Schools are placing a greater emphasis on foundational skills than ever before, and rightly so. For many years, schools struggled to develop frameworks that explicitly and systematically teach these skills while also ensuring other components of literacy are present, such as reading grade-level texts and writing. In dual language and multilingual programming, the task is even more complex. How do we ensure that our multilingual students are developing critical literacy skills in the target language as well as in English? As districts work to provide systematic phonics instruction, it is important to keep our perspective inclusive and ensure that we maintain a holistic approach to literacy instruction.
A quality framework will ensure that all of the essential components for literacy instruction are well-developed and also must consider how language learners will acquire language. So, how do we develop proficient literacy skills (in one or more languages) while also developing language proficiency? How can we shift this practice to strengthen not only literacy skills but also language development? How can we elevate the language comprehension piece in our classrooms and engage students in discourse that will elevate their oral language while deepening explicit instruction with code-based skills? Oracy.
If you were to analyze the various frameworks that exist for effective literacy development, you would likely notice some overlapping key components. One component that is evident in all frameworks, whether it is a framework for monolingual students or multilingual students, is language comprehension. Language comprehension is an essential element for learning how to read. If a child does not speak or understand the language they are learning to decode, they will not develop comprehension, nor will they develop language. However, language comprehension looks very different for students who are monolingual speakers versus multilingual students.
When teaching multilingual learners how to read, we must consider the other factors at play. We must ensure that language comprehension and language development are connected with skill-based instruction. We must put intention into planning for activities that authentically engage our students and emphasize speaking and listening. “Connecting oral language development, other language-based skills, and content learning to code-based skills (decoding, phonemic awareness, etc.) development deepens English learners’ understanding of how English works” (Council of the Great City Schools Organization, 2023, p. 35).
Districts are feeling the pressure to shift their literacy frameworks and practices to include more systematic instruction. While literacy frameworks such as Scarborough’s rope (2001) and the simple view of reading (1986) highlight several integral components that develop effective literacy, many educators interpret from these frameworks that phonics instruction should be the primary focus. This attention to a systematic approach to phonics instruction is important for the development of literate students. Nevertheless, we cannot allow the pendulum to swing so far toward phonics instruction that we do not develop the other components of effective literacy instruction. English learners do need phonics instruction. They also need to understand the meanings of the words they are sounding out. With overemphasis on the decoding of words, multilingual students can become word callers and proficient decoders but will not understand what they are reading. They will miss out on explicit instruction on how English works. Following a strict phonics-only approach does not allow multilingual learners to develop more complex language structures and vocabulary that will begin to appear at higher-proficiency text levels.
As we develop proficient readers, it is essential to consider ways to incorporate more sophisticated language structures throughout our instruction and expand the vocabulary students will need to engage with in the literacy task and the content. Engaging students in dedicated oracy will ensure that students are engaged in discourse that develops language structures and also strengthens the acquisition of vocabulary needed to complete literacy tasks. In many cases and classrooms, oracy development is one of the least emphasized and most often forgotten components of effective literacy instruction.
Oracy is deeply connected to oral language. All children need oral language development in order to comprehend language both in spoken and in written form. Oral language is the precursor to literacy. Multilingual learners must consistently be engaged in oral language development throughout their school day. Enhancing opportunities for English learners to engage orally at school becomes an urgent challenge and requires that teachers offer well-structured support (Soto-Hinman, 2011). Maximizing access to rich oral language development at school is important, especially for those who may not have been exposed to rich oral language development at home.
Providing this structured access to oral language development in school will allow students to acquire the language needed to become proficient readers, who are able to hear the sounds needed for decoding text while also comprehending the meaning of text. Time needs to be dedicated to intentionally planning for productive talk and ensuring that effective, structured talk is woven into all subjects: reading, writing, math, social studies, science, art, music, physical education, etc. “Sadly, academic talk is most scarce where it is most needed—in classrooms with high numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students” (Zwiers and Crawford, 2011, p. 8). What steps should we take to not only engage our students with activities that promote talk but also link that talk to literacy?
Let us start out by defining the term oracy. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, oracy is defined as “proficiency in oral expression and comprehension. Oral + -acy (as in literacy) = oracy.” Below is a table that defines oracy from two different sources.
Oracy
Oracy is understood as learning both to talk and through talk.
Transform Teaching and Learning through Talk: The Oracy Imperative, p. 8
The oral language skills that contribute to the acquisition of literacy.
Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action, p. 19
When we look at these definitions side by side, we can see that both definitions include talk and move us to understand that it is through continual and explicitly planned opportunities for talk that students will not only strengthen their understanding of content but also use the language to acquire literacy skills.
While states continue to pass legislation regarding guidelines for effective literacy, many are also mandating a list of approved core instructional materials that districts must use. Districts are working feverishly to develop literacy plans that align with evidence-based practices in order to close the opportunity gap with students. Unfortunately, many are relying on these approved core materials to solve the reading crisis in an effort to raise reading achievement in their state, requiring teachers to follow the program “with fidelity.” Instructional materials are the resource to guide systematic literacy instruction; however, it is important for teachers to have the flexibility to adapt instruction to meet the diverse needs of their classes. Oracy will develop foundational skills and language development when it is comprehensible for students, explicitly connected to foundational skills, purposeful, and engaging.
