Head First Into Oracy
By George Vlachonikolis and Rebecca Hawkes
A look at what Headington Rye are doing to foster meaningful dialogue in the classroom.
In May’s issue of the magazine, Andy McHugh asked the question: “Are we doing Oracy now then?” Fast-forward a few months and Headington Rye School, Oxford is most certainly doing it – oracy even has its own serial on our school development plan (SDP). In response, as the Assistant Head (T&L) and Head of Middle School, we are looking to create opportunities for students to engage in meaningful dialogue in the classroom.
Oracy in teaching
- The high-profile “oracy in the curriculum” collaboration between School 21 and the University of Cambridge took place over a decade ago.
- John Hattie has been advocating for “teaching strategies with high-quality student talk” for nearly two decades.
- Socratic dialogue methods date back two millennia.
As Andy pointed out, there appears to be a growing political momentum behind this initiative. One might wonder why this is happening now; the benefits of oracy to learning have been well publicised for a long time (see text box). What may have changed in 2024, however, is a growing sense of urgency. Employers are becoming increasingly vocal about their desire for school leavers to possess essential EQ skills, with communication skills ranking among the most sought-after. Without these competencies, students risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive job market. Furthermore, education experts like Tim Oates have recently called for enhanced oracy in schools to foster a stronger sense of school-connectedness – a crucial factor in wellbeing as well as academic success.
In our respective roles, we both welcome this shift and firmly believe that a strong emphasis on oracy can lead to better outcomes. This approach aligns with Vygotskian socio-constructivist theories, which emphasize the vital role of social interaction in cognitive development. When students are engaged in a rich oracy environment, they not only articulate their thoughts but also refine their understanding of language structure, vocabulary and argumentation. This process ultimately enhances their ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and persuasively. But even without Vygotsky’s 50,000 words of academic justification, working to improve oracy in the classroom just feels right. Phil Beadle wrote much the same thing in a recent blog post:
What I do know, as a teacher of English with twenty-five years experience, is that there is a feedback loop between speaking and writing: get better at speaking, you get better at writing, and, more counter intuitively, get better at writing and you get better at speaking; so it makes sense to me to be very careful with forms of spoken expression in a classroom[1].
[1] https://philbeadle.com/Oracy-Labov-and-Linguists/34/
One of our primary concerns at Headington Rye School is how to minimize the perceived threat associated with oracy. If students view the classroom environment as intimidating—whether due to fear of judgment, embarrassment, or failure—their cognitive engagement decreases. Vygotsky’s work highlights that anxiety can compromise students’ ability to participate in meaningful dialogue, leading to a vicious cycle: anxiety hinders participation, which, in turn, stifles cognitive growth. When students perceive engaging in oracy as daunting, their cognitive engagement—the very thing we aim to improve—diminishes.
So, what can we do? We must create a safe environment and build trusting relationships that encourage verbal participation in class. Here are some practical strategies we propose to our teachers:
- Start small. Use think-pair-share activities and small-group discussions while circulating around the classroom. Listen to students’ conversations and how they articulate their thoughts. It’s particularly important to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their oracy skills without interrupting their flow in the moment. Afterward, provide whole-class feedback on areas for improvement. For example, we both try to encourage our students to use complete sentences, avoiding one-word responses and fillers like “like” and “you know.” In class, one might say, “many of you expressed your ideas clearly. Let’s work on using complete sentences. Instead of ‘It’s cool,’ try, ‘I think this aspect of the story is interesting because…’”
- Share Insights: If you hear a valuable comment or identify a common misconception during discussions, consider asking the student for permission to share it with the wider class. For instance, you might say, “I really liked what you shared about the character’s motivations. Would you be okay if I shared that with the class?”. This practice not only validates the student’s contribution but also enriches the learning experience for everyone. In bringing the class back together, you might then say, “before we move on, I’d like to share an interesting point that Maya made during our discussion about the novel where she … Maya, would you like to add anything else?”
- Identify Growth Opportunities: Pay attention during discussions when students show surface-level understanding or hesitate to explore complex ideas. Even a small pause or an incomplete answer can signal this. You can normalize the struggle by saying something like, “I’m not sure we’ll get this right, but let’s give it a try.” For example, in a recent maths lesson – a teacher remarked, “This seems tricky! Let’s work through it together step by step. What should we do first?” This reframed the activity as collaborative but also ended up promoting a growth mindset by encouraging students to embrace challenges. At the end of the lesson, the teacher added, “I appreciate your critical thinking … remember, it’s OK to make mistakes.”
- Personalize Interaction: Use students’ names during discussions to create a more personal connection. This practice helps them feel valued and more engaged in the conversation. In an economics class, for example, you might pose the question “what do you think about the likely impact of increasing interest rates, Olivia?” Just remember to leave a pause between the question and the student’s name to give the entire class time to process the question.
- Communicate the aim. We aspire to achieve a “No opt out” and “Cold calling” culture, but rather than imposing it, we can lead the way there organically by explaining our objectives and the process to our students (and their parents) at the outset. In September, we informed parents about our plans for oracy for enhancing our oracy provision. We also encourage teachers to script their explanations. Here are some ways teachers can frame cold-calling: “In this class, when I ask a question, I don’t want you to raise your hand. I want you to think hard about the answer and then I will select one or two of you to share an answer”. Or “When I call your name, it’s because I really want to hear what you think. Everyone’s thoughts are valuable and I really want to help if you or others are struggling”.
By implementing these approaches, we can cultivate a classroom culture that values oracy, ultimately enhancing both student engagement and cognitive growth. We are keen to work with other schools and teachers in this area too, if please get in touch if you’d like to dialogue!!
