Question 2: Effective teachers of oral language and importance of explicitly teaching speaking and listening Flashcards
How and why do teachers need to explicitly focus on oral language instruction? What are the benefits for students?
Modelled speaking and listening helps students to (Brace et al., 2006):
○ understand the different functions of language
○ become familiar with the use of specialised vocabulary and
concepts
○ gain an insight into the behaviours associated with different
contexts, and understand why they occur
○ internalise the models of language, eventually using them to
construct their own speech.
What are the qualities of effective teachers of oral language according to Cameron and Dempsey (2016)?
- Cameron and Dempsey (2016)
§ Explicitly teach speaking skills
§ Explicitly teach listening skills
§ Explicitly teach vocabulary
§ Create a safe, respectful talking environment
§ Model, scaffold, support and guide speaking and listening learning in the classroom
§ Engage in dialogue not monologue
What is the first quality to focus on?
Explicitly teach speaking and listening skills and vocabulary (Cameron & Dempsey, 2016)
How does “explicitly teach speaking and listening skills and vocabulary” (Cameron & Dempsey, 2016) link to other theories of oral language?
Gradual release of responsibility model (1983)
○ Modelling
□ Think alouds
□ Represent the language
□ Thinking and organising strategies
Cambourne’s conditions of language acquisition (Cambourne, 1995)
○ Demonstration (engagement)
□ Learners need to receive many demonstrations of how texts are constructed and used
○ Response
□ Learners must receive feedback from exchanges with more knowledgeable others. Response must be relevant, appropriate, timely, readily available, and non-threatening, with no strings attached
Halliday’s model of language acquisition
○ Learning about language
□ Explicitly teaching about the language e.g. syntax, spelling rules etc.
What is the second quality to focus on?
Create a safe, respectful talking environment (Cameron and Dempsey, 2016)
How does creating “a safe, respectful talking environment (Cameron and Dempsey, 2016)” link to other theories?
Cambourne’s conditions (Cambourne, 1995)
- Immersion & Demonstration lead to engagement
Engagement occurs when learners are convinced that:
○ They are potential doers or performers of these demonstrations
○ Engaging with these demonstrations will further the purposes of their lives
○ They can engage and try to emulate without fear of physical or psychological hurt if their attempts are not fully correct
- Peel Language Development Centre (2021)
Semantic development strategies
○ Create the environment- if you are teaching shapes for Maths; put pictures, words and students’ related work up around the room.
What is the third quality to focus on?
Immersion
How does immersion link to other theories?
○ GRRM (1983)
○ Familiarising - Students are immersed in or exposed to multiple examples of the selected text forms
Cambourne’s conditions (1995)
○ Immersion (engagement)
- Learners need to be immersed in texts of all kinds
Halliday’s model of language acquisition
○ Learning through language
- Language is the tool we use to learn about the world
□ Children’s literature, discussions, reflective journals etc.
Cameron and Dempsey (2016)
○ Engage in dialogue not monologue
- Halliday highlights the need for inquiry, discussions and simply answering the question ‘what is on your mind?’
Students need to be involved in these processes rather than being passive
Describe oral language development as according to Nailer (2023)
Oral language development in early years, while complex and abstract is a ‘natural’ progression that rarely requires targeted or systemic instruction
Toddlers learn approx. one new word per hour while playing, interacting etc.
Brian Cambourne’s hypothesis = conditions for learning
While they are often applied to support reading and writing apply them further to develop students oral language in the classroom
Describe language variation
Lectures (Nailer, 2023)
* There are examples of vocabulary-based variation - can also have syntax and pronunciation variation within Australian English and its dialects
* Linguistic diversity in Australia
§ 72% speak ‘English only’ at home
Code switching and context driven language
Flint (2019)
Language variation in response to cultural and social contexts
- How people speak and write reflects the communities to which they belong
- In different contexts we use language to achieve different purposes
- Oral language varies in response to what we are talking about, whom we are interacting with and how we are communicating
○ E.g. talking to friends vs principal
- The English Curriculum often refers to the familiar and the everyday; however, the ‘everyday’ is determined by our social and cultural contexts. It is important to check whether EAL/D students possess ‘everyday’ and ‘real-life’ knowledge assumed by many curriculum tasks (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2014, p. 24)
- Language of digital interaction via text messages and emails combines features of spoken and written language
Who created Cambourne’s conditions and in what year?
Cambourne (1995)
Who created Halliday’s model of language acquisition and in what year?
Halliday (1975)
Who created the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model and in what year?
Pearson & Gallagher (1983)
Who created First Steps and in what year?
Brace et al. (2006)
