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VELS Level 3 – Speaking and Listening

This section provides information about skills relating to speaking and listening.

Oral language development is important in its own right, as well as being a resource for the development of reading and writing skills.

Speaking and listening is vital to all learning and always occurs for a purpose and in a context. The way we speak varies depending on who the audience is and the particular situation.

Speaking and listening are interdependent – both are required for any successful exchange.

Listening

Listening can be described by the following characteristics:

  • it has an active process
  • it involves comprehension and the active building of meaning
  • it draws on knowledge of the world together with knowledge of text types and language.

Speaking

Speaking involves what is said (meaning), and it occurs in a context of a situation which involves:

  • speaker and listener
  • place and time
  • text type and topic
  • associated text – before and after text relating to the current situation.

It also involves how it is said (mechanics), and is concerned with:

  • accuracy (precision and correctness)
  • fluency (language flow, speech duration and pronunciation – stress, speed, pitch, pausing, volume and intonation)

In relation to the learning process, oral language can be divided into contextualised and decontextualised talk.

Contextualised talk

Contextualised talk:

  • features face to face interactions about something that is happening now
  • is often accompanied by an action
  • involves the ability to ask questions and receive immediate feedback.

Decontextualised talk

Decontextualised talk:

  • involves situations beyond the here and now
  • accounts for most classroom talk
  • establishes links between ideas and experiences
  • achieves a deferred purpose
  • fosters precise and articulate thinking
  • accounts for the needs of the listener
  • encourages deep understanding
  • is more challenging for the listener.

Speaking and listening in the classroom

In classrooms, oral language supports learning and teaching. Quality interaction between teacher and students and their peers is critical in encouraging engagement and supporting literacy development.

Classroom talk plays a key role in supporting learning; in terms of preparation for writing, teaching and learning new vocabulary sharing information and alternative perspectives as well as challenging and changing existing and preconceived ideas.

It also builds the semantic and linguistic knowledge necessary for reading comprehension.

Oral language plays a crucial and continuing role in mediating learning in terms of clarifying, extending, elaborating and providing new information.

Listening involves much more than the recognition of sounds or the decoding of acoustic information. It also includes stress and intonation patterns.

Related materials

Previous key concept - Teacher scaffolding in the classroom

Next key concept - Reading complex text

Teaching strategy - Speaking and listening strategies

Assessment - Read and retell