Teaching Approaches/Group talk: Difference between revisions

{{adaptedfrom|The Importance of Speaking and Listening|ImportanceOfTalk|Recent research (see the collection edited by Littleton and Howe (2010)) has shown the importance of the link between spoken language, learning and cognitive development (e.g. Mercer, Wegerif & Dawes, 1999; Mercer, Dawes, Wegerif & Sams, 2004 – see below). Through using language and hearing how others use it, children become able to describe the world, make sense of life's experiences and get things done. They learn to use language as a tool for thinking, collectively and alone. However, children will not learn how to make the best use of language as a tool for communicating and thinking without guidance from their teachers. School may provide the only opportunity many children have for acquiring some extremely important speaking, listening and thinking skills.  

It is important to note that often dialogue will contain elements of each of these, and indeed that there are times when one ‘type’ of talk might be more appropriate than another – however generally speaking, higher levels of exploratory talk are associated with the educational gains discussed in the introduction to this chapter. A typical pattern of research in these studies has involved an intervention including the development of classroom ‘ground rules’, followed by lessons which are specifically designed to encourage high quality, dialogic, talk which engages pupils in explaining. The typology provides teachers with a simple way to understand the nature of the talk in their own classrooms, and – through encouraging explanation, elaboration, and mutual listening – some clear ways to improve the quality of the talk, as shall now be outlined further.