Oral Language

Plan%of%today

• “Oral%Language”

–what%is%Oral%language%

– Conversa9ons

– Vocabulary

– Research

%

What is “oral language”

- 3 words

“Oral language” refers to the act of

speaking and listening.

Use correct terms for objects and actions when you talk to children.

Science

hypothesisexperiment

scientific method

Maths

decompositionstrategystandard

Literacy

Exemplarbenchmark

National StandardInstructional“green level”

Photo - Manaia Kindergarten

Use

Bloom & Lahey 1998

Content Form

What is language?

Way back in 1978, Bloom & Lahey looked at defining what is language. They ultimately separated language into three major aspects: form, content, and use. Talk bout use of vocab

Content

Semantics

- meanings of words, phrases, and sentences in their contexts

Content: includes factors such as semantics, including word knowledge and world knowledge, and vocabulary. semantic knowledge and the learning of new words. This also includes knowing both literal and figurative meanings of certain words.

Students with poor language skills generally don’t have a rich store of words to use in spoken and written sentences.

Vocabulary knowledge

More than “knowing a word”Depth of understandingRetentionHow the vocabulary is applied

“Rose”

Is critical to reading comprehensionStahl, S. A., & Fairbanks, M. M. (1986). The effects of vocabulary instruction: A model-based meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 56(1), 72-110. BUT adequate vocab knowledge is not enough to ensure comprehension of spoken and/or written text and not all children who show poor vocab knowledge will have reading comprehension problems. Perhaps the relationship between vocab and reading comprehension is reciprocal in which the ability to derive new info from context is the underlying variable that contributes to both vocab knowledge and reading comprehension (again mediated by limited WM capacity).

Children with reading (comprehension) difficulties show “hidden” language impairments.

“Rose”

And Rose wine :-)

Building Vocabulary for Conversation

“In order to fully participate in conversation, children need a vocabulary of words known and understood. A rich vocabulary

is early childhood has been identified as one of the most important indicators of later schooling success.” Pellegrini 1985

Their%longitudinal%study%of%parent@child%talk%in%families%in%Kansas%was%conducted%over%a%decade.%A%team%of%researchers%

recorded%one%full%hour%of%every%word%spoken%at%home%between%parent%and%child%in%42%families%over%a%three%year%period,%

with%children%from%seven%months%to%36%months%of%age.%The%team%then%spent%six%addi9onal%years%typing,%coding,%and%

analyzing%30,000%pages%of%transcripts.

Follow@up%studies%by%Hart%and%Risley%of%those%same%children%at%age%nine%showed%that%there%was%a%very%9ght%link%

between%the%academic%success%of%a%child%and%the%number%of%words%the%child’s%parents%spoke%to%the%child%to%age%three.

The%varia9on%in%children’s%IQs%and%language%abili9es%is%rela9ve%to%the%amount%parents%speak%to%their%children.

2.%Children’s%academic%successes%at%ages%nine%and%ten%are%aSributable%to%the%amount%of%talk%they%hear%from%birth%to%

age%three.

3.%Parents%of%advanced%children%talk%significantly%more%to%their%children%than%parents%of%children%who%are%not%as%

advanced.

Courtesy)of)VJ)Wedeen)and)LL)Wald,)Mar5nos)Center,)Harvard)Medical)School,)Human)Connectome)Project)

Our%brains%are%wired%to%extract%structure%from%innumerable%sentences,%seen%

or%heard.

Image%of%the%Day:%Brain%Wiring

Neural%pathways%form%a%mesh,%with%yellow%represen9ng%language%and%connec9ng%the%frontal%lobe%on%the%leZ%to%the%temporal%lobe%on%the%right,%and%the%purple%

curlicue%represen9ng%Broca's%area,%which%coordinates%speech.

Courtesy%of%VJ%Wedeen%and%LL%Wald,%Mar9nos%Center,%Harvard%Medical%School,%Human%Connectome%Project

there%is%research%into%TV%watching%–%TV’s%don’t%have%conversa9ons%that%are%responsive.%"There's%no%ques9on%that%human%voice%and%human%words%are%what%babies%need,"%says%Dimitri%Christakis,%a%

paediatrician%at%the%University%of%Washington%in%SeaSle,%who%led%the%study.%"The%data%are%not%yet%conclusive%about%the%fact%that%television%is%harmful,%but%they%con9nue%to%mount."

