Talk Less. Listen More.

“Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak” (Epictetus, a long, long time ago).

            These words came to mind while I was reading a LinkedIn post about how much teachers tend to talk during any given class.  As it turns out, teachers talk a lot.  They do occasionally ask their students to “turn and talk,” but only for a minute or so.  By the end of the entire day, students can consider themselves lucky if they have actually talked to their peers about the class content for more than 12 minutes.  12 minutes!  The average middle school or high school day falls between six and seven hours!  These children may very likely talk about what they learn for only 3.33% of their days.  And then, they are expected to be able to write clearly and intelligently about what they have learned.  There is something wrong with this reality.

            There are all sorts of articles and studies out there about “teacher wait time.”  There are probably even more articles and studies about "talking as learning."  I agree that talking is learning; it helps us to process thinking, build memory, and connect ideas.  If someone is listening as we talk, there may be dialogue, further solidifying thinking.  If someone asks a question, thinking gets deeper, evidence is necessary. 

            I wonder if the teacher is the only one who truly learns in a teacher-talking sort of class. 

            I spent quite a few years with middle school students in English/ELA classes.  We worked with writing, grammar, and literature.  Were there times that I talked, and they listened?  Yes.  Were there times that I read aloud, and they listened?  Yes.  Were there times when they had a lot of questions?  Yes.  Were there also nearly entire class periods filled with the children talking to each other?  Absolutely.  There were brief interruptions in their talk, so that I could remind them of something and let them loose with a bit of new information.  I learned the most about my students on those days. 

As the children talked, I wandered around the room to listen in.  My guess is that, quite often, our English class spent nearly half of the class period (about 20 minutes) in student-to-student talk.  Sometimes this was a partner conversation.  Sometimes it was a small group chat.  Other times, it was half of the class, as in my Socratic Seminar-lite option (See Ring Some Bells—Rattle Some Chains).  Still other times, it just evolved.  I would bring something up, or I would ask a question, and the conversation—not led by me—simply took off.  Not every student spoke.  The more introverted folks listened.  Nearly all students were actively engaged.  Those who weren’t missed out on something wonderful.  And they always realized this…later.

            After this sort of talk explosion, or even after some good small-group conversation, my students were able to write “Short Responses,” answers to open-ended questions, with depth and explanation.  Because, as E. M. Forster once paraphrased an elderly lady, “How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?”  She was correct.  We all need to see what we say before we can organize it well and write it down.  Talk is practice, but talk is also learning.  And if we want our students to learn, we need to let them talk…a lot!

            You may want to try this.  The next time you ask students to turn and talk, ask an open-ended question.  Set a timer for five minutes, and let them talk.  Then, do it again, maybe with new groups or new information, or by blending groups for another five minutes.  Then, try it one more time in a new configuration or with a bit more information for another five minutes.  Walk the room.  Listen in.  Ask questions if the conversation is lagging.  Don’t interrupt if the conversation is good.  Then, and only then, ask your students to think about answering the open-ended question in writing.