ABSTRACT
This chapter shows some of the ways that teachers have planned for learning which will result in ‘action knowledge’, using purposeful talk. English teachers are aware of the inevitable interrelatedness of language and learning. The chapter focuses on learning through talk but, of course, also points to some of the ways that teachers can support young people’s development as speakers and listeners. Its theoretical underpinning comes from the work of psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget and Bruner, whose work has indicated the ways that learners actively construct meaning, sharing experiences in words in order to make better sense of them. Teachers want to consider establishing the classroom conditions which are needed, in order to make learning through talk a reality in the classrooms. Working within well-defined ground rules for talk, pupil groups can provide support for the intellectual and linguistic risk taking which is an important part of working on understanding.
