Writing in the sixties Andrew Wilkinson commented on the fact that spoken language, or oracy (his term), was neglected in English education. He suggested three reasons why pupil-directed talk was neglected in school:
One is certainly practical - that it is much more difficult to teach oracy than literacy. These difficulties are connected with such matters as the size of classes, the problem of control, the thinness of walls and the absence of teaching patterns. The second is connected with the structure of society - its attitudes, assumptions and rewards. The third is psychological - lack of knowledge until comparatively recently of the relationship between language and thought. (Wilkinson, 1968, p 124)
Observations of classroom interactions …show more content…
Such relationships provide quiet pupils with feelings of security which allow them to take a more active role in their education. In a chapter entitled "The Social and Emotional Context for Learning" Sally Beveridge (1993) acknowledges that the informal or 'hidden' curriculum of relationships and interactions at school can, "pose considerable demands on pupils with respect to their social competence and their personal resources, such as self-confidence" (Beveridge, 1993, p 91). However, as the following section demonstrates, teachers also need to be aware of what the psychological aspects of habitually quiet behaviour in …show more content…
The interaction is one of answering and talking and group interactions and so on and so forth, and silence does get in the way of teaching particularly by those who are committed to a particular style of teaching. So it does get in the way of working with students and bringing them out to talk about their involvement in the sort of classroom activities which have come to be typical in schools. So it is a problem. It is a problem having students talk about their concerns when teachers and others want to counsel and consult with them. It is a problem in assessing the youngsters when we want to ascertain where they are at in terms of literacy and numeracy for instance. So the phenomenon of silence does pose problems to teaching and learning in our classrooms. But it does not... it does not pose a behavioural problem. It is not something which gets on teachers' nerves. It is not a behavioural problem which causes teachers distress and which impacts on the rights of other
One is certainly practical - that it is much more difficult to teach oracy than literacy. These difficulties are connected with such matters as the size of classes, the problem of control, the thinness of walls and the absence of teaching patterns. The second is connected with the structure of society - its attitudes, assumptions and rewards. The third is psychological - lack of knowledge until comparatively recently of the relationship between language and thought. (Wilkinson, 1968, p 124)
Observations of classroom interactions …show more content…
Such relationships provide quiet pupils with feelings of security which allow them to take a more active role in their education. In a chapter entitled "The Social and Emotional Context for Learning" Sally Beveridge (1993) acknowledges that the informal or 'hidden' curriculum of relationships and interactions at school can, "pose considerable demands on pupils with respect to their social competence and their personal resources, such as self-confidence" (Beveridge, 1993, p 91). However, as the following section demonstrates, teachers also need to be aware of what the psychological aspects of habitually quiet behaviour in …show more content…
The interaction is one of answering and talking and group interactions and so on and so forth, and silence does get in the way of teaching particularly by those who are committed to a particular style of teaching. So it does get in the way of working with students and bringing them out to talk about their involvement in the sort of classroom activities which have come to be typical in schools. So it is a problem. It is a problem having students talk about their concerns when teachers and others want to counsel and consult with them. It is a problem in assessing the youngsters when we want to ascertain where they are at in terms of literacy and numeracy for instance. So the phenomenon of silence does pose problems to teaching and learning in our classrooms. But it does not... it does not pose a behavioural problem. It is not something which gets on teachers' nerves. It is not a behavioural problem which causes teachers distress and which impacts on the rights of other