Speaking in subject areas

How to speak like a subject expert

We all know that students need to learn to write like a subject expert, but they also have to learn to speak like a subject expert too.

If they can’t speak about it, they surely can’t write about it.

Research shows that oral language skills are related to reading and writing. In fact, speaking skills often pave the way for development of reading and writing skills.

This is true even in secondary schools, because reading, writing and speaking get more difficult and complex in each year of schooling.

So how can we improve a student’s speaking skills and help them speak like a subject expert? Here’s one activity you can try online or in the classroom:

Speak about a model or diagram or object

Even if you want student to write in the end, it is really valuable to give students something multimodal to engage with and speak about. The aim is to engage students in meaningful subject-based talk, which is the way that subject experts communicate.

For example, you could arrange students in pairs and:

the phases of the paragraph:

• explain the parts and how they work together
• explain the process
• describe what the object is or means
• describe how the object relates to the topic or issue being studied.

What are some examples from different subjects?

Students should not use informal, everyday language. Instead they should use subject vocabulary and objective, formal language. They should use full sentences.

They might need to rehearse and say it several times. Then they can talk to the teacher, to the class, to another group of students.

• They could talk about a finance table in Business Studies
• They could talk about a model in Science
• They could talk about graphic notation or a concept map in Music
• They could talk about an image in HPE.
• They could talk about a graph in Geography.
• They could talk about an artwork in Visual Arts.

What happens next?

After students speak about a model or diagram or object, then they can read about it with more engagement and comprehension and also write with greater expertise.

References

Research shows that oral language develops in tandem with spoken and written language. Oral language skills often come before reading and writing. See my review of the literature below:

Weekes, T. (2021). ‘A review of the literature around literacy transition’, in P.T. Jones, E. Matruglio & C. Edwards-Groves (Eds.), Transition and Continuity in School Literacy Development. London: Bloomsbury.

If you have more questions, please get in touch: info@literacyworks.com.au