Yvonne Haig

Communicative Competence in Oral Language Assessment

This paper reports on a review of the teaching and assessment of oral language in Western Australian secondary schools. Results show that teachers have considerable difficulty in incorporating oral language tasks into their pedagogy because of a curriculum biased towards developing writing skills. Teachers also revealed that they do not have the skills to assess oral language even though they acknowledge the importance of their students’ communicative competence both within the school environment and outside it. Students involved in the study were also aware of many weaknesses in their communicative competence and that these were not being addressed in the classroom.

Engaging Children in Reading for Pleasure: A Better Beginnings Project Linking Libraries with Primary Schools

Abstract The Hairytales of Heroboy programme was implemented in two communities, one metropolitan and one regional, in Western Australia in 2012. The programme, which targeted the reading skills of six- to nine-year-old children, aimed to encourage them to read for pleasure, to build their reading confidence and to improve their literacy skills. The programme was managed by librarians in each community who made contact with children in their local schools to encourage their participation. Teachers in the local schools were provided with Teachers’ Guides of activities to use which supported the work of the librarians. In the metropolitan setting, eight school sites and 28 students participated in the programme evaluation. In the regional setting, two school sites and nine students participated. A qualitative approach to gathering and analysing data was used in an evaluation of the implementation of the programme. This paper provides an outline of the delivery model used in each community and a summary of the perspectives of librarians, teachers, students and their parents/carers. It also provides a discussion of the range of issues that had an impact on the implementation of the programme in each community. The evaluation found the programme was engaging for the participants through the provision of interesting materials, and could have had greater impact if stronger partnerships between the libraries and the schools had been developed.

Better Beginnings: Public Libraries Making Literacy Links with the Adult Community

Abstract The Better Beginnings READ! 3 pilot initiative, conducted through public libraries in Western Australia, sought to engage adult readers who were either emerging readers or who had ‘lost the reading habit’ in a three month reading challenge. The challenge involved adult readers reading three items in three months and being rewarded for their involvement through certificates and prizes. In seeking to make contact with those adult readers, it was suggested that librarians or library officers make contact with various community groups or businesses, or with adults directly. This qualitative study examined how the initiative was implemented and promoted in three libraries and identified the range of issues that had impact on its implementation. The study collected data from participants at each site in two stages: during the implementation of the initiative; and at the conclusion of the initiative. The study found that librarians and library officers either acted as drivers, themselves, or needed coordinators of community groups to act as co-drivers to enhance the implementation of the initiative. Various issues at each site affected the implementation of the initiative and a consideration of these issues enabled this study to offer recommendations for future implementation of similar initiatives.