How does developing oral language skills benefit reading instruction?

Developing oral language skills significantly enhances vocabulary acquisition, which is a foundational aspect of effective reading instruction. When students engage in conversation and are exposed to rich language experiences, they are more likely to encounter and understand new words. This exposure helps them not only to recognize these words when they appear in texts but also to comprehend their meanings in various contexts.

As students develop their oral language abilities, they learn to use more complex sentence structures and improve their overall language fluency, which directly supports reading comprehension. A robust vocabulary allows for better understanding of the texts they encounter, furthermore, vocabulary growth is critically linked to reading success—students with a larger vocabulary can infer meaning from context and are more equipped to understand diverse reading materials.

In contrast, options that suggest encouraging silent reading, restricting interactions, or focusing on rote memorization do not effectively promote the depth of understanding needed for reading proficiency. Silent reading alone does not facilitate vocabulary growth as much as engaging in conversations and discussions, and rote memorization often lacks the context needed for meaningful learning.