This document discusses the importance of oracy (oral communication skills) in education. It argues that oracy is more important than literacy and numeracy. It provides evidence that developing students' oracy skills leads to improved attainment across subjects, better cognitive development, and positive social and emotional outcomes. While oracy has been recognized as important for decades, it is still not given equal priority as literacy and numeracy in many schools. The document encourages getting involved in oracy training, events, and using available resources to help strengthen students' oracy skills.

1. Why oracy is more important than
literacy and numeracy put together
James Mannion
Director, Rethinking Education
Associate, UCL Institute of Education
PhD student, University of Cambridge
Founding member, Oracy Cambridge
james@rethinking-ed.org @rethinking_ed

2. The art of rhetoric: six tricks of the trade
1. Asyndeton (tricolon)
• Three short, breathless sentences
2. Anaphora (tricolon)
• Repeat and expand to show emotional fixation
3. Antithesis (tricolon)
• The illusion of balance
4. Metaphor
• Spark the imagination
5. Hyperbole
• Exaggerate – crank it up
6. End on a rhyme
• Honestly!

3. Why oracy is more important than
literacy and numeracy put together

4. Talking about talking
• My journey: an odyssey into oracy
• Exploratory talk – the importance of ground rules
• Some arguments for oracy
• Evidence for oracy
• Where have we been, and what needs to happen next?
• How you can get involved
• Why you shouldn’t listen to a word I say

6. An odyssey into oracy
• 2008: MA (person centred education)
• Self-esteem
• Self-efficacy for science
• Philosophy for children as an approach to PSHCE
• 2010: Year 7 ‘Learning Skills’ curriculum (5 lessons a week)
• Interviews  dedicated team of teachers
• Complex intervention (i.e. comprised of many parts)
• Metacognition (reflecting on learning)
• Self-regulation (taking ownership of learning)
• Shared language of learning (to enable a focus on the how of learning)
• Transfer (out from Learning Skills lessons, in to other curriculum areas)
• Oracy (the glue that joins it all together)
• 2011-2017: Impact evaluation of the Learning Skills curriculum  PhD
• Significant gains in subject learning
• Significant closing of the Pupil Premium gap (Mannion & Mercer, 2016)
• 2017: Starting to work with other schools to implement similar approaches

7. Exploratory talk:
The importance of ground rules
• 1990s – SLANT study – talk around computers
(Mercer 1995, 2000)
• Three categories of talk:
• Disputational
• Cumulative
• Exploratory

8. Disputational talk
• Lots of disagreement
• Everyone just makes their own decisions
• Few attempts to pool resources
• Lack of constructive criticism
• 'Yes it is! – No it's not!’
• Competitive rather than co-operative
• Not educationally useful

9. Cumulative talk
• People accept and agree with what others say
• Knowledge is shared, but in an uncritical way
• Waiting for the other person to finish, not really listening
• Ideas repeated and elaborated, but not evaluated carefully
• Can be useful – e.g. pooling ideas, gathering data

10. Exploratory talk (aka accountable talk)
• Everyone listens actively
• People ask questions
• People share relevant information
• Ideas may be challenged
• Reasons are given
• Contributions build on what has gone before
• Everyone is encouraged to contribute
• Ideas and opinions treated with respect
• Atmosphere of trust
• Sense of shared purpose
• The group seeks agreement for joint decisions
• Talk is used as a ‘social mode of thinking’ ( interthinking)

11.  Ground rules for exploratory talk, co-
constructed in child-friendly language
1. We will talk together to think about what to do.
2. We will share what we know with each other.
3. We will ask everyone to say what they think.
4. Everyone will listen carefully to others and consider what we hear.
5. We will give reasons for what we say.
6. We will pay attention and try to think of good ideas.
7. We will decide what to do only when everyone has said all they want.
8. We will try to agree about what we think.

12. Other important practices in promoting oracy
• To make group work effective:
• a clear group goal
• individual accountability (Slavin, 1996)
• Use questioning that prompts thoughtful, extended answers
• Scaffold pupils’ interactions and responses
• Mix up the groupings – pairs, threes, fours, sixes…
• Circle time for all whole-class discussions
• Tried and tested methods – model, explain, deliberate practice and plenty of rich
feedback, acted on immediately
 Progressive ends through traditional means

13. Evidence for oracy
Improved attainment in English, Maths, Science…
• Gorard et al (2015); Wilkinson et al (2015); O-Connor et al, (2015); Adey &
Shayer (2015); Hanley et al (2015); Kutnick & Berdondini (2009); Rivard & Straw
(2000); Mannion & Mercer (2016)
Transfer of comprehension, reasoning skills to other subject areas
• Wilkinson et al (2015); Adey & Shayer (2015); Mannion & Mercer (2016); Zohar
& Nemet (2002)
Cognitive Attainment Test (CAT) scores
• Topping & Trickey (2015); Mannion & Mercer (in press)

