What Oracy Looks Like in Action

As the school year winds down, whether you’re still wrapping things up or just turned in your keys, you’re probably already thinking ahead. What worked? What felt unfinished? And how can we set up multilingual learners for even more success next year?

One powerful place to start is oracy.

For multilingual learners, classroom talk isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Speaking is often the most accessible way for students to process complex ideas, especially before reading or writing about them. Yet too often, classrooms are built around silence, fast recall, or one-right-answer responses. When we create space for students to talk to think out loud, to connect, to explain, we’re not just supporting language development. We’re building belonging, academic confidence, and deeper understanding.

You don’t need a brand-new curriculum to center oracy. It’s already present in the best teaching. What matters is making it intentional. That might look like turn-and-talk routines that give every student a moment to process before sharing with the whole group. It might sound like students using sentence frames such as “I agree with ___ because…” or “One thing I’d add is…” to participate in academic conversations. It might be small group discussions, oral rehearsals before writing, or even role play and debate to explore new perspectives. All of these moments are opportunities for students to strengthen their voice and take ownership of their learning.

I’ll never forget visiting an eight-grade AVID social classroom mid-lesson. It was loud. As I paused to listen, I realized something special was happening. They were engaged in a deep discussion during tutorial routines. One multilingual student, usually quiet during whole-group time, was animated, using her home language to clarify a point, building on her peer’s ideas, and then sharing back. She had the thinking all along. She just needed the space to speak it into the room.

As teachers and leaders, now is the perfect time to reflect: Are we building enough opportunities for students to talk? Do our routines invite all learners to question, explain, and respond? Are we measuring only what students can write or also what they can say?

After a well-deserved break this summer, we’ll return to classrooms and school buildings full of possibility. And one powerful way to meet the moment is to prioritize oracy, not just as an add-on, but as a core part of how we teach and how students learn.

More talk. More confidence. More access. That’s what multilingual learners deserve.

If you’re looking for practical tools to bring this to life next year, I’m developing planning guides, oracy routines, and bilingual resources through Voices in Practice to support exactly that. Subscribe HERE to get them delivered straight to your inbox.

Let’s make next year louder, in all the right ways.