Chapter 5: Strategies for Oral Language Development

I learned a lot from this chapter that sets ideas and standards that I can use in my future classroom. One of the most important things that I learned was the five different language levels that students go through. Noticing the levels can allow teachers to know where a student is at and how they are advancing as English Learners. This also helps teachers to know what classwork can be used to create a challenge and what classwork and social work is just way too far advanced for where the student is currently located. 

 

In class we talked about ways that we can make some challenging material more comfortable and understandable for students to learn and use. We learned some methods that both the book and powerpoint talked about as well. We learned to use repetition in our speech. This means maybe not saying the exact words the same, but maybe trying a different phrase or a different tone, so all students can understand. We also learned that talking slower and stressing specific words can help students to decipher what the important parts of a conversation are. We also learned that gestures and body posture can go a long way. In class, Dr. Hurd explained how if you stand near a students desk that you are trying to refer to, this may help them understand that they need to do something rather than solely calling them out. 

 

Overall, chapter 5 talked about how learning a new language is not a rapid process and it is a very social thing, but some students may not be ready to jump right into being social with other students and adults, so this is when teachers need to find ways to help students use their language skills and social skills in ways that don't overwelm students. This may start with asking yes/no questions. The book gave an example of a teacher asking a student about a map and they allowed for the student to answer, but then also further shared more information while the student was still focused in on the conversation. 

 

This chapter allowed for me to learn more about the process that students take to learn and the role that teachers can play in helping this process.