I came across an interview with the author of the book, Tell Me More, who was discussing the value of simply listening. It occurred to me that much of what was being discussed also applies to teaching. Students, like any individual, want to be heard, understood, listened to. How often do we as teachers (or administrators) quickly move to “fix it” mode without really listening to what a student is trying to convey? In these situations, oral expression is hampered.
Why is that an issue? Because developing oral language skills is a big deal.
Research shows that oral language has a significant impact on students’ success throughout their academic careers. In particular, oral language is closely tied to reading achievement. English learners have a knowledge gap in oral language because these students didn’t grow up speaking and listening to words in English about the world around them. Specific time in class must be dedicated to developing their oral language skills, especially use of academic language.
Here are six ways to enhance academic oral language for English learners. These ideas are drawn from our book, Developing Academic Language.
- Create a positive, respectful and supportive classroom environment. English learners are more likely to talk to the teacher and peers, and to participate in academic discussions when they are comfortable doing so. The teacher sets the tone in the classroom and for oral language to be enhanced, the right tone is one of acceptance, encouragement, respect for differences of opinion or perspectives, and welcoming of all attempts to use the new language. Students benefit from teachers’ use of relationship-building language such as, “I’m listening, go on…” and “I’d like to hear what else you have to say about ____________.”Valuing and validating student contributions goes a long way in creating a positive learning environment and reducing the risk involved when using a new language in front of others.
- Select interesting topics for discussion. One of the best ways to engage students – or anyone for that matter – is to discuss a topic of interest. Topics need to be appropriate for their age and related to the curriculum so that English learners are exposed to key topics covered at their grade level. Think of ways to tie students’ personal experiences and background to the topic so that they make personal connections. Show a picture or video clip to generate discussion and ask, Does this remind you of anything? What do you recognize? How does this relate to our topic? Also, be sure to encourage students to express their own opinions using techniques such as Take a Stand where students move to a corner of the classroom marked with a sign that reflects their view on a given topic: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. Small groups at each corner discuss a plan for presenting their ideas to the group, then each group shares their position.
- Encourage active listening. English learners need instruction in developing strong listening comprehension skills such as learning how to filter out some of the “English noise” they hear by focusing in on specific information and listening with a purpose. One way to develop active listening is through note-taking. Show students that as they listen for the purpose of taking notes, they can pick up teachers’ speech cues that reveal important information. Cues that signal key information include change in intonation, emphasizing a word or phrase, and repetition. Also, teach students common phrases teachers say to help them home in on important information such as, “Ok, this is important,” “Be sure to remember this,” “Make a note of what I’m saying,” “Here’s something important.” Knowing what to listen for encourages active listening.
- Provide scaffolds for expressing ideas. Sentence starters, language frames, sentence frames and/or scripts have become commonly used scaffolds to support English learners’ oral expression. They provide a model of correct English grammar as well as giving a boost to oral participation since some of the words are provided. For example, the frames, In the text ________________ is arguing _______________ , but I think ________________. and, If ________________ then ________________ provide authentic language for English learners to use as they express their own ideas and draw conclusions. Remember to provide scaffolds that match students’ English proficiency levels and to remove scaffolds as needed. As I discussed in a previous post, advanced speakers should not be asked to use frames designed for those at the beginning stages of English proficiency. Some English learners may not require much scaffolding at all as their fluency increases.
- Plan for multiple opportunities to practice using English. To improve oral proficiency, English learners need to engage in lots of meaningful practice activities that link to content and language objectives. But high-quality practice is unlikely to happen unless it is part of lesson planning. On-the-fly “turn and talk” about a topic is less effective than planned activities with small groups or partners discussing content topics using targeted vocabulary and/or specific grammatical structures. There are innumerable resources online and in books where teachers will find fun, interesting, and meaningful activities for developing academic oral language. Make sure that lessons have sufficient time devoted to such instructional activities.
- Reduce teacher talk. The best way to get someone to talk is to listen. Teachers of English learners need to reign in their instincts to talk – to share more and more information, and to go into “fix it” mode when students have questions. Prompting (“Ok, what else?” “And so….”) and pausing (remaining quiet and allowing students to finish their thoughts) are much more effective for encouraging extended oral expression. Consistently using techniques such as prompting and pausing creates a classroom environment that has a balance of teacher talk and student talk, one in which students feel comfortable expressing themselves. English learners are apt to use English more when they are confident that they won’t be cut off and when the teacher genuinely wants to hear their ideas.
From: Short, D. & Echevarria, J. (2016). Developing Academic Language Using the SIOP Model. Boston: Pearson.