Three studies (N = 1,346) detail the development of three theoretically grounded instruments operationalizing "instructor strictness." Using open-ended questionnaire data (n = 427), study 1 inductively derives an understanding of the instructor behaviors that students perceive as strict. These patterns of behavior are then condensed into…

Collaborative dialogue is rich in conscious and subconscious coordination behaviours between participants. This work explores collaborative learner dialogue through theories of alignment, analysing inter-partner movement and language use with respect to our hypotheses: that they interrelate, and that they form predictors of collaboration quality…

Student engagement in the second language classroom has been the focus of numerous researchers and teachers. Previous studies have shown that there are several dimensions of student engagement, but it is still unclear how they change (or not) over time and consequently how they affect actual task performance. This study investigated the task…

Communication teachers spend considerable time instructing students how to organize and deliver professional oral presentations, design effective PowerPoint slides, answer interview questions, and communicate effectively in problem-solving teams. Yet considerably less time is spent systematically teaching them the communication skill they will use…

This research project examined the views and perceptions of healthcare provider staff regarding HIV testing and the implementation of HIV testing as a routine part of medical practice in a university student health center at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). This study further explored whether healthcare provider staff promoted…

Although salespeople have long been urged to recognize and adapt to customer needs and wants by observing communications style and other cues or signals by the buyer, nonverbal communications by the salesperson have received much less empirical scrutiny. However, nonverbal communications may be important in this context; research in several…

This study explored the ways in which college students conveyed elder respect. Based on data from a questionnaire survey of 521 subjects, 12 forms of elder respect, ranging from care respect to celebratory respect, were measured. Of these forms, six--acquiescent respect, care respect, linguistic respect, salutatory respect, consulting respect, and…

Instructional systems, both distance education and campus-based, may be viewed in terms of intrapersonal and interpersonal "instructional dialogues," that mediate and facilitate learning respectively, and "instructional resources" that enable such dialogues. Resources include self-instruction texts, tutorials, instructor…

A large study which investigated the nature of dyadic interactions in a university second language (ESL) classroom setting found that students form very distinct and stable relationships or patterns of dyadic interaction. This paper uses a case study approach to illustrate two of the patterns found in the study: a collaborative pattern and a…