Christakis'%team%equipped%329%infants,%aged%between%2%and%48%months,%with%lightweight%recorders%that%captured%every%noise%they%heard%in%a%24@hour%period.%A%computer%program%–%shown%in%a%previous%

study%to%be%82%per%cent%accurate%–%then%determined%whether%each%sound%came%from%the%infant,%an%adult%or%the%television.

The%analysis%showed%that%for%every%hour%of%television%an%infant%is%exposed%to%–%they%don't%understand%television%programmes,%Christakis%says%–%he%or%she%hears%770%fewer%words%from%adults,%on%average,%a%7%

per%cent%reduc9on.%Infants%watching%TV%also%uSer%fewer%"googoos"%and%"gagas"%and%interact%less%with%adults%than%children%whose%parents%use%the%off%switch%more%enthusias9cally.

Children%do%learn%vocabulary%from%TV%watching%however%the%type%of%programe%is%important%]%Linebarger%and%Walker%studied'51'children’s'viewing'habits'from'6'months'of'using'Viewing'logs'were'coded'for'program,'content,'and'intended'audience..'Parent’s'educa>on,'child’s'home'environment,'and'child’s'cogni>ve'performance'were'sta>s>cally'controlled.'The'findings'support'the'importance'of'content'and'program'type'when'describing'media'effects.'At'30'months'of'age,'watching%Dora%the%Explorer,%Blue’s%Clues,%Arthur,%Clifford,%or%Dragon%Tales%resulted'in'greater'vocabularies'and'higher'expressive'language'scores;'watching%Teletubbies%was'related'to'fewer'vocabulary'words'and'smaller'expressive'language'scores;'watching%Sesame%Street%was'related'only'to'smaller'expressive'language'scores;'and'viewing%Barney%&%Friends%was'related'to'fewer'vocabulary'words'Teaching%vocabulary%within%a%context%facilitates%beSer%reading%comprehension%(Na9onal%Reading%Panel,%2000;%Beck,%McKeown,%&%Kucan,%2002).

Research%suggests%that%a%rich%and%varied%vocabulary%is%needed%to%excel%in%all%school%subjects%because%it%relates%to%successful%reading%comprehension%(Chiappone,%2006).

Compared%to%adult%prime@9me%television%and%typical%conversa9on%by%college%educated%adults,%children’s%books%contain%up%to%50%percent%more%rarely%used%words%(Cunningham%&%Stanovich,%1998).

Form

Morphology- words and how they are constructed in terms of parts that have meaning.

“Happy”

“Unhappy” un-happy

“Unhappiness” un-happi-ness

Form: includes the building blocks of language such as morphology (grammar), syntax (sentences) and phonological awareness (sound awareness).Syntax: relates to how words are arranged to make a sentence. Syntactic competence is an important part of the tapestry of language form, which underlies literacy. Students with poor understanding of syntax struggle to communicate their thoughts, both oral and written, in a coherent way. Their sentences come across as disjointed and tend to lack detail.Phonological Awareness: the leading predictor of reading and writing success or failure. Phonological awareness relates to a student’s ability to be consciously alert to the sounds in words.Happy =1Un Happy - 2Un happiness + 3

Form

Syntax- the rules and conventions about the order of words in sentences

Morphology- words and how they are constructed in terms of parts that have meaning.

The boy flew the helicopter.The helicopter flew the boyHelicopter the flew the boy

Form: includes the building blocks of language such as morphology (grammar), syntax (sentences) and phonological awareness (sound awareness).Syntax: relates to how words are arranged to make a sentence. Syntactic competence is an important part of the tapestry of language form, which underlies literacy. Students with poor understanding of syntax struggle to communicate their thoughts, both oral and written, in a coherent way. Their sentences come across as disjointed and tend to lack detail.Phonological Awareness: the leading predictor of reading and writing success or failure. Phonological awareness relates to a student’s ability to be consciously alert to the sounds in words.

FormSyntax

- the rules and conventions about the order of words in sentences

Morphology- words and how they are constructed in terms of parts that have meaning.

