Dr. Naomi Flynn (Associate Professor of Primary English Education, University of Reading) recently presented expert advice to nearly 100 teachers of pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) in a webinar hosted by the charity Voice 21. Voice 21 are devoted to ensuring that teachers use talk (oracy) more in their classroom practice, and their approaches align well with her current research into a talk-based pedagogy for EAL learners.
Drawing on her research in the US and in the UK, Dr. Flynn shared her advice about why a talk-rich classroom matters for EAL learners and for all learners. Also on the panel was her practitioner colleague, Mrs. Emma Kerrigan-Draper, a Headteacher from a school with 95% EAL learners that Dr. Flynn works closely with.
The audience appreciated the ways in which both speakers were able to give clear evidence of how embedding research-informed oracy-based practice in school can enhance children’s sense of identity, their social well-being and their academic outcomes.
You can see the recording of the webinar here.
To learn more about Dr. Flynn’s research interests, click here. She tweets at @naomiflynn61.
