Research School Network: Talk First, Read Best! Structured and purposeful talk is the fundamental building block for reading success

Zoe Lyndon, Hampshire Research School ELE and Reading Lead, discusses how classroom talk can make all the difference when learning to read and offers some practical ideas to enhance your curriculum.

The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1 Guidance Report (2020) makes an evidence-based case for prioritising oral integration approaches – the ability to speak and listen effectively – as the fundamental building block for reading success. For educators implementing this, the key is to embed high-quality talk into every literacy moment, transforming classrooms into language-rich environments.

The report’s first core recommendation is to develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills and wider understanding of language. Implementation goes beyond simple class discussions – it demands a shift in pedagogical approach:

1. Prioritise quality interactions: Move from adults simply talking to children to engaging in high-quality talk with them. This means using interactions to deliberately model and extend children’s vocabulary and syntax, building the crucial comprehension skills they will later need for reading.

2. Explicit vocabulary teaching: Language development, particularly vocabulary, should be explicitly planned and taught. A rich lexicon acquired through talk becomes the foundation upon which children understand the words they are decoding in print.

3. Harness shared reading: The direct link between oral language and reading is most evident during shared reading. Teachers should use this time to pause, question, and encourage collaborative discussion about the text. By modelling deep thinking and extending children’s language during reading aloud, you help pupils apply their listening skills to make sense of written narratives.

4. Encourage collaborative Talk: Implement collaborative activities where students are given opportunities to learn through talk. This develops not only their speaking and listening skills, but also essential wider skills like social awareness and problem-solving – which ultimately support complex reading comprehension strategies such as prediction and summarising.

This graphic from the ​“Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1” guidance report illustrates the ​‘gradual release of responsibility’ model applied to inferencing.

This graphic from the ​“Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1” guidance report illustrates the ​‘gradual release of responsibility’ model applied to inferencing.

At Front Lawn Primary Academy, this guidance is brought to life through a whole-school focus on oral integration approaches in these ways:

• We ensure explicit vocabulary teaching is planned across all subjects, reinforcing word knowledge before it is encountered in a written text.

• To structure high-quality talk, pupils are taught and expected to use structured sentence stems (e.g.,​‘The main theme of the text is…because…’) which mirror the sophisticated language of written comprehension and are progressive across the school.
  
  
• Collaborative literacy tasks are enhanced with specific talk roles for group work (e.g. leader, collector, scribe, timekeeper, reporter) to ensure equitable participation and deeper thinking.

• This commitment to talk extends beyond the classroom walls: we use lunchtime conversation starters to promote social and academic talk in informal settings and run circle-time assemblies focused on developing confident speaking and active listening skills. This integrated approach solidifies oral integration as the daily mechanism that drives reading progress.
  

In essence, successful implementation requires recognising that a child’s comprehension of written text will rarely exceed their understanding of spoken language. By nurturing a rich oral language environment first, schools ensure pupils possess the linguistic toolkit necessary to become confident, competent readers.

Look out for a new webinar coming soon that focuses on the importance of high-quality talk in EYFS. Here we unpick the ShREC approach and how you can use it as a framework for high-quality interactions. How can we make every conversation count? Sign up to our webinars here https://researchschool.org.uk/…