It is a useful tool for assessing students' development along a continuum of oral language growth as well as providing information about the competencies that students are expected to learn in second-fifth grades. On the continuum, descriptors list specific behaviors that detail students' development at particular ages or grades. The competencies list specific behaviors that students are expected to learn in second through fifth grade according to the 1999 North Carolina Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts. Second-Fifth Grades Oral language is the foundation skill that students bring to school. Although students come to school with different levels of competence in their speaking and listening abilities, they bring their oral language and experiences as strengths to future literacy learning.
Oral language is the foundation on which reading is built.
Students' oral language abilities are interwoven with learning to read and write. The oral language students acquire as young students helps them connect words and sounds with print. Throughout the school years, oral language is both a means whereby students learn about reading and is a goal of literacy instruction. Any competence that students develop in oral language pays dividends in their reading and writing development. Encouraging oral language in the classroom and at home is a continuing process.