: Oral Language Development– More Than Just Talk

Get Ready, Get Set,GO!!

What brings you here this afternoon?

I’m here because __________________.

Welcome and Introductions

My name is ________________.

Expected Outcomes

• Consideration of the importance of oral language development in second language acquisition, literacy/ biliteracy instruction and content learning

• Strategies to support students’ oral language development in the classroom

Language Functions and Structures

“for children with poor English skills, the language becomes a block to learning… their window is made of frosted glass. So for children learning in a second

language, it is important that we are aware of the language we use and that we deliberately create opportunities for children to hear and use it. We

need to look at language, rather than simply through it.”

Oral LanguageOral LanguageThe receptive and expressive aspects of

language that involves listening and speaking.

Language occurs through an interaction of:

Genes (most animals have innate tendencies to communicate and be sociable),Environment,Individual thinking abilities.

Stages of Second Language (K. Hill and K. Flynn)

Stage Characteristics Approx. Time Frames

Teacher Prompts

Preproduction • Minimal comprehension•Does not verbalize• Nods “yes” and “no”

0-6 months • Show me…• Circle the …•Where is…?• Who has…?

Early Production

• Limited comprehension• One-or-two word responses• Participates using key words and familiar responses• Presents-tense verbs

6 months- 1 year

• Yes/ no questions• Either/or questions• One-or-two word answers• Lists

Speech Emergence

• Good comprehension• Produces simple sentences• Makes grammar and pronunciation errors

1-3 years • Why…?• How…?• Explain …• Phrase or short sentence answers

Intermediate Fluency

• Excellent comprehension• Few grammatical errors

3-5 years • What would happen if…?• Why do you think…?

Advanced Fluency

The student has near-native levels of speech

5-7 years • Decide if ….• Retell…

•Breadth – number of words known & understood

Breadth is more important than depth for reading comprehension•Depth – multiple meanings, level

to which words are understood Depth is also important & aids in reading comprehension

low vocabulary includes:low vocabulary includes:•One-way speech from adult to child•Short, curtailed adult to child communication (usually a reprimand or threat)•Adult watching instead of interacting

Spoken Language SkillsSpoken Language Skills•Encourage Language Use:

•Increase the number of conversations•Repeat words and have children practice with you•Check for comprehension•Use big words and synonyms

•Systematically teach weekly vocabulary and add related words Big – large, huge, gigantic, giant, immense, great, enormous, whopping, substantial, massive, tall, spacious

•AVOID having children just sit and wait for more than a minute or two.

Have books or placements available

•Books and writing material in EVERY center•Children’s work at eye level throughout room•During transitions and in bathroom

Practice letters, nursery rhymes, vocabulary cards

•During meals Constant conversation

Literacy EnvironmentLiteracy Environment

Practice a 4-5 round Practice a 4-5 round conversationconversation

• 1 .Teacher (T) says, “What is this?”• 1. C (C) says, “It is a cat.”• 2. T says, “Yes, it is a cat. What do you think it is

doing?”• 2. C says, “Looking”• 3. T says, Looking at what?”• 3. C says, “I don’t know.”• 4. T says, “If I were a cat and looking toward the sky, I

might see a bird. What do think the cat might see?”• 4. C says, “a tree.”• 5. T says, “He might be looking at a tree. Cats love to

climb trees.

Why should we do this?Success for students in culturally diverse classrooms depends on the degree to which there are strategies that encourage all

students to talk and work together.

Mohr and Mohr Reading Teacher 2007

• Teachers should assume that, like an iceberg that shows only a small percentage of its mass above the

water, students have a great deal of competence that is not yet evident.

Mohr and Mohr Reading Teacher 2007

• Cappellini, M. (2005). Balancing Reading and Language Learning. Portland, Maine: Steinhouse.

• Freeman, Y. and Freeman, D. (2009). Academic Language for English Language Learners and Struggling Readers: How to Help Students Succeed Across Content Areas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

• Gibbons, P. (2009.) English Learners Academic Literacy and Thinking: Learning in the Challenge Zone. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

• Zwiers, J. (2008) Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• August, D. and T. Shanahan. (2006). Executive Summary Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Resources

Your TurnYour Turn