs; Brauer, n.d.), there seems to be little agreement among IEP instructors regarding 
which specific components should be included in reading and writing (RW) courses. Some 
programs employ a segregated-skill approach to language instruction, where the mastery of 
discrete language skills (e.g., reading or speaking) is deemed paramount to successful learning 
(Oxford, 2001). However, many scholars have described the effectiveness and merits of ISA 
(Bentahar, 2021; Ellis & Yuan, 2004; Gautam, 2019; Lee, 2006; Mitrofanova & Chemezov, 2011; 
Su, 2007), where several of the four main skills, as well as related or associated skills (e.g., 

mailto:badil@udel.edu
mailto:kcranker@udel.edu


Bentahar & Cranker 55 
 

spelling, vocabulary, and syntax), are “interwoven during instruction,” leading to “optimal 
ESL/EFL communication” (Oxford, 2001, p. 2).  

ISA is an effective teaching approach that “focuses on [the] mastery of meaning, fluency 
and communication as a whole language system” (Gautam, 2019, p. 106). In Taiwan, for example, 
90% of the student participants recommended continuing ISA after 65 English as a foreign 
language (EFL) students were exposed to authentic materials and realistic activities through ISA, 
enhancing seamless interaction with texts and classmates (Su, 2007). ISA has also been associated 
with enthusiastic student attitudes (Mitrofanova & Chemezov, 2011) and greater language 
proficiency when compared to instruction with content organized and delivered with the intent to 
teach grammar (Alptekin et al., 2007). While ISA has been linked to natural language production 
by students (Sanchez, 2000), it has also positively influenced student writing performance when 
reading, listening, and writing are integrated (Heffernan, 2006). One final note worth sharing is 
that the sequencing of the activities used in a lesson or series of lessons should begin with receptive 
skills before proceeding to productive ones (McDonough et al., 2013). 
 
Impact of ISA Informed by the Classroom 
The new credit-bearing foundation-year program at our university successfully uses an ISA to RW 
instruction and assessment. Using ISA, classroom activities combine several skills to equip low-
advanced level international students, predominantly from China and Saudi Arabia, with the 
competencies and knowledge they need to succeed with university reading and writing tasks. Prior 
to 2017, our program taught pre-university courses following the segregated-skill approach, with 
listening and speaking skills being minimized in RW instruction. In transitioning from the 
segregated-skill approach to ISA, and having taught RW using both approaches, we have observed 
several positive changes after implementing ISA in the classroom. 

We have observed that students more confidently use vocabulary acquired through reading 
and discussion in their summary, response, and synthesis writing. Moreover, the students seem to 
enjoy freer and more natural discussion leading to more appropriate language in writing using ISA. 
One student who took the same course twice, once in an RW-only manner, and once by ISA, even 
voluntarily reported on three occasions the ISA course was considerably more enjoyable. 
Considering these observations, it is our view that learning gains increase and are likely more 
permanent, and activities are more affectively appealing when several learning tasks and skills are 
integrated. More satisfactory levels of student engagement and grasp of content were also manifest 
in the students’ speaking and writing performances. Based on classroom observations, we agree 
with Kebede (2013) that ISA increases purpose for learning, brings variety and authenticity, 
improves transfer of knowledge to other areas, develops overall communicative competence, and 
enhances analysis and synthesis better than segregated-skill courses do. 

Amidst declining student populations in schools and plummeting enrollments in IEPs, 
which suffered 26% loss of enrollment in 2016 and 2017 at the national level (Benshoff, 2018), 
perhaps the advantages of ISA are noteworthy. College students, both domestic and international, 
are consistently required to write or speak about what they hear in lectures or read in textbooks or 
other sources; therefore, IEP RW instruction that requires the integration of all skill areas aims to 
match university requirements and to equip students to be successful at processing the information 
they are expected to master. The goal is the effective and economical acquisition of multiple skills 
simultaneously. 
 
 



56 GATESOL Journal 31(1)  
 

Sample Integrated-Skill Activities from the Language Classroom 
What follows are several typical assignments used in ISA classes in our IEP. While the focus of 
this article is on reading-based techniques integrating other language skills, not all ISA activities 
have to begin with reading, so sharing one activity involving listening as the basis of integration 
is worthwhile. 
 
