Supporting Student Oracy in English

At Branksome Hall Asia we are committed to supporting the development of each student’s English skills. As a school, we are specifically working toward the goal of increasing student oracy in English, so that every student can communicate, engage, collaborate, and negotiate with the broader English speaking world. In the Junior School, students are participating in rich learning experiences where they can practice using their oral language skills in meaningful ways. One such experience took place recently in Ms. Nelmes’ Grade 1 classroom where the students explored their Who We Are Unit of Inquiry.  During this unit, Ms. Nelmes’ goal was to have the students complete a piece of persuasive writing about their favorite fruit.  To accomplish this, she knew that the students would need to practice the use of describing skills to articulate their opinions. She structured her lessons so that students had ample discussion time to identify what it means to describe something and to practice using the language needed to describe an object. Ms. Nelmes scaffolded the learning experiences in an intentional way ensuring each child could be successful when it was time to write. 

The group also participated in a shared reading exercise about fruit and healthy food options. During this exercise students were encouraged to listen, read along, and engage in conversation about fruit with Ms. Nelmes. Subsequently Ms. Nelmes challenged the students to use their prior knowledge and apply it while working in small groups to discuss and write down descriptions of the size, color, shape, and taste of different fruits. The groups then took turns presenting their descriptions to the class. Ms. Nelmes validated and organized their ideas as they presented by writing them on the board. These types of oracy experiences support the students thinking, making the writing task more accessible to every child while improving their writing skills as well. 

Katie Lore
JS EAL Teacher