Easiest solution is to create the column using the correct data type: DATE
For example:
Create table:
create table test_date (mydate date);
Insert row:
insert into test_date values (to_date('01-01-2011','dd-mm-yyyy'));
To get the month and year, do as follows:
select to_char(mydate, 'MM-YYYY') from test_date;
Your result will be as follows: 01-2011
Another cool function to use is "EXTRACT"
select extract(year from mydate) from test_date;
This will return: 2011