Language arts are subjects such as spelling, reading, composition and literature that at developing the learner’s capacity and comprehension for use of written and oral language.
Traditionally, the main divisions in the language arts are language and literature, where in this case, language refers to both specific languages and linguistics.
The American National Council of Teachers of English acknowledges that the five strands of the language arts are writing, speaking, reading, viewing or ‘visual literacy’ and listening.
Reading is the ability and knowledge of a certain language which allows the comprehension by grasping the meaning of printed or written characters, sentences or words. Reading therefore involves wide varieties of both print and non-print texts which can help a reader to gain a clear understanding of what he is reading.
Therefore, the reading of texts that are usually included in the education curriculum encompasses fiction, nonfiction, contemporary works and also classic.
On the other hand, composition can be defined as the combination of a distinct part or element to form a manner in which such elements are related or combined. In the language arts, examples of composition are:
The organization or structure of literature, the act or art of composing a literary work and a short essay, more especially the one which is written in an academic exercise like:
The expository essay, narrative essay, technical essay and persuasive essay.
A good teacher must also learners to find buddies with whom they can compare lectures and discussion notes later so as to see if they missed any crucial points that were made.
A good language arts teacher must advise students to find other opportunities to listen outside classroom and also watch educative television shows and movies as well as attending educative lectures.
An ideal language arts teacher must acknowledge that the quantity of a listening activity matters a lot. This means that, the more the learners listen, the better they become when it comes to comprehension.
As an optimistic teacher, it is imperative to expose for you to expose your listeners to a variety of speakers who are both native and non native as well as to a varieties of genres of speech which will include formal and informal interpersonal and academics.
Learners should be exposed to varieties of regional dialects, various accents of the speakers from different countries that speak English as well as the accents of second language learners from various countries (Hansen, A. 2010)
Learning activities must be meaningful and interesting and it should also be engaging so as to motivate the learners. The language art teacher must make sure that the learning activities are learner-centered. He must understand that when the language acquisitions are socially motivated and creative processes enhanced, they require high degrees of personal engagements.
Hansen, A. (2010): Teaching Language Arts to English Language Learners. Taylor and Francis UK
