Subjunctive past vs present?

Question

I came across this question in the exercises.

Al profesor le gustaría que los niños ________ en voz alta

I selected the correct answer which was hablara.

However my first intuition was that the answer would be hable.

Hable wasn't one of the options however.

Would hable also be a potential correct answer for this question?

Thank you.

Accepted Answer

Hola Chris
To use "hablen" (note the plural, as the subject is "los niños") in the present subjunctive, you'd need the verb in the present in the main clause: 
Al profesor le gusta que los niños hablen en voz alta.
But if you have "le gustaría que...", then the verb in the subordinate clause needs the imperfect subjunctive:
Al profesor le gustaría que los niños hablaran (or hablasen) en voz alta.
As there is no link in your comment I'm not sure where you got it from, but it could be from this lesson that explains that usage of the subjunctive. Have a look here.
I hope it clarifies it. 
Saludos 
Inma