Improving speaking and listening skills The renewed Primary Framework places an enhances emphasis on speaking and listening.

With this in mind, Rebecca Jenkin offers some ideas on how to promote these core skills at key stage 2 Language is an integral part of learning, and plays a key role in classroom teaching and learning childrens confidence and proficiency as talkers and listeners are paramount. Yet in schools, speaking and listening is the Cinderella of English, fighting for the recognition and limelight that her two big sisters, reading and writing, have had for some time. Often, speaking and listening is merely used as a tool to support and guide reading and writing, and is unlikely to be actually taught and assessed. Moreover, discussion can often be dominated by the teacher and children have limited opportunities for productive speaking and listening. The renewed Primary Framework for Literacy goes some way to address the fact that there is an interdependency between speaking and listening, reading and writing and moreover, that they are mutually enhancing. The objectives for speaking and listening complement the objectives for reading and writing in that they reinforce and extend childrens developing reading and writing skills. National Curriculum There are four aspects of speaking and listening in the National Curriculum programme of study for English: 1. Speaking: to speak competently and creatively to explore, develop and sustain ideas through talk. 2. Listening and responding: to understand, recall and respond to speakers implicit and explicit meanings; to explain and comment on speakers use of language, including vocabulary, grammar and non verbal features. 3. Group discussion and interaction: to take different roles in groups to develop thinking and complete tasks; participate in conversations, making appropriate contributions building on others suggestions and responses.

4. Drama: Using dramatic techniques, including work in role to explore ideas and texts; create, share and evaluate ideas and understanding through drama. Speaking In developing their speaking skills, children need to learn to adapt their talk to the listeners; use a range of ways to express themselves; use talk to clarify their ideas and sustain their talk to develop thinking and reasoning. Speaking should include putting thoughts into words and sharing in groups; taking opportunities to speak at some length to explain ideas in different situations; giving a talk or presentation using gestures, aids and rhetorical devices. It is essential that children are provided with planned opportunities for speaking in a range of contexts, including: to different audiences, such as class, the teacher and other adults; with different levels of formality such as with peers, to another class, a wholeschool assembly and for different purposes, such as recounting events and telling stories, explaining, describing, justifying views and persuading others. Furthermore, children need to be taught how to make more extended contributions, such as expanding ideas using connectives; making connections between reasoning and predicting; using language to organise and sequence ideas. Listening As teachers, we should encourage active, responsive listening skills. To facilitate this, teachers should present material clearly with prompts to support listening use of voice; emphasis on key words and sometimes speaking quietly. Teachers are the best models of language in use and should model gesture, volume and tone. When we model speaking and listening we should demonstrate and discuss the process. To do this effectively model and encourage the children to make eye contact with the listener; speak clearly and audibly; use facial expressions and gestures; use precise words to convey meaning and hold the attention of the audience and respond to others contributions by adding or elaborating on them or by expressing an alternative point of view. Children need to be provided with models of appropriate use of English across the whole curriculum.

Speaking and listening in the classroom Establish a set of rules for speaking and listening these could include some of the following: RULES FOR TALKING Respect each others opinion One voice at a time Say what you think Say why you think it Build on what others say Support and include each other Ask when you dont understand Try and reach agreement Be noise aware RULES FOR LISTENING Respect each others opinions Dont interrupt Listen carefully Be open to new ideas Think about what others say

Use talk partners Put children into pairs and allocate time for each to talk to the other at specific points in a teaching sequence, eg share experiences, generate ideas and reflect on learning. Retain pairs for a half term so that they establish routines, gain confidence and develop more extended turns.

Mixed groups and group work Ability groups are useful if work is pitched at the appropriate level of challenge whereas structured mixed ability groups ensure a range of views and are suitable for tasks which require diversity. Same language groups can be advantageous to children learning English as an additional language if appropriate to the task. Try using single sex groups these are often more comfortable for some children. Use friendship groups which are secure and unthreatening to help children build confidence. Appoint roles to group members a leader/chair can organise the group and encourage participation; a scribe can be used to note the key points; a reporter can sum up and

present ideas to an audience; a mentor can be used to help group members to complete a task, offering support and clarification; an observer could be used to make notes on how the group works and note contributions. The observations should be shared with the group to help make improvements in future performances.

Stimuli, games and puppets Use varied stimuli during the first five minutes of each lesson. For example a poem, photograph, a painting or a piece of music encourage children to talk about the stimulus. Give children a topic and ask them to speak without hesitation or repetition for one minute. Turn it into a game where others can challenge when the rules are broken and if the challenge is successful the challenger continues the topic to the end of the minute unless challenged. Use puppets to encourage talk. They can be used to support talk in a variety of genres, for example to recount, explain, instruct and inform. Use a tape recorder so that children can reflect on their use of language and voices.

