METATALK FOR WRITING

Literacy is an issue of national and international concern: in England, 15% of adults lack basic literacy skills, and a third of employers are unsatisfied with young people's literacy levels when they enter the workforce (NLT, 2011). The implications of low literacy are stark: recent research conducted by the National Literacy Trust (Gilbert et al 2018) has established a link between literacy and life expectancy through health and socioeconomic factors, specifically that life may be shortened by 26 years for children living in areas with the most serious literacy problems. Tackling literacy, therefore, is a way of improving health, happiness, economic wellbeing, and, ultimately, life chances.

Literacy encompasses reading, writing and spoken language skills; but, attainment in writing remains a particular problem (NCW 2003; Persky, Daane & Jin 2003; Dugdale & Clark 2008; BIS 2016). There is a need to understand more about how children become competent writers, and to develop pedagogical approaches which support writing in the classroom. Writing is a particularly demanding activity because it does not simply involve transferring words-in-the-head to words on paper, but involves making deliberate choices according to audience, purpose, and rhetorical effect. Although research suggests that metalinguistic understanding (knowledge about language) underlies writing competency, because it helps writers to control and craft their writing, surprisingly little is known about how it is developed. This study builds on a growing body of research (Myhill et al 2012; Myhill et al 2013; Myhill and Newman 2016) which suggests that metatalk (talk about writing) may be important for the development of metalinguistic understanding. While there is extensive evidence that high quality classroom talk supports learning (Mercer & Littleton 2007), very little research has examined the impact of talk on writing specifically.

This study is underpinned by the principles of participatory research: teachers and researchers will work closely throughout each phase of the project to co-construct new understandings. The research design will consist of four phases: phase 1 (exploratory) will involve generating theoretical understandings which will inform an evidence-based pedagogy for metatalk about writing; this pedagogy will be refined in phase 2 (development), and hypotheses about effective metatalk for writing will be constructed and developed into classroom interventions; the interventions will be evaluated through quasi-experimental testing in phase 3 (intervention); and, in phase 4 (impact and engagement), taking the findings from phases 2 and 3, a set of pedagogical principles to inform the teaching of metatalk for writing will be developed, and pedagogical and professional development materials will be prepared.

The study's investigation of metatalk for writing will generate new understanding and information about the relationship between talk and writing, how writing metatalk can be effectively orchestrated in the classroom, and how this links to improved attainment in writing for students. As such it has multiple user beneficiaries, as outlined below.

Students
The new pedagogical approaches developed in the study are likely to benefit students, including those not participating directly in the study, both in terms of more engaging classroom practices and in improving their writing proficiency. The pedagogical approaches which improve metalinguistic understanding of writing should lead to improved attainment in writing, with potentially significant implications for students' economic, social and personal wellbeing.

Participating teachers and schools
Participation in the study is likely to be of direct benefit to the teachers in terms of their own professional development. They are likely to enrich their pedagogic subject knowledge about writing metatalk, leading to changed professional practice. In particular, the study will involve developing teachers' understanding of the role of metatalk in writing, and the co-construction of scaffolding strategies which support metatalk. Additionally, the collaborative nature of the project will build teachers' understanding of research processes, and their capacity to engage in knowledge exchange activities with other teachers and researchers. The schools of participating teachers will also benefit more widely from sharing practice and findings.

Literacy/English teachers and leaders
The potential for impact on professional practice and student outcomes extends beyond the participating schools and is likely to be of significant benefit to teachers and literacy leaders in the UK, and internationally, particularly given the widespread international concern about attainment in writing. The study's development of new pedagogical understanding and practical teaching materials to support the purposeful use of writing metatalk has the potential to lead to changed practice in the teaching of writing, particularly in enabling students' development of metalinguistic understanding of writing choices.

Teacher Education: university tutors, school-based tutors, and trainee/pre-service teachers
The study's findings are likely to benefit teacher educators, not only in England but also in the three partner countries of Brazil, Australia and Spain, and potentially also in Norway, Sweden and New Zealand where the Centre for Research in Writing has particularly strong links. The study will generate a new theorisation of metatalk for writing alongside a pedagogical approach which aligns with that theorisation: this theory/practice knowledge set is likely to be significant for Initial Teacher Education programme development.

Policy-makers, including the Department for Education, and Ofsted
The findings of the study have the potential to benefit policy-makers by generating an evidence-based understanding of how metatalk can support the development of metalinguistic understanding and writing, providing a rationale for curriculum development. The findings will also have potential benefit to Ofsted, both informing their inspection observation of the teaching of writing, and their reports offering recommendations for the teaching of writing.

Professional Associations and other Literacy Interest Groups:
The study's co-creation of an evidence-based pedagogy and support materials is likely to benefit a range of other stakeholders, informing their own professional missions, the guidance they provide to schools, and their engagement with policy-makers. Stakeholders include, amongst others, professional associations, such as NATE and UKLA; the National Literacy Trust; Arvon; and commercial providers such as Pearson Education and Babcock LDP.