Oral Language - ANSWER speaking and understanding spoken words. Oral language skills
allow individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions and comprehend others. It
plays a crucial role in literacy.
Reading stories aloud contributes to the development of oral language skills
Phonological Skills: An awareness of sounds (syllables, onset-rime)
Pragmatics: Understanding communication rules (social)
Semantics/vocabular: Understanding word and phrase meanings
Morphological Skills: understanding word parts and their meaning
Syntax: understanding sentence structure and grammar rules
Phonology - ANSWER the study of the sound structure of spoken language and is one of
the five components of oral language.
Understanding phonology supports the development of phonological awareness and is a
component of early literacy and language development.
Phonemes - individual speech sounds
Graphemes - letters or letter combinations that represent phonemes
Classification of Speech Sounds (4) - ANSWER Vowels: sounds that are produced without
closing the vocal tract
Diphthongs: two vowels in the same syllable that "glide" from one vowel sound into another
(e.g., oy in boy)
Semivowels: the consonants y and w, which may also act as vowels in some instances (e.g., -
ay, -ow)
Consonants: sounds produced through a partially or completely closed vocal tract
1
,Place of articulation - ANSWER where the sound is produced in the mouth and how
different parts of the vocal tract interact with the produced sound.
Manner of articulation refers to how the airflow is restricted or affected during the
formation of the sound:
Stop Sounds: consonant sounds in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow stops.
Fricatives: Consonants produced when the air moving through the mouth creates audible
friction
Nasals: consonants produced when air moves through both the nose and mouth in the
production of the sound
Affricatives: combination between stop sounds and fricatives
Voicing: how the vocal cords react (vibrating or remaining open)
Unvoiced sounds: occur when the vocal cords remain open and do not vibrate
Voiced sounds: can be categorized as a continuant or non-continuant sound
Continuant Sounds: spoken through a fixed configuration of the vocal tract (vowel sounds,
fricatives, nasals)
Non-continuant sounds: produced as the vocal tract changes over the pronunciation of the
sound (diphthongs, simivowels, stop sounds, affricatives)
Morphology - ANSWER Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of language that
have meaning. A single word or letter may be a morpheme (e.g., I, the, apple, basket, -s, -y),
or words may be formed by combining multiple morphemes such as roots, bases, and
affixes.
Morphology includes word parts like roots and affixes and various word endings that make a
word change in number or part of speech
Examples:
Coffee+maker=coffeemaker
Run+ing=running
Semantics - ANSWER the meaning system of language. Semantics is what attaches
meaning to the sentence and ensures it makes sense. The sentences below both use correct
syntax; however, only one makes sense, which is semantics.
2
,Ashley went to the (noun).
Ashley went to the concert. (correct)
Ashley went to the noodle (incorrect)
Syntax - ANSWER refers to how words are combined to form meaningful sentences.
Understanding the syntax may continue developing along with understanding complex
language and language structures.
Example: Dog go=The dog goes outside.
subject+verb+object
Basic rules:
Complete sentences generally contain both a subject and a predicate.
The subject is always a noun or pronoun.
The predicate must have a verb.
Example:
Ashley went to the concert. (correct-noun)
Ashley went to the singing. (incorrect-verb)
Pragmatics - ANSWER Pragmatics refers to the social rules and conventions that guide
how language effectively communicates with others in a given situation. It involves
understanding the definitions of words and how context and tone may affect their meaning.
Instructional Strategies-developing oral language skills - ANSWER Instructional
approaches:
Leading students in guided discussions
Encouraging students to produce oral narratives
Asking students to retell stories
Introducing and modeling the use of key or subject-specific vocabulary
3
, Interactive read-alouds
Activities that support oral language use:
Dramatic play
Text-based discussions
Reciprocal teaching
Socratic seminars
Think-alouds or verbalizing thinking
Social interactions and relationships:
Promote Peer Collaboration
Group projects and partner work create authentic opportunities for communication.
Encourage respectful listening and turn-taking skills.
Foster Relationships with Adults
Model active listening and responsive dialogue in teacher-student interactions.
Use open-ended questions to extend conversations (e.g., "Why do you think that
happened?").
Celebrate Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
Encourage students to share experiences and languages from home.
Use multicultural books and materials to reflect diverse backgrounds.
Ways to Observe:
Observe in Various Contexts
Assess during structured activities (e.g., presentations, group discussions) and unstructured
interactions (e.g., recess, free play).
Use Checklists and Rubrics
Evaluate specific skills, such as vocabulary use, sentence complexity, and conversational
turn-taking.
