In this article it is argued that the development of young people's skills in using spoken language should be given more time and attention in the school curriculum. The author discusses the importance of the effective use of spoken language in educational and work settings, considers what research has told us about the factors that make group discussions productive or otherwise and outlines the practical guidance that research can provide for teachers on such matters. On this basis, the author suggests that recent actions by the Westminster government to devalue "speaking and listening" in the National Curriculum are seriously misguided, as also are the polemical attacks on group-based activity in the classroom mounted by government supporters.