To improve oral language, it is important to work on active listening, vocabulary and oral narrative skills or the ability for children to express themselves. Building up a knowledge of vocabulary is important. Oral skills are obviously the key to spoken communication but they are also essential for learning to read. It is often taken for granted that by the age of five most children arrive at school with well developed oral skills. Unfortunately some children come to school with poorly developed language skills and are at risk of having difficulty in learning to read. Providing support in oral language skills helps provide a firm foundation for learning to read, although some children will need ongoing support with language and literacy activities.
During our lively dialogic reading to sessions, we unpack a story at length. I try to guide the children through the sequence of a story describing what happens first, next, last and to have open ended conversations with back and forth exchanges. One child who has very good oral skills often leads the way adding comments which helps others to add comments too. Some children are asking simple questions while others add information from their own experiences. They are becoming more able to "read" how characters are feeling either from language used in the text or by looking at the pictures, to predict a possible outcome with reasons given and to transfer information from one book to another book we have read.
We try to take turns and let others express an opinion. All ideas are accepted and discussed as peer learning is an important part of language development. Ideas can be rephrased into modelled sentences using correct grammar and structure. It is a teacher's job to reformulate, elaborate and expand on a child's speech rather than focussing on the mistakes made and to help children understand how conversations work - looking at the person you are talking to, take turns and listening to a response and for the children to be participants in the conversation.
My three children that I have targeted for my Inquiry participate at different levels during "reading to". Letting children choose a book from the school or class library is one way of finding out some of the interests of the quieter children. One on one discussions before school or whenever time permits can boost a child's confidence to participate when they are interested in the subject.
The following is a description of the three children I have included in this assessment.
Child one is naturally quiet and shy and has English as a second language. It maybe that the child finds the new environment of school very different from the home environment. Although being a quiet, focused learner the child likes to observe our discussions and with teacher encouragement he will answer a question or add information. It is our job as a teacher to show the class that a quiet child can communicate and often have very good ideas to share but they are just quieter than others.
Child two has English as a first language but he is another quiet, shy person. When he first came into our class he did not engage in our discussions. He enjoys the "reading to" sessions as you can often see him smile at a particular situation. He has gradually become confident enough to add a comment or answer a question when directly asked. He will chatter one on one when I am out on duty about his family or something he has been doing but his speech is sometimes difficult to follow.
Child three is naturally outgoing and wants to develop friendships. She is prepared to take risks and repeat words and the endings of sentences. She gives the impression she is able to converse with others but on examining her sentences it is often hard to comprehend what she is trying to communicate. She often repeats words, phrases or the end of sentences which make it sounds as if she has a lot to say. Pronouns are mixed so it is hard to follow her stories. She is more interested in attempting to communicate than in using correct grammar, verbs and structure.
I will examine their informal and formal language, grammar and articulation, vocabulary and expressive language, sequencing and making meaning of events to see how I can help these three children become more proficient communicators.
