Curriculum Guide for Spoken Language and Word Recognition Essay

Spoken language and word recognition are two language components that bear relevance for the development of language skills. This kind of development normally occurs during childhood but it also happens when a person attempts to learn a language or languages that are foreign to him or her. A special education guided with a comprehensive curriculum is important for the proper development and improvement of the individual’s language skills. Spoken language is a very important subject because it teaches the natural language used by a person. Most of the human languages are spoken languages. Spoken language is done through the mouth and the vocal cords that enable the person to speak and create a message which sets it apart from the sign language and written language which is carried out through signs and writing systems, respectively. The development of oral or spoken language normally occurs without formal teaching. It develops through exposure to the spoken language. The oral language is also the foundation of the reading and written language (â€Å"Spoken Language Problems†, 2000). People use the spoken language to express ideas, opinions and feelings. It is also utilized to confirm understanding of the instructions and opinions of other people. Individuals also learn to use the spoken language to interact and communicate with others (Cable, 2005). Word recognition is also an important part of the language development. It is the process of recognizing words automatically, the same way that people recognize familiar faces. Word recognition is vital in education because it enhances reading fluency and comprehension and skills that are essential in students’ education development and improvement. If students are taught of word recognition, they will easily understand the text’s meaning (Hong, n. d. ). Instructional Goals After taking this course, the student must; †¢ Acquire full understanding on the various facets of language. †¢ Learn how to speak and communicate fluently utilizing the spoken language. †¢ Learn how to easily recognize words in text. †¢ Show improvement on the following aspects: ? Language Proficiency ? Reading Skills ? Reading Comprehension Learning Activities There are various ways to teach the students of spoken language and word recognition. The two areas of the course will have their own learning activities to fully focus on the students’ needs in order to appropriately and properly learn the spoken languages and word recognition. Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities for Spoken Language In the area of spoken language, it is important to be always engaged in conversations in order to practice the communication skills and utilization of the language of the students. One way to make students practice their spoken language is through oral presentation. A good oral presentation involves the acquisition of the attention of your audience and careful planning of the topic to be presented (â€Å"Oral Presentation†, n. d. ). The students must choose a topic that they will present in class; however, the subject should still be within the prerogative of the teacher. Through the process of oral presentation, the students will be able to practice their spoken language and hone their communication skills, particularly, public speaking or speaking in front of an audience. The teacher can also make them present a well-researched topic that will hone their research skills. Another strategy of teaching the students the spoken language is to let them form in pairs or in groups and let them report on a particular topic. Through this process, it will enhance the friendly relationship among the students. It will also practice their spoken language by speaking in front of the class. The teachers, on the other hand, will need to model the forms and functions of spoken and written language, and provide opportunities for oral presentations as aforementioned so that the students can develop their understanding of how the language changes when it is presented in different ways and in different contexts (Cable, 2005). Furthermore, successful learning is highly dependent on the classroom social condition. The teacher must establish a place where students can minimize their inhibitions to interact with each other and to encourage them to perform really well in the classroom. Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities for Word Recognition In the area of word recognition, it is important to always encounter words, so reading is the primary source of new and unfamiliar words to the students. There are strategies that the mentor can employ to improve word recognition to students. In the classroom, the teacher can put a word wall of unfamiliar words encountered by the students. This will help the students to widen their vocabulary, at the same time teaching them of the correct spelling, definition, use and pronunciation of the word (Hong, n. d. ). The teacher can also initiate word games to the students. The words can be taken from the word wall and lie them face down on the floor. After the signal, the students will pick up a word and define it and use it in a sentence. Through this process, they will improve both their word recognition and spoken language. The teacher can also assign a reading material to the students every week to keep them reading in order to hone their reading skills and reading comprehension. Evaluation Techniques After a period of time, it is important to assess the performance and skills of the students to know if they are truly learning and improving. It is important to evaluate the skills of the students in utilizing techniques that will cover the various aspects of the course. One of the evaluation techniques that can be employed in evaluating the students’ learning in the area of spoken language is to make them recite and assess them using an evaluation form with the following criteria; †¢ Fluency †¢ Good pronunciation of words †¢ Accuracy †¢ Confidence speaking in front of an audience The teacher may also add other criterion that seems vital in evaluating the students’ spoken language performance. Every criterion will be rated with the usual grading system as a form of assessment. The evaluation of a student will be highly objective if the teacher will invite a school administrator and other students to also assess the student’s performance. This way, the instructor will have three perspectives in evaluating the student. Evaluating the skills in word recognition is quite easy than that of the spoken language area. The teacher can employ creative quizzes and exercises to assess the students’ skills in word recognition. Word search puzzles can be used, wherein they will look for the words and encircle them within the time limit. The teacher can also employ exercises utilizing the aforementioned learning activities such as the word wall. The teacher may jumble the letters of the word and ask the students to spell the words correctly. The cores on the quizzes and the exercises will reflect their improvement on word recognition. Resources In this course, books are not really important since these are aspects of language that are taught through interpersonal activities. However, pertinent sources of information where the teachers got their instructional materials should be mentioned to the students for them to cope on the lesson. Suggested Readings: Department for Education and Skills (DfES) & Qualifications Curriculum Authority (QCA). (2003). Speaking, Listening, Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2. Handbook. London : DfES Publications. Cambers, J. Ready, set, read. (2003). Tucson, Arizona: Zephyr Press. References Cable, C. (2005, October 2). Spoken Language. National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www. naldic. org. uk/ITTSEAL2/teaching/SpokenLanguage. cfm. Hong, S. J. (n. d. ). Word Knowledge: Sight Word Recognition. Literacy at School and Home. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://mason. gmu. edu/~cwallac7/TAP/TEST/knowledge/2. html. Oral Presentation. (n. d. ). English for Professional Communication. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://ec. hku. hk/epc/presentation/. Spoken Language Problems. (2000, April 20). KidSource Online. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www. kidsource. com/LDA/spoken_language. html.