Developing English Communication Skills in ESL Learners: Pedagogical Approaches and Classroom Strategies

Abstract

English Language proficiency is a requisite to academic performance, international competitiveness in the job market and integration in the social-cultural environment particularly to learners whose first language is not English. Nevertheless, linguistic, psychological, and pedagogical obstacles usually deprive ESL learners of a possibility to develop effective communication skills. The paper explores the process of learning English communication in ESL students as one of the hybrid methodologies that blend both classroom observations, feedback analysis, and class pedagogy. The study is conducted in the three Indian educational establishments having many learners with ESL. It used a mixed-methodology as it targeted both quantitative feedback through questionnaires and qualitative interviews with the ESL instructors and students. Micronizing of the data was triangulated by classroom-based activity records and performance evaluation to investigate the effectiveness of different learning pedagogies like task-based learning, communicative language teaching (CLT), and flipped classrooms. The findings show that interactive methods are of strong influence to the oral fluency and that contextual learning is good in retailing vocabulary and pragmatic competency. Culturally relevant, peer work and feedback loop came in handy to nullify the resistant and anxious attitude of the learners. The results contribute to the creation of dynamic ESL instructional framework which focuses on flexibility, involvement of learners and interventions which are dependent on skills.