The primary purpose of this study is to survey the attitudes of Arkansas speech teachers toward the oral interpretation events in the Arkansas State Speech Festival. The secondary purpose is to trace the development of oral interpretation from its inception in the festival to the present time. The thesis contains four chapters: I--an explanation of the purposes and procedures followed in the study; II--a history of the interpretation events and present structure of the festival; III--a compilation of the results of a questionnaire mailed to seventy-one Arkansas teachers; IV--a summary of the attitudes reflected in the questionnaires and recommendations for change in the current structure of the Arkansas State Speech Festival.