For many students, standing in front of classmates and speaking about their learning can be intimidating, but we know it to be an incredibly formative way to build up effective communication skills.

Students deserve to be reminded that their verbal communication is just as valuable and meaningful as their written communication. Not only that, but it also helps students become better writers, and it allows them to develop agency in their own work. Disadvantaged students, in particular, are much more likely to struggle with  oracy skills. Nevertheless, research from the EEF shows that 5 months of spoken language intervention can make 5 months of additional progress over a year. Whilst some studies have shown that 6 months of progress can be made for students from more deprived backgrounds!

At Yes Futures we love supporting young people to become better communicators and this goes hand in hand with oracy. By supporting students to improve their communication and oracy skills they can become more confident, increase their classroom engagement, and improve their listening skills.