These comments on speaking and listening were taken from the latest Ofsted report from inspection evidence on English in primary and secondary schools. The full report can be downloaded from the Ofsted website: ref HMI 2351
Too little attention has been given to teaching the full National Curriculum programme of study for speaking and listening and the range of contexts provided for speaking and listening remains too limited. Emphasis on developing effective direct teaching approaches has led, at best, to good whole class discussion but, in too many classes, discussion is dominated by the teacher and pupils have only limited opportunities for productive speaking and listening.
1. When the National Curriculum was introduced, speaking and listening was one of the three attainment targets. However, it is not given the same attention or curriculum time as reading and writing. Formal assessment of pupils' speaking and listening skills is not required before GCSE level and, understandably, many teachers concentrate on developing pupils' reading and writing. Few schools assess speaking and listening rigorously before GCSE, although some are trying to develop pupils' self-evaluation. While curricular targets for writing are now common, it is rare to find that pupils have targets for speaking and listening, although there are many for whom this is the main obstacle to achievement.
2. The national strategies have emphasised active whole-class teaching and have focused on developing effective direct teaching approaches. At its best, this leads to good whole class discussion where teachers ask challenging questions, match them to pupils' ability and encourage detailed and reflective answers. In too many classes, however, discussion is dominated by the teacher and pupils' responses are short and limited. No time is provided for reflection. Myhill and Fisher argue that the 'recitation script of "initiation, response and feedback" is still prevalent' and that the 'requirement for pre-determined outcomes and a fast pace seem to militate against reflection and exploration of ideas'. Ofsted's evidence supports this.
3. Schools do not always seem to understand the importance of pupils' talk in developing both reading and writing. Myhill and Fisher quote research which argues that 'spoken language forms a constraint, a ceiling not only on the ability to comprehend but also on the ability to write, beyond which literacy cannot progress'. Too many teachers appear to have forgotten that speech 'supports and propels writing forward'. Pupils do not improve writing solely by doing more of it; good quality writing benefits from focused discussion that gives pupils a chance to talk through ideas before writing and to respond to friends' suggestions.
4. Too few lessons now use small group work effectively. The recommended four-part lesson structure appears to have inhibited good collaborative group work. Guided group work, led by the teacher, has been a positive development in some schools and provides the teacher with an opportunity to demonstrate different kinds of spoken language as well as supporting pupils' reading and writing work; however, it is an underused approach in many schools.
5. Training materials have been produced by the national strategies to raise the profile of speaking and listening and to disseminate good practice, providing good ideas for individual lessons. Some primary teachers have responded positively and are trying to use pupils' collaborative talk more often, through the use of 'talk partners', but, in most classrooms, activities to develop pupils' talk remain limited.
6. Many schools pay too little attention to teaching the full National Curriculum programme of study for speaking and listening. English policies frequently refer to the importance of giving equal weight to speaking and listening in schemes of work; in reality, in many schools, this does not happen. Planning for speaking and listening lacks rigour. Few schemes of work include units whose main focus is to develop speaking and listening. Inspectors rarely see work of the quality and emphasis described in the QCA's publication, Introducing the grammar of talk.
7. The revised National Curriculum for English drew on earlier work on language to give a high profile to the nature of spoken English and language change. This is rarely taught systematically in schools. The statutory orders for English at Key Stage 2 include, for instance, the following requirements.
· Pupils should be taught the grammatical constructions which are characteristic of spoken standard English.
· Pupils should be taught about how language varies between standard and dialect forms and between spoken and written forms.
· Pupils should take up and sustain different roles, adapting them to suit the situation, including chair, scribe and spokesperson.
8. These key elements of the National Curriculum are rarely integrated into English schemes of work. The situation is the same at Key Stage 3 where few of the requirements relating to language variation are taught rigorously in all schools. The activities chosen should also include presentations to different audiences, taking different roles in groups and a range of drama activities; these are rarely part of English lessons for all pupils. Schools need to review their schemes of work in order to ensure that the statutory requirements for speaking and listening are thoroughly taught.
This page was last updated on 4th December 2006.
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