Oral language cannot be scripted; it is caught more than taught, acquired and inspired through a child's consistent interactions and conversations with those who are fluent in the language.

Lack of oral language development interferes with children's ability to read and write and succeed in school. Literacy expert Dr. Marie Clay, who developed the concept of Reading Recovery, wrote that oral language is both "a resource and a beneficiary" towards the goal of literacy learning. Oral language as a resource provides us with opportunities to use what we hear to make meaningful connections, and, as a beneficiary, it allows us to extend our knowledge and experiences.

Talk is the cornerstone of language and literacy development, and it must be practised. But children acquire a great deal of language indirectly as well as through direct instruction. For very young children their initial language utterances are tentative as they imitate and try out more and more language structures through successful interactions with more knowing others. We marvel at the initial attempts made by toddlers to communicate with us. We often repeat their requests, extending them, knowing they will imitate us. We support their early language attempts quite deliberately, knowing that numerous opportunities to use language; will help them develop proficient oral language.

Oral language development does not come under as much scrutiny as the age-old arguments about how reading should be taught. We just know that talking and more talking builds language. We know that children who have numerous opportunities to engage in talk and to hear stories have advantages in language development. It is certain that listening to stories expands the vocabulary. The speech of children who are used to "book language" is often rich and varied. In fact, many "well-read-to" young children speak in more complex sentences than children who have to rely on spoken language alone for their example.

So what does this tell us about the link between oral language and learning to read? Quite simply, the more children engage in hearing the language of stories, the more they are able to absorb and use vocabulary and language structures in their own speech. We also know that children who are actively read to will also try to read in the same manner as the adult reader and this further extends upon their fluency of oral language.

As parents and educators, we cannot leave this aspect of literacy development to chance. Every moment we can extend conversation and discussion with young children will develop their oral language and future literacy success.

It is important for parents and educators to spend time talking with children (not at them). There are key things to do to engage a child in meaningful conversation. Parents and educators can:

¦ Listen, wait for children to respond and not interrupt.

¦ Try to look at children face-to-face when talking with them and pay close attention to what they are saying.

¦ Show understanding and empathy and invite children to say more.

Adults can practise ways of engaging children and eliciting information from them beyond asking literal questions by learning to say: "Tell me more about that." "That's interesting. I didn't know that. Can you say more about it?"

Adults can also learn how to restate what children say, expand or add to their responses and use different words to clarify or brighten a conversation.

Adults can use wordless picture books, and illustrations from storybooks or posters to help children tell a logically sequenced story. The ability of children to look at three or four pictures and put them in order to tell a story in a logically sequenced way links language and literacy development.

Adults can also have children draw pictures and tell about their drawings. This lays the foundation for children learning how to organise information using language and pictures to not only tell a story but also to talk about what they may have learned in relation to content area subject matter.

Viewing of informational videos or television and interacting with children can develop meaningful conversations. This can promote children's vocabulary and comprehension and their ability to talk about content material.

Conversations with children can occur anywhere at any time. Without consistent parental support, the effect of what is done in school to help children acquire language and literacy is confined to the limited interactions that take place in a classroom. This is not enough to enrich oral language proficiency. A heavy emphasis on daily oral language activities both at home and at school is critical to the development of children as readers and writers.

Next Month Literacy Matters: My child is a level 10 reader-what does this mean?

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