The incessant buzz of student chatter in a classroom can challenge even the most patient of early education teachers. The impulse to hush children can be strong and, at times, appropriate. But it’s also critical for teachers to create space during the school day for early learners to practice talking, experts say.
“When we talk about language, in particular, what’s really important is usage. Hearing language is one thing, but actually using it, and having fun with it, and playing with it, is another,” MaryKate DeSantis, a reading specialist and educational consultant, told EdWeek.
A preschool, kindergarten, or 1st grade classroom seems like the perfect environment to practice oral language skills. But several obstacles can stand in the way. Compared to the pre-digital era, many of today’s students are arriving at school with more experience “communicating” via screens, and less experience interacting in person with friends and family members. The consequences can include delayed language development and less comfort initiating conversations. And teachers, strapped for time and striving to keep students “on task”, may deliberately avoid prolonged conversations with their young charges.
These challenges are real. So too is the need for young children to grow literacy skills.
How can teachers balance both priorities effectively?
Continue reading to learn strategies that advance the development of oral language skills in deliberate ways during the school day.
Reading books aloud to students can generate conversations that build oral language and related literacy skills. When students listen to stories, they hear how words sound, learn new vocabulary, and gain exposure to language structures. Books also offer an easy entry point for teachers to initiate conversations about the characters, plot, setting, and what might happen next.
“It just makes perfect sense to have conversations about books you’re reading,” said Ellen Frede, an early learning consultant and the recently retired co-director and research professor for the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
Both incidental and intentional conversations benefit young learners, say experts. Read alouds, for instance, create structured opportunities for intentional conversation with students. Characters, setting, plot points, and conflicts all offer jumping off points for questions.
Incidental conversations between teachers and students hold value, too. This dialogue—such as asking about a student’s life, interests, or family—may feel spontaneous to the child. But done well, it requires thoughtful planning, said Frede: “Meanwhile, you’re really thinking ahead about the child’s conceptual development and their use of language, and you try to introduce new and rare words.”
Teacher-initiated conversations with students often default to brief, “three-turn” exchanges, says Sonia Cabell, the Sigmon endowed professor in reading education and core faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research. These typically follow this pattern: Teacher asks, student responds, teacher acknowledges, and moves on.
Cabell encourages teachers to extend a conversational exchange by at least two turns, a strategy called “serve and return.” This creates deeper conversational engagement and more language practice.
Cabell recommends at least one extended conversation per student each day. Students with less developed language skills and English learners benefit most from these exchanges, she says.
Imaginative play, once the cornerstone of early education, has been edged out of most kindergarten classrooms. Jessica Arrow, a longtime kindergarten teacher at Symonds Elementary in Keene, N.H., who successfully spearheaded her school’s renewed focus on play-based learning, sees it as a missed opportunity.
Students playing in pairs or small groups plan, create, negotiate, and problem solve—all of which require oral language skills. Teachers can also join in by asking questions that extend dialogue.
“I often think to myself how much less practice the kids would get with these [literacy] standards if we don’t have this 45 minutes to an hour every morning [during choice time] to actually be utilizing and expressing verbally—especially for those students who aren’t yet communicating as much verbally,” Arrow said.
Early education teachers may struggle to fit science and social studies instruction into tight schedules dominated by literacy blocks. But incorporating these subjects into literacy lessons provides rich content for dialogue, with plenty of opportunity to generate and respond to questions about what, how, and why.
“Science Talk” refers to two-way conversations that happen during science lessons. It involves asking open-ended questions, modeling descriptive words, and using child-friendly descriptions for science vocabulary, which are key components of science talk lessons that support students’ language development.
