The Articulate Classroom

Talking and Learning in the Primary School

Prue Goodwin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781138225749
• eBook ISBN:
  9781315398846
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This is a classic edition of Prue Goodwin's acclaimed collection of articles by leading educationalists on the place of talk in the primary curriculum, which now includes a preface from Lyn Dawes. A talking classroom is both a crucial part of every subject area and a subject in its own right. For all primary teachers committed to deepening their understanding of the pivotal role talk plays in learning, this book focuses attention on the importance of fully enabling pupils' learning potential.

Articles, grouped according to a flexible framework, explore:

• the importance of talk in learning
• discursive and interactive classrooms
• talking and learning in the early years
• talk across the curriculum
• the importance of storytelling and drama.

The new introduction reflects on key research developments since the book was first published.

The Articulate Classroom is an engaging introduction to the field which is still very relevant to today's readers. It will remain an indispensable guide for teachers looking to extend their skills, and a unique chance for education researchers to gain an overview from experts in the field.

PART 1

Every voice is valued

1

THE ARTICULATE PLAYGROUND

Trainee teachers meet pocket monsters

Elizabeth Grugeon

The scraps of lore which children learn from each other are at once more real, more immediately serviceable, and more vastly entertaining than anything which they learn from grownups.

(Opie, I. and P. 1959, p. 1)

For the most part teachers fail to capitalise on the wealth of material informally learned by children within the traditional culture of the playground...

(Widdowson 2000)

In March 2000, 70 trainee primary school teachers in their third year of a BEd degree at De Montfort University were asked to observe and record a 15 minute breaktime on a primary school playground as part of a study of children’s informal language. This chapter draws on extracts from some of their recording and observation on playgrounds in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes. Their data could be grouped under several headings: jokes, traditional rhymes and games, football, media influences and narrative fantasy games. Since the enduring traditional playground games and girls’ play, in particular, have been discussed elsewhere (Opie 1993, Bishop and Curtis 2000, Grugeon 2000) it seemed interesting to concentrate on the way recent media influences are being absorbed into the language and culture of the playground.

‘Not in front of the grown-ups’ – jokes and traditional games

Tracy was not alone when she observed that these games frequently included a forbidden word or two: ‘bum’, ‘knickers’, ‘arse’. This was particularly the case with games which included songs and rhymes. She wondered whether this could be the reason:

why these games have a stage on the playground and not in the classroom or home, or not at least when teacher or mum can hear...Adults do not always appreciate the subversiveness of these songs; they have grown up and forgotten them and the pleasure and excitement of singing them. Children enjoy being caught singing these songs, just as a reminder to those adults within earshot that they understand and are capable of understanding more about life than adults think they do.

(Tracy Lee, Luton school, 2000)

As David Crystal says, ‘Being naughty with language seems innately attractive’ (Crystal 1998, p. 169). In his book Language Play he is dismayed that so little attention is paid to children’s informal language, believing that ‘language play… is a prerequisite for successful reading and spelling’ (Crystal 1998, p. 181).

Many students noticed how children in the playground loved to tell jokes: ‘Verbal jokes can often reflect children’s linguistic understandings and agility more accurately than grammar exercises’ (Tann 1991, p. 22). Kate, who had collected a number, remarked, ‘most of these were not even remotely amusing’, yet it was evident that the children were using puns, alliteration and word order to create humorous effects, ‘How does a cow go up the A1? On the mooterway’ (Kate Alliston, March 2000). Other students observed and remarked on gender differences; girls often playing games which involved verbal interaction in small, cohesive groups, while boys tended to take up more space with games involving running and chasing: football, Power Rangers and stylised fighting routines. Students were surprised to discover how much language was involved in these very active games.

Football

‘Come on, pass it here. Here, here! Do it like this … Pass it to me. NO, NO, NO! YEP here!’ (Kulbir Bansal, large multi-ethnic urban lower school, March 2000).

