Learning Opportunities

One in three teens sends over 100 text messages a day.  More than half of teens use texting to communicate daily with friends, versus only 33 percent who regularly talk face to face.  

Also, most students who are adding English to the languages they know initially go through a silent period, during which they listen and observe more than they speak. After this ‘silent period’, many students move on to providing short one or two word answers during classroom conversation and short written responses which make it difficult to further any conversations. But if conversation isn’t happening, how can multilingual students become proficient in English?  

Research indicates a strong relationship between oral language proficiency and higher-level literacy development, such as reading comprehension and writing. As students learn the “language of school”, talk is a key component to academic success. This session will highlight some of the research behind oral language and academic discourse as well as provide some simple to implement strategies to foster student talk in any content area.