Second Language Oracy Development for Young Learners : Listening, Speaking and Thinking

This edited volume addresses the development of young language learners’ oracy which strengthens their abilities to speak and listen and use spoken language to deepen thinking and engagement with their world.  It offers theoretical and pedagogical perspectives on oracy development and proposes ideas for teaching listening, speaking and thinking in contexts. The book consists of four parts: (1) Research and pedagogical overviews, (2) Classroom practices for the teaching of oracy, (3) Technology for the teaching of oracy, and (4) Developing thinking through oracy. Collectively, the authors address the teaching and learning of oracy in classroom settings as well as teacher-scaffolded informal learning beyond the classroom. With concise chapters written by international scholars and practitioners, this book is a valuable reference for teacher educators, teachers, graduate students and language education researchers interested in oracy. It is both empirically- and practice- driven, informed by theories of oracy development and the authors’ own research and teaching experience. Although the discussions are mainly based on the teaching and learning of English, language educators and researchers of other languages may also find the theoretical and pedagogical perspectives in the book relevant. With its diverse global perspectives on developing oracy, this edited volume will contribute to current understanding of language development of young learners in a variety of second / foreign language and bilingual education contexts.

Dr. Christine C. M. Goh is President’s Chair Professor in Education (Linguistics & Language Education) at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Lancaster University and is an accomplished teacher educator, researcher and author with a strong interest in language learners’ oracy development and metacognition. Her work is characterised by a strong research/theory – practice nexus. Christine has published more than 100 articles in refereed books and academic journals and spoken at numerous international platforms. Her recent book publications are the second edition of “Teaching and Learning Second Language Listening: Metacognition in Action” (2022, with Larry Vandergrift, Routledge) and “Confident Speaking: Theory, Practice and Teacher Inquiry" (2024, with Xuelin Liu, Routledge). The latter is a follow-up of the popular “Teaching Speaking: A Holistic Approach” (2012, with Anne Burns, Cambridge University Press).

Dr. Robbie Lee Sabnani is Lecturer and Program Leader in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University Singapore. Her academic interests include speaking and listening, oracy skills and processes, metacognitive awareness in language learning and the development of teacher expertise. She manages the department’s suite of language enhancement and academic discourse skills courses, teaches on graduate and pre-service courses and supervises doctoral students. Robbie publishes on pedagogical practice and language education and contributes to theory and practice through invited keynotes and conference presentations. Her research includes publications with Cambridge University Press and Springer as well as international journals such as TESOL Quarterly and many others. Robbie has been conferred several awards in recognition of her outstanding research and teaching contributions. 

Dr. Willy A Renandya is Language Teacher Educator with extensive teaching experience in Asia. He has taught graduate level TESOL courses in numerous countries including China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. He currently teaches applied linguistics courses at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He has given more than 100 keynote presentations at international ELT conferences and has published extensively in the area of second language education. His publications include “Language Teaching Methodology: An Anthology of Current Practice” (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and “Student-centered Cooperative Learning” (Springer International, 2019), as well as numerous academic papers published in internationally recognized refereed journals such as System and ELT Journal. He also maintains a large online professional development forum called "Teacher Voices".