NATIONAL ONLINE TRAINING ON

LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Session 2

The Building of Communicative Competence through

Oral Language Instruction

Session Guide to be delivered via Zoom

Prepared by:

VICTORIA DAGALEA-MANGASER, PHD

Education Program Supervisor I (Kindergarten / MTB)
Curriculum Implementation Division
Zamboanga City - Schools Division Office
Regional Office IX, Zamboanga Peninsula
Objectives
At the end of the session, teachers should be able to:

1. Define oral language;

2. Discuss how oral language affects the development of literacy skills;
3. Demonstrate understanding of instructional strategies which explicitly develop oral
language skills through literacy related tasks; and
4. Demonstrate desirable classroom teaching practices that reflect gained
understanding of sound methodologies in developing the oral language skills of
learners.

Key Understandings
1. Oral language provides the foundation for learning to read, and is related to overall
reading achievement throughout the primary and secondary schooling (Snow et.al,
1998, Wise et.al. 2007)
2. Oral Language is the child’s first, most important, and most frequently used
structured medium of communication (Cregan, 1998, as cited in Archer, Cregan,
McGough, Shiel, 2012).
3. Oral language lays the foundation for the reading and writing skills children will
develop as they enter and progress through school. They will use oral language in all
aspects of their education, in the classroom as they connect with their peers and
teachers, and throughout their lives as they grow into adulthood. Having a solid
foundation in oral language will help children become successful readers and strong
communicators as well as build their confidence and overall sense of well-being
(Fillmore and Snow, 2002).
4. Oral language is an integral part of all learning experiences. Oral language is not
“taught” as a separate component of a literacy program. It is an imbedded
component in all content areas. Oral language standards, objectives, and enabling
outcomes (learning outcomes) are part of the language arts curriculum from grade 1-
8. (Archdiocese of Hartford Language Arts Curriculum Standards, 2008)
5. Oral language’ is a predictor of reading ability and includes a range of skills. It refers
to expressive skills, such as the ability to comprehend vocabulary, along with
expressive abilities in putting words together to form grammatically appropriate
phrases and sentences, and combining words together in meaningful ways (Wasik &
Newman, 2009, p. 307).
6. Children who have strong oral language skills often have strong reading and writing
skills. In contrast, children with oral language problems are at higher risk of reading
and writing difficulties (Scarborough, 2001).
7. At its most basic level, oral language is about communicating with other people. It
involves a process of utilizing thinking, knowledge and skills in order to speak and
listen effectively. As such, it is central to the lives of all people.
8. Oral language permeates every facet of the primary school curriculum. The
development of oral language is given an importance as great as that of reading and
writing, at every level, in the curriculum. It has an equal weighting with them in the

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 integrated language process (Jerome Bruner, 1983).
9. Children need to use oral language to develop their powers of reasoning and
observation, prediction, sequencing and other skills connected with reading (FS
Exploratory Phase 1997).
10. If children do not have a solid foundation in oral language, communicating effectively
and learning to read can be a long and difficult process. Children’s speaking and
listening lead the way for their reading and writing skills, and together these language
skills are the primary tools of the mind for all future learning (Roskos, Tabors, &
Lenhart, 2009).
11. These are the components of effective oral language instruction, each component is
targeted through explicit instruction.
12. Explicit instruction in oral language development provides students with the
foundation for comprehending text and communicating effectively. Thus, teachers
serve an essential role in developing students’ reading and writing skills.
Session Requirements: Time Allotment
 Laptop accessed to reliable internet 1.5 to 2 hours / 90-120 minutes
connection
 Zoom Application (premium)
Alignment to the PPST
Materials 3.1, 4.1, 5.3, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.5
 Session PowerPoint presentation
 LAC session audio- video
 Task cards
 Pictures for task card activities
References
 Villaneza, Rosalina J. Oral Language Development Across Languages PPT presentation
Department of Education Grade 1 and Grade 2 Training Materials for K to 12 BEC
Implementation.
 Genishi, Celia (1998). Young Children's Oral Language Development. ERIC Digest. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood
Education.https://www.readingrockets.org/article/young-childrens-oral-language-
development
 Honig, Alice S (2007). Oral Language Development. Early Child Development and
Care 177(6 & 7):581-613.
 The Big 5 The Big Picture Oral Language and Vocabulary. Planned Language Approach
(PLA). The National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness.
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/big5-big-picture-oral-language-
vocabulary-eng.pdf
 Five Components of Effective Oral Language Instruction, Professional Development
Service for Teachers, 14, Joyce Way, Park West Business Park, Nangor Road, Dublin
12. https://pdst.ie/sites/default/files/Oral%20Language%20Booklet%20PDF.pdf
 What Is Oral Language? Understanding Its Components and Impact on Reading
Instruction https://www.lexialearning.com/blog/what-oral-language-understanding-
its-components-and-impact-reading-instruction

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Procedure
Via zoom app, click the “share screen” button to show the session powerpoint
presentation. Introduce the session by saying:

“Good ______ everyone! I am __________ of ____________. Welcome to another

exciting Zoom session. Today we will look into “The Building of Communicative
Competence through Oral Language Instruction”.