Listening-Oriented Activity 
One integrated-skill activity is for ESL/EFL students to listen to a lecture and take notes. Pre-
teaching the techniques of effective note-taking before students engage in this activity is vital. 
Some of these techniques include using outline-style organization with relationships displayed by 
indentation with dashes, abbreviating, telegramming ideas without worrying about grammar, 
employing symbols, and noting spoken details in addition to information on slides. Then, they use 
their notes to answer discussion questions in small groups. Each group can eventually 
collaboratively write a summary of the lecture based on its answers to those questions. Many 
researchers (e.g., Khazaal, 2019; Oxford, 2001) agree that summarizing or analyzing text, 
including auditory text, in written form helps ESL/EFL students activate their writing skills. This 
activity incorporates listening, note-taking, speaking, and writing, building a wide variety of skills 
necessary for university study. 
 
Reading Comprehension Activity 
One textbook unit deals with health. After completing pre-reading and reading activities associated 
with four key texts in the unit, students also listen to and watch a video created by the second 
author of this article, while taking notes they will use for discussion. After the discussion, they 
write a synthesis paper using ideas from at least two textbook readings, the video, their discussion, 
and a supplemental source of their choosing, all cited in APA format. This assignment helps 
students learn content knowledge on the topic of health with targeted reading and vocabulary 
development and assessment. It also consolidates their ideas orally and culminates with a synthesis 
paper where the students demonstrate essential skills of paraphrasing, summarizing, and 
synthesizing. Overall, this entire process weaves in and out among reading, listening, speaking, 
and various forms of writing. Similar progressions may be followed in textbook units dealing with 
any topic that is applicable to ESL/EFL students. 

Another typical ISA task is for ESL/EFL students to read an article and to highlight the 
main ideas while they are reading it. After reading and highlighting, they create a list of bullet 
points summarizing the main ideas of the text to share in a small or large group discussion; the 
group must then discuss the significance of each bullet point. This activity integrates reading, 
short-form writing by creating the bullet points, speaking, and listening. The condensation of a 
text into bullet points and subsequent re-expansion of those points in group discussion is an 
effective way for students to acquire the language and ideas of a text while still activating their 
writing skills (Oxford, 2001). 

A third integrated-skill activity involves students reading an article, processing it, and 
answering comprehension questions and vocabulary exercises. After checking the text 
comprehension, the instructor dictates a short (20–50 words) passage from that article, and students 
write down the passage as dictated. Then, they can compare what they wrote to the actual text in 
the source and discuss what parts of the dictation they missed and why. This self-assessment and 
“languaging” by the students about their own strengths and weaknesses in listening helps them 
notice peculiarities in the language and consider strategies to apply for personal improvement. If 



Bentahar & Cranker 57 
 

the results are presented to the class, the entire class becomes more aware of the subtleties and 
challenges of listening, such as catching word endings, reductions, and vocabulary that they 
recognize visually but not aurally. This activity integrates listening, writing, discussing, 
presenting, and using metacognitive skills. 
 
Extended Reading Activity 
One method of integrating skills requires the incorporation of extensive or extended reading into 
speaking or writing learning activities. Fields (2017) noted that extensive reading is long reading 
that is at or below level, freely read, and unassessed (Day & Bamford, 1998), while extended 
reading uses relatively long articles that are above level, assigned, and assessed. He also found 
extended reading an effective alternative to extensive reading. In the context of our university 
academic transitions program, the aim of which is to enable students to bridge the gap between 
reading at perhaps a 9th-grade level and being able to read college textbooks, a 200+ page book 
that may be above student reading levels is used. For example, one book presents findings of a 
major scientific study related to longevity, so it has a Lexile level of 11th to 12th grade. Students 
read this extended reading book over the course of the semester, at a pace of a chapter with 
approximately 20 pages per week. This pace might approximate a few articles similar to those 
described by Fields (2017). Students are instructed to highlight the main ideas and note unknown 
vocabulary from their assigned pages. 

