It’s the word that schools are buzzing about, but is more than just a buzzword. The importance of the spoken word has never been in doubt, but finally educators and the government are giving it pride of place in the classroom. The recent Oracy Commission Report is calling for it to become the 4th ‘r’, alongside literacy, numeracy and writing. The etymology of the word is rooted in giving it status. The word was created by Andrew Wilkinson in the 60s in order to elevate the status of the spoken word, and rightfully so. It is the number one way that we communicate with others, so we HAVE to teach our young people how to do it effectively.
So, how do we make oracy a meaningful part of our curriculum and education for you young people? Well, there is lots of support out there for educators at the moment. With the new government’s pledge to do more for students’ oracy and communication skills, there are lots of useful strategies, charities and articles to read about this topic. Here at Creative Oracy our aim is to make that process easier for educators with practical teaching strategies to use in the classroom, alongside up-to-date articles on the oracy movement in education.
Here are some suggestions for the first steps you can take to introduce oracy to your school, department or Trust in a meaningful and effective way:
Step 1: Identify what you want oracy to look like in your educational setting. What skills do you want your young people to have in place when they leave you? Sometimes a short vision for oracy can be helpful.
Step 2: Create an action plan: what do you want to see grow, change, develop, and who is going to be responsible for this?
Step 3: Introduce oracy to your team, staff, students, parents, wider community. It’s not a commonly known or used word (although I feel that this will change over the next few years). People need to know and understand what it means for your educational setting.
Step 4: No time like the present: Begin using oracy in the planning and teaching of your lessons. Teach oracy explicitly and plan it explicitly. Use some of our teaching tips to get you started.
Step 5: Monitor and develop: use student,staff, parent voice surveys to monitor the oracy implementation. Listen to feedback and adjust accordingly.
This 5 step process is just the foundation. You can flesh these out and build on this, but most important is that you make it relevant for your educational setting.
What if staff reject it? You may experience some push back from staff, mostly due to time; there’s never enough time. The important thing is to reassure people: it’s not about making more work, it’s about adapting HOW we work. For example, planning of lessons should have oracy at the centre and build the content in. We aren’t teaching them any less, they won’t have less time for content coverage, they will simply be learning it in a more varied and (arguably) more engaging way. The research is showing that teachers and educators welcome this oracy movement, they just want more support on how to achieve it successfully.
What if students reject it? This is very unlikely. Students themselves are recognising the importance of finding their voice. They want to be heard. The research suggests that for a huge proportion it is their preferred way to learn. Afterall, if you’re able to explain it verbally, you’re more likely to be able to write it clearly. Our students are struggling in the post pandemic world: struggling socially, emotionally and academically. Having oracy skills will empower them, and ultimately make them feel ‘good’. The phrase: ‘It’s Good to Talk’ has never been more true.
