Focus on literacy: talking and listening 2003, NSW Department of Education and Training, Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate A summary of information in the support document/policy statement. (An opinion good information but a very repetitive document with heading hierarchy problems) Watkins foreword part of the State Literacy and Numeracy Plan provides useful ideas for all teachers NSW teachers are very skilled in teaching literacy Introduction for all teachers, all KLAs, K 12 talking and listening are vital for (lifelong) learning and have a central place in school education teachers are encouraged to teach talking and listening in the same systematic way that all other literacy skills and understandings are taught key elements for teaching talking and listening parallel elements of the State Literacy Strategy taught explicitly and systematically for all students valued and emphasised as a tool for learning in a range of interactions home languages valued and used as appropriate Standard Australian English taught as appropriate talking and listening skills to be monitored; students with difficulties to be identified and supported implementation planned as a whole-school approach partnerships with parents/caregivers developed support for teachers talking and listening are crucial for clarifying thinking and reflecting on learning and for transforming information demands for talking and listening skills change throughout school and are not necessarily a linear progression different ways of talking (oral texts) have different purposes and uses, and students need to learn about these differences and be able to make appropriate communication decisions students need to be involved in meaningful purposeful activities and to monitor and reflect on their own progress active listening needs to be taught A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening 1
1. Approaches talking/listening in classrooms has changed with changed teaching methods students require key competencies that rely on talking and listening skills (for example, interview and groupwork skills) importance of home language (including dialects and non-verbal language) in literacy development; to be valued and social implications (sensitively) explored importance of communicating with parents/caregivers/community about classroom talking and listening importance of talking and listening for second language learning and for learning about using different types of language teachers to evaluate amount and nature of talk in classrooms; avoid too teacher-focused or talking down whole-language learning led to recognition of talking and listening and how they enhance reading and writing; use of authentic text learning about genres helps students recognise the purpose of communication and compare written and spoken forms current approach based on a social view of language achievement of syllabus outcomes, and demonstration of these, requires skills in talking and listening 2. A social view of language A social view of language allows us to understand how a particular text works to achieve its purpose in a particular context. enables us to construct and interpret, using appropriate learned structures Social purposes language needs an appropriate structure for its particular function and context listening also has different purposes listening is often an independent activity that has not been taught but must be, with attention to its different purposes (for example, note-taking, remembering) Social contexts a speaker must consider context, including: purpose, what is considered appropriate to talk about and with whom ; structure, for the speaker and listener; speaking techniques (such as debating) students need to be taught to vary their listening for different contexts (for example, short talks, narrative on tape, lecture, instructions) 2 A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening
social contexts exert influence in terms of: subject matter (for example, different language is used for different topics), which can be investigated with students using questioning about concepts and vocabulary roles and relationships between the speaker and listener(s) (for example, language choices influence the tone of an interaction and can affect the relationships that exist and/or develop), which can be investigated with students using questioning about roles, power and responses mode of communication (for example, formal and informal speech); teachers need to consider whether the structure of the communication has been taught, whether a variety of modes are being used, whether students need other skills such as confidence or speaking aids such as microphone/ohp, whether expectations are clear students need opportunities to experiment and try out different structures and contexts there is a mode continuum between spoken and written text (see graphic on p21 of policy document), which assists in planning and evaluating spoken (and written) language Composing and interpreting texts In composing a text, the three core considerations are: critical understanding gained by analysing spoken/heard texts, to question and challenge content, to make appropriate choices for successful interactions and to judge the effect of structures and features such as vocabulary understanding of typical features knowledge of language features and overall structures of various kinds of oral texts, such as answering the phone, negotiating in a group, conducting an interview or addressing an assembly. Students often have only one chance to make/understand each oral text so need frequent opportunities in identifying purpose in talking and listening flexibility students need to be aware that there can be variety in the use of structures and delivery styles, even for the same purpose, and they should be encouraged to experiment with different oral texts. Students need to be aware that many oral texts are spontaneous and unplanned A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening 3
