Good talk in the classroom: a collaborative classroom research project

The Good Talk project investigated how to develop children’s skills more effectively in the Interpersonal Speaking and Listening Achievement Objectives in English, and in some of the Essential Skill areas, through strategies for improving group discussion. The results have useful implications for teaching. They show that children can reflect seriously on their own learning processes, through “talk about talk”. They can also engage enthusiastically with curriculum content ideas, through “talk about topic”. However, it seems to be difficult for them to do both at once.