Classrooms are busy places in which individual teachers typically work with relatively large groups of children. In their desire to maximise learning opportunities and, at the same time, maintain order and organise the classroom, it is not surprising that research shows that teachers do the majority of speaking in the classroom.
Cazden, C. B. (1988) Classroom Discourse: The Language of Teaching and Learning, Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Chambers, A. (1995) Tell Me: Children, Reading and Talk, Stroud: Thimble Press.
Jones, D. & Hodson, P. (Eds.) (2012) Unlockingspeaking and listening, London: Routledge.
Since then investigations in British primary schools have shown similar results which suggest that classrooms remain predominantly teacher-dominated.
Galton, M., Simon, B. and Croll, P. (1980) Inside the Primary Classroom, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Galton, M., Hargreaves, L., Comber, C., Wall, D. and Pell, A. (1999) Inside the Primary Classroom: 20 Years On, London: Routledge.
Galton, M. (2007) Learning and teaching in the promary classroom, London: Sage.
For a practical exploration of questions, and questioning, by both teachers and pupils, see:
Wragg, T. and Brown, G. (2001) Questioning in the Primary School, London: Routledge.
There are many different drama conventions which can be exploited to promote creative talk and learning in the classroom. For examples of such conventions, see:
Neelands, J & Goode, T. (Eds) (2000) Structuring Drama Work: A Handbook of Available Forms in Theatre and Drama (2nd ed), London: David Fulton.
Recent writing on using talk creatively in classrooms includes:
Cremin, T. (2022) Teaching English Creatively, 3rd edition. London: Routledge.
