1. Communication Difficulties Oral Expression & Listening Comprehension

2. When there are concerns in these areas, the speech/language teacher should be consulted for instruction/intervention planning, assessment, etc. In addition, when the student is an English Language Learner, the ELL specialist should be involved.

3. North Carolina State Standards North Carolina Standards require all students to be able to describe and explain the concepts taught in any content area. This directly relates to oral expression and listening comprehension.

4. Oral Language: Importance to Learning  Oral language provides the foundation for literacy development which leads to success in reading and writing.  Both comprehension and expression are essential to academic achievement in all content areas.  Communication skills are critical for overall success in school.

5. Language  Language forms the building blocks on which academics are built, without it, nothing can be built.  On the continuum from easiest to most difficult we have: oral language, then reading, then writing.  If one has difficulty with the easiest language form, oral language, one will most likely have difficulty with reading and writing.  Language is comprised of receptive and expressive tasks. Listening Comprehension is a receptive task and Oral Expression is a expressive task.

6. Language Components of both Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension: Syntax – word order; sentence structure; marking words Grammar – the rules of language Morphology – the meaning units in words (those parts of words that reflect forms such as plurality, verb tense, etc.) The smallest thing you can do to a word to change the meaning of the word. Pragmatics/social language – use of language in social contexts (includes nonverbal expression) Semantics – knowledge of vocabulary; meaning-based language Phonology – use of sounds to encode the meaning of language (articulation) 6

7. Oral Language: Language Acquisition for L1 and L2  Developmental sequence – for both first and second language acquisition  As knowledge and experiential base expands, language becomes more cognitively and academically complex  Acquisition influenced by: culture, environment, experience, exposure, instruction, and active communication L1 = first language learned; L2 = second language learned 7

8. English Language Development English Language Learners listen, speak, read, write for information and understanding using a variety of sources, for academic and social purposes. 8