Oracy Isn’t Just Speaking Up: What Good Classroom Talk Really Looks Like

Oracy might be getting more attention in education at the moment, but the idea behind it will already feel very familiar to primary teachers. It is simply the speaking, listening and communication that happens in your classroom every day.

It is there when a pupil explains how they solved a maths problem, asks a thoughtful question in science, listens carefully to somebody else’s opinion, or finds the words to disagree respectfully. These are all examples of children using communication to think, learn and take part.

Good oracy is not necessarily about getting children to talk more. It is about helping them to talk with more purpose and to understand that communication involves much more than simply having an answer ready.

It’s what happens between the answers

In every classroom, there are usually a few pupils who are quick to put their hands up. They are ready with an answer before you have quite finished asking the question and their confidence makes them very visible during whole-class discussion.

However, good classroom communication involves much more than answering quickly or speaking confidently. It is also about how pupils listen to each other, explain their thinking and respond to different ideas.

We want pupils to learn how to:

• Listen carefully to what somebody else is saying, rather than simply waiting for their own turn to speak
• Ask relevant questions that help them understand an idea more clearly
• Explain what they think and why they think it
• Give reasons and evidence to support their ideas
• Build on another pupil’s contribution rather than starting a completely separate conversation
• Disagree respectfully when they have a different viewpoint
• Change, refine or develop their thinking after listening to somebody else

These skills are reflected across UK curricula, with speaking, listening, questioning, explaining ideas and responding to others all recognised as important parts of children’s language and communication development.

What about the child who doesn’t put their hand up?

This is where it is important not to confuse confident speaking with good communication. We all know pupils who understand the lesson, have thoughtful ideas and could give a strong answer, but rarely volunteer to speak in front of the whole class.

Some children simply need more thinking time before they feel ready to contribute. Others may communicate far more confidently with a partner or in a small group than they do in front of 30 classmates. For some pupils with SEND, communication may also include sign language, visual support or Augmentative and Alternative Communication rather than spoken language alone.

An inclusive approach to oracy therefore needs to give pupils different ways into the conversation. If we only notice the quickest hands or the most confident voices, we risk overlooking children who are communicating well in less obvious ways.

Something as simple as asking pupils to jot down their idea on a reusable whiteboard before sharing can give them valuable thinking time. Sentence starters and visual prompts can also help pupils organise what they want to say before they say it.

It is equally useful to think about what we praise. If recognition only goes to the child who gives the correct answer, pupils may quickly get the message that speaking successfully is all about being right. By also noticing great listening, thoughtful questions, clear explanations and respectful responses, we can reinforce the idea that every part of communication matters.

That is where PTS resources can offer some practical support too. Reusable whiteboards can be used for think-before-you-share activities, while rewards for great listening, questioning, explaining and contributing can help teachers recognise the wider range of skills involved in good classroom talk.

Why now?

Oracy is set to become more visible in primary education. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government has committed to developing a new primary oracy framework in England, designed to give teachers evidence-based guidance for developing and formatively assessing pupils’ speaking and listening.

That does not mean teachers suddenly need to find space for another large initiative or add another subject to an already busy timetable. In many cases, the most useful starting point is simply to look more closely at the conversations already happening in the classroom and consider how they could become more purposeful, more inclusive and more balanced.

Good oracy can grow through small, everyday habits. It can happen in the way we structure partner talk, the questions we ask, the time we give pupils to think and the types of communication we choose to notice and praise.

So, next time you ask your class a question, take a moment to consider:

Who gets heard most often in your classroom… and who might need another way in?