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Oracy Unlocked: A Practical Guide to Teaching and Learning through Speaking and Listening

Oracy—the ability to speak articulately with confidence and fluency—is one of the most essential yet overlooked disciplines in education today. While we place great emphasis on literacy and numeracy, oracy remains the key to unlocking student potential across all subjects. It is not just a tool for effective communication; it is a powerful driver of deeper learning, critical thinking, and social mobility.

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Created and Led by
Chris Quigley
Duration
5.5 hours
Target Audience
Head Teachers, Teachers, Senior Leaders

Course Description:

Oracy—the ability to speak articulately with confidence and fluency—is one of the most essential yet overlooked disciplines in education today. While we place great emphasis on literacy and numeracy, oracy remains the key to unlocking student potential across all subjects. It is not just a tool for effective communication; it is a powerful driver of deeper learning, critical thinking, and social mobility.  The  course will cover:

Understanding Oracy
Definition and components of oracy: physical, linguistic, cognitive, and emotional.
The impact of oracy on academic success and personal development.
Overview of oracy development from early years to early secondary education.

Foundations of Oracy in the Classroom
Setting up a supportive oracy environment.
Simple oracy activities: storytelling, show and tell, and discussion circles.
Techniques for enhancing student engagement and participation.

Advanced Oracy Techniques
Debates, persuasive speeches, and formal presentations.
Role-plays, drama techniques, and hot seating.
Using technology to enhance oracy: podcasts, video blogs, and digital storytelling.

Oracy across the Curriculum
Integrating oracy in all subjects through explanations and argumentation.
Enhancing literary studies 
Using oracy to explore perspectives and ethical debates.


Overcoming Challenges
Overcoming reluctance and building confidence in shy or reluctant speakers.
Managing diverse ability levels and linguistic backgrounds.
Aligning oracy activities with curriculum standards and outcomes.

 

Integrating oracy into classroom practice

We will explore how integrating oracy into classroom practice can transform student outcomes across the entire curriculum. From Art to Science, every subject benefits when students are given the opportunity to express, debate, and build on ideas through structured talk. Research shows that strong speaking and listening skills are crucial for academic success, personal development, and future employability.

Drawing upon the 

Practical Strategies

In this course you’ll be equipped with practical strategies to embed oracy into daily lessons, ensuring that every student has the chance to find their voice—whether through discussion, debate, presentation, or collaborative learning.

Find out about

  • What makes effective talk
  • learning through talk and learning to talk
  • Exploratory and presentational talk
  • Developing rich, varied and appropriate vocabulary 
  • How oracy improves students' metacognitive abilities
  • Practical activities to infuse opportunities to develop oracy into every lesson

Read our blogs to find out more

Developing Critical Thinking through Research-Based Oracy Strategies

You can read about the importance of oracy here.

Find out more about subject-specific oracy here.

Pricing & Book

Course Price: £175 (exc. VAT)

Book 3 places and the 4th place is free

Our webinars are held over Zoom and you will be sent a link to access these closer to the event date.

13th Feb 2025
9:30am - 15:00pm
Evidence Informed
Evidence Informed
All our courses are based on peer-reviewed research.
Practical and inspiring
Practical and inspiring
We bridge the gap between evidence and practice.
Versatile environments
Versatile environments
We offer a choice between on-demand and live courses.

Latest from the Blog

The Power of Oracy: Unlocking Student Potential Across the Curriculum
The Power of Oracy: Unlocking Student Potential Across the Curriculum
1st Oct 2024
Oracy—the ability to express oneself fluently and confidently through spoken language—remains one of the most overlooked yet essential disciplines in education today. While literacy and numeracy often dominate educational priorities, oracy is increasingly recognised as the key to unlocking deeper learning, critical thinking, social mobility, and employability across all subject areas. Despite its importance, oracy continues to receive limited attention in many curricula worldwide.In this blog, we will explore the benefits of oracy, the research supporting its integration into classroom practice, and how teachers can make it an integral part of the curriculum.
A Metacognitive Strategy of Predicting: Teaching Tentative Language to Overcome the Fear of Being Wrong
A Metacognitive Strategy of Predicting: Teaching Tentative Language to Overcome the Fear of Being Wrong
16th May 2024
Making predictions is a critical skill in learning that spans all subjects and year groups. However, one of the most significant barriers to developing this skill in students is their fear of being wrong. This fear can stifle creativity, hinder learning, and prevent students from engaging fully with the material. As teachers, it is essential to create a classroom environment that values the process of thinking and exploration over the correctness of answers. A powerful tool in achieving this is teaching and using tentative language. This blog will explore how to foster such an environment and provide practical strategies for incorporating tentative language into prediction activities.