Other ideas

Provide children with a listening frame suitable to the task. If listening to a news broadcast help them to focus on what they hear by giving key headings to help them listen systematically; if they are listening to a recount ask them to picture the scene in their heads as they listen.

Extend childrens understanding of drama by using the convention of teacher in role. This involves taking on some aspects of a character in the situation being explored. Teachers should demonstrate voice change, gesture and facial expression.

Remember to set goals with clear criteria for success and praise responses. Make it clear what is expected of them in the activity by explaining the criteria for judging achievement and improvement and helping them to review their own progress. A useful way to support this process is through the use of a talk log this is where children reflect on their contribution to speaking and listening

activities by making notes on their contribution, areas of strength and aspects to improve on. EAL children When teaching EAL children, we need to ensure that children have time to think before they respond to questions and that, in particular, and that children have rehearsal time and try to encourage more than one word answers. It might be useful to spend time with children learning key words and helping them understand concepts needed for the topic or theme being talked about. At times it can be useful to encourage children to use their home language, for example when organising initial ideas.

In conclusion Although the requirement to teach speaking and listening is found in the programmes of study for English, surely the best practice embeds this teaching in all subjects across the curriculum. Embedding speaking and listening across the curriculum builds on strengths and challenges children in areas where they are lacking. All areas of the curriculum offer distinct opportunities to enhance the topic being taught through talk.

The ability to listen is Submitted by Lisa perucki (not verified) on Sat, 2008-10-25 00:32. The ability to listen is something that we often take for granted - something that we assume is learned automatically. This assumption is what hurts children in our schools today. Although we have the curriculum standards in place, this does not mean that teachers properly address them. One of the biggest issues we see is that teachers assume that the teachers before them have taught the necessary skill to children, but oftentimes children have not been taught. If we make the conscious effort to assess the skills children possess and reinforce them, we will develop children to be successful later in life.

I fully agree that the talking and listening skills children learn need to be varied. It is important for children to develop skills talking to both children and adults. Parent and teacher modeling of conversation, encompassing both listening and talking, will assure that children begin to develop the skills they will need especially later in life when they are in the work force interacting with superiors, etc. And the talk buddies in the classroom are a great way to have children not only develop the classroom community, but have children practice talking and listening to their peers. The most important thing to keep in mind with all of this is integrating a diverse curriculum around these concepts and keeping novelty in the classroom. I like the drama aspect - incorporating readers theater because it is an educational way to build those listening and talking skills.

reply Improving spekaing and listening skills Submitted by Teaching Expertise visitor (not verified) on Wed, 2008-10-22 19:43. Effective speaking and listening skills are essential for effective learning. This article addresses wonderful ideas in order to help address the National Curriculum standards. Planned opportunities for children to speak and therefore listen, is such a simple, while such an effective method to give children a chance to increase speaking and listening skills. Including adults in the planned interaction is also very important as this will not only allow the child to increase fluency and enhance vocabulary as a result of listening to the adult, but the adults (parents or teachers) can also assist the child improve proper English. Read alouds with adults or more advanced children, also provides the benefit of listening to advanced reading skills and vocbulary. If the children are comfortable speaking to and listening to adults in a planned setting, this will naturally increase their confidence of interaction in non planned conversations with adults. So often I see children who tend to be shy or inhibited to speak with adults they may not be comfortable with.

The stimulus and games approach is a great way to spark children's imaginations and respond to abstract art forms knowing that when they speak of their reactions to the art form, there are no wrong answers. This activity can also generate other children's creativity by listening to what others are saying. I think that the teacher should also engage in the activity to provide answers that might be different or odd, setting the example for the class, that it is ok to express any ideas that come into their minds. It is often a challenge to get EAL children to speak, as they may be embarrassed or self conscious about being different. Children want to fit in. They usually do not want to be different, from the clothes they wear to the language they speak. It would be very beneficial to have the child bring their language into the classroom. The teacher should stress the importance of each child's difference (culture, heritage, likes, hobbies), and have the EAL child teach the class some of her language. Maybe the teacher posts some of the child's words on the wall, or has the class calendar in two languages. The child should cherish his or her culture, and the teacher should address every child's difference in a positive manner. In order to learn, students need to be able to listen and speak effectively. There are so many simple, however necessary techniques that can be imbedded into other content lessons. This article provided numerous ideas to assist teachers in helping children reach the National Curriculum standards.

