Unleashing Creativity and Confidence: A Deep Dive into Talk4Writing

Professional Learning Communities are one key channels for teachers in Globeducate to access regular, supportive professional development and for sharing best practice. Across 60+ premium bilingual and international schools in 12 countries, these communities exist for a range of curricula areas, from Reading and Outdoor Learning to STEAM education and AI.

Teachers meet online on a regular basis to share best practice. On January 15^th, two Primary School practitioners; Jo Broughton from O Castro British International School and Kerryn Koh from Coruña British International School, led an online workshop for 50 teachers in Globeducate schools, exploring the “Talk4Writing” programme. This will be followed by a second webinar focusing on non-fiction writing next term led by Education Director Oanh Crouch. The initiative is aimed at all age ranges, a whole-school approach, and the methodology can be adapted to different languages.

Talk4Writing is a pedagogical strategy designed to enhance literacy skills and foster creativity in students. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at what Talk4Writing entails, its key principles, and the impact it has on students' language development.

What is TalK4Writing?

Talk4Writing is an engaging teaching framework that is impactful on reading and writing development. The approach enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects. Based on the principles of how children learn, it enables children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally, before reading and analysing it, and then writing their own version. Children are taught the language structures they need to think and express themselves as mathematicians, scientists and historians.

The approach comprises three key stages: imitation, innovation, and invention. At the heart of Talk4Writing is the idea that children learn best through imitation, then developing the innovation stage, involving character and setting development, up to invention stage where students begin to create their own narratives.

Kerryn Koh, Primary Teacher at Coruña British International School, Spain, said: “During the workshop, we looked at what Talk4Writing is, and its benefits. We explored the three stages of the programme and shared lots of great examples from our schools across Globeducate. We also ran a mini workshop where participants had a practical opportunity to develop their skills.”

Kerryn and Jo believe that Talk4Writing is a highly beneficial strategy that can be used to improve the language acquisition of children, and particularly those who come from an English as Additional Language (EAL) background. As Jo Broughton, Primary Teacher at O Castro British International School, Spain, explains, “We have found it particularly beneficial in our schools based in Spain, seeing the results in our children. We were delighted to share our experiences with teachers from other countries and schools.”

Jo and Kerryn answered some questions about the online workshop on January 15^th.

How can we expect to see a positive impact?

Kerryn: Children begin to display increased confidence in public speaking, drama, and in general use of English Language. This is reflected in their writing, where they begin to express themselves with greater clarity, using more creative sentence structures that they have learnt about through the programme.

Jo: What we see is that for children who are new to English, they are soon able to use vocabulary that they may not have encountered before, and they gain confidence in communicating early on. Therefore, the embarrassment associated with making mistakes or speaking out loud is reduced.

What are the benefits for teachers of joining this online workshop?

Kerryn: In our online workshop, colleagues will be able to see how Talk4Writing has been used in other international schools and they will be able to see concrete examples. They will see videos of children telling stories and examples of the work they complete throughout each unit. Also, the ability to collaborate with like-minded professionals is important and creates a community of learners and the chance to improve techniques.

Jo: Teachers will also have the chance to work through any issues they may have encountered trying this programme out in the past and they will be able to rely on a supportive community to help them overcome it.

Oanh Crouch, Globeducate Education Director, responsible for establishing and leading this Professional Learning Community, says:

“Within the myriad of multilingual settings of our Globeducate schools, Talk4Writing aligns with our educational initiatives to promote oracy and literacy skills in any focus language.

“These workshops support the collaborative nature of Globeducate as a group of educators who are committed to their own learning. It encourages teachers to try new techniques and initiatives in the classroom. Reading and writing are very strongly connected and so, telling stories and using quality texts are a key component to the Globeducate Reading and Writing Professional Learning Community.

What are the benefits for students?

Talk4Writing has proven to be a catalyst for improving writing skills, boosting confidence, and cultivating creativity. By placing oral language at the forefront of the learning process, this approach equips students with the foundational skills needed to become proficient writers and confident communicators.

Globeducate teachers who were unable to attend the live webinar and workshop can view the recorded version.

If you are interested in becoming a Globeducate teacher and benefiting from joining one of our Professional Learning Communities, read more here and join our talent pool by entering your details here.