	Listening is another receptive element of the language arts, and it is one of the first ones that any child does. Listening is defined as being more than hearing, but actually understanding and finding meaning in what is heard. From a very young age, children can make associations between what they hear and objects and actions. They will hear similar words and phrases repeated when viewing the same actions and objects, and they learn the connection through those experiences. If a child has a rich variety of experiences, they will learn a comparatively rich vocabulary, and they will be exposed to a wide variety of letter sounds. This gives them a rich foundation for the development of their own ability to speak those words, but also a foundation for the other language arts. As children become older, their listening skills move beyond merely understanding the words for simple objects or short, familiar phrases. Listening skills develop alongside speaking skills as children, especially as they reach elementary school, have to be able to carry on longer conversations, understand more complex instructions, and need to listen to teachers as they teach lessons. Their vocabulary continues to expand through experience, but also through more direct instruction and practice. Through social experiences, they also begin to recognize and interpret different tones and intonations, as well as the emotions of other speakers. They learn that not all spoken word is literal, there are also implied meanings and concepts they need to infer from spoken text, as well as issues like sarcasm and humor. 
	Speaking is an expressive language art, and it is also one of the first ones children learn. Speaking is closely connected with listening because when they are still very young infants, children learn that certain sounds, which are actually words, have meaning. They learn this from repeated experiences and from making associations. As they learn that their parents, siblings, or others are making these sounds to communicate, they try to emulate the process of forming sounds. The sounds might be meaningless at first, but their parents or others will respond differently whenever they use an actual word, and children learn from how people respond to them. If a parent becomes excited or happy in response to a real word being used, a child will learn from that experience. Over time, their ability to speak more words is learned in tandem with their listening skills, and the more experiences they have to listen to others, the better their speaking ability develops. As students reach elementary school, they will be able to or begin to be able to speak in longer, more complex sentences, particularly as their vocabulary develops through their increased interactions with others and due to instruction from their teachers. They will refine their speaking abilities as they learn grammar rules, and also learn about tone and intonation from experience. While infants just learning to speak may primarily speak about immediate needs or wants, elementary age students can speak about more complex emotions, beliefs, ideas, and thought processes. Teachers can greatly improve student’s communication and speaking skills by giving ample time for group work in their classes, including techniques such as think-pair-share where students have the time to think about what they’re learning and then share those ideas with their classmates, while also being exposed to their classmates’ ideas as well. 
