Title: Bridging the Speaking Gap in UK Schools: The Importance of Orality Education
Introduction:
In the digital age, effective communication skills have become more crucial than ever. However, a significant proportion of working-class children in the UK lack the confidence and proficiency in speaking that their more privileged peers possess. In this article, we will explore the importance of orality education and Labour’s proposal to teach all students how to speak confidently. We will also delve into the consequences of the speaking gap and discuss potential solutions to bridge this divide.
I. The Speaking Gap: A Barrier for Working-Class Children
– Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, emphasizes the significance of being articulate and the adverse effects of an inability to speak confidently.
– Poorer pupils start school at a disadvantage of 19 months compared to their wealthier counterparts in language and vocabulary skills.
– Evidence shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly in city center schools, lack opportunities for oral expression, with an average of only four words spoken per child per lesson.
II. Identifying the Speaking Gap in Schools
– The author’s personal experience as a teacher reveals the difficulty in identifying the poorest pupils solely based on accent imitation.
– Reluctance to speak is linked to social class, as children from working-class backgrounds tend to be less inclined to raise their hands in class.
– The author highlights a case of an academically talented student, hindered by a limited ability to articulate his thoughts, missing out on potential career opportunities.
III. The Role of Public Schools and Private Schools in Addressing the Speaking Gap
– Private schools tend to prioritize teaching communication skills, discussing education policy matters over dinner, and employing debating coaches.
– Public schools are not to be blamed, as they face numerous challenges, including preparing students for written exams, serving as social workers, and managing data entry.
– Additional funding could be allocated to public schools to teach orality effectively, beginning at a young age and continuing throughout the school years.
IV. The Impact of Fostering Orality in Education
– A case study of a London comprehensive school highlights the positive outcomes of teaching orality, including increased confidence and pride among students.
– Incorporating regular speaking exercises and discussions into lessons can contribute to students’ overall development.
– While challenges may arise, such as students’ emotional reactions, additional training and guidance from experts like Starmer could benefit teachers’ ability to teach orality effectively.
V. Expanding on the Topic: Practical Approaches and Unique Insights
– The importance of creating an inclusive and engaging classroom environment that encourages every student to participate in class discussions.
– Practical strategies for teachers to promote orality, such as role-playing scenarios, debating, and fostering a safe space for students to express their opinions.
– Incorporating oral communication skills into the curriculum can improve students’ future job prospects, critical thinking abilities, and social integration.
Conclusion:
The speaking gap in UK schools disproportionately affects working-class children, limiting their opportunities for success in various aspects of life. Labour’s proposal to prioritize orality education is a crucial step towards bridging this divide. By integrating speaking exercises and discussions into classrooms and providing additional training for teachers, we can nurture confident and articulate individuals who will thrive academically and professionally. It is imperative that we recognize the importance of orality, not just as a learned skill but as a pathway to equal opportunities for all students.
Summary:
Labour’s initiative to prioritize orality education in UK schools aims to address the speaking gap that disadvantages working-class children. Poorer pupils often start school with limited language and vocabulary skills, impacting their ability to articulate their thoughts. Private schools, unlike public schools, teach communication skills, enabling their students to confidently engage in debates and discussions. To bridge this divide, public schools require additional funding to prioritize orality education from an early age. Practical approaches, such as role-playing and regular speaking exercises, can enhance students’ confidence and communication abilities. By prioritizing orality education, we can empower all students to thrive academically and professionally.
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The author is a contributing editor of FT and co-founder of Now teach
Rodney Starmer, a toolmaker, was a man of few words. Yet her second child has become so good at stringing sentences together that he has become a lawyer and could be the next Prime Minister of the UK. Sir Keir Starmer knows firsthand the importance of being articulate – and how an inability to speak confidently can hold back working class children. That’s why this week, as part of Labour’s plans to rid schools of theclass ceilingsaid the party leader, “Orality is a skill that can and should be taught.”
The only thing wrong with it is the coined word “oracy”, which first appeared in the 1960s and has a nasty dentist chair smell. Otherwise, the plan to teach all students to speak better is important, radical and might even be – unlike some labor education policies – just about achievable.
Public sector education has always focused on the three Rs – reading, writing and “rithmetic” – along with rhetoric, repartee and even barely answering. Talking was seen as a naturally acquired skill that children will learn as they go. But many don’t.
According to the National Literacy Trust, the poorest pupils start school 19 months behind the richest in language and vocabulary. In the most disadvantaged schools in the city centres, the average number of words spoken per child per lesson is only four.
I have taught at different schools in London and the North East of England, where strict one-size-fits-all policies make it difficult to spot the poorest pupils. But after a few lessons, I can usually identify them, not by their accent (students are good at imitating their classmates), but by their reluctance to speak. Other things, including personality and gender, affect a child’s appetite for raising their hands, but social class is most important.
I once taught a boy I’ll call Mason, a brilliant student on free school meals who got an excellent grade in GCSE Business Studies. But when asked to express his point of view, he invariably answered with one word: “I don’t know”. Despite his accomplishments, Mason will never be Prime Minister and is unlikely to have a meaningful job unless he replaces I don’t know with something smoother.
The speaking gap hit me last month when I went to lecture to sixth form economics students at a local private school. When I asked questions, a forest of guns arose as students confidently questioned me about Brexit, communism and pay transparency.
Two weeks later, I invited an entrepreneur to speak to business students at Gateshead Comprehensive School, where I teach. I had prepared them with questions – but when the dreaded moment came, not a hand went up.
Pupils in private schools tend to talk better because, at home, Labor education policies are discussed over dinner. But it’s also because schools have started to teach them. Debating and public speaking are taken almost as seriously as football and cricket: Eton even employs debating coaches.
Public schools cannot be blamed for this as they have enough to do to get students through written exams. And, on top of that, they feed their loads, act as social workers, and enter data into spreadsheets. Teachers are so overwhelmed that now is not the time to suggest they take anything else.
However, it should still be possible, with some additional funds, to teach children to converse, debate and persuade. The focus should begin in kindergarten and continue through college.
I taught in a comprehensive school in London which made it a point of honor to teach “orality”. Every 12-year-old had a mandatory period each week to debate; the teachers took turns to coach the teams. During my turn, I watched the shyest student deliver her highly rehearsed speech audibly to the whole class. I saw how she swelled with pride (and relief) when it was over.
Each term, we had a day without workbooks when students spent class talking. I asked my class to role-play a press conference in Davos where students took turns being Prince Charles and Greta Thunberg, while others were reporters asking questions. I can’t say the class became Jeremy Paxmans overnight, but it was fun and better than nothing.
More than those set pieces, it’s important to get every student talking every lesson, every day. It’s obviously good for them, whatever their background, but it’s not something most teachers have been trained to do. I invent as I go along and I am often wrong: once I insisted so much that a 12-year-old girl spoke in front of the class that she started crying. This does not show that it is wrong to make children talk. This shows that I need additional training from the people at Starmer to be able to teach ‘orality’ properly.
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