The+Right+to+Talk...

= The Right to Talk =

"...the linguistic skill that seems to develop the earliest, the one in which we all engage most often and with most enthusiasm, the one we don't resist with all stubborness at our command, the one that seems most natural is also, apparently, the skill that we have neglected most seriously in the schools. And that's ** talk **. We seldom address it directly; we seldom teach it explicity; and we almost never assess it. We do expect it, and we do depend on it, but we don't teach it" ([|Probst] 45).

In most traditional English classrooms, students usually work independently through most of the writing process. While students may be lead through pre-writing activities as a whole class or may be required to take part in peer conferencing once a draft has been completed, little collaborative work takes place during the composing stage of the writing process. The student is often expected to write privately, as if he or she resides in a vacuum, until the “final” product is completed.

I wonder, Why don’t we talk more about our thoughts before putting them down on paper? If, as Probst asserts, talking is a skill we depend on and expect our students to do in class, why is this precious skill not explicitly part of the writing process?

As a writer, I absolutely need a “talking stage” as part of my composing process. I utter thoughts aloud to myself, tell my ideas to a friend, and list off inspirations to my most faithful listener, my one-eyed cat. Spandel describes my process perfectly in stating, “Given a choice, some writers would share everything they write with anyone who would listen; they live for feedback, and their confidence is unimpaired by the occasional inability of others to appreciate the genius behind their words” (40). That’s me – **I am a talker!**

As an instructor, I understand that not every writer follows my process and needs a “talking stage.” Therefore, Right #2 is actually not the right to talk, but the right to be a flexible writer. In other words, students follow what writing stages work, not what writing stages an instructor has prescribed.

**In my class**, students enact their "Right to Talk, etc." in these ways:
 * While students may be lead through certain prewriting activities (i.e. brainstorming, listing, visualizing, writing prompts, etc.), they have the freedom to choose which activity "works" for them, or choose alternate methods for gathering ideas for writing assignments.
 * Students are not required to follow a presribed writing process, though they will be required to show evidence of their drafting. [[image:030.JPG width="234" height="212" align="right" caption="The best listener is my dog."]]
 * Students are given time to verbally/visually share ideas in class.
 * Students are allowed to "talk through" or "picture" drafts rather than share written text.
 * Students are offered several opportunities for receiving instructor/peer feedback: online, verbal, written, etc.

Erinn J. Bentley, 12 July 2008