What Is Oracy? A Complete Guide for EYFS to KS3

Posted by Chris Quigley

July 15, 2025

What Is Oracy?

Oracy is the disciplined art of speaking and listening—where thinking, language, expression, and collaboration come together to shape understanding and communication. It includes both verbal and non-verbal elements and spans a variety of interactions, from formal presentations to collaborative discussions.

It is a vital skill that supports thinking, reasoning, collaboration, and self-expression across the curriculum. Yet while oracy is widely recognised as important, it is often underdeveloped in schools due to a lack of structure, progression models, and clarity on how to teach it.

https://tonguefutalking.chrisquigley.co.uk/

Why Oracy Matters

Research shows that high-quality classroom talk improves academic outcomes, critical thinking, and social development (Alexander, 2020; Mercer et al., 2019). The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2021) found that explicitly teaching oracy has a positive impact on pupils' attainment, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Spoken language is also a key component of the National Curriculum in England. Yet teachers often face three key challenges:

No clear progression model from EYFS to KS3
Limited guidance on how to teach talk explicitly
Difficulty assessing oracy in meaningful, observable ways

Tongue Fu Talking™ was developed to meet these challenges.

Introducing Tongue Fu Talking™

Tongue Fu Talking™ is a structured oracy framework that supports both exploratory talk (used for reasoning and learning) and presentational talk (used for informing, persuading, or performing).

It includes:

Two Modes of Talk: Explorer Mode and Presenter Mode
Four Disciplines of oracy: The Stance, The Flow, The Mind, and The Bond
23 Teachable Practices aligned to these disciplines
A Belt-Based Progression System from EYFS to KS3
Fully resourced CPD, assessment, sentence stems, and visual aids

Two Modes of Talk

Explorer Mode focuses on deepening understanding through discussion, reasoning, and collaborative inquiry.

Used in subjects like Science, RE, History, and English
Supports metacognitive development and critical thinking

Presenter Mode builds pupils' confidence, clarity, and control when speaking to an audience.

Used in assemblies, performances, presentations, and debates
Supports structured expression and purposeful communication

See Explorer and Presenter Mode in action on Tongue Fu Talking™

Presenter Mode Infographic

The Four Disciplines of Talk

Tongue Fu Talking™ breaks down oracy into four clearly defined disciplines, each containing specific practices:

The Stance: Physical presence, including posture, gesture, and facial expression
The Flow: Linguistic fluency, including vocabulary, sentence structure, and rhetorical flair
The Mind: Thinking and metacognition, including reasoning, summarising, and self-monitoring
The Bond: Social and emotional connection, including audience awareness and collaboration

Each discipline is supported by practical, teachable strategies.

23 Teachable Practices

Teachers are provided with a toolkit of 23 practices that can be taught, modelled, and practised over time. Examples include:

Pacing and projection (The Stance)
Sentence structure and rhetorical flair (The Flow)
Reasoning with justification and summarising (The Mind)
Turn-taking, audience awareness, and self-assuredness (The Bond)

These practices make oracy teachable, observable, and assessable.

The 23 Teachable Practices of Tongue Fu Talking

Belt-Based Progression: EYFS to KS3

Progression in Tongue Fu Talking™ is structured through a belt system inspired by martial arts, making development visible, motivational, and clear.

White Belt: EYFS & KS1 – early communication, listening, basic sentence use
Green Belt: KS1 to Lower KS2 – developing sentence variation, turn-taking, early reasoning
Brown Belt: Lower to Upper KS2 – structured argument, confident presentation, deeper metacognition
Black Belt: Upper KS2 to KS3 – fluent reasoning, rhetorical technique, strategic use of talk

Each belt includes milestones for every discipline and practice.

The belts of Tongue Fu Talking

A Structured, Progressive Oracy Framework

Classroom Integration and Resources

Tongue Fu Talking™ includes:

A whole-school oracy policy
CPD videos and slides for staff training
Printable classroom resources (mats, sentence stems, visual cues)
Assessment and reflection tools
Embedded links to speaking and listening in all subjects

This ensures that oracy is not an add-on but part of daily classroom life.

See Sample Resources

Visit tonguefutalking.chrisquigley.co.uk to download.

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References

Alexander, R. (2020). A Dialogic Teaching Companion. London: Routledge.
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). (2021). Oral Language Interventions. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/oral-language-interventions
Mercer, N., Hennessy, S., & Warwick, P. (2019). Dialogue, Thinking Together and Digital Technology in the Classroom: Some Educational Implications of a Continuing Line of Inquiry. International Journal of Educational Research, 97, 187-199.

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