Oral Language Skills and Reading Instruction: Teachers’ Carry-On Essential Knowledge

Think Forward Educators presents this essential webinar exploring the foundational role of oral language skills in reading instruction, featuring leading Australian researchers in the science of language and reading. Reading comprehension, as described by Nancy Hennessey, functions like a factory assembly line—drawing on a range of linguistic processes from word decoding through to inferencing and background knowledge. This webinar uses Hennessey's metaphor to examine word identification, vocabulary knowledge including morphology, syntax, figurative and idiomatic language, text-level comprehension, and the critical role of background knowledge. Presented by researchers from La Trobe University's Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab, including Distinguished Professor Pamela Snow and colleagues, this session provides educators with the carry-on essential knowledge they need to understand and support the language foundations of reading. Think Forward Educators is a community of over 30,000 teachers, school leaders, specialists, parents, and researchers united by the conviction that oral language and literacy skills are fundamental to all teaching and learning, and that the Science of Learning provides a clear roadmap for ensuring all students succeed.