Skills vs Systems? A Simple Guide for CELTA

One of the (many) aspects of new terminology that CELTA trainees struggle to get their heads around in the early stages of teaching is the difference between language skills and language systems. If you’ve started preparing for CELTA and this is tying you in knots, let me straighten you out- it’ll really help with lesson planning!

PART 1: LANGUAGE SKILLS

Language skills are the things we do with language. There are four: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Two of them- reading and listening- are receptive skills, where we take information in.
The other two- speaking and writing- are productive skills, where we create language.

So, when you're teaching skills, you’re helping learners get better at these real-world communication tasks.

PART 2: LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

Language systems are the building blocks that help learners use language more accurately and effectively.
This includes grammar (how sentences are structured), vocabulary (the words we use), pronunciation (how we say them) and functional language (like how to make a request or give advice).

So think of systems as the what of language and skills as the how.

When you’re planning lessons, one of these things will usually be your main aim. Maybe you want to focus on improving your learners’ listening skills, or maybe you’re introducing the present continuous tense for arrangements in the future… BUT … it’s pretty unusual that skills and systems aren’t mixed together in a lesson.

For example, in that listening lesson (that’s a skill), you’ll also cover vocabulary from the text that helps the learners understand (so that’s a system).

Or in that systems lesson where your main aim is the grammar of the present continuous, it’s quite likely that that context will come from a reading or listening text and the practice might be a speaking task- so we’ve got sub aims that are skills based.

If this all feels a bit fuzzy now, don’t worry too much- you’ll get plenty of practice with this on CELTA. But understanding this distinction early on will help you hit the ground running.

And if you’re looking to really prepare well before your CELTA, my preparation materials have helped thousands of trainees and they’re recommended by tutors in centres all over the world. Being prepared will take some of the stress out of the course and allow you to show your best teacher self. Check them out at the link above. See you on the inside.