Speaking skills among young learners of English is so important. But how can your learners develop the skills they need to engage in authentic conversations? Or talk about contemporary topics? How can we instil the features of discussion right from the early years?
In this article, Dr Aynur Karakoç reflects on her recent research into how Oracy skills are delivered in primary schools. She looks at what oracy actually is in terms of a practical skillset and how hopes her findings may spark a few ideas for your classroom.
The importance of Oracy skills
Many parents are concerned about their children’s English-speaking abilities – the abilities to converse meaningfully in conversations. And in the age of AI – it could be argued that the ability to be able to have an authentic human conversation is more important than ever!
Here comes the help of Oracy, a skill that goes beyond the language we use. People with strong oracy skills are good at persuading others; they listen actively and are successful facilitators and collaborators.
Cambridge has included Oracy focus on their courses to support teachers with resources and learners with active learning that aims to improve their engagement and meaningful spoken discussion in class, such as the course Primary Path. A number of schools have been actively implementing oracy activities in their English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum. We recently carried out an impact evaluation study looked at teaching practices, challenges and students’ engagement with Oracy activities. What did we find out and how can this help teachers implement oracy in their classroom?
Project background
The study involved teacher interviews, lesson observations and a separate group discussion activity with 24 students (4 students per group). The teachers in this study, who had received training from Cambridge, were five EFL teachers teaching at primary schools in the Mexico City. The students were in Year 6 (11-12 years old), and most have learnt Oracy from Year 1. In the discussion activity, the student discussed this topic: “Kids cannot do anything to stop climate change. Think about this topic. Do you agree or disagree?”.
Teachers value Oracy skills
We found that teachers, in general, agree that due to oracy activities, speaking goes beyond a language only – and helps student become more confident and have respectful interaction. As one teacher put it:
Without oracy, it could be super difficult changing the input of the speaking, just like, “Oh, yes. Yeah, that’s it.” So nowadays, they are aware of what is happening around them, what is happening around the world, they are more aware of needs. “I need to speak out, yeah, but I do pay attention, and I never criticise what you are saying”. They are more aware that, “OK, it’s your opinion. I do accept it. However, I have a different one”.
The importance of effective teaching methodologies
We found that regular implementation of ground rules is a good reminder to students about the functions of oracy. Respecting others, taking turns and listening actively are a few examples what we witnessed in lessons that were a good reminder to students.
Another effective example was how teachers modelled answers and facilitated discussions, with effective monitoring and feedback. Often in lessons, students were asked to define and discuss active listening and communication. Some teachers were using real-life examples, other times students were practising conversation or discussion in front of a class, and the teachers were pointing out the features by also inviting the rest of the class to provide feedback or share what they have learnt.
Peer engagement is key
We also observed how “Talk detectives” provided a safe and respectful peer engagement with a teacher’s monitoring. The Talk detectives (peer students) were observing the other peers while discussing a topic and taking notes. They were not interrupting the activity. At the end of the activity the talk detectives were providing feedback, and the teacher was facilitating the rest of the students to respond to that feedback.
A different effective example was the use of videos where characters showed examples for good oracy versus bad oracy – which enabled students also notice the weaknesses in communications like not listening attentively, disrupting the conversation, not giving a full answer or not elaborating on their opinions.
Students’ engagement with oracy activities
The teachers all shared their experiences about how their learners have improved their core skills as well as oracy skills. One teacher explained:
They know how to follow instructions now, how to follow the rules. Some of them know how to read… Some of them didn’t read, some of them didn’t speak, some of them didn’t understand… I think they are better now.
In the student group oracy discussion activity, we observed all the participating 24 students effectively using their body language in the discussions, including:
- Making eye contact with peers
- Using hands
- Projecting a confident voice
Evidence from the student oracy discussion activity suggests that, in general, students showed high engagement in conversations, often asking questions and answering by giving reasons and examples. Also, the participants interacted respectfully, taking turns to speak and reinforcing shared values such as agreement and mutual support. When disagreements arose, students expressed their differing views confidently and without hesitation, suggesting that this small group setting fostered a sense of psychological safety and openness to diverse perspectives.
An example from student discussion:
Speaker 2: Yesterday, I was watching TV and the news said that kids couldn’t do anything to… stop the climate change. What do you guys think about that?
Speaker 1: I disagree because well, we are the next generation… And I think that now here in the present, we have a lot of technologies. So, in the future, we might have more technology that can help us to stop the climate change.
Speaker 3: I agree with [speaker], because children can have … more ideas than adults right now. Because I think children have more creativity than – are more creative than adults.
Speaker 4: I disagree with both of you…
And so on!
Conclusion
Overall, we found teachers value the oracy skills and see it as a holistic approach to speaking instead of only viewing it as a linguistic stand-alone activity. The activities show that the students were able to discuss their views on contemporary topics like Climate change. These skills such as leading discussions, inviting others to speak, summarising, and building on ideas, require repeated practice and tend to improve over time. This supports the view that oracy is a developmental skill, not acquired in a single lesson but through consistent, scaffolded practice (Mercer et al., 2017). And lastly what really made me feel proud was that schools using the Primary Path course we visited are now benefiting from a new initiative we set up called The Oracy Champions – which brings together educators from 21 schools into communities of practice, offering training and mentorship to support oracy-focused teaching, with early signs of strong engagement and long-term potential.
Oracy impact study was led by Dr Aynur Ismayilli Karakoç, Senior Impact Evaluator at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Mercer, N., Warwick, P., & Ahmed, A. (2017). An oracy assessment toolkit: Linking research and development in the assessment of students’ spoken language skills at age 11-12. Learning and Instruction, 48, 51-60.
Немає коментарів:
Дописати коментар