Phonological Awareness- understanding of the sound systems of a language

Form: includes the building blocks of language such as morphology (grammar), syntax (sentences) and phonological awareness (sound awareness).Syntax: relates to how words are arranged to make a sentence. Syntactic competence is an important part of the tapestry of language form, which underlies literacy. Students with poor understanding of syntax struggle to communicate their thoughts, both oral and written, in a coherent way. Their sentences come across as disjointed and tend to lack detail.Phonological Awareness: the leading predictor of reading and writing success or failure. Phonological awareness relates to a student’s ability to be consciously alert to the sounds in words.

Use

Pragmatics

-the choices that people make about the appropriate use of oral language - when to speak, which words to use, and how to say them

Use: the area of pragmatics. That is, the understanding and use of language in a social context. This includes the ability to use appropriate language in a communicative and social milieu, and understand social rules.Pragmatics (Social language): Pragmatic language is mostly to do with social skills, and understanding of the rules of conversation. And yes, conversation does have certain rules we all learn to follow. Students with pragmatic impairment often haven't learnt those rules, or don't really care to use them. Kids with pragmatic impairment have difficulty correctly interpreting other childrens' conversations, or appear to have little to no interest in the views of others. These students often have conversations that are perceived by others as lacking warmth, are repetitive, or fixated on an area of interest known only to the pragmatically impaired child.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/too-much-screen-time-may-harm-childrens-oral-skills-research-suggests-20141130-11mvo1.html

Something we do know is that more screen time means fewer opportunities for children to listen to and engage in oral language. Engaging in oral language activities, structured or unstructured, provides children with rich opportunities to build their vocabularies, learn rules of social interaction, develop non-verbal language skills and learn to store and use new words.

Between the ages of two and five, children learn at an extraordinary pace, understanding and remembering words with only one or two exposures. This phenomenon is known as fast mapping. 

Beyond this time, children need an average of 12 exposures to a new word before it is understood and remembered. It is a time when children's vocabularies are rapidly expanding and they are also learning how to formulate questions and inquire about their world, follow instructions, articulate clearly and learn the rules of social engagement. 

1) How well do teachers currently teach each area? (best to worst)

2) How important do the general public consider the components? (most to least)

3) Rate the quality of teaching resources (from most to least)

4) The amount of curriculum time explicitly allocated for each component (most to least)

5) How important is each component to a child’s total literacy development? (most to least)

Ref First steps

Rank reading, writing, spelling and oral language

“Language development is an active process. It develops in relation to the context, topic, situation and participants in the interactions.

It is fundamental to thinking, reasoning, problem solving, clarifying and expressing though across all aspects of life (and consequently the curriclum).

It shapes a learners identity and view of the world.”

Literacy)piggybacks)on)oral)language)

Underpins%wriSen%language%–%our

brains%are%wired%to%extract%structure%from%innumerable%

sentences,%seen%or%heard.

© J. Carroll & G Carroll 2006

(cc) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike License. jcarroll@clear.net.nz Jane Carroll.

What do we use language for?

Love

Lie

Request RequireRelate RefuseRepeat RelinquishRegurgitate Reward Rule Ridicule RelishRambleRehash

Question TypesClosed Questions- requires yes / no response

Will, did, can, have, if ,does/do, should, is

Forced Choice Questions-gives a choiceEither / or

Open Ended Questions- leaves room for responseWhy, what, where, how, when, who, which

Higher Order – Thinking Questions – involving prediction, reason or conjecture

Asking Questions

Easier What Where Who When

Harder WhyHow

Conversa)ons*

+*Contextualised*and**Decontextualised*talk*+ Turn*taking*+ Ac)ve*listening*+ Stays*on*a*topic*+ Introduces*Vocabulary*

Snow,*Dickson*&*Tabors*

Home@School%Study%of%Language%and%Literacy%Development%(Catherine%E.%Snow,%Co@Principal%Inves9gator;%David%K.%Dickinson,%Co@Principal%Inves9gator;%and%PaSon%O.%

Tabors,%Research%Coordinator)%has%documented%a%strong%connec9on%between%early%reading%success%and%the%amount%of%decontextualized%talk%children%engage%in%with%

adults,%in%both%homes%and%schools.%Contextualized%conversa9on%is%9ed%to%the%immediate%environment.%Decontextualized%conversa9ons%typically%occur%when%an%adult%

interac9vely%reads%a%book%with%a%child:%the%two%stop%to%discuss%what%the%book%means%instead%of%the%adult%passively%reci9ng%the%text%word%for%word.%So%the%conversa9on%

uses%language%to%convey%informa9on%about%other%9mes%and%places.%

In%addi9on%to%using%decontextualized%language,%beneficial%conversa9ons%have%the%following%aSributes:%turn%taking

ASen9ve%listening%

Extended%discourse%that%stays%on%a%topic%of%interest%to%a%child%

Vocabulary%that%is%introduced%in%a%focused%way.

