Progression to Structured Talk
The chatter of play becomes the reasoning of learning.
1️⃣ Introduction
In the Early Years, talk is full of laughter, imagination, and storytelling. Children argue about toy cars, plan their next game, and tell anyone who will listen what they saw on the way to school. These moments may seem simple — but they are the training ground for thinking aloud.
As children grow, that same playful talk evolves into more structured, purposeful forms of communication: explaining, predicting, persuading, reasoning. The seeds of academic discussion are planted in the sandpit and the story corner.
This page explores how teachers can help talk mature — from spontaneous chatter to thoughtful classroom dialogue — so that every child leaves the Early Years ready to reason, explain, and learn through talk.
2️⃣ Key Ideas and Evidence
From Playful Talk to Purposeful Talk
Early play conversations are rich in social and narrative skills — turn-taking, perspective-taking, sequencing. As children get older, these same skills become the foundation for structured discussion.
Research from Neil Mercer and Voice 21 (UK), OECD oracy frameworks, and early years initiatives in South Asia show that when teachers nurture structured dialogue from the start, children later outperform peers in comprehension, collaboration, and problem-solving.
The Bridge from Talk in Play to Talk for Learning
| Early Talk in Play | Later Structured Talk | What Links Them |
|---|---|---|
| “You be the teacher, I’ll be the student!” | “Let’s explain our experiment results.” | Understanding roles and turn-taking |
| “My car is faster!” | “I think this one’s heavier because it’s metal.” | Using evidence and comparison |
| “You can’t come in — it’s a zoo!” | “Let’s agree the rules before we start.” | Negotiating and planning |
| “I saw a big fish!” | “I predict the fish will float.” | Using language to describe and hypothesise |
In each case, the cognitive move is the same — only the setting changes. Teachers who recognise these links can guide talk gently from informal to formal.
Oracy as a Developmental Journey
Around the world, oracy frameworks describe this journey as moving from learning to talk → learning through talk.
- In the Early Years, focus is on confidence, vocabulary, and social talk.
- In lower primary, children start using sentence stems (“I think… because…”).
- In upper primary, they engage in structured discussion, explanation, and debate.
Bangladeshi teachers can nurture this progression even in low-resource settings by gradually adding structure to familiar routines — circle time becomes pair reasoning, storytime becomes mini-discussion, and playful prediction becomes explanation.
3️⃣ What This Means for Teachers in Bangladesh
Structured talk is not about fancy debates or microphones — it’s about giving children chances to reason aloud in ways that match their age and environment.
Small Things, Big Impact
| Routine or Activity | How to Add Structure |
|---|---|
| Circle time | After a question, pair children and give each one 20 seconds to talk — then switch. (Turn and talk.) |
| Storytime | Ask “Who agrees with the bear? Who disagrees?” to introduce argument and evidence. |
| Science or play | Use prediction stems: “I think it will ___ because ___.” |
| Group work | Give clear roles: Speaker, Listener, Questioner, Recorder. Rotate daily. |
| Whole class sharing | Ask, “Can someone build on that idea?” — encourage linking thoughts. |
Active Ingredients: What Helps Talk Progress
| Ingredient | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Sentence stems | Give language for reasoning (“I think…, I agree because…, I noticed…”). |
| Partner roles | Ensure everyone speaks and listens — not just confident students. |
| Time to think | Short pauses before answering help children form ideas. |
| Gentle correction | Recasting (“Yes, you went to the market”) models formal structures naturally. |
| Encouragement of questions | When children ask “why,” they practice curiosity and reasoning. |
“Now they ask me questions — and sometimes I don’t know the answers. That’s when I know they’re really learning.” – Primary teacher, Sylhet
Real-Life Example: Sultana’s Story-to-Discussion Routine
Setting Government primary school, Dhaka (Kindergarten to Grade 1) Teacher Sultana Akter
Sultana noticed her older preschoolers loved storytime — but their talk stayed at surface level. “They would just say, ‘It’s funny!’ or ‘I like it,’” she explains. “I wanted them to say why.”
She introduced a simple structure she calls “Story Talk”:
- Listen – Read a short story or picture book aloud.
- Think – Ask: “Who did something kind in the story?” (pause)
- Pair – Children turn to a partner: “Tell your friend what you think.”
- Share – Two pairs share ideas with the class.
- Reflect – “Who agrees? Why? Who has a different idea?”
At first, children repeated each other. Sultana began modelling fuller sentences:
“I think the bird was kind because she shared her food.”
Children quickly began copying:
“I think the boy was good because he helped.”
“I disagree — he was scared first.”
- Predictable steps each day built confidence.
- Sentence stems scaffolded expression.
- Pairs reduced fear of “wrong answers.”
- Managing noise in large groups.
- Reminding children to listen before speaking.
Impact: “They started talking like little teachers — giving reasons. Even parents said, ‘My child asks me why now!’”
4️⃣ Summary Box
Structured talk grows naturally from early conversation and play.
When teachers model reasoning and provide light scaffolds — roles, stems, routines — children learn to express complex ideas confidently.
Every “because” in a child’s sentence is a sign that talk has become thinking.
