Oral Communication: Listening To Students

"Through talk, students not only communicate information but also explore and come to understand ideas and concepts; identify and solve problems; organize their experience and knowledge; express and clarify their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Listening and speaking skills are essential for social interaction at home, at school, and in the community."    - The Ontario Curriculum: Language

The Oral Communication Strand
The Oral Communication strand has three overall expectations, which are outlined in The Ontario Curriculum. These three expectations are listed in the picture to the right. I find that this strand of the curriculum is extremely important as these expectations should also be met by teachers. It is important for students to meet these expectations and teachers can ensure this by harnessing their own oral communication skills.

Talk Nerdy To Me
A resource that I found extremely helpful is a TedTalk by Melissa Marshall called Talk Nerdy To Me. The focus of this TedTalk is communication and the need for great communication to teach students. One of the issues that Melissa talks about is the use of jargon. When teaching students, it is important to avoid jargon that they are not familiar with. Even if you have a student's full attention, they won't be able to understand you and respond appropriately.

Examples, stories, and analogies are ways to excite students. Let them learn through experiences and apply concepts to real world situations. Student's want to have fun in class, so let them talk about their experiences and give them an opportunity to address course concepts through personal stories.

Why Should We Listen To Student?
Listening to students allows them to open up. As Victor Rios points out in his TedTalk, we need to change the way we label young people from "at risk" to "at promise". Every child has the potential to change and promise to learn. "Students are like oysters. They open up when they are ready. If teachers aren't there when they are ready, they close back up". Oral communication is a skill that students have been developing for a long time. Teachers need to listen to what they have to say, pinpoint the interest of students and use oral communication as a gateway to learning the curriculum and life skills.

Debates in the Classroom:
Debates are not part of The Ontario Curriculum. In Debate: Where Speaking and Listening Come First, Dee Burek and Carol Losos point out that because debating can't be written down and graded, some schools will not allow time for it. Debating, however, is an excellent way to get students communicating ideas, opinions, and resources. It requires argumentation and refutation, skills that are not developed through classroom discussion.

Giving students the option to debate about something that interests them goes beyond developing their oral communication. It gives them the opportunity to explore resources, organize their ideas, form an appropriate perspective and address a specific audience. It is an activity that primarily focuses on oral communication, but requires skills that are addressed in the Reading, Writing, and Media Literacy Strand.

Overlapping Curriculum Strands
As I have looked at each strand within The Ontario Curriculum, I have become more aware of what each strand entails. I have noticed that while expectations differ within each strand, lessons can be made that tackle more than one strand. What we teach may be set in stone, but how we teach it is up to us as teachers. Creating fun and engaging activities that grab the attention of students is our goal as teachers. Students want their voice heard and oral communication is one way that students can get involved in the classroom while meeting expectations in several strands of the language curriculum of Ontario.