Let’s talk talk: Utilising metatalk for the development of productive collaborative dialogues

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of metatalk within the context of an interventional study which explored the development of secondary school students’ collaborative talk. The intervention utilised a collaborative talk framework, designed specifically for the study, as a pedagogical tool to support two types of metatalk: process and self-evaluative. This paper examines the role of this metatalk in developing students’ awareness of collaborative talk processes, and considers how metacognitive skills and self-regulation were encouraged in the process. Making connections between dialogic teaching, educational linguistics and self-regulation research, this study argues that metatalk should be a key feature of pedagogies seeking to develop educational dialogues between peers, and should be included as part of a repertoire of effective classroom talk.