Belief before strategy

More important than any classroom oracy strategy is the belief or attitude of the educator.

I’m increasingly observing this, and think that there are two critical beliefs with regard to oracy:

• Belief that every child, regardless of their starting point, can improve their oracy skills.

• Belief that learning through talk, when done well, is incredibly powerful.

This belief, and using just one or two oracy strategies, will have so much more impact than using 20 oracy strategies without the belief!