Through this session, we hope that language teachers will discover more about the
unique needs as their learners embark on the journey of developing the oral language
skills in the classroom. In this session, we also look into the significance of oral language
to the overall development of children’s reading skills. The resource person for this
session is Dr. Victoria D. Mangaser, Education Program Supervisor for Kindergarten and
MTB-MLE of the Schools Division of Zamboanga City.
Before we start, let us take note of the following session objectives. (Present the
above-mentioned session objectives to the participants.)

Activity

Activity 1: True or False (5 minutes)

Present the following statements. Ask the participants to hit the thumbs up
icon/button of their screen if they believe that the statement is “TRUE” however if the
statement is “FALSE”, ask the participants not to react.
In addition, remind the participants to remember or record their answers on a piece
of paper.
1. Oral language is the ability to speak and listen.
2. Oral language problems have little impact on the reading and writing difficulties of
learners.
3. Oral language is at the base of literacy.
4. All children are fortunate to be born into homes where parents or caregivers provide
rich language experiences. These children enter schools with good oral language
skills.
5. Children who have strong oral language skills often have strong reading and writing
skills.

Note to the facilitator: Checking of answers will be done before the end of the session as
post-discussion assessment. This will also be an opportunity for additional input tapping
on the participants’ actual experiences and ideas.

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Activity 2: Picture Story (10 minutes)

1. Present a picture via “screen share”. Have the participants explore the picture.
2. Ask them to write down in the “chat box” as many items/things/expression or
idea that comes to mind from the picture presented. Acknowledge responses
typed in the chat box.
3. Tell the participants that they are going to help you write a story for the picture.
4. Ask them to:
4.1 give the setting;
4.2 name the character/s;
4.3 the plot (to include possible conflict or problem, climax), and
4.4 ending to the story, which may also include a moral lesson (if possible with
the storyline).
4.5 Encourage use of rich vocabulary and expand the story with many details as
they explore the picture.
5. Call volunteers to retell the entire story developed in the activity.

Note to the facilitator:

This is a warm-up activity meant to be run as a plenary. This aims to provide
participants with first-hand experiences of a CLT activity targeting the development of
oral language skills. This is also an opportunity for facilitators to model CLT principles.
It is recommended that the facilitator will make use of pictures that the target
participants can relate to.

Activity 3: Task Card Activities (15 minutes)

Note to the facilitator:

The participants will be divided in 5 zoom rooms. Each group will be given a task
card. Assign a leader from the group by sending him/her the task to be done via private
message. The leader will lead the group discussion and will see to it that the group comes
up with the required output. Any member of the group may present the output at the end
of the breakout.

Divide the participants in 5 small groups. Each group will be give a task card which the
group will work on for 10 minutes. The remaining 5 minutes will be for the presentation
of the group output.
Task Card 1 - People I talk to, people I listen to
Task Card 2 - A Sound Story
Task Card 3 - Today’s News Report: My News
Task Card 4 - Text Innovation
Task Card 5 - Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM)

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Analysis (10 minutes)

At the end of the presentation of ouput, process the activity further for deepening by
asking the following questions:

1. What have you enjoyed most in doing the activity?

2. What insights or realizations have you gained during the activity? How about after
doing the activity?
3. Are these activities familiar to you? In what way?
4. Do these help students become good language learners? If yes, in what way?

Note to the facilitator:

Introduce the icons for reaction (thumbs up), clap, and raise hands.
PArticipants may respond using these icons, they may also type their answers /responses
to the question using the chat room.

Abstraction (30 minutes)

Before letting the participants watch the resource person’s video, present the following
pre-viewing questions.

Pre-viewing Questions
1. What is oral language?
2. How is it related to the overall development of reading skills?
3. What is the language to literacy model all abou?
4. What is word poverty and how does it affect the development of reading skills?
5. What are th five (5) components of oral language instruction?
6. How can teachers provide for the effectie development of each of these
components?
7. In what context does explicit instruction

Ask the participants to jot down their answers to the pre-viewing questions as they watch
the video.

Viewing Session

Title: The Building of Communicative Competence through Oral Language Instruction

Resource Person: Victoria D. Mangaser, PhD

Discussion (10 mins)

After watching the video, let the participants process information gathered by
sharing their answers to the pre-viewing questions presented earlier.

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Reflection Questions
1. Look back at your instructional practices in the English classroom, are there
provisions for a meaningful development of oral language?
2. How do you support oral language development in your classes?
3. How do you assure that there will be a positive impact of these activities on oral
language developement of the learners?

Application (Assignment)
 Using competency/ies from your respective grade level English Curriculum
write a brief lesson plan targetting oral language development,

 Come up with your own version/adaptation of the activities suggested in any

of the five (5) components of oral language instruction for your chosen
competency/ies.

Exit Slips (5 minutes)

http:www.ebi

Wind down the session by asking the participants to complete the following sentence
stems.
 What went well ________________________________________________.
 Even better if __________________________________________________.

Closing

End the session with these words:

“Reading and Writing float on a sea of talk….”
James Britton

“The limits of my language are the limits of my world….”

Ludwig Wittgenstein