In classrooms across the country, talk is everywhere. From group discussion to teacher questioning, oral language is a constant feature of school life. But not all talk is equal – and when carefully designed with the curriculum in mind, it can be a powerful driver of literacy and learning.
Oral language approaches are about making the most of spoken language and verbal interaction for learning, which can include the use of purposeful, curriculum-focused dialogue.
Our latest podcast features teachers and leaders’ reflections on subject-specific talk in practice from the primary to 16 – 19 classroom.
Primary perspective
Shareen Wilkinson, Executive Director of education at LEO Academy Trust and education adviser and author, is keen to dispel a myth about subject-specific talk in the primary classroom:
‘One misconception [about subject-specific talk] might be that we’re replicating what’s going on in the secondary classroom in the primary. We’re not; we’re making sure that it’s age and stage appropriate. For primary pupils, it’s about understanding the vocabulary and the language structures within a particular discipline.’
Deepening disciplinary dialogue
When it comes to subject-specific talk in the secondary and 16 – 19, classrooms, vocabulary and language structures are also important: ‘The more we can do inter-disciplinary work together, the more our students will be able to use words powerfully and accurately,’ says Alex Fairlamb (Assistant Principal, Teaching & Learning) at Kings Priory School.
16 – 19 practitioner and Curriculum Area Leader for Science at Oldham Sixth Form College, Rachel Dixon, stresses the interplay between oral language, reading, writing and vocabulary instruction, ‘oral language is completely intertwined with everything that we do within the classroom.’ Integration within the curriculum is key, as Alex echoes, ‘isolated ‘talk-tasks’ can lead to learning activities which are not meaningful. We know that it’s the content that drives the lesson, not the task.’
All the practitioners shared a message about professional development in this area. Alex highlighted the value of CPD for subject leads: ‘quality, subject-specific CPD [can] empower middle leaders to be the driver of oral language in their department.’
If you’re thinking about developing subject-specific talk in your school, you might want to think about:
- Opportunities for teachers to model what effective talk sounds like in their subject, including highlighting language structures and vocabulary.
- Deliberately sequencing talk alongside (and integrating into) reading and writing tasks to give pupils opportunities to practise using new vocabulary and develop ideas before writing.
- Using sentence starters and prompts to help students to structure and extend their responses.