Current national curricula, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, and EFL materials highlight the importance of the students' development of oral skills. This study stems from a cross-sectional survey of the teaching of oral skills in Secondary Education in a Spanish local context (Aragón) carried out in 2012 on both teachers and students of English. The present paper focuses on the answers obtained from the group of teachers in order to provide a snapshot of their attitudes, beliefs and expectations regarding the teaching, learning and assessment of oral skills, as well as the implementation of some measures aimed at increasing the required level of oral competence in the foreign language. Teachers' answers reveal that in spite of what is indicated in language policies, oral skills are not sufficiently practiced and/or assessed; that students are still reluctant to engage in oral activities and do not, therefore, reach the required level in these skills.KEYWORDS: oral skills, teaching methodologies, resources, activities, assessment. RESUMENTanto el MCERL como los programas y materiales docentes de Inglés como Lengua Extranjera reflejan la creciente importancia concedida a las destrezas orales en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Nuestro estudio parte de un análisis transversal de la enseñanza de las destrezas orales en Educación Secundaria en Aragón (España), realizado en 2012 a docentes y estudiantes de inglés. El presente artículo se centra en las respuestas de los profesores, revelando sus actitudes y expectativas en torno al aprendizaje y la evaluación de las destrezas orales. Analiza asimismo la aplicación de ciertas medidas para mejorar el nivel de competencia oral en la clase de lengua extranjera. Las respuestas de los profesores revelan que, a pesar de las medidas conducentes a su implementación en el aula, la práctica y evaluación de las destrezas orales sigue pareciendo insuficiente; que los alumnos no muestran, por diversas razones, el necesario interés por este tipo de actividades y que, por tanto, no se alcanzan los niveles y resultados requeridos.

Although Spanish students start EFL lessons at a very early age, several studies at a national and European level highlight the low competence of Spanish speakers in general and of Spanish students in particular in spoken English. In this context, we set to design a comprehensive questionnaire on the process of teaching and learning oral skills in Secondary Education, which was administered to both teachers and students of English in a representative sample of Secondary Schools in the region of Aragón (Spain), the total number of answers being 2,073 (2,010 from students and 63 from teachers). Our aim was to ascertain whether students perceive themselves as progressively more skilled in speaking and interacting as they advance through the 6-year Secondary Education period. We considered possible differences depending on the type of school students attend: rural or urban, private, state-run or state-subsidised, and non-bilingual or bilingual. In addition, we explored the possible effect of the teachers’ reported methods of assessment of oral skills on the students’ perceived and achieved competence. The results derived from this survey can provide a good diagnosis of the current situation of the teaching and learning of oral skills in Spanish EFL Secondary School classrooms.