An up-to-date summary of current research and issues in the field of teaching and researching that can then be applied to classroom practice.

'...a welcome addition to the fields of linguistics and applied linguistics.' '...a useful reference source for higher degree students.' Christine Pegg, Welsh Journal of Education, 13 (2) 2005

Dr. Rebecca Hughes is Director of the Centre for English Language Education, at the University of Nottingham, and a Senior Lecturer in the School of English Studies. Previous books include English in Speech and Writing: Investigating language and literature (Routledge, 1996) and, as co-author with Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, Exploring Grammar in Context (CUP, 2000). She is an advisor to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on the incorporation of spoken grammar into the National Curriculum. Outside academic life, Rebecca Hughes is a past winner of national competitions for poetry and prose. Her work has also been broadcast on BBC's The Best of Morning Story.

SECTION I: ISSUES IN TEACHING AND RESEARCHING SPEAKING 1. Conceptual and historical background 2. The research space: paradigms and problems SECTION II: ISSUES FOR TEACHING AND ASSESSING SPEAKING 3. Approaches, materials and the problem of 'real' speech 4. Issues in assessing speaking 5. Approaches to researching speech 6. Some new directions SECTION III: RESEARCHING SPEAKING 7. Classrooms, research and spoken mode 8. Research project ideas and frameworks SECTION IV: RESOURCES AND FURTHER INFORMATION 9. Research borders and boundaries 10. Research resources Glossary References Index