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Why should schools stop searching for oracy activities?
Because activities are not a curriculum.
And without a curriculum, we can't define:
- what students should learn
- how learning should progress
- whether learning has actually taken place
Imagine a school saying:
"We need some mathematics activities."
Most leaders would immediately ask:
"What mathematical knowledge are students learning?"
Yet when it comes to spoken language, many schools begin with the activity rather than the learning.
Before you download another oracy activity, apply these six tests
1. Does it specify a body of knowledge?
Every curriculum identifies the knowledge students are expected to learn.
Oracy should be no different.
Students need to know what effective communication looks like and how it works.
Tongue Fu Talking® defines this through four disciplines and twenty-three teachable practices.
2. Does it give students something worth talking about?
Students cannot communicate well about nothing.
Strong communication depends upon strong content.
That is why Tongue Fu Talking® uses curriculum-based resources rather than generic speaking activities. Students discuss, explain, justify and debate substantive curriculum content drawn from the subjects they are studying.
3. Does it teach communication knowledge?
Students do not become better communicators simply because they have opportunities to talk.
They improve because they are taught how to communicate.
Students can learn how to project their voices, choose precise vocabulary, structure ideas, justify reasoning, engage audiences and manage interactions.
Like any curriculum, this knowledge must be taught explicitly. Tongue Fu Talking® details clear teachable practices and has a full resource bank linked to curriculum subjects.
4. Does it develop metacognition?
Effective communicators think about their thinking.
They make connections, ask questions, seek clues, visualise, predict and reflect.
Tongue Fu Talking® develops these six metacognitive strategies through the Mindwalkers framework, helping students become more thoughtful communicators and learners.
5. Does it specify progression?
A curriculum should become increasingly demanding over time.
Students need a clear pathway showing how communication develops from EYFS to KS3.
Without progression, it is difficult to know what students should learn next. Tongue Fu Talking® has four progression belts, much like progression in the martial arts.
6. Does it make assessment possible?
If spoken language matters, schools need to know whether students are improving.
Assessment becomes possible only when there is a clearly defined curriculum, progression model and shared expectations.
Without these, judgements become subjective and inconsistent. Tongue Fu Talking® has a range of self and teacher assessment materials.
Activity or Curriculum?
- Think-Pair-Share
- Talk partners
- A class debate
- Student presentations
- Hot Seating
If you answered Activity to all five, you'd be right.
There is nothing wrong with any of them.
But none of them defines:
- what students are expected to learn
- how learning should progress
- whether learning has actually taken place
Tongue Fu Talking® provides the communication curriculum, pedagogy and curriculum-based resources needed to teach spoken language systematically from EYFS to KS3.
Start your free trial today and see the complete system in action.
Visit Tongue Fu Talking®
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