Oral Language

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Oral Language

• Successful Practices

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Adapted (with permission) fromSuccessful
Practices with English LearnersA Focus on
OracyAida WalquiDirector, Teacher
Professional Development ProgramWested3rd
Annual Language, Culture, and Education
InstituteApril 5 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
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Oral Language DevelopmentTheoretical Base

• Basil Bernstein (1973-1995) Class, codes, and
  control.
• Restricted codes
• Premised on shared knowledge
• The familiar, context-rich interactions
• Essential for close relationships
• Example Shut the door!

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• Basil Bernstein (1973-1995) Class, codes, and
  control
• Elaborated codes
• nothing is taken for granted
• elaboration is indispensable as a tool of
  schooling
• Example Shut the door so the cold air
  doesnt come in.

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• Do schools expect an elaborated code when
  children speak?
• If do, why?
• How can you scaffold oral learning to teach
  children to see an elaborated code of speech?

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Scaffolding Oral Language
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Choose a picture from a lesson.

• Describe the picture

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Guidelines for the Description

• Where does the scene take place?
• Who is the central character(s) in the picture?
• What does this person look like?
• (sex, height, face, hair,clothes, approximate
  age)
• What is this person doing?
• Any other relevant information?

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Language Modeling

• This scene takes place in
• My picture shows
• The picture I have shows a
• The central character in my picture is
• In my picture you can see a
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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In a Small Group

• Round robin share the description of your
  pictures.
• After description is complete, you may ask
  questions of each other (one per partner)
• Now speculate Your task is to create a story
  providing creative glue to link the scenes.
• Give the story a title. Give the characters
  names, details, etc.

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Post Card Sample
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(No Transcript)
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Student produced picture related to lesson picture
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Student Note to Family in the Time Period Being
Studied

• Dear Mama and Papa,
• Farming is hard work. Feeding the animals,
  milking the cows, and tending the crops is a lot
  to do.
• Love,
• Miguel

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Note and Postcard Sample

• Students may write their letters on a postcard.

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What do we know about reading?

• Teachers who invite students to participate in
  deep collaborative activities and provide them
  with choices increase their motivation to read
  and comprehend text.
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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Collaborative Dialogue Writing

• Everybody writes and takes notes.
• 2/3 of the ideas come from the text.
• 1/3 come from your knowledge of life (including
  home culture)..
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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Think and Reflect

• Why should all students write?
• Why is copying okay?
• Why is knowledge from life okay to write about?
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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Teacher Monitors While Children Write
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(No Transcript)
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Think and Reflect

• Why do all students write down ideas?
• Why is the teacher monitoring?
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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Children Share
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(No Transcript)
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Think and Reflect

• Why are the children physically close together
  during sharing?
• Why are the children arranged to see one another
  while sharing?
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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What do we know about reading?

• To foster reader autonomy, teachers should offer
  students a range of instructional practices,
  robust and generative routines, and appropriate
  language models that can be appropriated over
  time.
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002

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Final Think and Reflect

• In spite of all this knowledge, comprehension
  instruction continues to receive inadequate time
  and attention in typical classroom instruction.
• Wested, Teacher Professional Development, 2002