Comment on the relationship between oral language development and the reading process.
Oral language is a phenomenon that takes place for all children. It is genetic, complex, key to survival and is learned without any instruction. Communication begins at a very young age. Between the months 1-7, children start babbling. These utterances begin to transform between 8-12 months into sounds with a consonant/vowel patterns. One word may have a variety of meanings to the child speaking. It is the job of the more experienced listener to determine the field of the spoken word and respond accordingly. Between 12- 18 months, children begin to form two word sentences. Much like the previous phase, the listener may have to figure the field and meaning of the words given. Around 18 months and lasting through early adolescence, children begin to learn words at a very rapid rate. They begin adding on words to their previous telegraphic state of thinking to form longer and more meaningful sentences. Between these ages, children are learning 1 word for every 2 hours.
There are five critical components necessary in the reading process. They are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension. Here are descriptions of each of the components.
Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual phonemes. Phoneme is another name for an individual sound. When we put phonemes together in a meaningful way we make a word. Phonemic Awareness deals with manipulating phonemes to better understand word structures and build vocabulary. It teaches beginning readers to analyze and manipulate phonemes in oral language.
Phonics uses the Alphabetic Principle in understanding that letters are symbols used to represent speech sounds. It is most effective when instruction is introduced in early years. Phonics instruction shows children systematic, explicit and predictable relationships between written words, symbols and spoken words. It is very important for students to understand this connection for reading and writing purposes. Even though teaching students to phonologically decode words is hard, it is obtainable with instruction in Phonological Awareness and Letter Sound instruction. Phonics helps students learn how to decode words. Decoding is essential when first learning how to read and write.
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. It is important because it assists readers in understanding print meaning. Vocabulary can be segmented into four groups: listening, oral, reading and writing. Each of these vocabulary groups work systematically together, though most often, teachers who refer to vocabulary are discussing oral vocabulary and reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary is the words we use in daily speaking and listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize in print. Students use their oral vocabulary when developing their reading vocabulary.
Fluency is the ability to read text quickly and without mistakes. A student is considered to be fluent when they are no longer concentrating on decoding words; rather they are focusing on comprehending the text’s meaning. Students who are fluent readers can recognize words and comprehend meaning all at the same time. Fluency is not a stagnant outcome. Readers’ fluency depends on what they are reading, exposure to the vocabulary words and the amount of time practicing on the text. Fluency is usually taught with explicit instruction from the teacher. Two current instructional methods are Repeated Reading and Independent Silent Reading.
Comprehension is the reason for reading. Comprehension is the ability to understand information given. If readers do not understand what they are reading then they are not actually reading. Comprehension is the goal for all readers. These readers think actively, engage with the text and use prior knowledge in making meaning out of print.
The relationship between oral language and the reading process are very closely related though they do not occur at the same time as each other. Children develop most of their oral language before developing their reading and writing language. Below, explains how oral language fits each of the components of the reading process.
Phonemic Awareness- Children learn individual sounds around 8 months. These individual sounds progress and then grow into consonant/ vowel words. From there, children put together words to make sentences form. This is the same pattern as in the reading process except the children are a few years older.
Phonics- Children need to have a well developed oral language to understand phonics and the alphabetic principal. Reading phonics instruction is designed for beginning readers, starting at the age of 4. Phonics gives students appropriate scaffolding strategies that will be necessary throughout their lifetime.
Vocabulary- Children begin developing oral vocabulary as early as 8-12 months. Their consonant/ vowel sounding utterances are rewarded by more developed oral language speakers. This promotes more attempts in oral language and eventually the child will have developed a full vocabulary. Vocabulary is necessary and continues throughout one’s life. The more words a person knows, the better they will be able to communicate and understand other’s communication.
Fluency- Children begin practicing oral fluency around 18 months. It continues through adolescence. In oral language, children are trying to communicate quickly and without mistakes. The same goes for reading vocabulary, they are trying to read quickly and without mistakes. A prerequisite to having a strong reading fluency is to have a strong oral fluency.
Comprehension- Comprehension is the most important aspect for both oral language and during the reading process. If the person does not understand what is being said or is written, then they do not understand the meaning. It is necessary and key to survival to be able to understand one another and be able to respond appropriately.
In conclusion, oral language is an amazing phenomenon that assists in the development of the reading process. Without the ability to understand one another through oral language and the elements of the reading process, our existence would be bare. Oral language and the key components of the reading process are similar in the way a child approaches language.
Works Cited
Cooper, David J., 2006, Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.Gibbons, Pauline, 2002, Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Kamil, Michael L., 2004, Vocabulary and Comprehension Instruction. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (p. 213-234). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.
Laurisa,
ReplyDeleteI was also interested in the premise presented in the Freeman (2004) text suggesting that children have oral language ingrained in them, possibly genetically. They cited studies that demonstrate children follow set linguistic patterns while speaking, even when they are not explicitly taught these patterns and there are many other patterns from which they could choose (p. 16-18). It seems to be widely agreed, however, that children do need nurturing to develop their oral language. I like how the following article concisely outlines how adults “can help sustain natural language development by providing environments full of language development opportunities” (p. 2). My favorite suggestion is to “treat children as if they are conversationalists, even if they are not yet talking” (p. 2) because it makes me think of all those parents who carry a running conversation with their infants all day long. I didn’t know that their constant chatter was a research based instructional strategy! This article, like Gibbons, also stressed the importance of peer interaction in developing oral language.
Young Children's Oral Language Development, by Celia Genishi: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Young_Childrens_Oral/
Thank you!
-Rebekah
Hi Rebekah,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the article you provided! Not only because I am a dedicated teacher but because I have a two year old that I love to watch grow in his Language Acquisition skills. I want to help "sustain natural language development by providing environments full of language development and opportunities" to all children, not just my own. (Genishi 2) I can accomplish this by using Vygotsky's theory of Proximal Development, incorporating Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, state standards and making sure that I am always assessing and evaluating students needs.
I read over and over again your favorite part about children as conversationalists and get excited that I too believe and practice this. However, I need to apply Freeman's point of view that "Children who were corrected frequently did not use more error-free language rather mistakes happen more frequently."(Freeman 9) I need to focus on meaning and not sentence structure or common mistakes that will fix themselves with time.
Thanks for responding,
Laurisa
Laurisa,
ReplyDeleteI was very interested in exploring the five critical components necessary in the reading process further after I read your posting. Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction provides a detailed description of the five critical components (phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, fluency instruction, vocabulary instruction, and text comprehension). "Children who have phonemic awareness skills are likely to have an easier time learning to read and spell than children who have few or none of these skills" (Armbruster, Lehr, Osborn, 2003). Hill suggests that cooperative learning techniques allow students to interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning. Early on it is beneficial to use the cooperative learning environment as a tool to getting all of the students involved in phonics practice through poetry and chants. Thanks for the great information.
Armbruster, B., Lehr, F., & Osbourn (2003). Putting Reading First: The Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. CDE.
Hill, J. & Flynn, K. (2006). Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD