Sharing Good Practice
Develop speaking and listening skills in young students
By Gianna Ulyatt
Extend the variety and range of vocabulary through well-chosen stories that have attractive illustrations and repetitive meaningful phrases . Students can then rehearse new words and phrases during the story and re-enact them in role-play . Use rhymes , poetry and songs to help them see patterns and humour in words . Encourage students to bring in objects of specific interest to them , and to talk about them within small group situations .
Teaching young students how to speak is the most important area of learning . The best practice embeds speaking and listening across all aspects and areas of their education .
Students use speaking and listening to solve problems , speculate , share ideas , make decisions and reflect on what is important . Social relations in the classroom depend on talk , and students ’ confidence and attitudes to learning are affected by friendships and positive interaction . Therefore , having the right words to express their thoughts , to rationalize their ideas , and talk about their feelings and viewpoints are essential for all facets of education . Teaching basic speaking skills has a key role in all subjects and areas of learning .
Many students come to school with limited skills in the language of instruction . Teaching must help them overcome their fears by making talk a positive and interesting experience . Success must be celebrated and the learning of new vocabulary and phrases should be a planned and a satisfying experience . Adults should speak slowly and clearly to facilitate pronunciation and understanding . New words need to be repeated frequently until the students are confident to use them for themselves . Ultimately , most students should be able to speak clearly and express their ideas using appropriate vocabulary .
Teachers must plan to use specific words and phrases directly linked to the activities set for students . This will help young students learn quickly and in a meaningful way . Teachers must play alongside students , using the new vocabulary and helping learners to practise and use them for themselves . Planning activities to promote discussion is an essential way of teaching students how to engage in conversation . For example , using open questions such as , “ What do you …? Why have you …? How do you …?” cannot be answered with one word . These questions encourage students to speak in phrases or sentences . By using these open questions during sand , water or construction play ; students will become familiar with a range of mathematical and scientific language . New vocabulary must always relate to what students are doing now or to what is actually happening in the classroom .
Creativity , understanding and imagination can be fostered through discussion . Encourage students to talk with each other by allocating talk partners . The teacher poses an open question and each student has to speak out their ideas in turn to their partner . Students must also be taught how to become active listeners . They must look at the person speaking , and respond only when their partner has finished . A few responses can be shared with the whole group .
Checklist :
• Plan specific vocabulary and phrases , to be used each week , by the entire teaching team .
• Post the new words and phrases around the classroom as memory recall for adults .
• Encourage students to speak out as they play .
• Engage students into talks about the here and now , and pose open questions during activities .
• Role model conversations with talking partners .
References : Hoff E . ( 2009 ) “ Language Development ”
Julia Dockrell , Morag Stuart and Diane Kind ( 2004 ) “ Talking Time : Supporting effective practice in preschool provision ” London Institute of Education .
Class Time
| | Jan - Feb 2017 |
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