It’s good to talk - Task setting for the spoken language endorsement

Older readers will remember the BT adverts which claimed that "it's good to talk" - a message that could equally be applied to the GCSE English Language Spoken Language endorsement. Putting aside the 'hot potato' of its unweighted status, the importance of Spoken Language in the classroom shouldn't be underestimated and the way we approach it with pupils can make all the difference. In this blog (the first of two on Spoken Language) Lesley Hancock, the Principal Moderator, will have a look at some approaches to task setting and why it is so important.

The basic premise of the Spoken Language endorsement is straightforward. Pupils choose a topic that they are interested in, talk about it and then answer questions from the audience. A grade of Not Classified, Pass, Merit or Distinction is then awarded. So far, so good. However, if pupils are not given guidance on content, some candidates will underachieve. When given an invitation to ‘talk about’ a ‘topic that interests them’ or ‘a character’ from a literature set text, some candidates will take a descriptive, straightforward approach which may disadvantage them. They are unlikely to meet the criteria for Merit or Distinction grades and will often be limited to a Pass.

Pupils know what they like and many will feel strongly about what they want to talk about and this should be encouraged. However, in the same way that we wouldn't expect pupils to write examination questions for public exams, we can't leave them entirely to their own devices when choosing and shaping a task for their Spoken Language presentation either.

Tweaking

The good news is that most tasks can be improved quite dramatically with a bit of tweaking. Let's take the ever popular topic 'My Hobby'. How could this be given a clearer sense of purpose and trajectory? Well, what about:

• Persuade your classmates to take up the hobby
• Persuade a group of pensioners to take up the hobby
• Make a case for including your hobby in the school curriculum.

Another favourite topic is, 'My favourite film/band/television programme'. This is a perfectly valid choice which can be very interesting for an audience but why not consider some ways to make it even more engaging. For example:

• Persuade the awards committee to choose your favourite film for the highest honour
• ‘Popular music these days is superficial, mass-produced and mindless, here today and gone tomorrow’. Defend your favourite band, artist or musical genre against this criticism
• Explain to an audience of English teachers (real or imagined) why their lives would be better if they watched your favourite television programme.

Transference of skills and co-teachability

We want to encourage integration and transference of skills in the English classroom and any work done on the Spoken Language endorsement will help pupils in the written GCSE English language exams. For example: the practice of structuring an argument, synthesising different ideas, making coherent points and making specific vocabulary choices to name but a few. There are also clear opportunities here to practise skills and knowledge needed for GCSE English Literature enhancing co-teaching opportunities. For example:

Using one of your literature set texts, make a convincing case taking one of the following ideas as a starting point:

• Put a ‘villainous’ or foolish character on trial, acting as either defence or prosecution (e.g. Lady Macbeth; Iago; Claudio; Mrs Birling; Mrs Lyons; Jack or Roger; Mrs Winterson, etc.)
• As in a traditional ‘Balloon Game’, persuade your audience that your chosen character is crucial to the success of the play or novel and could not be omitted or that he or she is most responsible for the tragic events of the play/novel
• Choose the character you think has been presented most or least sympathetically and persuade your audience to agree
• Select the poem from the set Anthology which you think should be chosen to honour the soldiers on a war memorial or to include in a poetry collection celebrating the power of romantic love or nature.

Remember, no candidate would be hindered by a slight amendment to the task suggested by the teacher. If the candidate still adopted a descriptive, straightforward approach, then a Pass grade would be appropriate, but those aiming higher would at least have the opportunity to meet Merit and Distinction criteria.

In Summary

• Don’t leave the choice of topic entirely to candidates. They need help
• Remind candidates aiming at higher grades of the need for some level of challenge in the ideas/feelings or information presented
• Give the task a sense of purpose and advise candidates to try and avoid straightforward, descriptive approach if they are aiming at higher grades
• Consider whether a specific or defined audience would help individual candidates adopt a more formal register and range of vocabulary
• Remind candidates of need to prepare for feedback and how best to respond to some potentially challenging questions.