Building Oral Language
Susan Dold, Ed. [email protected]
The Importance of Oral LanguageChildren arrive in kindergarten with huge discrepancies in oral language development . . . and the gap between language-advanced and language-delayed children grows throughout the elementary school years.
Biemiller (2001)
What is Language?
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defines language as “ . . . A code made up of rules that include what words mean, how to make words, how to put them together, and what word combinations are best in what situations. Speech is the oral form of language.”
www.asha.org/public/speech/development
Findings from Research
During elementary school, at any given time, a child’s maximum level of reading comprehension is determined by the child’s level of listening comprehension.
Biemiller, 2001
Some Facts• Limited oral language negatively affects
reading comprehension.• Many of our children have limited oral
language.• On standardized tests, this shows up as
vocabulary problems.
Words heard per
hour
Words heard in a 100-hour
week
Words heard in a 5,200-hour year
Words heard in 4
years
Professional Family
Child2,153 215,000 11 million 45 million
Working Class Family
Child1,251 125,000 6 million 26 million
Welfare Family
Child616 62,000 3 million 13 million
Early Language Experiences: Quantitative Differences
- Hart & Risley (1995)
Early Language Experiences: Qualitative Differences
Words heard per
hour
Affirmatives per hour
Prohibitions per hour
Professional family child
2,153 32 5
Working class child
1,251 12 7
Welfare child 616 5 11
-Hart & Risley (1995)
Cumulative Language Experiences30 Million Word Difference
50 –
45 –
40 –
35 –
30 –
25 –
20 –
15 –
10 –
5 –
1 2 3 4 5 Age of child (years)
Num
ber o
f wor
ds h
eard
(mill
ions
)
Children from:
Professional Families
Working Class Families
Welfare Families
The Simple View of Reading2 domains
Decoding(word recognition) X
Language Comprehension =
Reading Comp.
Vocabulary
Text Comprehension
Fluency
5 Components
Gough and Turner, 1986
Phonics
Phonological & Phoneme Awareness
Language-Rich Experiences• Extended conversations• Telling/retelling stories and events• Discourse and discussion• Modeling of new and unusual words• Discussion of word meanings
Examples in Action• “Building up” language• “Breaking down” language• Sentence expansion• Cohesive ties• Dialogic reading
“Building Up” Language
• Big– Synonyms: huge, enormous, gigantic
• Snow– Related words: slush, drift, accumulate
• Move– Words in the same group (whole body actions): run,
leap, dance, crawl, stroll, wiggle
• Car– Categorical relations: vehicle, car, Ford
Example“Line up at the door.”Building up…• Line up next to the library entrance.• Line up next to the library portal.• Line up beside the door.• Line up adjacent to the door.
Another Example• I wore my warm coat because it is cold today.• Since it is cold, I wore my warm coat today.• It is cold today; therefore, I wore my warm
coat.• It is cold today; as a result, I wore my warm
coat.• Others?
“Breaking Down” LanguageThink alouds•Talk about what you see•Talk about what you feel and hear•Talk about actions•Talk about emotions•Talk about the future•Talk about the past
Expand Sentences• Child: I saw a dog.• Coach: What color was the dog?• Child: brown• Coach: I saw a brown dog. Repeat after me:• Child: I saw a brown dog.• Coach: What kind of dog was it?• Child: boy• Coach: I saw a brown male dog. ETC…
Model Cohesive Ties• I need a break because…• I need a break although…• I need a break since…• I need a break after…• I need a break therefore…• I need a break, however…
What is Dialogic Reading?• A reading practice• Using picture books• Adults ask questions, children answer• Adults expand on the questions
Dialogic Reading• Point out vocabulary words• Ask “what” questions• Expand on what students say• Ask open-ended questions
PEERStep How do you do it? How does it help?
P = Prompt the child Ask a question about the book; prompt, if necessary
Focuses attention, engages the child, builds vocabulary
E = Evaluate what the child says
Affirm correct responses, add information for clarity
Constructive feedback
E = Expand on what the child says
Add a few words to the child’s response, gently provide correct answer, if necessary
Encourages the child to say more, builds vocabulary
R = Repeat Ask the child to repeat the expanded or correct response
Encourages the child to use language
Let’s try it!Let’s try it!
CROWD• Look at your Dialogic Reading handout.• Select a picture book and work with a group.• In your group, develop one or two prompts
using CROWD.• Be prepared to share.
Teaching Vocabulary Directly• Model• Routines• Using context• With Fry words and phrases• Dictionary
Vocabulary Routine• Say the word and teach its pronunciation.• Have the class repeat it.• Read the word and say its definition.• Have the class repeat the definition.• Write the word and have the child write it.• Add a gesture to the definition and repeat the
definition sentence using the gesture.• Pair students and have them teach the word to each
other.• Have them come back to the whole group and repeat
it one more time.
Vocabulary in Context• Teach words in meaning clusters.• Use graphic organizers.• Ask questions about words in context.• Have students “prove it” by locating evidence.
Use Context: Be a Word Detective• Yesterday I saw a bright blue blogute sitting in
the bush in my backyard.
• “Blogute” is a nonsense word, but use the context of the sentence to guess at its meaning. Be prepared to support your guess with evidence.
Vocabulary and Fry WordsFry phrases: •Circle the wagons•Toward morning•The ship hit the waves•Watch the river
Dictionary Use• DO use the dictionary to confirm the meaning
of a word.• DON’T give a student a list of words to look
up, define, spell, etc.
In Conclusion• Oral language is crucial to reading
achievement.• Encourage the use of new and different
words.• Make word learning fun.