Maine Reading First Course

1. Maine Reading First Course Session #3 Oral Language Development Maine Department of Education 2005

2. Key Learning GoalsSession 3Oral Language Development • Explore the progression (stages) of oral language development. • Explore how reading and writing development can be supported through home and early childhood experiences. • Learn how oral language serves as a foundation for learning to read and write. • Explore strategies to support the reading and writing development of students with oral language disabilities. Maine Department of Education 2005

3. Principals of Oral Language Acquisition • Oral language acquisition is both a simple and a complex process. • Most children acquire a large vocabulary within the first six years of life. • Cultural similarities exist in oral language acquisition. • Oral language development is supported by adult interactions with children. • Four major areas of competence are necessary in the development of oral language: • Phonology/Morphology • Semantics • Syntax • Pragmatics • How children learn language is a topic of controversy amongst researchers. Maine Department of Education 2005

4. Stages of Oral Language Development • Early Vocalization (birth to 3 months) • Cooing (3-6 months) • Babbling (6-10 months) • Holophrastic Speech (10-18 months) • Telegraphic Speech (18-24 months) • Complete Sentences (24 months and beyond) Maine Department of Education 2005

5. Why should we be concerned about children’s oral language development? Studies have documented that children who are at risk for not learning how to read often enter schools with: • fewer verbal skills • less phonological awareness • less letter knowledge • less familiarity with the purposes and mechanisms of reading and writing Maine Department of Education 2005

6. Between birth-age 4, children need extensive opportunities to ……… • build their oral vocabularies • use their oral language skills for a variety of purposes • learn and discriminate between the sounds of letters and words • hear narratives and explore their components • engage in discussion about stories/books to build comprehension • explore concepts of print • learn the functions of print • practice letter and early word recognition • enjoy literacy activities Maine Department of Education 2005

7. Parallel Principles of Speaking, Reading, and Writing Development Adults facilitate ___________________ development by: • Immersing children in opportunities to ____________. • Modeling __________ on multiple occasions in a variety of ways. • Responding positively to children’s attempts to __________. • Providing emotionally safe environments for children to take risks with their __________. • Supporting children in their efforts to _________. • Expecting children to learn to ___________ like adults. Maine Department of Education 2005

8. Classroom DiscourseA Historical Perspective United States discourse studies of the 1960’s & 1970’s focused on classroom talk events, and found that: • Teachers do most of the talking (75%) • Teachers ask the most questions (90-95%) • A 3-Part series of talk, commonly known as IRE, serves as the basic structure of talk. • I = Initiation • R = Response • E = Evaluation Maine Department of Education 2005

9. Classroom DiscourseA Historical Perspective (Continued) British discourse studies of the 1960’s and 1970’s focused on the important of talking as a tool for learning. These studies suggested that curriculum should provide experiences that require students to use language to communicate meaning because it reinforces learning. Maine Department of Education 2005

10. Classroom DiscourseA Historical Perspective (Continued) Since the 1970’s, discourse studies have focused on talking within the social context of learning, and have demonstrated that teachers need an awareness of: • the functions language serve for learning and • how teachers’ talk impacts student talk Maine Department of Education 2005

11. Classroom DiscourseA Historical Perspective (Continued) Discourse studies of the last 30 years have also focused on the benefits of peer discourse, demonstrating that: • Peer discourse can be a catalyst and a scaffold for learning when students hear multiple view points and collaboratively construct learning • Children develop and practice oral communication skills Maine Department of Education 2005

12. Ways to Promote Classroom Discourse • Provide many opportunities for students to converse with the teacher and each other • Provide responses to students that clarify, encourage elaboration of ideas, validate ideas, repeat information, and scaffold understanding to higher levels • Teach and model rules for speaking and listening to others • Provide wait time for student responses • Demonstrate awareness of how group size and composition, seating, eye contact, and facial expressions impact communication • Demonstrate awareness of the positive and negative messages teacher responses can send to students Maine Department of Education 2005

13. Language Disorders • The term language disorder represents a group of developmental or acquired disabilities characterized by deficits in comprehension, production, and/or use of language. • Language disorders may persist across the lifetime of the individual. • The symptoms, severity, and effects of the disorder can change over time as a consequence of: • Context/situation • Content • Structure of learning tasks • Supports provided to learner Maine Department of Education 2005

14. Ways to Support Students with Language Disorders Think of a student with whom you have worked that has had a language disorder. Examine the handout with suggestions for supporting students with language disorders. Place a checkmark beside each suggestion that you used when working with that student. Circle each suggestion that is new to you that might help support that student. Maine Department of Education 2005

15. 3—2—1 • 3—things worth remembering • 2—things to learn more about • 1—burning question Maine Department of Education 2005