3. Teaching/learning talking and listening need to learn to talk and listen with different audiences and for different purposes teaching/learning needed in all subjects and in a range of contexts talking and listening are foundations for reading and writing and support continued development of these teaching/learning talking and listening requires a balance of learning through languages and learning about language use group work with peers, taking turns at roles, gaining experience in steering discussion and recording notes, and evaluating interactions use pairs and small groups to encourage students to experiment room layout should encourage talking and listening have high expectations and make them explicit Explicit teaching in talking/listening activities, explicitly identify purpose, audience, features (form, conventions, type of language, vocabulary, differences from written forms), contextual and cultural issues, impacts of body language and ways to solve communication problems that arise explicitly teach cooperative skills, presentation and reflection students need to learn that spoken text is more sensitive to the mood and emotional state of the speaker and the listeners speaking and listening are modelled in all interactions; make some modelling explicit teaching provide more guided activities and opportunities for disadvantaged students and students with specific needs move students from familiar spoken language to less familiar, more academic language use a variety of texts/situations as stimulus/context for learning to talk and listen (for example, written, video, computer and groups) guide students to assess, evaluate and self-correct provide opportunities for students to talk independently (for example, short talk, debate, leading assembly, SRC) What to teach use natural situations and authentic oral texts as examples be as purposeful and focused as in other areas of literacy balance learning to and learning about talking and listening include formal and information talking and listening activities provide support (such as outlines, prompts) for talking, as appropriate 4 A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening
Where to begin? identify assumptions of syllabuses identify current skills of students and plan safe activities to increase talking and listening skills for students at different levels of confidence and expertise encourage pronunciation of words and other presentation skills encourage collaboration in composing oral texts integrate talking and listening with reading and writing Purpose and audience teach explicitly, including social implications and controls investigate the logical progression of oral texts teach about how delivery (stress, pausing, pitch and so on) affects purpose, and vice versa Types of talk talking to learn: talking is a first draft of ideas talking as a process: talking and learning facilitate other learning, such as practical activities and problem-solving. Need to teach students to interact productively and present learning achieved talk as performance: tailored to identified purpose and audience, and including news reports, debates, advertisements. Need to encourage self-confidence and self-evaluation. Should not be used as the only form of assessment of talking skills Listening to and interpreting oral texts identify the listening skills needed for each situation discuss purpose and audience and how they influence the oral text discuss critical understandings, such as the effect of language, the world view presented, whose ideas are being heard, how to evaluate and criticise ideas explicitly teach the roles of the listener; active listening; listening for detail or gist; constructing meaning and making records; memory strategies; identifying bias Providing a balanced approach use a range of modelling, guided teaching and independent learning strategies A balanced approach involves students in constructing meaning from texts, developing spoken language and examining the conventions of spoken language. evaluate how teaching talking and learning are included in your teaching program A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening 5
Talking and listening, reading, viewing and writing building the field of knowledge: for example, brainstorm, predict, categorise, list analysing: discuss content, audience, text structure, links in ideas, language features, social and cultural context joint construction: sharing and extending what is known and generating language and negotiation skills independent construction: producing spoken text independently, for an audience Providing opportunities to learn through talking and listening increases awareness of: language requirements of different subjects their own and others understandings provides insight into the development of ideas 4. A whole-school approach Each school will develop a whole-school plan for teaching and assessing talking and listening. This will be part of the school s annual management plan. While guidance should come from the school s literacy support team, consultation with other staff, parents and students is desirable. This plan will include a statement of the school s priorities based on students demonstrated achievements in talking and writing in all subject areas. The school plan will be reflected in stage and/or faculty programs as well as in classroom plans. The document includes questions to help direct planning for the whole school, stages and faculties, and classes. The plan should be developed with regard to: stage or faculty planning (for example, consider syllabus outcomes, continuum of knowledge and skills) class planning (for example, consider individual needs, authentic text and context, variety of teaching strategies, monitoring and assessment, support) meeting the needs of diverse learners (for example, consider individual strengths and weaknesses, cultural and social differences and the influences of home background, gender) extending talented speakers and listeners (for example, consider enrichment, mixed texts, providing varied experiences) supporting students experiencing difficulties (for example, consider early identification and intervention, alternative communication modes) 6 A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening
students who study by distance education (for example, consider how verbal interactions can be provided, using varied media for teaching, extended contexts) developing links between home and school (for example, consider ways to bridge standard school and home experiences and to benefit from parental contributions, include home language/dialect in classroom experiences) 5. Assessing students talking and listening achievements vary assessment strategies to collect evidence from a variety of sources and across a range of contexts (examples provided p46 of policy) conduct focused, systematic and curriculum-based assessment use criterion-referenced assessment, with the criteria explicitly developed with students; students must know the what, how and why of assessment use formative and summative assessment make special provision for students with disabilities to enable them to show what they know and can do teachers need to discuss assessment to identify expectations of students at different stages and appropriate assessment tasks, so that consistency of judgement is developed talking and listening improve with teaching, practice and increasing awareness of audience What to assess Students should be assessed on their skills of interpreting and responding to texts, their ability to recognise a variety of spoken texts and use language for a variety of purposes on a range of topics. A summary of Focus on literacy: Talking and listening 7