For a long time, oracy has felt like something education periodically rediscovers. Every few years, it returns to the spotlight with new language, frameworks, and initiatives, often presented as a new idea. For me, that sense of déjà vu is hard to ignore. Back in the noughties, I was involved in The Talk Project, working alongside John Peatfield, who at the time was part of the Education Development Unit at St Martin’s College, Ambleside. The project focused on developing purposeful classroom talk as a driver of learning and was rooted firmly in classroom practice rather than theory. It involved a group of primary schools and one secondary school in Hull, exploring how structured talk could improve thinking, learning and engagement across the curriculum. At a time when speaking and listening were often treated as peripheral, the project placed talk at the centre of teaching and learning in a way that feels strikingly relevant today.
That idea feels particularly relevant in Geography. Geography is, by its nature, a subject in which pupils are constantly asked to interpret, explain and evaluate. We expect them to interpret maps, photographs, and data; understand processes such as erosion and urbanisation; and weigh competing viewpoints on complex global issues. All of that thinking happens first in the head, and very often out loud, before it ever appears on the page. In this sense, oracy is not simply a communication skill in Geography; it is a cognitive tool that supports geographical thinking itself. Talk allows pupils to test ideas, make connections, explore uncertainty and engage with the complexity that characterises so much of the subject. Yet for years, much of the talk in geography classrooms has been incidental. It has often taken the form of brief answers to teachers’ questions, unstructured discussion, or contributions dominated by a small number of confident individuals.
One of the key lessons from The Talk Project was that not all talk serves the same purpose. Some talk helps pupils think. It allows them to explore ideas, test understanding and clarify meaning. Other talk helps pupils communicate. It enables them to explain clearly, justify opinions and present ideas coherently. When these purposes are muddled, classroom discussion can easily become superficial or intimidating. When they are planned deliberately, talk becomes a powerful tool for learning. In Geography, this distinction is particularly important because pupils are regularly required to move between tentative exploration and confident explanation. Exploratory talk, where ideas are unfinished and open to challenge, plays a vital role in helping pupils grapple with complex processes, alternative viewpoints and uncertain evidence before reaching more secure conclusions.
At Key Stage 3, this is important because pupils are still learning how to speak like geographers. They are developing the habit of accurately describing what they see, using subject-specific vocabulary, and explaining simple cause-and-effect relationships. Structured talk at this stage, such as describing an image before writing, rehearsing an explanation with a partner, or using sentence starters like “This suggests that…”, builds confidence and precision without pressure. Crucially, it also makes classroom talk more equitable. When talk is scaffolded, it is no longer dominated by the same voices and becomes accessible to all pupils. Regular, planned opportunities for talk help pupils internalise geographical language and ways of thinking, rather than encountering them only sporadically.
At this point, a simple yet powerful question lies at the heart of oracy in Geography: if they can’t talk about it, how can they write about it? Too often, pupils are expected to produce extended written answers before they have had the opportunity to organise their thinking aloud. Speaking allows pupils to rehearse ideas, clarify meaning and identify gaps in understanding, making writing a natural next step rather than a leap into the unknown.
By Key Stage 4, oracy takes on an even sharper purpose. GCSE Geography demands clarity, structure and evaluation, yet pupils are often expected to produce extended written answers without ever having spoken them aloud. When pupils are allowed to explain an answer verbally before writing, to rehearse a PEEL paragraph out loud, or to debate a geographical decision using evidence, they are not wasting curriculum time. They are practising the very thinking that underpins strong exam responses. In my experience, pupils who can articulate geographical ideas clearly almost always write better answers, because the thinking has already been done. This link between talk and learning is supported by evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), whose Teaching and Learning Toolkit highlights that oral language interventions have a consistently positive impact on attainment, often equivalent to around six months’ additional progress when implemented regularly and deliberately. (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/oral-language-interventions) This is particularly powerful when talk is positioned deliberately within the lesson sequence, typically after initial input or retrieval and before extended writing, so that spoken rehearsal acts as a bridge between learning and formal assessment.
There is also an essential issue of equity here. Unstructured talk tends to favour pupils who already have confidence, cultural capital or strong spoken language skills. Structured oracy, supported by thinking time, paired discussion, clear expectations and explicit modelling, helps narrow that gap. Geography, with its unfamiliar places, processes and terminology, particularly benefits from this approach. When pupils are supported in using geographical language accurately in speech, their understanding deepens and their confidence grows. Research-informed practice consistently shows that these benefits are strongest when oracy is used frequently and purposefully, rather than as an occasional classroom feature.
The risk, as oracy gains renewed attention, is that it becomes another initiative layered on top of an already crowded curriculum. The lesson from both The Talk Project and current classroom practice is that oracy works best when it is embedded within subject teaching. In Geography, talk should always serve geographical understanding. It should help pupils see patterns, explain processes and evaluate evidence, rather than drift into general discussion detached from subject knowledge. When oracy is planned into schemes of learning rather than left to individual moments, it becomes part of how Geography is taught, not something additional that teachers feel obliged to include.
Looking back to the work we were doing in the noughties, it is striking how little the core message has changed. What has changed is our willingness to name the importance of talk, to plan for it deliberately and to value it as part of subject learning. Geography is a discipline concerned with understanding the world in all its complexity. If pupils are to engage critically with real-world geographical issues, consider alternative perspectives and evaluate evidence, then talk is not optional. It is essential. If we want pupils in KS3 and KS4 to think like geographers and write like geographers, we must first provide them with structured opportunities to talk like geographers.
We will soon be publishing a range of practical strategies and teaching resources to support the development of oracy in the geography classroom. Links will be provided here as the content is published.
Anthony Bennett
Published: 08/01/26
Further reading
If you would like to explore the importance of oracy in more depth, or consider how it applies specifically to geography, the following articles and resources provide useful starting points:
Education Endowment Foundation – Oral Language Interventions
An evidence-informed overview of the impact of structured spoken language approaches on pupil attainment, showing consistently positive effects when implemented regularly.
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/oral-language-interventions
Chartered College of Teaching – We have a voice! Developing oracy across the geography curriculum
A practitioner-focused article exploring how purposeful talk supports disciplinary thinking, confidence and inclusion in geography lessons.
https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/we-have-a-voice-developing-oracy-across-the-geography-curriculum/
Geographical Association – Speaking and listening in geography
Guidance on how dialogic talk, discussion and structured speaking activities support geographical understanding and enquiry.
https://www.geography.org.uk/ite/initial-teacher-education/geography-support-for-trainees-and-ects/learning-to-teach-secondary-geography/geography-subject-teaching-and-curriculum/geography-knowledge-concepts-and-skills/geographical-practice/literacy-and-numeracy/speaking-and-listening-in-geography/
Geographical Association – Dialogic teaching in geography
An exploration of dialogic approaches and why structured classroom dialogue is central to deep geographical learning.
https://www.geography.org.uk/ite/classroom-practice-in-geography-2/dialogic-teaching/
Alexander, R. – Dialogic Teaching – Available from Amazon
Foundational work on the role of classroom talk in thinking and learning, highly influential in current oracy research and practice.
Owen, C & Monk, J – What is Geography Teaching, Now? – See chapter 13 – Available from Amazon.
Oracy Education Committee – We need to talk
The report of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England October 2024
