Fundamental language abilities are needed for good communication in all areas of life. Speech is an important social skill and is a vital necessity in making relationships, expressing needs, beliefs and opinions. For each member of society speech and language is needed to provide a means of questioning, challenging and evaluating, language is needed to clarify our own thinking as it is often in verbalising that we learn to understand or arrive at a conclusion. With these needs in mind we set out below our goals for Oral language in the English Curriculum of St. Olaf’s.

Goals:
Our aim is that every pupil will leave St.Olaf’s with the ability to:

1. Listen attentively and respectfully to the views and ideas of others.
2. Confidently express, clarify and discuss thoughts, ideas and emotions in a clear and logical way.

The Context for Oral language in St.Olaf’s

Oral language will be approached through five principal contexts:
· Talk and discussion
· Play and games
· Story
· Improvisational dance
· Poetry and rhyme

Language Areas to be addressed:

· Receptiveness to language
· Competence and confidence in using language
· Developing cognitive abilities through language
· Emotional and imaginative development through language

Cross-curricular links

· The teachers in St. Olaf’s are very aware of the cross-curricular and integrative nature of Oral language. Oral Language can be taught informally across a range of subjects e.g. Nature / Environmental / Science / History / Geography / P.E. /
· Art /Craft / Religion /S.P.H.E.

Strategies for developing talk and discussion as a teaching methology.

· Open-end statements
· Brainstorming
· Circle work
· Agree or disagree
· Creating pictures and posters
· Debates, quizzes or soapbox
· Interviews
· Stories
· Poems
· Exploring a piece of music

Organisational Settings

The organisational settings will be varied and include:
· Whole class work
· Group work
· Pair work
· Individual work