Record Language Samples
4
allow individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions and comprehend others. It
plays a crucial role in literacy.
Reading stories aloud contributes to the development of oral language skills
Phonological Skills: An awareness of sounds (syllables, onset-rime)
Pragmatics: Understanding communication rules (social)
Semantics/vocabular: Understanding word and phrase meanings
Morphological Skills: understanding word parts and their meaning
Syntax: understanding sentence structure and grammar rules
Phonology - ANSWER the study of the sound structure of spoken language and is one of
the five components of oral language.
Understanding phonology supports the development of phonological awareness and is a
component of early literacy and language development.
Phonemes - individual speech sounds
Graphemes - letters or letter combinations that represent phonemes
Classification of Speech Sounds (4) - ANSWER Vowels: sounds that are produced without
closing the vocal tract
Diphthongs: two vowels in the same syllable that "glide" from one vowel sound into another
(e.g., oy in boy)
Semivowels: the consonants y and w, which may also act as vowels in some instances (e.g., -
ay, -ow)
Consonants: sounds produced through a partially or completely closed vocal tract
1
,Place of articulation - ANSWER where the sound is produced in the mouth and how
different parts of the vocal tract interact with the produced sound.
Manner of articulation refers to how the airflow is restricted or affected during the
formation of the sound:
Stop Sounds: consonant sounds in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow stops.
Fricatives: Consonants produced when the air moving through the mouth creates audible
friction
Nasals: consonants produced when air moves through both the nose and mouth in the
production of the sound
Affricatives: combination between stop sounds and fricatives
Voicing: how the vocal cords react (vibrating or remaining open)
Unvoiced sounds: occur when the vocal cords remain open and do not vibrate
Voiced sounds: can be categorized as a continuant or non-continuant sound
Continuant Sounds: spoken through a fixed configuration of the vocal tract (vowel sounds,
fricatives, nasals)
Non-continuant sounds: produced as the vocal tract changes over the pronunciation of the
sound (diphthongs, simivowels, stop sounds, affricatives)
Morphology - ANSWER Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of language that
have meaning. A single word or letter may be a morpheme (e.g., I, the, apple, basket, -s, -y),
or words may be formed by combining multiple morphemes such as roots, bases, and
affixes.
Morphology includes word parts like roots and affixes and various word endings that make a
word change in number or part of speech
Examples:
Coffee+maker=coffeemaker
Run+ing=running
Semantics - ANSWER the meaning system of language. Semantics is what attaches
meaning to the sentence and ensures it makes sense. The sentences below both use correct
syntax; however, only one makes sense, which is semantics.
2
,Ashley went to the (noun).
Ashley went to the concert. (correct)
Ashley went to the noodle (incorrect)
Syntax - ANSWER refers to how words are combined to form meaningful sentences.
Understanding the syntax may continue developing along with understanding complex
language and language structures.
Example: Dog go=The dog goes outside.
subject+verb+object
Basic rules:
Complete sentences generally contain both a subject and a predicate.
The subject is always a noun or pronoun.
The predicate must have a verb.
Example:
Ashley went to the concert. (correct-noun)
Ashley went to the singing. (incorrect-verb)
Pragmatics - ANSWER Pragmatics refers to the social rules and conventions that guide
how language effectively communicates with others in a given situation. It involves
understanding the definitions of words and how context and tone may affect their meaning.
Instructional Strategies-developing oral language skills - ANSWER Instructional
approaches:
Leading students in guided discussions
Encouraging students to produce oral narratives
Asking students to retell stories
Introducing and modeling the use of key or subject-specific vocabulary
3
, Interactive read-alouds
Activities that support oral language use:
Dramatic play
Text-based discussions
Reciprocal teaching
Socratic seminars
Think-alouds or verbalizing thinking
Social interactions and relationships:
Promote Peer Collaboration
Group projects and partner work create authentic opportunities for communication.
Encourage respectful listening and turn-taking skills.
Foster Relationships with Adults
Model active listening and responsive dialogue in teacher-student interactions.
Use open-ended questions to extend conversations (e.g., "Why do you think that
happened?").
Celebrate Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
Encourage students to share experiences and languages from home.
Use multicultural books and materials to reflect diverse backgrounds.
Ways to Observe:
Observe in Various Contexts
Assess during structured activities (e.g., presentations, group discussions) and unstructured
interactions (e.g., recess, free play).
Use Checklists and Rubrics
Evaluate specific skills, such as vocabulary use, sentence complexity, and conversational
turn-taking.
Record Language Samples
4
