Teaching Strategies for Oral Expression

Teaching Strategies for Oral Expression    

Instruction for language development

Modeling

Oral language forms the basis for understanding what we read, expressing our ideas in writing, and solving mathematical story problems. Through discussions with students, teachers can model the kind of thinking that people do while reading and problem solving, thus building the thinking block of language. What this means, quite simply, is that you describe your actions orally as you perform an activity. You use visual cues, and you talk aloud while students watch and listen. Through your modeling, students become more strategic in their approaches and assume increasing responsibility for task completion.

Paraphrasing

When students have trouble remembering what they hear, make sure that they understand oral directions. Ask them to paraphrase, repeat, or explain instructions. Allow students to repeat the questions they are being asked, having them rephrase the question in their own words, before answering. Encourage students to ask questions and to use multiple modalities for reinforcement (i.e., encourage them to read the information, say it aloud, and to try and develop a visual image). Several techniques, outlined in the section on visual imagery, can help students learn how to form mental pictures.

Background knowledge

One critical factor that influences oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression is background knowledge or what one already knows about a topic. When a student does not understand what he or she hears or reads or does not have much to write or say, it is usually because the student has limited background knowledge about the topic. In other Words, people understand most easily and write most fluently when the topics relate to or build on background and experiences. Both Katy and John have trouble understanding classroom instruction because many of the concepts are new and the vocabulary that is used is too technical. The main reason that they have trouble with understanding is that they do not have the necessary background information to grasp the concepts presented.

K-W-L strategy

A simple strategy for helping students increase their knowledge is called the K-W-L strategy. To begin, write three columns across the top of a piece of paper, as illustrated in Figure 9.1. Then help students complete the worksheet. First, have them brainstorm what they already know about the topic. In the second column, list questions that arise concerning ideas that are not fully supported by other class members. Students can then work in small groups to answer questions and record results in the third column. For students with more limited abilities, a peer may help with note taking.