Which statement describes the relationship between oral language development and literacy?

• A. Literacy skills develop independently of oral language.
• B. Activities that promote good oral language skills also improve literacy skills.
• C. Oral language has no impact on reading comprehension.
• D. Literacy is solely dependent on phonics training.

Answer: (B)

Oral language skills and literacy grow together. When students build a richer vocabulary, better grammar, and more fluent conversational discourse, they gain the language knowledge that underpins reading comprehension and writing. Engaging in conversations, storytelling, and explicit vocabulary and syntax instruction helps students understand and use language more effectively, which directly supports decoding easier and understanding what they read, as well as expressing ideas in writing. In practice, activities like dialogic reading, discussion of texts, and vocabulary-rich talk promote literacy because they strengthen the very language foundations readers and writers rely on. Literacy is not just about phonics or decoding; without strong oral language, comprehension and expression in reading and writing are limited.