Speaking And Listening Skills Essay

Introduction
The research enquiry will focus on improving speaking and listening skills in a modern foreign language through the use of songs and rhymes when used with upper key stage 2 children. This teaching approach is being used as traditionally, songs and rhymes are used with children in the early years to reinforce learning and to help develop not only literacy, numeracy and communication skills (Miller, Cable and Devereux 2005 and Johnson 2015) but personal, social and emotional skills. However, as children progress through school, developing speaking and listening skills reduce as the focus shifts to becoming proficient readers and writers. With primary schools under immense pressure from the government and parents, as recent PISA results from the OECD (2014) show …show more content…
The research will therefore reintroduce using this method to learn back into the classroom in order to learn a second language with the main question assessing if songs and rhymes impacted on the speaking and listening skills of …show more content…
However, speaking and listening skills may not be regarded as important for older children especially as research by Nash, Lowe and Leah (2013) found that communication and language foundations are mainly laid in the early years. When children reach the end of key stage 2, they are assessed on reading and Spelling and Grammar, with no focus on speaking and listening, further highlighting the importance of other literacy skills. However, the DfES (2007) did release documentation which established how speaking and listening skills are imperative in later life. They say ‘the key to maintaining and progressing in employment is good speaking and listening skills.’ Furthermore, Ofsted (2013) show how older children can achieve in all areas of the curriculum by developing their speaking and listening