An excessively talkative class can be disruptive and exhausting and allowing students to freely talk and without permission is certainly a slippery slope.
At the same time, at the heart of a pupil’s learning and a teacher’s repertoire is talk. Robin Alexander in Towards Dialogic Teaching argues that “talk is arguably the true foundation of learning”. But, while championing the role of oracy is important, not all types of talk are welcome or appropriate.
Constant chit-chat is the “bane of my life” for many a teacher and does need to be curbed. The problem is that some students need little or no invitation or encouragement to talk.
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