How often do we encourage students to talk in class? Do they talk because they are told to do so or do they want to talk because they know that talk can help them learn and develop as a person? In this paper I will discuss the primacy of talk in learning and why it is important that students develop the skills to talk to one another during lessons in constructive and exploratory ways. I will suggest why such kinds of meaningful talk do not occur naturally amongst students even though they may be fluent in the language of instruction. I explain why teachers need to teach students how to talk in ways that can engage them cognitively and affectively, and will focus particularly on students talking in small groups. As many schools and institutions of higher learning today have a sizeable number of students who do not have the language of instruction as a first language, I will also suggest what language teachers can do to prepare second language learners for engagement in the subject classroom. This paper is principled on the concept of oracy (Wilkinson 1965; Barnes 1988), which foregrounds the interrelated roles of speaking and listening in developing language competence and capacity for thinking and learning.
How often do we encourage students to talk in class? Do they talk because they are told to do so or do they want to talk because they know that talk can help them learn and develop as a person? In this paper I will discuss the primacy of talk in learning and why it is important that students develop the skills to talk to one another during lessons in constructive and exploratory ways. I will suggest why such kinds of meaningful talk do not occur naturally amongst students even though they may be fluent in the language of instruction. I explain why teachers need to teach students how to talk in ways that can engage them cognitively and affectively, and will focus particularly on students talking in small groups. As many schools and institutions of higher learning today have a sizeable number of students who do not have the language of instruction as a first language, I will also suggest what language teachers can do to prepare second language learners for engagement in the subject classroom. This paper is principled on the concept of oracy (Wilkinson 1965; Barnes 1988), which foregrounds the interrelated roles of speaking and listening in developing language competence and capacity for thinking and learning.
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