English - Oracy
‘Great is our admiration of the orator who speaks with fluency and discretion’.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
What is Oracy?
Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language.
Oracy is to speaking what numeracy is to mathematics or literacy to reading and writing. In short, it’s nothing more than being able to express yourself well across a range of contexts. It’s about having the vocabulary to say what you want to say and the ability to structure your thoughts so that they make sense to others.
Why do we study Oracy?
Two key reasons for a focus on oracy education are its impact on:
• Children’s cognitive development and learning in school;
• Children’s preparation for participation in the wider world.
Through being involved in spoken dialogues from their earliest years, children learn how both the world, and language, work. They learn how other people make sense of the world, how language is used to reason about causes and effects, how emotions and identities are expressed, and how to work together to solve problems and get things done. Their learning of language is linked to the uses of language they witness as they are immersed in social situations. By listening, attending and contributing to ambient conversation, children take up the language of their social worlds, and are influenced by and influence those around them
https://languageresearch.cambridge.org/images/CambridgePapersInELT_Oracy_2018_ONLINE.pdf
Spoken language skills are one of the strongest predictors of a child’s future life chances but too many children are not given the opportunity to develop these crucial skills.
https://voice21.org/why-oracy-matters/
The benefits of oracy skills go far beyond academic achievement and employability however, they boost a whole range of social, emotional and interpersonal skills, including self-confidence, self-awareness, resilience and empathy. Having the skills and confidence to speak up and believe in yourself has also been shown to enhance our sense of happiness and well-being, preventing the isolation that comes from feeling side-lined.
The Statutory Framework for EYFS requires:
Communication and Language
ELG: Listening, Attention and Understanding
Children at the expected level of development will:
• Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions.
• Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding.
• Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.
ELG: Speaking
Children at the expected level of development will:
• Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary.
• Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate.
• Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.
The National Curriculum requires:
Pupils should be taught to:
- listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
- ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
- use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary
- articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions
- give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings
- maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments
- use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
- speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English
- participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates
- gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)
- consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of others
- select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.
Through their study of the Opossum English curriculum, we intend that pupils will:
1. Develop the physical skills required for oracy
To speak effectively, speakers must develop the ability to use appropriate volume, projection, pace, tonal projection, facial expression and gesture and posture. This increases engagement from the listener and promotes clarity of communication from the speaker.
2. Use oracy to communicate with others
Pupils will understand the importance of verbal communication skills in developing relationships with others, expressing their ideas and in ensuring they are understood. Effective communication is a life skill which is essential beyond the classroom into the wider world, including the workplace.
3. Develop the confidence to speak in wide ranging settings and audiences
Confident speakers exude self-assurance and often inspire the confidence of others. The confidence to speak in wide ranging situations and to diverse audiences creates social and professional opportunities which may include positions of pupil responsibility or work place career development.
4. Articulate ideas effectively, making powerful vocabulary choices.
Successful communication is dependent on the ability to ‘say what you mean’. Using a range of precise vocabulary helps the listener envision the content and context of the message. By including variety in sentences and paragraphs, the reader maintains interest and engagement.
5. Develop cognitive skills to structure and organise talk, give reasons and build on the views of others
The quality of children’s early language experience has been shown to be a powerful predictor of their subsequent educational achievement across the curriculum, not just in those subjects most closely related to language. https://languageresearch.cambridge.org/images/CambridgePapersInELT_Oracy_2018_ONLINE.pdf
Opossum Values
Through their study of Oracy, Opossum values are realised.
Being respectful – Listening to the views of others and building upon or challenging views within accepted boundaries
Being aspirational – establish and model ambitious and challenging norms for talk. Opportunites for oracy are regular, purposeful and appropriately pitched and thoughtfully planned.
Being caring – supporting others to gain the confidence to speak in a range of environments
Having integrity – seeking information and clarification through questioning and critically examining ideas and views expressed
Being creative – using rhetorical techniques such as humour, irony and metaphor
Being community minded – using oracy skills and confident presentation to advocate for or promote community priorities.
Scope and sequence
Whilst the skills required in oracy are specific and taught explicitly, ability develops as the result of experiences comprising speaking, listening, reading and writing. There is considerable overlap in these aspects of the English programme, which is further enhanced by visual language activities.
As Voice 21 trained schools, the Opossum Federation uses the strategies promoted in this programme.
Oracy Framework
EYFS
KS1
KS2
