Adopting an integrated approach to oracy development in Singapore's primary classrooms

Listening and speaking play a significant role in language acquisition, learning, and development as they are the most used language skills and are thus, the main channel of classroom instruction. However, these literacy areas have been found to be largely neglected within language classrooms in primary schools despite the important role they play. Considering the influence oracy has on language development, this is less than ideal. The chapter therefore aims to highlight to teachers how pedagogical approaches to oracy development can be enacted in practice in the primary language classrooms. The chapter begins by introducing key theoretical underpinnings associated with oracy development because teachers need to comprehend how the cognitive processes involved in listening and speaking link to the activities used in the classroom. Pedagogical approaches applied to the context of teaching of listening and speaking in an integrated and explicit manner are then highlighted. This is important given the current syllabus emphasis on the development of communicative competence to be future-ready. The chapter concludes with recommendations and future directions on how an integrated approach can best be implemented in practice.