%Burns,%Griffin,%and%Snow%(1999)%state,%"Vocabulary,%language%skills,%and%knowledge%about%the%world%are%acquired%during%interes9ng%conversa9ons%with%responsive%

adults.%Talking%about%books,%about%daily%happenings,%or%even%about%what%happened%in%day%care%or%at%work,%not%only%contributes%to%children's%vocabularies,%but%also%

increases%their%ability%to%understand%stories%and%explana9ons%and%increases%their%understanding%of%how%things%work—all%skills%that%will%be%important%in%early%reading".%

When%we%write,%read,%and%have%conversa9ons%beneficial%to%literacy%development,%we%want%to%use%decontextualized%language.%This%is%language%that%is%not%9ed%to%the%

immediate%context.%It%may%reflect%past%events,%future%events,%or%fic99ous%events.%For%example,%decontextualized%language%is%used%in%everyday%dinner9me%conversa9on,%

when%adults%tell%stories%of%their%childhood,%or%when%children%tell%about%their%school%day.%This%type%of%language%requires%children%to%use%their%developing%mental%abili9es%

to%represent%ideas,%a%process%that%is%important%to%the%development%of%reading%comprehension.

Biemiller,%2001)

Biemiller,%A.%(2001).%Teaching%vocabulary:%Early,%direct,%and%sequen9al.%American'Educator,'25,'24K28.

Part%of%the%gap%widening%is%that%we%go%at%about%age%9%/10%from%learning%to%read%so%mastering%the%mechanics%of%

decoding%print%to%reading%to%learn.%So%this%is%when%we%look%to%gain%more%knowledge%from%print%–%to%think%more%cri9cally%

about%what%we%read,%to%integrate%what%we%know%and%what%we%read.%So%less%able%readers%read%less%and%less%complex%

text%which%then%has%an%impact%on%their%vocabulary%and%world%knowledge.%

Response'to'Interven,on'Model

the%cri9cal%importance%of%effec9ve%classroom%teaching%cannot%be%underes9mated.%Shapiro%and%Solity’s%(2008)%%research%

suggested%that%effec9ve%class%based%phonological%awareness%can%reduce%the%incidence%of%reading%%difficul9es%from%20%%

to%5%%within%a%classroom%popula9on.%Such%outcomes%will%help%ensure%that%scare%resources%for%children%struggling%in%

reading%are%more%appropriately%targeted%to%children%most%in%need.%It%is%generally%accepted%that%children%with%

par9cularly%low%levels%of%phonological%awareness%will%require%addi9onal%small%group%or%individual%interven9on%in%

addi9on%to%effec9ve%classroom%teaching.%

• 1/3 of a class - will learn to read no matter what approach is used as long as they are taught in an organised way

• of the remaining children (the ‘average’ ones) benefit from phonological awareness

• the bottom 1/4 can’t learn to read without explicit phonological awareness instruction

Moats & Hall, 1999

Moats Hall and Moats p20They have the language skills that underpin literacy - whole language / phonics approach won’t matter - these children are able to teach themselves the skills they need. The other 2/3 of the class will benefit from phonological awareness

Within classroom teachers should be developing opportunities for metalinguistic discovery, with the aim of encouraging the child to think about, and talk about language, especially at a phonological (speech sound) level. But how do teachers do this. What is their phonological awareness?

So for the remainder of this presentation I’m going to present the findings of a research project investigating New Zealand Educators’

Kroese,%Mather,%&%Sammons%(2006)

Students%enrolled%in%classrooms%(K@3)%where%the%

teachers%had%the%lowest'knowledge'of%phoneme@

grapheme%rela9onships%made%the%least'growth'in%spelling%development.

% % %LD:'A'Mul>disciplinary'Journal,%

Does%this%hold%true%for%New%Zealand%teachers?

