Speaking Up: How to Cultivate Confident Communicators in the Classroom

About this episode

In this episode, Lucinda Powell interviews Prof. Neil Mercer about the importance of spoken language and oracy in education, discussing strategies for fostering effective communication skills in students.

...With Prof. Neil Mercer Neil Mercer is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge and a psychologist and in this episode we discuss the pivotal role of spoken language and oracy in education. We explored how classroom dialogue, reasoned discussion, and public speaking can be systematically taught to enhance students' thinking and communication skills. Neil shared insights on the impact of the pandemic on language development, practical strategies for fostering effective dialogue, and the importance of classroom culture and listening. We also discussed the value of public speaking for all students and highlighted resources for teachers to support spoken language development. The discussion in bullet points: Importance of spoken language in education. Development of children's language and thinking skills. Role of reasoned discussion and dialogue in classrooms. Influence of educational theorists like Vygotsky on language development. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's language skills. Practical strategies for teaching reasoned discussion. Challenges teachers face in fostering effective dialogue. Benefits of group work and whole-class discussions for…

People in this episode

Host: Lucinda Powell

Guest: Neil Mercer

Topics covered

• spoken language
• oracy
• classroom dialogue
• public speaking
• language development
• educational strategies

Keywords

• communication skills
• classroom culture
• reasoned discussion
• COVID-19 impact
• language development
• public speaking
• student engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Cambridge, Oracy Cambridge

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