English Proficiency and Communication Skills

Flashcards covering the types of language skills, listening styles, writing formats, and reading techniques based on the lecture transcript.

Receptive or Input Skills

Language skills that involve receiving information, specifically Listening and Reading.

Productive or Output Skills

Language skills that involve producing information, specifically Writing and Speaking.

Hearing

The first stage of listening which is described as passive and physiological.

Listening

An active and cognitive process that involves attention, feedback, and memory.

Discriminative listening

Involves identifying the differences between various sounds and differentiating between familiar and unfamiliar language.

Comprehensive listening

Involves attaching meaning to what is being listened to and comprehending non-verbal messages conveyed by the speaker.

Evaluative listening

Involves evaluating, analyzing, and judging the acceptability of a message based on how logical one finds it.

Attentive listening

Involves paying attention to the specific words that are being spoken.

Pretense listening

Involves more hearing than listening, where one uses facial expressions to pretend they are listening when they are not.

Selective listening

Involves selecting the desired part of the message and ignoring the undesired part of the message.

Intuitive listening

Listening through the intuitive mind by silencing other forms of internal dialogues going on simultaneously.

Cuniform

The oldest form of communication.

Emails

Communications generally used within an organization when the subject is relatively informal and routine.

Memos

Used only for communication within an organization especially when the subject is more formal, non routine, and more serious.

Letters

Communications typically sent to recipients outside an organization, or used internally if the topic is very formal and/or non-routine.

Reading (General)

A skill that enables us to get a message by recognizing written symbols and understanding the meaning.

Reading (Merriam Webster)

A particular interpretation of something.

Skimming

A quick reading to know the general meaning, the organization of a passage, and the intention of the writer.

Intensive Reading

Reading for a purpose, such as course books, involving a detailed in-class analysis of vocabulary and grammar points led by the teacher.

Narrow Reading

A term for Intensive Reading that may involve students reading selections by the same author or several texts about the same topic.

Extensive Reading

Reading for pleasure (story books, novels, magazines) to achieve a general understanding and build reader confidence.

Scanning

A quick reading focusing on locating specific information such as a name, date, symbol, formula, or phrase.

Effective Listening Components

Includes attention, feedback, and memory.

Reading (Pronunciation)

A specific use of reading skill used to teach pronunciation.

Scanning Eye Movements

Quick eye movements that are not necessarily linear, used until the reader finds the specific piece of information needed.

Pretense listening

During a team meeting, Sarah smiles, nods at regular intervals, and maintains eye contact while her coworker explains a new project workflow. However, her mind is completely focused on planning her upcoming weekend trip, and she isn't absorbing any of the information being presented.

Evaluative listening

Marcus is listening to a political debate. Instead of just taking in the information, he is constantly analyzing the arguments, checking for logical fallacies, and judging whether the candidates' claims are backed by solid evidence before deciding who to support.

Selective listening

During a lecture on climate change, Maya only tunes in when the professor mentions severe weather events or local impact, but completely zones out during the detailed statistical models and historical data points.

Comprehensive listening

David is sitting in a training seminar for new software. He takes detailed notes, maintains focus on the presenter's instructions, and asks clarifying questions to ensure he fully understands how the workflow functions from start to finish.

Intuitive listening

While talking to a friend who says everything is fine, Elena notices a subtle tremor in her friend's voice, crossed body language, and a sudden hesitation. Without any explicit statements being made, Elena senses that her friend is actually deeply anxious about something.

Attentive listening

A manager sits down with an employee who is struggling. The manager sets aside their phone, leans forward, keeps full eye contact, and gives their entire undivided attention to make the employee feel heard, supported, and valued—without immediately jumping in to judge or problem-solve.

Discriminative listening

An audio engineer is reviewing a recorded voiceover track. Rather than paying attention to the message of the script, they are listening specifically for background hums, slight changes in pitch, micro-pauses, and subtle vocal clicks.

Comprehensive listening

A student attends an advanced astrophysics lecture. Throughout the presentation, they take structured notes, map out how concepts connect, and follow the sequence of equations to fully understand and digest the complex subject matter.