I’ve been reading back over the history of oracy education in the UK and have picked up a copy of Talk for Learning and Teaching by Joan Tough (Schools Council Publications 1979). Four decades on, it still contains so much relevant and useful material. This paragraph, for example, really made me think:
“If we are to use talk as a means of supporting and extending children’s learning then we must select what we say with the same awareness and deliberateness as we would when we select and use other resources.”
Teachers often want to reduce their talk, but aren’t sure where to start. The above quote is a reminder that a game-changer for effective teacher talk is planning it.
Ready to make planned teacher talk your new habit? To take your talk to the next level, here are six questions you can ask yourself:
What specific phrases and vocabulary do I want to say?
What is my main question?
What proportion of the lesson do I want to be talking?
Can I make any of my points in a more concise way?
Which things do I not need to say?
Can I replace any of my talk with non-verbal signals or written instructions?
I’d love to know how you get on.
“…we may talk without considering the effect that our talk has on children.”
