In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Deborah Cameron about why there is a recurring, problematic narrative about oracy in education, the trouble with articulating standards for spoken language and why 'accountability culture' creates problems for implementing oracy education. 

Deborah Cameron is a sociolinguist who, until recently, was Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University. She has a particular interest in the relationship between language and gender, and has published several academic books on that topic.