Oral Language - Mrs Badcock

How does oral language contribute to reading success?

Oral language is the foundation for the development of literacy skills and it is considered to be a strong indicator of later reading, writing and overall academic achievement.

When young children experience rich oral language by talking with and listening to adults and other children, they will have a large ‘bank’ of spoken vocabulary, words they understand when used in spoken communication (vocabulary). Children who have heard and joined in word play, games, rhyming, eye spy and listening to reading will be aware of the sounds of English (phonological awareness). They will be familiar with many sentence types and understand how language can change in different situations (fluency). They will understand that words have meaning, and that we use language to communicate information, ideas, feelings and thoughts (comprehension).

Oral language at school

Oral language encompasses two components. These are expressive language (using words and non-verbal processes to share meaning with others) and receptive language (listening or the process of understanding what has been expressed). Throughout the school there are many instructional approaches for listening and speaking activities including read-aloud, audio texts, following instructions, What’s Missing games, Speech Programmes, retelling and summarising, Show and Tell, retells/recounts, Reader’s Theatre, speaking and listening about music, poerty and art, wordless picture books and debates. In Prep-Year 6 the Australian Curriculum outlines the components of these skills. Teachers assess and report on children’s achievement in the development of their speaking and listening skills.

What can parents and caregivers do at home to encourage oral language?

Until students learn to read they learn most of what they know from hearing other people talk.  Families can support children in their oral language development by providing a variety of opportunities for children to listen and talk for different purposes.

Here are some ways parents and caregivers can encourage oral language:

• Talk to your child and listen responsively. Ask and answer questions.
• Read aloud to your child regularly. Good books expose children to vocabulary and sentence structures that they won’t hear in everyday situations. Research has shown that reading aloud to children is a major factor in their success in learning to read at school.
• Talk with your child about the books you read aloud together. Ask your child about the characters, plot or setting; the themes and ideas raised by the book; topics they’d like to read or learn more about as a result of reading aloud.