During discussion, students present that vocabulary to the class, teaching each other 
vocabulary from their own annotations. Then, in small groups, they discuss comprehension 
questions prepared by the instructor. Each group then presents its answers to a set of questions to 
the class. Finally, each student writes a summary of the chapter, properly emphasizing the most 
important point of the chapter and including the main idea(s) of each section of the chapter. 
Students are also instructed to include a small quotation from the chapter with the proper citations 
and references per APA format. Alternatively, they may write a reflective response to the chapter 
with similar citation instructions. This activity integrates reading, vocabulary building, discussing, 
presenting, writing, and academic citing. 

An additional method for integrating skills can be employed when the extended reading 
book is related to a theme or themes from the reading textbook because, as Sedita (2018) posited, 
readers’ knowledge about a given topic can lead to improved reading comprehension. After 
building knowledge through longer and deeper reading, students can compare and contrast the 
ideas from the extended reading book and the reading textbook in small or large group discussion 
(see Table 1). This discussion can then be the springboard for writing assignments such as a 
compare-and-contrast essay (see Figure 1). The processing and re-processing of material fosters 
students’ understanding of language and content, as well as voice in their writing. Simultaneously, 
such work cultivates students’ essential university-level skills, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, 
synthesizing, thinking critically, and using varied sources. 

Another effective exercise is for the instructors to use a National Public Radio interview 
with the authors of the longevity book, wherein the students hear the authors’ voices and responses 
to callers’ questions and/or comments. This exercise is well integrated because the students 
connect what they have read over several weeks with what they are hearing. In addition, instructors 
provide group discussion questions, with each group member responsible for answering 2-3 
questions, synthesizing information from the interview and the book and connecting this 
information with the students’ own culture. 
 



58 GATESOL Journal 31(1)  
 

Table 1 
Results of Discussion Comparing Textbook with Extended Reading 
 
Factor Textbook Extended Reader 

Sanitation Very important More important than medicine 

Vaccines May help eradicate malaria One of the strengths of medicine 

Medicine Extend life but expensive; access not 
equal 

Overmedicalization is a problem 

Education Key to future increases Education per se not important; 
conscientiousness and success much 
more so 

Diet Important U.S. obesity has increased with 
greater public attention to diet 
(since 1960s)  

Personality factors Not addressed Conscientiousness extremely 
important; catastrophizing deadly 

Social factors Not addressed Social networks, altruism and steady 
marriage important 

Career success Not addressed Important, but conscientiousness is 
underlying factor 

Note. This figure demonstrates results of discussion where the students compared content from the textbook unit 
readings(s) and the extended reading 
  



Bentahar & Cranker 59 
 

Figure 1 
Basic Instructions for the Compare-Contrast Essay Assignment 

Your reading textbook and your extended reader both shared views on factors that influence longevity. 
Sometimes they were similar, but sometimes they were quite different. Compare and contrast the 
claims of the two sources in a compare and/or contrast essay. Begin with a definition of longevity. Then 
assert that similarities and/or differences exist between the two sources and mention three points you 
will discuss (This all will be in your introduction.) Then continue to explain those similarities and/or 
differences in the following paragraphs, and wrap up your essay with a conclusion. 
 

● You must cite the textbook and the extended reader.  
● The table you filled out in your group discussion will be of great use to you. 
● Citations and a reference list must be properly formatted 
● Include one quotation and cite it properly. 
● Use academic language. 

Note. This figure demonstrates an assignment where the students compare and/or contrast longevity factors using two 
sources, the textbook unit and the extended reading. 
 
Conclusion 
The core strength of the aforementioned activities within the course is that students not only read 
and write, but they also listen, discuss, and present content. Per our observations and student 
feedback, the integrated-skill approach (ISA) to reading and writing (RW) instruction and 
assessment seems to be more effective than teaching skills in an isolated manner. While we have 
observed the expediency and feasibility of this approach to teaching RW in language institutions 
and have informally evaluated its effectiveness merely through anecdotal evidence, future 
empirical research using mixed-method designs is needed to further support student perceptions 
of their learning outcomes using ISA. 
 
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____________________________________________________________________________ 
 

Received: January 2, 2021 | Accepted: April 6, 2021 | Published: July 30, 2021 

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https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03025831
https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03025831

	GATESOL Journal2021, Vol. 31(1), pp. 54–60
	Enhancing Intensive English Program Reading and Writing Courses through Integrated-Skill Activities
	doi:10.52242/gatesol.113
	ISSN: 2331-6845

