This paper outlines a clear rationale for developing speaking and listening as part of the curriculum for young children and highlights several approaches which teachers can adopt to promote effective talk: dialogic teaching (an interactive approach to developing learning through talk) will be explored as a way to counter the initiation, response, feedback (IRF) that characterises much of the talk between teachers and children. In addition, the teacher's role in developing children's metacognitive awareness will be considered. This paper focuses on these approaches together with planning and assessment, as a means of developing speaking and listening in the classroom context. (Contains 1 note.)