Spanish students reflections on the importance of written and spoken skills in their efl classes at high school and at university

Abstract

Nowadays, thanks to the introduction of modern approaches to language teaching with an emphasis on communiction and a focus on the learner, teachers are expected to help students develop their competences in both receptive and productive skills. However, few studies have been carried out in Spain to verify whether students feel they have enough chances to write and speak in the classroom. This paper aims at describing and comparing the attention that is paid to the different skills at pre-university and university levels. A number of students were asked to answer some questions on the importance that, in their experience, is given to each language area in their EFL classes, assessment system and teaching materials. The results indicate that spoken skills and cultural aspects continue to be undervalued in our country. Key words: written skills; oral skills; Spanish EFL students; high school; university