To ascertain what type of environment exists in elementary classrooms in the United States to stimulate oral language, questionnaires were mailed to 500 classroom teachers. Data from the 412 respondents indicated that 83% believed their college courses in language arts had not prepared them to encourage the development of children's language, and 25% believed that reading to children was good because it increased vocabulary. In addition, the results showed that teachers were not clear on the purpose of oral language, that they did not understand the relationship between oral and written language, that 75% of the schools surveyed did not have an oral language curriculum, and that generally little attention was paid to the oral language of children as long as they could answer the teacher's questions. Teachers could improve instruction in oral language by creating an environment in which children are encouraged to develop oral language, combining Michael Halliday's theory that language use and purpose are the heart of language learning with Walter Loban's concept of growth stages in syntactic complexity, and by teaching children to use the oral language process of talking to others or to themselves as one step in the reading process. (TJ)