Talk really matters! It’s not just a background hum in the classroom, it’s the heartbeat of learning, connection, and wellbeing. Through talk, children make sense of new ideas, build relationships, and develop the confidence to share their thinking. Purposeful classroom talk boosts vocabulary, strengthens reading and writing, deepens understanding, and encourages collaboration. But meaningful talk doesn’t happen by chance; it needs to be modelled, taught, and nurtured. When we create spaces where every child feels heard and valued, we empower them to think deeply, take risks, and grow, not just as learners, but as confident communicators for life.

Here are some high-impact strategies that can be used across early years, primary, and secondary classrooms to promote purposeful talk.

Model Rich, Responsive Language

Children learn language by hearing it in use. Narrate your actions, describe what you see, and model complete sentences. Use rich vocabulary, even with very young children, and don’t shy away from complex words, just be sure to explain them.

Example: Instead of saying, “Look at the bird,” try, “Wow, look at that colourful parrot perched on the branch. It’s using its beak to crack open a nut.

Echo Back and Extend

For example, a child states, ‘I can see butterfly.’ The adult echoes to affirm and embed, ‘Yes, I can see a butterfly (adding)…. with antennae to sense things!’ Say antennae….’ Repeating and emphasising key vocab, allowing time for processing and repeated exposure to new language so talk is embedded by repeating back while being extended. For example, if given the adjective ‘big’, you can reinforce this word and expose to ‘huge,’ ‘colossal’ too. Saying it multiple times in that moment and across other contexts, such as  role play, stories and writing for repeated exposure and contextual understanding.

Introduce and Use New Vocabulary

Introduce new words during shared reading, play, or thematic learning. Reinforce them in different contexts throughout the week.

Example: If introducing the word “enormous,” use it in various settings: “That’s an enormous block tower!” or “We read about an enormous elephant.”

Create a Talk-Rich Environment

Design classroom spaces that promote conversation, reading corners, small group areas, and role-play zones with props (like a pretend kitchen or shop). These spaces give children context and motivation to engage in dialogue.

Question less, comment more.

Comment, recap, narrate, think out loud rather than ask multiple questions. So choose fewer but better questions rather than lots of questions, it’s about sustaining the talk and thought process out loud. For every 3 - 4 comments could be 1 question. Another method involves alternating every question with a comment so question, comment, question, comment.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions invite children to think and respond in more complex ways than simple yes/no or one-word answers. They encourage children to use language to reason, predict, and explain.

Example: “What do you think will happen if we mix these colours?” or “Why do you think the character felt sad?”

Sentence Stems and Talk Prompts

Some children want to join the conversation but just don’t know how. Sentence stems provide structure.  This can help some pupils process their thoughts.

• Examples:
  • “I agree with you because…”
  • “I see it differently. I think…”
  • “Can you explain what you meant when you said…?”

Embedding Talk Across the Day

Talk shouldn’t just be reserved for English or literacy time. Opportunities for oral language can and should happen during:

• Maths: “Explain how you solved it.”
• Science: “What do you predict will happen?”
• Play: “Tell me about your tower.”
• Art: “Why did you choose those colours?”
• PE: “What worked well in your team today?”

School action planning and a whole school approach is needed.

Final Thoughts

Creating a talk-rich classroom doesn’t require elaborate planning, just intention. When children are encouraged to speak, listen, question, and reflect, learning becomes active and collaborative. Its not an extra to an already packed day, it’s a tool, an ethos, it’s about embedding rich conversation into everything we do. Whether during snack time, story time, or while building towers out of blocks, every interaction is an opportunity to grow a child’s language.

By embedding talk into every part of the day in every way, we’re not only improving academic outcomes, but we’re also helping children become confident communicators who know that their ideas matter.

Of course, ensuring high quality language and talk opportunities means staff need to:

1. See the importance of talk.
2. Receive coaching and training.
3. Know what typical talk looks like for the age group they are teaching.
4. Be experts in scaffolding talk and communication- know when and how to step in, comment, model thinking, explain, recapping, making links, thinking out loud, extending or pondering.
5. Talk with

Staff need to have the  confidence and skills to scaffold thinking and talk effectively, in order to  sustain and build productive and constructive conversations for learning and wellbeing.

 Ultimately children begin by learning to talk but when using a whole school approach explicitly, this enables ‘talk’ to shift from not merely learning to talk but learning through talk. As it has intention, purpose and so will achieve impact.

Visit our website  https://www.roadeenglishhub.co.uk/our-courses-and-events to book our Early Language Course, which will support you on your Speech, Language and Communication journey.