Hi everyone
I am loving
this oral language discussion and the great resources that have been
recommended.
I am not
familiar Teaching Language in Context by Beverley Derewianka and Pauline Jones but I
was privileged to hear Beverley speak whilst studying for my
TESSOL Diploma. It was an outstanding lecture on incorporating
language teaching into curriculum areas. She illustrated her talk using picture
books and some Ready to Read and School Journal texts. Her modelling was mind
blowing and has stayed with me so I am sure her book would be equally powerful.
The
Neale Pitches email that Jannie refers to was sent to the Literacy community
and it is certainly
worth reading. You can access it through this
link-
Jannie
made the point that "minimal oral language capabilities can often mean
the difference between being a power-holder and having the means to be involved
and be fully participatory, or being only somewhat or not much at all." This
reminded me of a story that I just read this morning which illustrates this
point "Being a Teenager is Hard Enough
Without Having to Learn English as a Second Language,"By Chin Lu February 22, 2016.
Chin
ends her story with this statement "During my first few years in
America, none of my ESL teachers asked about my background—how smart and
confident I'd been back in Taiwan, and how much I struggled to bring that
confidence to classrooms where I could barely grasp the language. I felt
powerless without my voice. I couldn't prove my worth, stand up for myself, or
make friends. It was well into high school when I could adequately express my
thoughts and emotions in English, when I stopped dreading being called on in
class. And if that moment can come sooner for the thousands of other immigrants
who will enroll in American schools this year, we'll all be better
off."
I
am sure that there are many New Zealand immigrants who would
tell similar stories to that of Chin. For these students explicit
oral language teaching is crucial but it is also important that all students
have the opportunity to grow and develop their own oral language skills
throughout their schooling. It is also about "knowing your learner"
our first ESOL principle.
I
agree with Jane's point that "many teachers struggle with how to
integrate focused and strategically designed oral language tasks
across the curriculum. My belief is that oral language should be an integral
part of all learning areas and that we need to deliberately structure
oral language tasks in order to ensure that students are learning new language
rather than sticking within the known." I look forward to viewing
her book on this topic.
Jane
also suggested that ESOL teachers "are the people who have most
knowledge about how to structure oral language teaching and learning and that
we can play a pivotal role in upskilling the wider education world."
My questions then become:
1. Who leads oral language in my school?
2. What does the current state of oral language teaching
look like? How will I find out? (Can I talk with teachers/school leaders about
this and undertake some in class observations?)
3. Do I have something more to offer our teachers on how to
incorporate oral language teaching into all curriculum areas? If so, who do I
need to have conversations with? How can I start to build these conversations
and develop oral language teaching skills with teachers? How can the ESOL
Online community assist me in this role?
4. Am I comfortable leading these discussions and
professional development within my school? (I ask this as in many schools ESOL
teachers are not in a position of power or authority). If not, how could I
challenge the current position on oral language and maybe improve the way I am
positioned?
I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.
Regards
Janet
--
Janet McQueen
Facilitator: Primary ESOL community
To post to
the list serve email: primaryesol@lists.tki.org.nz
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