Dame Alison Peacock: How AI can assess oracy skills

Dame Alison Peacock of the Chartered College of Teaching suggests that using artificial intelligence (AI) to assess oracy skills could be beneficial for students without putting extra pressure on teachers. Speaking at The Speaking Summit in London, she highlighted the potential for AI in evaluating spoken language abilities.

Peacock emphasized that while AI can support students in generating ideas for written work, using it for assessing spoken language could help students express their knowledge effectively. Her views were echoed by Peter Hyman, founder of Voice 21, who also supports the idea of AI testing for oracy skills.

Recent research has shown a decline in oracy opportunities in the early stages of secondary school, coinciding with a decrease in students’ confidence in their speaking abilities. This has led to plans by the government to introduce a new oracy framework in primary and secondary schools, as proposed in the Francis review of curriculum and assessment.

During the oracy summit, Schools Minister Georgia Gould emphasized the importance of formative assessment and the government’s support for embedding oracy skills in teaching practices. The aim is to equip teachers with the necessary tools to develop these essential skills in children within their learning environments.

As schools await the publication of the primary and secondary oracy frameworks, it is clear that the integration of AI in assessing oracy skills could play a valuable role in enhancing students’ verbal communication abilities.