Over the past few years, we have worked alongside Voice21 to develop oracy in order to transform teaching and learning at Stoke-on-Tern school. With the support of the Voice21 team, we have been working to weave oracy into all elements of school life.
What is oracy and why is it important?
‘Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.’ Voice21
Watch this short introduction to oracy.
We can think of oracy as consisting of four strands, which comprise the ‘oracy framework’:
Oracy can be thought of as both ‘learning to talk’ and ‘learning through talk.’ Both of these elements are prioritised at Stoke-on-Tern.
Teachers give vocabulary instruction high priority in all curriculum areas, equipping children with the language tools to discuss their learning as well as express their opinions and emotions. In this way, oracy increases children’s social, emotional and academic confidence.
Learning through talk, sometimes referred to as exploratory talk, is where children have the opportunity (with structured guidance and appropriate training) to explore and develop ideas together. This is the sort of talk which is useful for problem solving, developing ideas and reasoning together. Children follow agreed guidelines to ensure that this talk is productive.
Embedding oracy into our school life is an ongoing endeavour at Stoke-on-Tern. This academic year, we are going to be exploring and implementing Oracy talk tactics in class teaching. Click here to get a better view of talk tactics.
