Spotlight on Vocabulary
"A child’s spoken language skills at the age of five are one of the strongest predictors of attainment at age eleven"
Structure and training for leaders
Building an environment where children are immersed in talk, ideas and discussion.
Spoken language skills are a strong predictor for attainment
A child's language skills at the age of five are the strongest predictors of attainment at the age of eleven.
When children aren’t cultivating conversations at home, and when they’re digesting one-way talk through their screens, schools can fight back with a talk-rich culture. At Voice 21 we know that it takes training and structure to explicitly and deliberately build an environment where children are immersed in talk, ideas and discussion. But once that door is open, confidence, self-regulation and belonging follow - making oracy one of the powerful cultural changes leaders can make in their schools.
Word ownership
Oracy is more than just knowing big words. It's about developing word ownership.
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Creating language rich environments with oracy
Oracy is an opportunity to create a language rich environment where pupils can develop their own voice whilst being immersed in the thoughts and language of other students.
When talking about vocabulary there’s a risk we’re advocating simply knowing a lot of big words. It’s more about the confidence and ability to use those words, to hear them in context, and to have opportunities to use, experiment and play with vocabulary.
Our explicit focus on oracy is about building thoughtful and deliberate about creating that immersive environment.
Voicing Vocabulary Report
The Voicing Vocabulary report is a 2-year research project on establishing and evaluating an oracy-centred approach to vocabulary development.
This report will help you learn how to:
- Establish a shared understanding of oracy across the school
- Prioritise vocabulary in planning
- Contextualise new vocabulary through talk
- Monitor ownership of new vocabulary
Download the report
Continue learning about the impact of oracy in schools
Behaviour & Culture
Through oracy children are better able to regulate, communicate and manage their feelings in difficult situations. Find out more about the link between oracy and behaviour & culture.
Confidence
The confidence to speak up, build new relationships and be agile communicators, prepares children and young people for success in school life and beyond. Learn more about the link between oracy and confidence.