Teacher Inquiry and Knowledge-building Cycle

http://educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz/goto/BES

The%professional%development%this%teacher%inquiry%and%knowledge%building

We%used%the%Teachers%Phonological%Awareness%Test%Verbal%form%‘b’%as%an%authen9c%experience%for%phonological%

awareness%in%ac9on.%It%was%self%marked%and%discussed%in%terms%of%current%theory%about%the%importance%of%

Phonological%awareness%and%their%personal%knowledge.%Teachers%were%encouraged%to%discuss%what%they%already%knew%

and%how%current%research%fiSed%with%their%own%theories%of%children’s%literacy%learning.%The%test%and%discussion%also%

provided%a%mo9va9on%playorm%for%the%teachers%to%explore%their%thinking.

Important to have a common professional vocuabulary!

Time spent having discussions and clarifying the collective understanding across a WHOLE school is critical. All teachers need to know this stuff - not just the Junior syndicate/NE teachers.

Total&Score&on&the&Teachers’&Phonological&Awareness&Test&

&Total&

Total&Score&on&the&Teachers’&Phonological&Awareness&Test&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&n=699&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Love&&&Reilly&(1995)&&

ANOVA&showed&a&significant&group&effect&&[F&=&111.956,&df&7,691&p"<.0001].&

These%are%the%total%raw%scores%by%group%and%there%is%significant%group%differences.%The%blue%line%is%at%37%/40.%Love%and%Reilly%considered%37%and%above%to%be%a%‘pass’.%In%

correspondence%with%Love%and%Reilly%they%state%that%37%was%an%arbitrary%number%but%they%consider%that%‘teachers%should%be%able%to%do%this%test%easily.%

So%you%can%see%that%SLTs%as%a%group%were%able%to%demonstrate%consistent%PA%skills,%RTLits%as%a%group%had%an%average%of%37/40%but%had%a%long%tail%shown%by%the%dots.%

RTLB’s%and%classroom%teachers%had%a%similar%range%of%scores%but%the%RTLB’s%had%a%higher%average%score.%The%Early%childhood%teachers%had%the%lowest%average%of%the%

teaching%professionals.%Overseas%research%has%shown%similar%findings%for%educators%and%teacher%trainees%that%is,%wide%variability%@%par9cularly%at%the%phoneme%level%i.e.%is%

what%a%‘sound’%is.%The%New%Zealand%results%do%show%that%our%more%specialised%teachers%–%the,%SLTs,%RTLits%and%RTLBs%%have%a%%beSer%understanding%of%phonological%

awareness%than%classroom%teachers,%which%is%in%contrast%to%the%Spencer,%Schuele,%Guillot%and%Lee%(2008)%study%which%showed%the%Specialised%Special%Educa9on%Teachers%

and%Reading%Teachers%scored%at%the%same%level%as%general%teachers.%

However%all%the%overseas%research%such%as%Spencer%et%al,%Stainthorpe’s%(2004)%and%Moats%and%Floorman’s%(2003)%studies%are%based%on%a%wriSen%presenta9on%of%words%

rather%than%the%predominately%oral%presenta9on%done%in%this%study.%

Recent%interna9onal%studies%indicate%that%educators%rely%heavily%on%orthographic%knowledge%(for%example%the%number%of%leSers%or%the%orthographic%rules)%rather%than%

on%the%sounds%of%speech%when%asked%to%iden9fy%phonemes%in%words.%

The%decision%was%made%to%present%4%of%the%6%subtests%orally%rather%than%as%pencil%and%paper%test,%therefore%requiring%the%par9cipants,%as%Moats%and%Lyon%suggest%(1996,%

p.%83)%%"to%think%beyond%print%while%analysing%speech”.%

This%also%meant%that%the%par9cipants%working%in%the%primary%school%sector%were%being%asked%to%perform%similar%tasks%to%those%they%require%children%to%do%within%the%

classroom%environment%

Classroom Teachers' Scores on the Teacher's Phonological Awareness Test

At%week%29%the%teachers%were%reassessed%on%the%Teachers’%Phonological%Awareness%Test%–%Verbal%Form%A

