Building Oral Language

Susan Dold, Ed. Ddoldsb@scsk12.org

The Importance of Oral LanguageChildren arrive in kindergarten with huge discrepancies in oral language development . . . and the gap between language-advanced and language-delayed children grows throughout the elementary school years.

Biemiller (2001)

What is Language?

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defines language as “ . . . A code made up of rules that include what words mean, how to make words, how to put them together, and what word combinations are best in what situations. Speech is the oral form of language.”

www.asha.org/public/speech/development

Findings from Research

During elementary school, at any given time, a child’s maximum level of reading comprehension is determined by the child’s level of listening comprehension.

Biemiller, 2001

Some Facts• Limited oral language negatively affects

reading comprehension.• Many of our children have limited oral

language.• On standardized tests, this shows up as

vocabulary problems.

Words heard per

hour

Words heard in a 100-hour

week

Words heard in a 5,200-hour year

Words heard in 4

years

Professional Family

Child2,153 215,000 11 million 45 million

Working Class Family

Child1,251 125,000 6 million 26 million

Welfare Family

Child616 62,000 3 million 13 million

Early Language Experiences: Quantitative Differences

- Hart & Risley (1995)

Early Language Experiences: Qualitative Differences

Words heard per

hour

Affirmatives per hour

Prohibitions per hour

Professional family child

2,153 32 5

Working class child

1,251 12 7

Welfare child 616 5 11

-Hart & Risley (1995)

Cumulative Language Experiences30 Million Word Difference

50 –

45 –

40 –

35 –

30 –

25 –

20 –

15 –

10 –

5 –

1 2 3 4 5 Age of child (years)

Num

ber o

f wor

ds h

eard

(mill

ions

)

Children from:

Professional Families

Working Class Families

Welfare Families

The Simple View of Reading2 domains

Decoding(word recognition) X

Language Comprehension =

Reading Comp.

Vocabulary

Text Comprehension

Fluency

5 Components

Gough and Turner, 1986

Phonics

Phonological & Phoneme Awareness

Language-Rich Experiences• Extended conversations• Telling/retelling stories and events• Discourse and discussion• Modeling of new and unusual words• Discussion of word meanings

Examples in Action• “Building up” language• “Breaking down” language• Sentence expansion• Cohesive ties• Dialogic reading

“Building Up” Language

• Big– Synonyms: huge, enormous, gigantic

• Snow– Related words: slush, drift, accumulate

• Move– Words in the same group (whole body actions): run,

leap, dance, crawl, stroll, wiggle

• Car– Categorical relations: vehicle, car, Ford

Example“Line up at the door.”Building up…• Line up next to the library entrance.• Line up next to the library portal.• Line up beside the door.• Line up adjacent to the door.

Another Example• I wore my warm coat because it is cold today.• Since it is cold, I wore my warm coat today.• It is cold today; therefore, I wore my warm

coat.• It is cold today; as a result, I wore my warm

coat.• Others?

“Breaking Down” LanguageThink alouds•Talk about what you see•Talk about what you feel and hear•Talk about actions•Talk about emotions•Talk about the future•Talk about the past

Expand Sentences• Child: I saw a dog.• Coach: What color was the dog?• Child: brown• Coach: I saw a brown dog. Repeat after me:• Child: I saw a brown dog.• Coach: What kind of dog was it?• Child: boy• Coach: I saw a brown male dog. ETC…

Model Cohesive Ties• I need a break because…• I need a break although…• I need a break since…• I need a break after…• I need a break therefore…• I need a break, however…

What is Dialogic Reading?• A reading practice• Using picture books• Adults ask questions, children answer• Adults expand on the questions

Dialogic Reading• Point out vocabulary words• Ask “what” questions• Expand on what students say• Ask open-ended questions

PEERStep How do you do it? How does it help?

P = Prompt the child Ask a question about the book; prompt, if necessary

Focuses attention, engages the child, builds vocabulary

E = Evaluate what the child says

Affirm correct responses, add information for clarity

Constructive feedback

E = Expand on what the child says

Add a few words to the child’s response, gently provide correct answer, if necessary

Encourages the child to say more, builds vocabulary

R = Repeat Ask the child to repeat the expanded or correct response

Encourages the child to use language

Let’s try it!Let’s try it!

CROWD• Look at your Dialogic Reading handout.• Select a picture book and work with a group.• In your group, develop one or two prompts

using CROWD.• Be prepared to share.

Teaching Vocabulary Directly• Model• Routines• Using context• With Fry words and phrases• Dictionary

Vocabulary Routine• Say the word and teach its pronunciation.• Have the class repeat it.• Read the word and say its definition.• Have the class repeat the definition.• Write the word and have the child write it.• Add a gesture to the definition and repeat the

definition sentence using the gesture.• Pair students and have them teach the word to each

other.• Have them come back to the whole group and repeat

it one more time.

Vocabulary in Context• Teach words in meaning clusters.• Use graphic organizers.• Ask questions about words in context.• Have students “prove it” by locating evidence.

Use Context: Be a Word Detective• Yesterday I saw a bright blue blogute sitting in

the bush in my backyard.

• “Blogute” is a nonsense word, but use the context of the sentence to guess at its meaning. Be prepared to support your guess with evidence.

Vocabulary and Fry WordsFry phrases: •Circle the wagons•Toward morning•The ship hit the waves•Watch the river

Dictionary Use• DO use the dictionary to confirm the meaning

of a word.• DON’T give a student a list of words to look

up, define, spell, etc.

In Conclusion• Oral language is crucial to reading

achievement.• Encourage the use of new and different

words.• Make word learning fun.