As oral communication becomes a more substantial feature of courses in disciplines other than speech communication, faculty members in other disciplines need to develop the ability to assess oral communication competence in their classrooms. Faculty development workshops can teach colleagues these skills, using consultations with faculty members who can tell how they applied what they learned in earlier workshops, practicing the assessment of sample student performances provided on tape or in person, and providing follow-up sessions periodically after the formal workshop is over. Fundamental issues involved include (1) whether form and content are related; (2) how much communication depends on its context; and (3) whether evaluation should be analytic or holistic. Classroom assignments--oral reports, debates, and role-playing--can incorporate speech communication into different disciplines. However, using a wide variety of speaking and listening assignments requires a broad range of methods for assessing student performance, including rating scales, which translate easily into numerical scores; check lists, based on the completion of specified behavioral objectives; holistic evaluation, where judgment is seen as a contextual adaptation; and peer evaluation. Problems faced by faculty seeking to implement speaking skills include how to evaluate listening, and how to deal with students who never speak in class, or who demonstrate a high level of anxiety. (Ten references are appended.) (MM)