Oracy

The Politics of Speech Education

Tom F. Wright (University of Sussex)

$44.95

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Cambridge University Press
31 July 2025

Speaking & pronunciation skills; Listening skills; Communication studies; Educational strategies & policy

Oracy – or 'speaking and listening skills' – has become one of the most prominent ideas in modern education. But where has this idea come from? Should oracy education be seen as positive, or does it hold unintended consequences? How can problems over definitions, teaching and assessment ever be overcome? This timely book brings together prominent practitioners and researchers to explore the often overlooked implications of speaking and listening education. It features essays from teachers, school leaders, political advisers and charity heads, and from leading thinkers across the fields of linguistics, political science, history, Classics and anthropology. Together, they consider the benefits and risks of oracy education, place it in global context, and offer practical guidance for those trying to implement it on the ground. By demystifying one of the most important yet contentious ideas in modern education, this book offers a vital roadmap for how schools can make oracy work for all.

Edited by: Tom F. Wright (University of Sussex)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781009440325
ISBN 10: 1009440322
Pages: 220
Publication Date: 31 July 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Tom F. Wright is Head of the Department of English at the University of Sussex in the UK. He is the author of Lecturing the Atlantic (2017) and the textbook Transatlantic Rhetoric (2020). His writing has appeared in the Atlantic, Bloomberg, the Times Literary Supplement and TES, and he appears regularly on BBC Radio 4.