Clear pronunciation (see Brown, this volume) is an important aspect of the ability to speak effectively. However it does not in itself ensure oral competence. It is quite conceivable, for instance, that a speaker might be able to pronounce perfectly an utterance which makes no sense or which is totally inappropriate, as Eliza Doolittle in Shaw's Pygmalion demonstrated so memorably. The skill of speaking involves a pragmatic element which has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years (see, for instance, Kasper and Rose, 2002), and the importance of helping students to develop sociopragmatic competence with speech acts in their target language is now well recognized (see, for instance, Cohen, 2005). Oral communication involves an interactive social aspect which sets it apart from other language skills and creates a whole extra dimension with which the learner must come to terms. So, although good pronunciation is necessary for clear speech, it is by no means sufficient for the development of good speaking skills.

Although interest in oral communication is alive and active, it is not a novel focus. In fact, the development of speaking skills in a target language has long been a central issue in the minds of learners, teachers, and researchers. The linguistic studies around the turn of the twentieth century (for instance, Gouin, 1892; Sweet, 1899) were linked to the development of oral skills.