Instructional/Scaffolded Conversations

“By about 10 years of age, children’s language skills contribute more strongly to their reading ability than their decoding skills. Thus, among fluent readers, one might argue that language is the basis for skill reading comprehension.”¹

Language develops over time. At the outset of language development, students’ environment plays a significant role in language acquisition.² As children enter formal schooling, teachers assume an imperative role in students’ linguistic development. The language used by practitioners affects the language learned and used by students.³ Practitioners also curate the environment and opportunities students’ learn within.

Classrooms are filled with conversation throughout the day. However, only a small portion of it can be considered dialogue, or multi-turn conversations.⁴ Structured opportunities for rich-dialogue can accelerate students’ language development, as students learn language by hearing it and using it.

Providing opportunities for extended discussion of text is an evidence-based practice to improve adolescent literacy through dialogue.⁵ Practitioners can also use the E⁵ method that seeks to:

• increase students’ exposure to advanced language through explicit instruction, modeling, and decontextualized talk
• Elicit student responses beyond single word utterances through the use of literal, inferential, and abstract questions
• Extend students’ utterances by building on what they said, adding more information using different linguistic structures
• Build a positive relationship with students’ to foster safe and engaging language-learning opportunities.