English // Speaking & Listening
Engaging Listeners and Valuing Viewpoints
Gain, maintain and monitor the interest of listeners when speaking; consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on others' contributions; begin to select appropriate language for different situations
Quick check
When the learner is talking in a group, do they notice if people are losing interest and adjust how they're speaking — or pick up on what others have said and add to it thoughtfully?
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Topic // Mastery
What mastery looks like
- Use strategies to engage listeners during a presentation (e.g., make eye contact, vary tone and pace, ask the audience a question)
- Listen to a peer's viewpoint and respond by agreeing, disagreeing, or extending their idea with a reason (e.g., 'I agree with Priya because… but I also think…')
- Choose more formal language for a class presentation and more informal language for a group discussion, explaining the difference
Topic // Map
Where this fits
- RequiredMust come first
- HelpfulHelps, but not essential
Before this
4 topics- Expressing & Justifying OpinionsRequired
Speaking & Listening // Ages 4 to 6
Engaging listeners requires ability to articulate opinions
- Group discussionsHelpful
Speaking & Listening // Ages 4 to 11
Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
- Reciting PoetryHelpful
Speaking & Listening // Ages 6 to 10
Reciting/presenting skills support engaging an audience
- Teaching It BackHelpful
Learning to Learn // Learning to Learn // Ages 7 to 8
Building on others' contributions in discussion requires being able to articulate your own thinking — the self-explanation habit applied in a social context
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Engaging Listeners and Valuing Viewpoints
Ages 7 to 8 // Thinking skill
Leads to
3 topicsSpeaking & Listening // Ages 8 to 11
Prepared discussion builds on gaining/maintaining listener interest and evaluating viewpoints
Speaking & Listening // Ages 9 to 10
Identifying a speaker's reasons and evidence builds on evaluating viewpoints and building on others' contributions in discussion
Personal & Social Development // Friendship & Cooperation // Ages 9 to 11
Giving feedback benefits from evaluating viewpoints and building on contributions
Topic // Standards
Curriculum standards
- The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
- Eng.SL.10Eng.SL.11Eng.SL.12
English // Speaking & Listening
More in Speaking & Listening
- Describing AloudAges 4 to 8MethodDescribe familiar people, places, things, and events with detail; speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly; give well-structured…
- Paraphrasing What You HearAges 9 to 10MethodParaphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, capturing the key ideas accurately in one's own words
- Reporting & RecountingAges 8 to 11MethodReport on a topic or recount an experience with organised facts and descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace
- Exploring Ideas Through TalkAges 4 to 6Thinking skillUse spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining, and exploring ideas; use strategies to build vocabulary through talk
- Listening and respondingAges 4 to 11MethodListen and respond appropriately to adults and peers; follow agreed-upon rules for discussion such as listening to others and taking turns speaking
- Asking QuestionsAges 4 to 11MethodAsk relevant questions to extend understanding; ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify something not understood
- Evaluating a Speaker's ArgumentAges 10 to 11MethodSummarise the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, evaluating the logic and relevance of the support
- Summarising Spoken and Media PresentationsAges 10 to 11MethodSummarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally