How does the implementation of structured talk develop a child’s ability to communicate verbally and in written forms?

This study was designed to investigate how oracy skills could be improved within Key Stage Two. Class teachers planned and discretely taught verbal grammar based on common misconceptions heard across the school over a period of four half terms. The programme was designed to be responsive but with a clearly pitched core scaffold relating to age related curriculum content expectations. The title of these sessions, ‘The Way We Talk’, was designed to be inclusive of the children’s understanding that the use of Standard English is important to written literacy. It also aimed to teach children context for talking; to know the formality of verbal communication changes depending on where they are and who they are with. All teachers involved in the study saw a positive impact in pupil written outcomes from their starting points.