I will be hosting an #EngchatUK on Monday 30th September. The focus of the chat will be oracy and speaking and listening skills. There are a few issues to discuss!
The removal of speaking and listening assessment from GCSE English
This is clearly a big current issue at the moment. How can we preserve the place of speaking and listening in the curriculum when its “value” (in assessment terms) has been removed? You can read Ofqual’s justification for the removal of speaking and listening here: Changes to GCSE English and English Language. That page also contains some useful links to the consultation responses. It’s also worth reading Tom Sherrington (@headguruteacher)’s account of his meeting with Glenys Stacey, CEO of Ofqual, on his blog: Ofqual Insights. Closely allied to that topic is this:
The place of speaking and listening in the new programmes of study for English
Back in April, Tracy Parvin wrote this article about this very issue by exploring the (then draft) programmes of study: Speaking, Listening and the Curriculum Proposals – a tale of two gameshows. You can find the (now finalised) programmes of study here: National curriculum in England.
Of course, we’re all also very keen to share:
Strategies for teaching speaking and listening really well
I’d certainly start by pointing towards David Didau (@learningspy)’s Developing Oracy: It’s talkin’ time! I know that group work has come in for a bit of a bashing on twitter recently, but for those of us who are happy to teach the way we want to teach no matter who is scoffing in the blogosphere there’s this: Success with student group work by Dr Stephanie Thornton, and Group Work is Great by Sue Cowley.
Suggestions from Twitter
There have been some great suggestions from twitter for things to discuss also:
@chrishildrew @EngChatUK strategies for teaching listening skills – especially students listening to other students
— Laura Jones (@TeachTweetJones) September 25, 2013
@chrishildrew @EngChatUK how do you successfully challenge dialect thro’ approaches to oracy across the whole school?
— Miss W (@Miss_Waggitt) September 24, 2013
@chrishildrew @EngChatUK Oracy: to what extent could changes to S & L assessment widen the attainment gap for students on FSM #standardeng
— Fran Nantongwe (@FranNantongwe) September 24, 2013
@chrishildrew @EngChatUK oracy across the curriculum. Interested in how other schools promote this.
— Sam Fowler (@sam_m_fowler) September 25, 2013
If you have a suggestion for discussion on Monday, please feel free to leave a comment below or tweet me @chrishildrew. Most importantly, get online and on Twitter at 8pm on Monday 30th September, search for the hashtag #EngchatUK and get involved! Remember to unprotect your tweets and include the hashtag in your tweets so that others can see them.
See you then!
