Teaching Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing (LSRW) Skills: A Systematic Review of Communicative Competence Models, Policy Implementations, and Local Scaffolding in Indian Education

Abstract

The systematic cultivation of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing(LSRW) skills forms the cornerstone of contemporary language pedagogy,marking a transition away from traditional grammar-translation methodstoward comprehensive communicative competence frameworks. Within theIndian educational landscape, implementing an integrated LSRW structure isvital to fulfill the multilingual mandates of the National Education Policy(NEP) 2020. This review paper provides a rigorous synthesis of localizedpeer-reviewed academic literature evaluating the operationalization of LSRWframeworks in diverse classroom settings. Drawing on neurocognitiveprocessing theories and socio-cultural learning science, the paper exploreshow balanced scaffolding addresses major instructional hurdles acrossdifferent learner profiles—including multilingual individuals and studentsfrom resource-limited rural areas. By assessing the unique contributions ofprominent Indian scholars (such as Dr. K. Anand, Prof. M. Radhakrishnan,and Dr. Anjali Deshpande), the analysis highlights persistent operationalbottlenecks, including severe pre-service preparation gaps, rigid examination pacing guides, and a deep-seated dependency on rote memorization. The findings demonstrate that scaffolded, communicative LSRW architectures, supported by digital open-access platforms like DIKSHA and localized language labs, generate statistically significant improvements in text comprehension and spoken fluency, while markedly droppingrote-dependency. Finally, this review highlights critical research gaps andintroduces an integrated, culturally responsive curriculum design matrix to support sustainable linguistic governance. KEYWORDS: LSRW Skills, Communicative Competence, NEP 2020,Language Scaffolding, Rote-Dependency, Indian Language Classrooms.