Skills related to the ages

Listening, writing, speaking and grammar are the four skills that a second language learner should develop and then improve.

In the process of the acquisition of a second language, teacher should become aware about the learner’s age which is one of the most important factors that determines the skills in which the teacher and the student should work on.

Charles says that it is difficult to determine at which age the acquisition of the second language is easy or not, moreover to make generalizations is erroneous because, even when two persons are the same age, they do not have the same characteristics; and also there is not a unique prototype in which all people develop (Charles, 1981), but he also believes that teacher should know that there is a cognitive development which can be an idea to understand when some skills are more sensitive than others and if they are not accurate at least it would be a tool which can be used.

There are some skills which are categorized as receptive: listening and reading and the others are called productive: speaking and writing.

Listening is understand what we hear, There are two kinds of listening situations in which we find ourselves, interactive and non interactive.

Interactive listening situations include face-to-face conversations and telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our conversation partner, on the other hand some non-interactive listening situations are listening to the radio, TV, films, lectures, or sermons. In such situations we usually don't have the opportunity to ask for clarification, slower speech or repetition, therefore we as teacher should understand in which age or in which stage -according to Piaget-we can promote activities like these, for example it would be suitable at concrete operation and also Formal operations.

Speaking skill is more than just pronouncing words, although it is believed that children are more sensitive to develop a better speaking it does not means that an young adult or adult can, the real fact is that children are more perceptive to imitate in a better way the foreign sounds, they can almost talk as a native speaker(Charles, 1981).

Reading skill can develop independently of listening and speaking skills, it can help build vocabulary that helps listening comprehension at the later stages; particularly, teachers have take into account the learners age to choose the readings, this is a skill that is develops gradually according to the age, not only because the child cannot read well but it involves the capacity to understand the reading and think critically about it as well.

Writing is the hardest skill even for native speakers of a language, since it involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way, therefore it demands to think critically in few words in the formal operations stage the learner would be more capable to develop and improve this skill satisfactorily.