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Literacy. Numeracy. Oracy?

A manifesto on transformative power of finding your voice: a key driver of social mobility and an essential skill for our personal and professional lives.

For generations our education system has been built on the twin pillars of literacy and numeracy. But what if a third – and equally vital – pillar has been ignored? Enter oracy: communicating effectively, articulating ideas and engaging with others through spoken language.

In this persuasive and powerful manifesto, Neil Mercer, Professor of Education at Cambridge and Director of the Oracy Centre, calls for oracy to have an equal footing alongside literacy and numeracy: students should leave school not only as readers and writers, but as accomplished speakers and listeners. With warmth, clarity and insight, he demonstrates how oracy education has nothing to do with “speaking posh”, or eliminating style, slang and regional accents, but instead empowers people to find and express their unique voice.

This is the first book to bring the most important step change in educational and social thinking to a wider audience. It is also practical; a guide of how to use language more effectively to teach, learn, develop a shared understanding, critically evaluate ideas and find creative solutions to life’s burning issues. After all, the impact of oracy doesn’t stop at the school gates: we all need oracy skills for our personal relationships, professional networks and social lives.