14. Evidence for oracy
Literacy skills
• Dockrell et al (2015); Donaldson & Cooper (2013); Dockrell & Connelly (2009);
Bishop & Snowling (2004); Dunsmuir & Blatchford (2004)
Enhanced communication for pupils with SEND, EAL…
• Maxwell et al (2015); Akerman & Neale (2011); Communication Trust (2013)
Cognitive development, development of memory
• Mercer & Howe (2012); Alexander (2008); Goswami & Bryant (2007); Resnick et
al (2015); Goswami (2015); Mercer et al (1999)

15. Social and emotional outcomes
• Self-esteem / self-confidence - Trickey & Topping (2006)
• Engagement and on-task focus - Webb et al (2015); Chiu (2004) Kutnick &
Berdondini (2009)
• Social development / peer interactions - Howe & Mercer (2007); Mannion &
Mercer (2016)
• Confidence & self-esteem – Ofsted (2010)
• Emotional intelligence – Alexander (2008, 205); Ofsted (2003); QCA (2008);
• Empathy – Jensen (2008)
• Ability to handle stress – Akerman & Neale (2011)
Evidence for oracy

16. Early years
• Links between social disadvantage and spoken language development –
Waldfogel & Washbrook (2010); Locke et al (2002); Hart & Risley (2005)
Roulstone et al (2011); Communication Trust (2013);
• Synaptogenesis – Anderson et al (2001); Johnson (2004)
Links between spoken language and exclusions, juvenile offenders
• Clegg (2004); Bryan et al (2007)
Links between spoken language and earnings
• Ashley et al (2015); De Vries & Rentfrow (2016) – “For a variety of reasons,
children from more advantaged backgrounds appear more likely to develop
personality characteristics and aspirations which subsequently benefit them in
the labour market”
Evidence for oracy

17. Further arguments for oracy
1. Raise standards
2. Close the disadvantage gap
3. Moral purpose – equality of opportunity
4. The importance of identity
5. Participatory democracy
6. Employability
7. Teacher retention/morale (?)
8. The survival of the species (!)

18. “Oracy” coined > 50 years ago (Wilkinson, 1965) – still not widely recognised
Ups
• Bullock report (1975) – the importance of talk
• National curriculum (1987) – equal status with reading & writing
• National Oracy Project (1987-93)
Where have we been?

19. Where have we been?
Downs
• National curriculum review (2015) – S&L reduced to a short list
• GCSE English – S&L dropped from the assessment
• The state of speaking & listening in our schools (2016):
• While teachers recognise oracy as being important, it isn’t given equal parity to
literacy and numeracy in schools
Reasons
• Time
• Perceived negative effects (behaviour, putting pupils on the spot);
• Competing priorities
• Lack of know how
• Belief that it is not important to their subject

20. Reasons to be cheerful
• The Oracy Network – the English Speaking Union, School 21 / Voice 21,
Oracy Cambridge, ICAN, the National Literacy Trust, DebateMate...
(http://www.esu.org/our-network/oracy-iframe)
• Social media – perhaps uniquely, oracy unites trads and progs (!)
• Increasingly being recognised / covered in the press:
Where have we been?

22. What needs to happen next?
The law of diffusion of innovation
We are here!

23. Get involved
Training / workshops
• Contact Oracy Cambridge (hello@oracycambridge.org)
• INSETS, twilights, keynotes, annual packages
• Other excellent providers, eg SAPERE (P4C), Voice21…
Events
• Oracy/independent learning workshop – Oxford, 28th June (see
rethinking-ed.org)
• ESU International Oracy Symposium (free!) – 30th June
• Speaking summit – 7th July (15% discount for friends of OC!)
• Voice21 / Oracy Cambridge Oracy Leaders Programme (now full for
2017-18 – but watch this space!)

24. Get involved
Resources
• Thinking Together (thinkingtogether.educ.cam.ac.uk)
• Voice 21 resources (voice21resources.org)
• ESU resources (esu.org/our-work/esuresources)
• Speaking Frankly; The state of speaking in our schools
• Oracy Cambridge (oracy-cambridge.org) – actively seeking guest blogs
• TARS (Thinking and Reasoning Skills - OCR) – get it while you can!
• Debate mate (debatemate.com)
• ICAN (ican.org.uk)
• National Literacy Trust (literacytrust.org.uk)
• LAMDA – fabulous new Level 2 Speaking and Listening Award
(lamda.org.uk/examinations/schools-award)
• Embrace the idea of complex interventions – pick a few & combine them!

25. Why you shouldn’t listen to a word I say

26. Why oracy is more important than
literacy and numeracy put together
James Mannion
Director, Rethinking Education
Associate, UCL Institute of Education
PhD student, University of Cambridge
Founding member, Oracy Cambridge
james@rethinking-ed.org @rethinking_ed