On a large urban middle school playground, Tom observed that the Year 5 and 6 boys:

virtually all played football throughout their playtime. During the game most of the talk could be split into two categories which were either instruction, like ‘kick the ball’ or criticism, ‘why do you always shoot, can’t you pass the ball for a change?’ Both categories of interaction involved short sentences and even shorter responses. The four boys who talked most, held high status positions within the group and were all good footballers. They adopted the role of unofficial captains and vice-captains between them. They had the football skills to dominate the game which made it easier for them to dominate the other boys who lacked their confidence.

(Tom Bush, March 2000)

Lara also watched a group of Year 6 boys, in a large junior school on the outskirts of a town, who were also dominating the playground space. She observed that:

the verbal communication on the pitch was loud. The boys shouted short comments to each other. … However, the game also required the involvement of cooperative skills in order to function effectively.

Like Tom, she noticed that ‘certain boys tended to give commands concerning players’ position on the pitch, most of which were accepted’ and that ‘The rules governing who played where … were obviously clear to the pupils’ (Blatchford 1998, p. 69). When she talked to the boys afterwards she found that they were articulate and knowledgeable and that their talk was characterised by a humorous sparring repartee. They also had an impressive knowledge about the game and the linguistic conventions of the football commentator.

S:	Rivaldo
B:	What Rinaldo?
S:	No, Rivaldo, you ponce
B:	I say Rinaldo, he’s right quick with his feet and pings the ball
G:	I say Carno
J:	Gininio, or Zola, ‘And he’s taking the ball down the field, and he’s tackled, will he make it … yes, he scores. It’s a goal!’

(Lara Smith, March 2000)

For boys, it was evidently important to be ‘hard’ and good at football. It was one of the ways in which they were negotiating their masculine identity. At the same time, the girls were excluded and marginalised by these games.

Girls on the edge

Many students explored gender issues. Louise was interested by a game called ‘Go-Gos’ which was played by both boys and girls in Year 5 in her rural middle school.

The game involves all players placing a Go-Go (a small plastic figure) on the floor in front of a wall. Players take it in turns to throw another Go-Go to try and knock one over … the game is very popular with both boys and girls, but is always played in single sex groups.

(Louise Bundy, March 2000)

A girl explained, ‘We don’t play with boys’ cos they’re better at, erm … throwing and stuff, aren’t they?’ And Louise noted that the boys ‘bagsied’ the best positions for playing Go-Gos, ‘leaving the girls to play in areas where interruptions were more likely’. The boys’ confident behaviour in the playground was reflected in their language; girls were more passive in their conversations with her, while the boys tended to interrupt and speak over each other. She also noted that football, played only by boys:

involves the use of exclusive language with expressions such as ‘down the line’ and other specialist vocabulary … vernacular language, including swearing was also evident. … The boys often play football in role and ‘become’ Michael Owen or Alan Shearer, changing to Tony Adams or Sol Campbell if they are defending. This sometimes follows current ‘real life’ events. On one occasion, one boy scored a goal and claimed to be Robbie Fowler. He was then informed that it couldn’t have been Fowler because he was injured.

(Louise Bundy, March 2000)

Examples from many of the students showed that the media was exerting a powerful influence on children’s play; they noted ways in which this emerged in role play games when television ‘brings new words into the language’ (Keaney and Lucas 1994, p. 43).

‘We wanted to play Pokemon’

‘We wanted to play Pokemon, but we’re not allowed the cards anymore so we have to pretend.’

(Year 3 boy)

Spring 2000 was the height of the Pokemon controversy. All students encountered disgruntled groups of children who were no longer allowed to bring their cards to school. Jane, in a Hertfordshire junior school on the outskirts of a large town, asked two Year 4 boys about Pokemon. They explained how they manage without cards:

Child A:	Well there’s the cartoon you can watch, there are the cards … but we’re not allowed them any more.
Jane:	Tell me more about the cards then.
Child B:	You collect them and play games with them. You try and beat each other … with the powers on the card. On the cards are different Pokemon like Picachu, Beedrill and Bulbasaur. If they have more po...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1 Every voice is valued
• Part 2 Across the whole curriculum
• Part 3 Imagination and creativity
• Part 4 Talking about language
• Index