Part One: Theorising Talk. 1. Talking about Text and the Culture of Literacy; D. Olson. 2. A Critical-pragmatic Theory of Classroom Talk; R. Young. 3. A Sociocultural Perspective on Classroom Discourse; E. Measures, et al. 4. Challenging and Changing: Communicative Competence and the Classroom; S. Grundy. 5. Ethnomethodological Studies of Talk in Educational Settings; C. Baker. 6. Poststructuralist Theory and Classroom Talk; N. Alloway, P. Gilbert. Part Two: Oral Language, Culture and Identity. 7. Oral Language, Culture and Class; A.D. Edwards. 8. Conversational Patterns Across Gender, Class and Ethnicity: Implications for Classroom Discourse; D. Tannen, et al. 9. Language Choice and Symbolic Domination; M. Heller. 10. Teacher-Pupil Talk in Multi-Ethnic Classrooms; V. Edwards. 11. Critical Oracy for Active Citizenship; R. Gilbert. 12. The Construction of Gendered Identity through Play; B. Davies. 13. The Construction of Gendered Identity through Classroom Talk; H. Bjerrum Nielsen, B. Davies. 14. Narrative and the Shaping of Identity; J. Golden. 15. The Construction of Social Competencies through Talk; J.L. Green, C.N. Dixon. 16. The Acquisition of Communicative Competence amongst Children with Language and Speech Impairment. 17. Classroom Discourse for the Making of Learning; C. Pontecorvo. 18. Effective Educational Talk; N. Mercer. 19. Preconditions for Successful Small-Group Talk in the Classroom; D. Westgate. 20. Children's Collaborative Talk; S. Lyle. 21. Interaction Patterns in University Education; V. de Klerk. 22. Children's Talk and Computers; P. Scrimshaw. 23. The Use of Talk in Mathematics; S. Pirie. 24. Discourse and Conceptual Understanding in Science; C. Boulter. 25. Using Oral Discourse in Literary Studies; J. McGonigal. Index.