Abstract Many refugee students come from traditionally oral cultures, where reading and writing have little or no impact. This situation is not simply illiteracy; scholars instead call it “orality.” Orality is widespread, as even countries that report widespread literacy often have populations that function mostly orally. Scholars claim that literacy transforms human thinking and consciousness, and that people who are illiterate think and learn in ways that often sharply contrast with literate ways. This paper summarizes research on orality, posits some of its implications for pedagogy, and presents the challenges and assets of orality in the ESL classroom.
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