Developing Oracy: Building confident voices and active listeners

Talk is one of the most powerful tools for learning. When students are given structured opportunities to speak, listen and respond to one another, they deepen their understanding, develop confidence and learn to reason thoughtfully. This practical course explores how teachers can use purposeful talk to enrich learning, strengthen communication and create classrooms where every voice is valued.

Drawing on research into oracy, dialogic teaching and language development, the course examines how talk can be planned and structured to support thinking, reflection and collaboration. Teachers will explore strategies to help learners articulate ideas clearly, listen actively and engage respectfully with different viewpoints. The course also highlights the importance of explicitly teaching and celebrating rich vocabulary as a central part of learning.

Through practical classroom examples and reflective activities, teachers will learn how to move beyond quiet classrooms as a marker of success and instead build learning environments alive with discussion, curiosity and mutual support.

Key themes include:

– Building learner confidence and engagement through structured talk opportunities
– Teaching listening skills and respectful communication
– Using talk to develop reasoning, reflection, problem-solving and retrieval
– Promoting and explicitly teaching rich vocabulary
– Embedding oracy within everyday classroom routines and teaching practice

Course outcome: Teachers will gain practical strategies and confidence to use talk as a powerful tool for learning, helping all learners not only learn to talk, but learn through talk.