Language in the classroom: Literacy and collaborative talk

Abstract In this paper, I argue that simply to increase the amount of talk in the classroom will not necessarily lead to improved learning opportunities, unless serious attention is given to the purposes it serves and the types of interaction to which it contributes. This is particularly so for lower class and ethnolinguistic minority students, who are often believed to be in need of additional and remedial oral experience in the language of the classroom. In thinking about the place of talk in the classroom, we should be concerned to involve all students, whatever their background, in collaborative talk about tasks that are student‐owned and inquiry‐oriented and which integrate talking with thinking, doing, reading and writing in order to engage with topics and texts that both students and teachers find meaningful and significant.