As%shown%on%this%slide%all%5%teachers’%personal%phonological%awareness%scores%improved.%At%this%9me%point%all%

teachers%have%reported%that%they%were%using%this%knowledge%within%their%teaching%in%ac9vi9es%as%well%as%the%

structured%phonological%awareness%ac9vi9es.%Un@videoed%classroom%observa9ons%suggest%that%the%teachers%have%

increased%explicit%phonological%awareness%teaching%across%the%curriculum%but%con9nue%to%have%some%difficul9es%

segmen9ng%words%accurately%outside%of%the%formal%PA%ac9vi9es.%

Children’s Phonological Awareness Scores

The%impact%of%the%teachers’%changed%teaching%prac9ces%on%the%children’s%literacy%results%are%just%being%assessed.%%to%have%above%average%language%skills,%a%typical%child%and%a%child%who%was%at%risk%to%be%reassessed%for%this%presenta9on%%As%you%can%see%on%this%slide%

children%who%came%to%school%with%good%language%skills%and%some%leSer%/%sound%knowledge%at%school%entry%has%made%steady%progress.

The%typical%children%trended%upwards%aZer%the%teacher%professional%development%at%week%10

%@The%at%‘risk’%children%with%low%language,%vocabulary,%phonological%awareness%and%leSer%knowledge%at%school%entry,%made%some%accelerated%progress%aZer%the%teacher%professional%development%at%week%10%but%the%progress%was%accelerated%by%the%explicit%classroom%programme%and%

coaching%beginning%at%week%20.%%

McCutchen,%and%Colleagues%2002%study%demonstrated%that%by%deepening%the%teachers’%own%knowledge,%teachers%can%use%that%informa9on%to%change%classroom%prac9ce%and%improve%student%outcomes.%As%possibly%shown%by%the%typical%child’s%results%on%this%slide%the%professional%

development%alone%was%able%to%improve%a%typical%child’s%phonological%development.%However%in%this%classroom%it%appears%that%the%at%risk%child%needed%the%teacher’s%changed%content%knowledge%as%well%as%the%and%the%explicit%class%programme%instruc9on%to%accelerate%her%progress.%

The%teachers%are%currently%assessing%children%@%%running%records,%wri9ng%samples%etc%in%prepara9on%for%monitoring%the%children%against%Na9onal%Standards.%They%have%all%noted%that%they%believe%there%have%been%posi9ve%shiZs%in%children’s%learning%in%their%classrooms.%When%discussing%

the%research%several%themes%have%emerged.%Having%their%own%knowledge%challenged%with%the%PA%test%and%the%discussion%about%how%their%exis9ng%prac9ce%may%be%impac9ng%on%children’s%learning%provided%mo9va9on%to%try%new%prac9ces%in%the%classroom%

–%hard%to%change%teaching%prac9ces%even%when%pedagogical%content%knowledge%had%changed.%At%9mes%the%teachers%said%they%found%it%difficult%not%to%become%defensive%about%their%teaching%

@Having%a%coach%helped%to%scaffold%the%teachers%ability%to%respond%to%the%diverse%needs%of%the%children%within%‘teachable%moments’.%One%teacher%commented%that%“I%have%done%things%like%this%before%but%not%as%explicitly%....I%didn’t%scaffold%the%learning%for%them%and%just%made%it%too%

hard.%I%can%see%why%some%children%struggled%and%just%didn’t%get%it.”%Carisle%(2011)%states%“%that%a%cri9cal%feature%of%success%of%a%professional%development%programme%is%it’s%impact%on%the%student’s%reading”.%All%5%teachers%have%informally%reported%that%there%has%been%a%posi9ve%effect%

on%reading%progress%–%in%the%lowest%decile%school%par9cipa9ng%all%but%one%child%is%mee9ng%the%Na9onal%Standard%for%Reading.%

@Integra9on%across%the%curriculum%

@The%children%really%enjoyed%playing%the%games

Resources

In achieving literacy, young children need writing to help them learn about reading, they need reading to help them learn about writing, and they need oral language to help them learn both.

the old debate has been about what comes first - reading or writing but now it is understood that the 2 are mutually ??It is oral language that provides a foundation for both - look at this picture...these children are using their voice with the add on of body language to communicate and convey their ideas, thoughts, story - we can call this oral literacy. For thousands of years legends and stories have been past down from generation to generation using little more than oral literacy

The purpose amd ways of doing literacy are as varied as the contexts - eg maths, arts, ICT

“The%limits%of%my%language%are%the%limits%of%my%universe”%%

%Johann%Wolfgang%von%Goethe%

Sometimes we need to be silent!