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Filologiya məsələləri, 2017 
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of literacy, for the development of comprehension skills. The ability to read 
and comprehend text will have a bearing on students’ learning in every 
curriculum area. 
The extent to which students can construct meaning from text will 
depend, in great measure, on the quality of language they already possess 
and the level of their awareness of the nuances of words and phrases. 
However, the students’ understanding of what they read can also be 
developed and extended through discussion. Through the writing process the 
teacher can consistently guide students towards appropriate forms of 
language and develop their sense of language awareness to the point where 
they can choose independently the language best suited to the particular 
writing task. As a model for the students, the teacher should be conscious of 
the importance of his/her own use of language and of the significance of 
such factors as clarity of diction, tone of voice, facial expression and gesture. 
It is important that students experience challenging vocabulary and sentence 
structure. The teacher will also enhance the students’ language development 
by consistently drawing their attention to new words and new meanings of 
words they already know. The interaction of the teacher and the students is 
an essential feature in enhancing students’ language awareness. Through 
questioning, prompting and suggesting the teacher can expand students’ 
vocabulary, enable them to use language more accurately and expressively, 
and deepen their appreciation of its communicative power. This interaction 
will occur in every curriculum area, so that the development of students’ 
language awareness will be a factor of their total learning experience. The 
student needs to develop the appropriate language needed to perform the 
common social functions such as greeting, asking questions, saying goodbye 
and expressing appreciation and sympathy. Through the teacher’s example, 
prompting and guidance, students will develop a sense of how to use 
language appropriately. As students get older, more structured and formal 
contexts for developing the appropriate use of language will need to be 
created. These contexts could include debates, presentations and 
interviewing interesting people. 
As an interactor with the students it is the teacher who creates the 
general context for oral language activity. This is done in two ways: 1) by 
ensuring the desired quality and variety of stimulation in the form of ideas 
and topics. The student’s experience, in and out of school, is the natural 
starting point but this, of itself, is not sufficient. The elements of content in 
the curriculum indicate the variety of stimuli needed for a comprehensive 
oral language program; 2)  by creating and facilitating the organizational 
structures in which talk can take place. These will vary with the nature and 
function of the activity but will consist of the various permutations of whole-

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Filologiya məsələləri, 2017 
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class, group and one-to-one talk and discussion. Whatever the format being 
used, the teacher has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the talk is directed 
in the most effective way. In a whole-class context, while the teacher will 
help to give the most productive direction to the discussion, the students 
should be encouraged to make the major contribution. In group and one-to-
one discussion, the teacher can move from group to group prompting, 
questioning and suggesting in order to ensure that the maximum learning 
potential is derived from the particular activity or topic. A group might 
choose a spokesperson who would report back to the class and this, in turn, 
might furnish the basis for further whole-class discussion. Improvisational 
drama should be an essential element of oral language activity. Through 
drama, students can explore ideas, feelings, characters, actions and reactions 
in a way that frees them from the constraints of their immediate context and 
inhibitions. It can also help to create the contexts in which more formal 
social functions can be learned and practiced. It is a teaching medium which 
can be used in many areas of the curriculum. 
Much of the character and power of the English language is the result 
of the influence of other languages in the course of its development. This has 
given an enormous richness and expressive power to the language. In its turn 
English has influenced other European languages, especially in modern 
times. It is important that students, particularly in the later stages of the 
school, are made aware of these connections. The curriculum is quite 
specific in this regard. It states that the student should be enabled to discuss 
the meanings and origins of words, phrases and expressions with the teacher. 
It is important, therefore, that students have the regular experience of 
examining the origins and history of words. This will not only increase their 
awareness of language but extend their knowledge, since both culture and 
history are reflected in the origins of words and the course of their 
development. There is an obvious point of integration here with the history 
curriculum.  
Oral language activity can be approached through five principal 
contexts: 1) talk and discussion; 2) play and games; 3) story; 4) 
improvisational drama 5) poetry and rhyme. In the classroom, talk and 
discussion should be characterized by a relaxed atmosphere of informality 
which masks a well-thought-out approach to the language needs of the 
students. This will consist in providing a range of contexts and strategies in 
which appropriate language skills can be acquired. For example, students’ 
reading, both in English and in other curriculum areas, will frequently 
provide a valuable basis for talk and discussion. In learning to initiate and 
sustain conversations in these various contexts students need to develop an 
understanding of their role as speakers and listeners. They need to have 

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