English Developmental Continuum P-10 – Speaking & Listening
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Purposes of communication: scaffolding learning from 1.5
Indicators of Progress
- Students communicate for longer periods in small groups with peers or familiar adults, speak with clarity, and adjust their tone, volume and pace to communicate most effectively, for example, to create or emphasise meaning.
- They pause to allow others to comment and question, and to provide themselves time to assemble on-going meaning. Students take steps to retain the interest and focus of listeners when telling a story.
Teaching Strategies
Before speaking and listening: Getting your knowledge ready
The learning and teaching approach for speaking and listening is illustrated for students responding to the serial story Little Obie and the Flood written by Martin Waddell and published by Walker Books Ltd, London in 1991.
Plan and rehearse oral presentation
Students develop and rehearse a presentation and decide whether it sounds interesting and engaging, and, if not, how they will modify it. They say how they will present it:
- Say it so that everyone can hear it.
- Look at the people I am talking to.
- Say it so it is exciting.
- Say some parts fast and some slow.
- Stop at the right places.
They decide how they will tell it to their peers and use the features of appropriate voice, pausing patterns and intonation.
After speaking and listening: Consolidate and review
The learning and teaching approach for speaking and listening is illustrated for students responding to the serial story Little Obie and the Flood written by Martin Waddell and published by Walker Books Ltd, London in 1991.
Use criteria when listening
Students listen to various segments of the story recorded on audiotape. They discuss how enjoyable/interesting each one was, what made it enjoyable/interesting and how it could be made more enjoyable/interesting. The criteria they use when listening are:
- Can I hear the story clearly?
- Does the speaker tell the story so that it is interesting to listen to?
- Does the speaker say some parts fast and some slow?
- Does the speaker stop at the right places?
- Does the speaker use expression to convey different feelings/emotions?