EDRG 3344 Blog 6

My definition of talk would be when one or more persons communicate orally for reasons such as gaining/giving information, to persuade, or for enjoyment. Now when I looked up the definition in the online dictionary it stated that talk was to deliver or express in speech, to make the subject of conversation or discourse, to influence, affect, or cause by talking, to use (a language) for conversing or communicating, to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken words, to convey information or communicate in any way (as with signs or sounds). The textbook breaks down talk into two types of classroom talk. Aesthetic Talk and Efferent Talk. Aesthetic talk is when the purpose of talk is to tell stories or deepen students understanding of stories. Efferent talk is is when the purpose of talk is to present information or understand information better. It goes on to break it down once more into formal and informal talk. Formal talk involves oral presentations such as debates or readers theatre. Informal talk involves students working in small group's usually consisting of conversations to understand literature or information better or to accomplish an assignment.

Classroom talk is extremely important. Teachers sometimes assume that students already know how to talk so they concentrate on reading and writing. So some children get left behind. The four types of talk activities: conversations, aesthetic talk, efferent talk, and dramatic activities are important for developing children's talk and they can also complement students written language. Classroom talk encourages students to ask questions, share ideas, and learn from other classmates. It can help those students who are shy or maybe learning English as a second language. If a student feels that they can not talk in the classroom most times they will be afraid to ask a question and may end up missing something very important from that days lesson. It helps children to become better communicators which will help them when they reach college or begin their career. As teachers we should always encourage talk as long as it is relevant and/or appropriate.

An example of talk in the classroom would be Grand Conversations. Students as a class or in small groups discuss the literature they are reading in literature focus units and literature circles. Grand Conversations gives the students the chance to take responsibility for their own learning as they voice their opinions and support their views with example's from the literature. They talk about things like what puzzles them, what was interesting to them, and their personal connections to the story. Usually students will encourage other students to participate. I can recall in my tenth grade English class after every book we read we had a grand conversation. It helped my see things from others points of views which if we hadn't discussed it I would have only seen it one sidedly.