Professor Neil Mercer 'Oracy Cambridge: The power of talk'

Summary

Professor Neil Mercer introduces Oracy Cambridge, a study centre intended to give the development of spoken-language skills greater prominence in education and other areas of life.

Why oracy matters

• Oracy is often overlooked. Spoken communication is frequently treated as something people will learn naturally, unlike literacy and numeracy, which receive more explicit attention.
• Early language experience matters. Research indicates that the amount of talk children experience at home before school can help predict their later educational progress. For children with fewer early opportunities to develop these skills, school can provide a second chance—but spoken language does not receive equivalent attention in the curriculum.
• Communication skills are valuable beyond school. Employers seek young people who can communicate well, listen effectively, work productively in teams, and engage with customers.
• Oracy covers practical uses of spoken language. Mercer is not discussing second-language learning, but using any language to accomplish everyday tasks. Examples include giving presentations, working in teams, listening effectively, and helping others learn.

Oracy Cambridge’s aims and activities

The centre aims to connect people working on spoken-language skills in schools, vocational education, occupational training, and other settings, helping them learn from research and from one another.

Its planned activities include:

• Holding conferences and other events that bring practitioners and researchers together, both across the field and in specialist areas.
• Sharing relevant research, practical information, events, and teaching approaches through its website and social media.
• Raising oracy’s profile with policymakers and advocating for greater attention to it in education for both children and adults.

Speaker

Professor Neil Mercer — introduced as director of Oracy Cambridge. The auto-generated subtitles render his first name as “Will,” which may be a transcription error.