Talk in the Primary Classroom: How can the learning environment contribute to children’s talk for learning? Using a ‘Communication Friendly Spaces’ approach to support children’s talk.

This research project aimed to investigate the role of the environment on children’s talk. A questionnaire was sent to all the teachers in the school and was used alongside observations and discourse analysis within a base reception class to gather data. The research found that children were more confident talkers in the role-play areas and outside. Furthermore, it identified that while teacher’s valued talk to support learning, they did not use communication specific pedagogical techniques to support children in this area of their learning. The research concludes by highlighting the importance of the environment and the creation of different spaces to support and develop children’s talk