In response to a study group concerned with the spoken word and the integrity of English instruction, Walter Loban traces speech and its development, examines oral language proficiency, discusses one study of oral language, discusses language and social class and language and learning, and concludes by commenting on the neglect speech instruction suffers in education. The second paper concurs with Loban's concern over speech instruction and urges an approach to oral language instruction which emphasizes situations relating the sequence in language to the developmental needs of the child. The concern is with the danger that unself-consciousness in the use of speech (the basis of confident expression and behavior) may be adversely affected if the planned procedure for speech instruction is introduced prematurely or is handled in an awkward and mechanical fashion. (HOD)