Connecting Oracy with Foundational Skills
Let us begin with the importance of connection. When teaching students how to read in two languages (or in a language that is different from their home language), it’s important to explicitly teach skills in context and build connections for students. Research shows that what is known and understood in one language will help to contribute to what is known and understood in the other (Cummins, 2000; Dworin, 2003). Foundational skills instruction must be embedded in context and connected for students. “For students who speak languages other than English at home, foundational skills instruction must be informed by second language acquisition pedagogy and contrastive linguistics to help ELs distinguish similarities and differences between English and their home languages and to learn how meaning is constructed in English” (Council of the Great City Schools Organization, p. 10). When developing biliteracy with our students, we must dedicate time to developing oracy with our students in both the target language and English while capitalizing on the cross-linguistic transfer between languages.
As we develop literacy skills in one language, connecting those skills to the other language will help solidify students’ biliteracy development. In developing foundational skills, we must first identify the skills that are similar between languages that we can transfer and skills that are unique to the English language, which will need to be explicitly taught. Once an identified scope and sequence of foundational skills have been developed in the two languages (identifying transferable skills and explicitly taught skills), teachers can develop cohesive lessons embedded in context and build connections for students. Once we have established a structure for explicit connections, we have another task at hand: planning for oracy.
When planning for oracy, where does one begin? Let’s equate planning for oracy with building a house. When we are building a house, our first step isn’t running out to buy a load of bricks and random materials. We start with the big picture: What do we want our dream home to look like once it is built? We first have to develop the vision and the target plan for what our house will look like. This is the discourse level of oracy. We then take the steps to begin building this dream home, from pouring a strong foundation to constructing the walls. This is the sentence level of oracy. Finally, we identify the materials we need to purchase in order to build those walls. These are the bricks, or in oracy-speak, the word level.
To recap, the first step in planning for oracy is to start with the end in mind:
Identify the standards that will be taught.
Develop your objectives: content and language.
Objectives
Next, think about what the dialogue would sound like if students were engaged in a conversation around that specific skill. What would students say to each other? How would they respond appropriately, ask questions, or deepen the conversation? This is the result of what language you would like students to practice and produce in order to develop the foundational skill that you have identified. Once you have that ideal conversation, begin to plan for the explicit language structures for students to engage with:
- Analyze the language structures in the dialogue to develop sentence frames or sentence stems that students will rely on to produce this talk.
- Differentiate the sentence structures for students who have higher and more developing language proficiencies.
- Identify the vocabulary that you will need to introduce to students in a comprehensible manner, such as using TPR (total physical response) and visuals.
- Select the cooperative structure you would like students to use in order to engage in the oracy activity.
As you can see in each example, the activities taught a specific foundational skill and also developed language skills. Students were using the concept in context, practicing asking and answering questions and identifying high-frequency words. These types of activities will take extra time to plan and implement in the schedule. And yet they are well worth the time they will take. In linking oracy with foundational skills, students will begin to develop the code-based skills needed for literacy simultaneously with the language-based skills needed for language development.
Here are a few practical examples that could be integrated into any foundational skills block:
- Songs/Poems: Use to teach fluency, beginning sounds, sight words, language structures and syntax, rhyming words, and grammar
- Structured Conversations: Dialogue frames, A/B partners, sentence frames, cooperative structures
- Guided language strategies: PWIM (picture, word, inductive model), sentence patterning charts (Project GLAD), language experience approach (LEA)
- Oracy through Play: Modeling the use of language frames and visuals alongside play activities in purposeful play centers
Any of these activities can and should be connected to content, giving students additional opportunities to practice academic/content language while strengthening their foundational skills. Our school days are packed with initiatives, and teachers are constantly tasked with “fitting it all in.” When we purposefully integrate oracy, students will not only gain the foundational skills to develop literacy but will also continue to develop their language-acquisition skills.
As you start out planning for increased oracy opportunities in the classroom, ask yourself these questions to help guide the planning process:
- Where am I currently providing opportunities for structured talk with my students?
- Where can I increase structured talk in my daily practice with my students? How can I connect that talk to content and foundational skills?
- How can I explicitly expand students’ language structures through planned talk, meeting them in the stage of language proficiency where they are and supporting them to higher levels?
- What collaborative structures can I use to help facilitate productive talk?
Planning for oracy is an important part of developing foundational skills with multilingual students. While it will take additional time to plan for oracy and engage students in oracy development, it will lead to improved literacy for all students.
References:
Council of the Great City Schools Organization (2023). A Framework for Foundational Literacy Skills Instruction for English Learners.
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
Dworin, J. (2003). “Insights into Biliteracy Development: Toward a bidirectional theory of bilingual pedagogy.” Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2(2), 171–186.
Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-González, L., Ruiz-Figueroa, O., and Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared in Action. Caslon.
Gaunt, A., and Stott, A. (2019). Transform Teaching and Learning through Talk: The Oracy Imperative. Rowman and Littlefield.
“Oracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oracy
Soto-Hinman, I. (2011). “Increasing Academic Oral Language Development: Using English language learner shadowing in classrooms.” Multicultural Education, 18(2), 21–23.
Zwiers, J., and Crawford, M. (2011). Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings. Stenhouse.
Amy Mosquera is the CEO of Adelante Educational Specialists Group (www.adelantespecialists.com). Her team works closely with school districts, providing support and professional development in the areas of effective dual language programming, second-language acquisition, and biliteracy instruction. With over 30 years in education, Amy Mosquera’s work has focused in the areas of second-language acquisition and bilingual education with an emphasis in dual language/two-way immersion programming. Amy holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on bilingual education and a master’s degree in educational leadership.