reply Although I am not a teacher Submitted by Meghan Fluckiger (not verified) on Wed, 2008-10-22 02:12. Although I am not a teacher yet, I have noticed through different observations that some teachers do not focus on listening and speaking as much as they do reading and writing. While reading and writing are very important, children need to know how to listen and speak to help them with their reading and writing. As I have only viewed younger grade levels, I can say that the observations I have viewed have been focused

around the language arts (reading and writing). The examples on how teachers can improve speaking and listening skills in this article are phenomenal. We should be encouraging our children to learn and explore through spekaing and listening. We should be teaching our children how to present information to a class and how to effectively listen to others present information. Children cannot accomplish these tasks without seeing their teachers do it first hand. How is a child going to learn how effectively speak to others and listen to others if the teacher is not a good model. We need to make sure we are making eye contact with our students, make sure we are conveying exactly what we mean, and making sure our body language is apprpriate for the situation. Children are sponges and they absorb everything the teacher explains and models. If we aren't good role models, then how do we expect our children to learn good listening and speaking skills. I am glad we are finally emphasizing the importance of listening and spekaing skills into our classrooms and to our children.

reply Speaking and listening strategies Submitted by Nancy Connelly (not verified) on Tue, 2008-10-21 14:36. I wholly agree that listening and speaking skills have long taken a back seat to reading and writing. An effective teacher would indeed teach these skills and provide a wide range of opportunities for students to experience meaningful practice of both listening and speaking. I recognize the importance of teaching academic English and encouraging its use in the classroom. However, I also realize the value of exposing students to a variety of language usages that are prevalent in the U.S. This article indicates that students who speak English as a second language could incorporate their primary languages into stages of organizing the work. This makes sense. To take the concept even farther, I would encourage students to share their languages with classmates. Not only would this provide a wonderful efferent listening opportunity,

the varied heritages of the community would be celebrated. Additionally, some activities suggested to enhance this area of curriculum (puppetry, drama, debates, etc.) would be wonderful arenas in which students could utilize language patterns which might not be traditionally considered academic English. For example, African American students might be encouraged to utilize Ebonics to make dramatic situations more real. Similarly, Latino students might utilize Spanglish or forms of Americanized Spanish spoken in their communities. All students in the classroom would benefit from learning about these very real forms of communication. I advocate the teaching of academic English, but believe we can broaden our listening and speaking experiences by incorporating and celebrating diversity.

reply Speaking and Listening in Middle School Social Studies Submitted by Kristen Juda (not verified) on Tue, 2008-10-21 02:10. Speaking and listening skills are across disciplines. As a middle school Social Studies teacher, I often see the varying abilities of students when it comes to giving presentations. Speaking and listening are skills that need to be practiced like reading and writing. All too often, as teachers, we simply tell the students to "listen" to one another or to "speak up." But the truth is that these children need to be taught how to listen - as well as how to give an effective public address. Even when simply answering a question, some students can't find the words to express themselves. They will have an idea they get very excited about, raise their hand with enthusiasm, and then stumble over their words when called upon. And when they start to get frustrated, they will just say "never mind" and want the class to move on. Articulation of thoughts is a skill that requires practice. It is not something that should be taken for granted or forgotten about. Vocal presentation in front of peers must also be taught as a skill. Students in my class present Current Events on a regular basis. It is always interesting to see how students at the seventh grade level act differently. Some students get in front of the class and command attention while others talk so quietly their work is falling upon deaf ears.

Ironically, sometimes the most outgoing person in class freezes when having to present his or her own work in front of peers. As suggested in this article, I have found using group work to be very effective in helping students develop their speaking and listening skills - especially when students get to select their own groups. Young teens tend to know their personalities within a group so they know who is a natural speaker or listener. Working together, students can help each other develop each other's strengths and weaknesses. In any of these scenarios, the teacher must be a role model. Without enthusiasm for speaking and modeling of listening, a teacher will not be able to help his or her students understand, learn, and use the skills of speaking and listening.

reply I thought this article was Submitted by Teaching Expertise visitor-Amber Woolford (not verified) on Mon, 200810-20 23:57. I thought this article was very useful in reminding us teachers different tecniques to use when teaching and supporting the language art lessons in our classrooms. I can say that I do not always remember different ways to implement different learning styles so reading articles like this are so benefical. I am not in a school setting yet where I practice this with young children where I implement a wide variey of L.A lessons besides, modeling, reading and reacting, site words, ect... I really like the idea of using talk partners which is not a termonology that I have heard before. It is critical for children to become comfortable with publically reading and speaking. The talk partner I found to be a great idea for children to work with someone for a lengthy period of time. This will absolutley help the children strengthen their skills and become confident. Having the children speak in assemblies and school function is a great way for some of the more confident speakers to practice their skills. I would like to use the mixed group or group work method when teaching. To have children play different roles and rotate those roles will strengthen their skills as well. I do

belive it is great to have a stronger student pair up with a student that needs help to give peer guidance. I saw that today in the classrom I am placed in where the teacher has 2 children sit and discuss books and react to one another. The Talk log is a very useful tool where children can react their own contributions and make notes where they think they need improvement and where they feel they are strong. It helps them set up expectations for themselves and make sure they are meeting the expectations the teacher is setting up for the class and for individual students. As a teacher I understand how important it is to make the goals and outcomes well defined for the students.