ABSTRACT
Oral language is essential for learning. Research shows that effective classroom talk occurs when teachers have a clear idea of how to provide supportive and productive contexts for talk that encourage participation and dialogue. Teachers need to ask genuine questions which do not merely require children to guess what they are thinking or recall simple and predictable facts as well as allowing time for children to formulate ideas through small and large group discussion. In response, children should be encouraged to give extended, thoughtful answers. In effect, classrooms need to promote genuine learning conversations. Teachers’ own language has particular features that can demonstrate the vocabulary and repertoire of talk in different contexts, and there are also specific types of language for learning. Listening carefully to student voices and responding to what those voices reveal lie at the heart of effective teaching and learning, particularly when teaching children for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL/D).
