Introduction

 __** INTRODUCTION ** __  ** What are the roles of a teacher? ** As teachers, we need to educate our students to speak, listen, read and write, all with clarity and comprehension. According to VELS (Victorian Essential Learning Standards, 2007) we should be "laying the foundations" of English for our students from prep to grade four. This wiki page is aimed at helping new teachers understand the concepts and theories involved with the stages of children's learning, and to recognize different approaches that can be taken to help students learn.

** What is language? ** According to Dennis O'Neil (2006), "language is unique in being a symbolic communication system that is learned instead of biologically inherited. Symbols are sounds or things which have meaning given to them by the users." For example, the English word "dog" does not in any way physically resemble the animal it stands for, but the meaning is assigned to its abstract form. O'Neil (2006) also states that language and speech is not the same thing. "Speech is a broad term simply referring to patterned verbal behavior. In contrast, a language is a set of rules for generating speech." It is important for teachers to recognize that we are not just educating children on the words in the English language, but also the meanings, how to use them appropriately, and to communicate effectively.

** What is literacy? ** It can be said that literacy involves “the integration of listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking; it incorporates numeracy. It includes the cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognize and use language appropriate to different social situations." (Government of South Australia, Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology).