Children find talking enjoyable and necessary to communicate with others and learn about their world. Children use meaningful talk to express their needs and their feelings, to question and explore their surroundings, and to create imaginary worlds. Teachers will detect variations in students' experiences with language and in their speaking abilities. However, most students will have felt the emotional and social comfort all humans derive from the ability to use a language spontaneously and fluently in the presence of others. They will have experienced meaningful social interaction known as the process of communication.
Talk is an indispensable tool for learning.
The language and ideas shared by others enable children to gradually organize and attach meaning to daily observations and experiences. Through communicating with those around them, children assimilate new ideas. Opportunities to talk about what they do, what they see, and what they read and hear help children to construct meaning and to learn from their experiences. By discussing topics and events with peers and teachers, children frequently adjust their previous knowledge or understanding and thus accommodate new information. When such accommodation and increase of awareness occur, students are truly at the centre of their learning.