How to build oral language skills…

…for early years students.

Hello all. Welcome to the 149th edition of TEPS Weekly!

Read the following sentence:

Teblin drepped mav nosset boxen, ro plimful rivet nifter glen.

Did you pronounce all the words correctly? Most probably, yes. That is reading fluency.

Did you understand what you read? Most probably, no. That is a lack of reading comprehension.

And this is exactly what we see in many kindergarten classrooms (and even primary classrooms) across the country – children who have either memorised common words like dog, sat, pin, the, for or have been taught letter sounds and so are able to read out words and even phrases and sentences fluently, but cannot answer questions like ‘What was this sentence about?’ or ‘Why did this happen?’. In short, they have not understood what they have read.

Reading fluency is a result of systematic phonics instruction and regular practice in decoding. [Learn about this with the TEPS mini course How Phonics Helps with Reading.] 

However, as we understood through the example, reading fluency is not enough. We also need to understand or comprehend what we read. Reading comprehension is a result of oral language development. In fact, both of the most important literacy skills in our education system – reading and writing – depend on oral language development.

What are the components of oral language development?

Oral language is not one single skill. It is made up of different parts that work together. 

1. Phonology – sounds in words

   • What it means: Being able to hear and use different sounds in words, like the difference between /bat/ and /pat/

   • How it supports reading and writing: Helps children match sounds to letters while reading and hear sounds clearly when spelling and writing words.

2. Morphology – how words change

   • What it means: Understanding how words change, like play, playing, played

   • How it supports reading and writing: Helps children understand word meaning while reading and use the correct form of words while writing sentences.

3. Syntax – how sentences work

   • What it means: Knowing how words come together in the right order to make a clear sentence.

   • How it supports reading and writing: Helps children follow meaning while reading and form complete, clear sentences when writing.

4. Content – understanding meaning

   • What it means: Understanding ideas and information shared through language.

   • How it supports reading and writing: Reading becomes about understanding the content, not just saying the words. Writing becomes about sharing ideas clearly.

5. Pragmatic – using language with others

   • What it means: Knowing how to use language when talking – taking turns, explaining, asking questions and responding.

   • How it supports reading and writing: Talking about ideas, experiences and texts builds comprehension. Explaining ideas aloud helps children organise their thoughts before writing.

When children do not yet have strong oral language, certain patterns begin to appear. For example:

• A child may read sentences accurately but struggle to explain what they have read. When asked questions like, “What was this about?” or “ What happened next?” they may give one-word answers or look unsure.

• During writing time, these children often copy sentences from the board instead of writing on their own. 

• When they do write independently, their sentences are usually short or incomplete, such as “Dog run” or “ I like”. Their writing may also rely on the same simple words like ‘big’, ‘good’ or ‘nice’ because they have a limited range of spoken words to draw from.

What are some strategies to build students’ oral language skills?

Oral language develops when teachers actively plan for and facilitate activities for the language component they are building and track how everyday talk supports reading and writing. The strategies below focus on the components of oral language and show how they can be strengthened through simple, everyday classroom interactions.

1. Play with sounds in spoken words – phonology

   • Learning outcome: Children can hear and say the first sound in a familiar spoken word.

   • What this looks like in classrooms: Teachers can draw attention to sounds during everyday moments. They say words slowly, stretch sounds and repeat them clearly. For example: During circle time, the teacher says, “I am thinking of a word that starts with /b/… ball. Can you think of another word that starts with the same sound?” Later, during writing, the teacher says, “Say the word sun slowly. What sound do you hear at the beginning? Now can you write the letter for that sound?” The teacher does not introduce pictures or written cues at first. The focus stays on listening, speaking and then writing. This helps children connect the sounds they hear in spoken words to the letters they read and write.

     
     

2. Talk about how words change – morphology

   • Learning outcome: Children can use simple word changes like ‘–ing’ or ‘–ed’ while speaking.

   • What this looks like in classrooms: Teachers model word changes in everyday talk and draw children’s attention to what changed and why.  For example: During play, the teacher says, “I am playING now. Yesterday, I playED. She then adds, “When I talk about what is happening now, I say –ing. When I talk about the past, I say –ed.” Teachers also draw attention to how words change meaning. For example: “This child looks happy. Now look at his face – he looks unhappy. We added un– and the meaning changed.” Children are not asked to memorise rules. Instead, they hear correct word forms repeatedly across stories, routines and play. This helps children recognise these word forms while reading and use them correctly when writing.

     
     

3. Model and build complete sentences – syntax

   • Learning outcome: Children can orally combine words into a clear, complete sentence using basic sentence structure.

   • What this looks like in classrooms: When children use short phrases, teachers expand them into clear sentences and invite children to repeat or try again. For example: During block play, the child says, “Tower fall.” The teacher responds, “Yes, the tower fell when you added another block.” The child hears how their idea sounds as a full sentence. The teacher may then invite the child to say the sentence again, or to try saying it in their own way. This keeps the focus on speaking in full sentences. These oral sentence-building moments happen during play, discussion and routines – long before children are expected to write independently.

     
     

4. Focus on meaning during talk – content

   • Learning outcome: Children can orally explain one important event from a story using their own words.

   • What this looks like in classrooms: After reading a story, the teacher does not rush to the next activity or ask children to repeat lines from the book. Instead, the teacher slows the conversation down and asks the child to talk about what actually happened in the story. For example, when the teacher asks, “Tell me one thing that happened in the story,” the child is encouraged to think about events, not words. If a child gives a short response like, “Boy run,” the teacher gently prompts further thinking by asking, “Why did he run?” or “What happened after that?” The goal is not a perfect answer, but helping the child put meaning into words. This practice helps children learn that reading is about understanding and explaining ideas, not just finishing a page. 

     
     

5. Create opportunities for back-and-forth talk – pragmatics

   • Learning outcome: Children can listen to a peer’s idea and respond with a related comment or answer.

   • What this looks like in classrooms: In many classrooms, children speak only to the teacher. So, the teacher must intentionally help children talk with each other. For example: During group discussion, when one child shares an idea, the teacher invites another child to respond to it. The teacher might say, “She said that the bridge fell. Who wants to add why it fell?”. In pair or small-group work, the teacher gives clear instructions such as, “Ask your partner what they built, then tell us what they said.” This helps children practise listening, responding and staying on the same topic. These back-and-forth conversations help children organise their thinking, which later supports both reading comprehension and planning ideas before writing.

In early classrooms, it is easy to focus on what children can read or write on paper. But real literacy begins much earlier – in conversations, stories, questions and explanations. Oral language is not an extra step before literacy. It is the base on which literacy stands.

---

If you found this newsletter useful, please share it.

If you received this newsletter from someone and you would like to subscribe to us, please click here.

Edition: 5.04