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Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.
Their wordsBut the basic rule is: if you come along to a live audience with a text ready for publication and you read it out, it will probably make for a lousy oral occasion; likewise, if you try to publish an oral presentation exactly as delivered, it will almost certainly make an unpersuasive text.
Their wordsSo, it is hard not to be behind Lucy Powell’s recently expressed desire to promote speaking skills in schools, on a level with reading and writing.
Our reading
Their wordsFor a start, the word “oracy” (which has become the buzz term here) is ghastly in itself – reminiscent of some unpleasant dental treatment.
Their wordsBut more than that, it looks all ready to be pared down from a range of complicated ideas about human persuasion to a curricular subject that can be summarized and, inevitably, graded and examined.
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