We need to talk about talking. So says the Oracy Education Commission, a group of education experts.

This week it released a hefty report. It claims that oracy - the ability to express oneself well through speech - is a skill that needs to be taught in all schools, along with literacyThe ability to read and write. and numeracyThe ability to understand and use numbers. . It is essential in preparing the younger generation to take their place as the future citizens of our country.

The term oracy comes from education theory. It means the fluentAble to express oneself easily and articulately. and confident use of language, in writing, speaking and listening.

The commission also uses oracy to refer to the way spoken communication can help us to learn, and also to our general knowledge and understanding of speech, listening and how they are used.

Oracy is a hot topic. Communications professor Stephen Coleman says: "Voice is a very, very important tool, particularly for the most disadvantaged young people in society."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer agrees: "I'm determined a Labour government will put confident speaking at the heart of what we teach our children." He has said that speaking skills are vital to smash the "class ceilingA hidden barrier that prevents people from advancing in class and earning the same as those from upper middle-class backgrounds." that holds back poorer students.

Data proves that socioeconomicA way of describing people based on their education, income and type of job. background affects oracy. According to the National Literacy Trust, 31% of five-year-olds start primary school without the language and communication skills they need to thrive. This rises to 47% among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.¹ The Trust writes: "This is a gap many children won't recover from."

There is also evidence that oracy fuels attainment. Another report claims that pupils on free school meals are 1.6 times more likely to underperform with language than their peers who are not. It also found that five-year-olds with poor language skills performed poorly aged 11. They were six times less likely to reach the expected standard in English, and 11 times less likely in maths.²

For Starmer and the Oracy Education Commission, this suggests that oracy is key to dismantling inequality.

Others are not convinced. Disadvantaged children are not all the same. Not all of them have poor oracy, just as not all advantaged children have great oracy. 

Inequality is part of a larger system. An individual improving their ability to express themselves is a good thing. But it cannot overcome other disadvantages such as poverty. These are beyond a child's and a school's control. 

As academic Ian Cushing writes: "Genuine social justice efforts require transformative methodologiesSystems of methods used in a particular area of study or activity. which target the root causes of injustices and reimagine the societies which our schools are part of." 

Besides, oracy may be hard to teach, and not just because it piles even more work on teachers. Oracy is a big concept. How we improve it - and what exactly needs to be improved - is a huge question. 

The report is 60 pages long. It delves deep into what needs to change and why. But only two pages provide recommendations on how to make things better.

Is it the key to inequality?

Yes: People make judgements based on first impressions. And one of the key ways we assess people is in how clearly and fluently they speak. Teaching oracy will level this, flattening out unfair advantages.

No: Oracy is not powerful enough to end inequality. Someone born to a disadvantaged background will always have fewer opportunities than someone not, regardless of how well they can communicate. 

Or...  Better oracy should help some students. But spare a thought for those with disorders that make speaking confidently - or speaking much at all - difficult. Would a focus on oracy cast them aside?

Literacy - The ability to read and write.

numeracy - The ability to understand and use numbers.

Fluent - Able to express oneself easily and articulately.

Class ceiling - A hidden barrier that prevents people from advancing in class and earning the same as those from upper middle-class backgrounds.

Socioeconomic - A way of describing people based on their education, income and type of job.

Methodologies - Systems of methods used in a particular area of study or activity.