Second Language Oracy Development for Young Learners

This book addresses the development of young language learners’ oracy skills. It offers theoretical and pedagogical perspectives, and presents ideas for teaching listening, speaking, and thinking effectively in second language and bilingual contexts. It also emphasizes the value of young learners’ metacognitive awareness about their learning and shows how this can be incorporated into everyday classroom practices for oracy instruction. Collectively, the chapters offer theory-practice connections in the teaching and learning of oracy in classroom settings, as well as teacher-scaffolded informal learning beyond the classroom. It is both empirically- and practice-driven, and informed by rigorous theories of oracy development and the authors’ own research inquiry and rich experience. With its diverse global perspectives on oracy development, this book presents an important contribution to the literature on the language development of young learners. It also serves as an important reference for teacher educators, graduate students, teachers, and language education researchers.