With an emphasis on practice, but embracing the major theoretical issues involved, this book contains numerous exercises, examining the issues surrounding oracy in schools. It describes the many ways in which teachers can encourage pupils to talk, using picture books and media-based discussions.

Play and talk, Bill Laar; storytelling in the classroom, Mark Prentice; forging links between talking and writing, Margaret Armitage; philsophcal discussions with picture books, Karen Murris; using news events for media-based discussions, Jim Honeybone; oracy and children with special educational needs, Gordon Baddeley; talk across the curriculum, Barbara Lalljee; questioning, arguing and reasoning, Rosemary Stickland; a communication framework for ESOL learners, Jackie Holderness; keeping track of oracy, Diana Cinamon and Sally Elding; SACLA - Systematic and Co-operative Learning Approach to Group Work, Candice Savory; structuring talk with IT, Phil Moore.