Speech technology (automated speech recognition -- ASR and text-to-speech) offers great promise in the field of automated literacy and reading tutors for children. Students in third and fourth grades struggle with generating longer strings of text on a QWERTY keyboard because they still "hunt and peck" for AQ1 the letters and symbols…

This article provides an overview and evaluation of the uses--actual and potential--of automatic speech recognition (ASR) and spoken dialogue systems (SDS), related technologies that can be applied to second language speaking assessment, given particular definitions of the construct. Both technologies have only gradually moved in the direction of…

Implementation of communication-across-the-curriculum initiatives has outpaced their systematic assessment, leaving many stakeholders wondering whether faculty and students are benefiting from the emphasis on writing, speaking, and other communicative media in discipline-based courses and curricula. Increasing interest in assessment, however, has…

Discusses two assessment alternatives applicable to departments of communication: oral communication across the curriculum and assessment centers. Argues the efficacy of integrating assessment and learning. (KEH)

The Department of Human Communication at James Madison University initiated a program of assessment for majors in September 1990. A committee decided to focus in the first year on the cognitive core of information which students hopefully would have mastered, and, with faculty input, established a 30-item list of objectives for graduates of the…

The Northwest Forensic Conference (NFC) was created in response to decreasing budgets and fewer schools participating in forensics. The basis of the NFC is the designated tournament and yearly divisional sweepstakes awards. Special features of designated tournaments include oral critiques and seminars on forensic issues. Initially, it was assumed…

Discusses standards and methods for evaluating graduate programs in speech communication, with emphasis on doctoral programs. Includes a discussion of characteristics of program quality and suggestions for internal and external review. (JMF)

Describes the process followed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in implementing an oral communication across the curriculum core requirement. Discusses program adaptation, oral intensive guidelines, basic course structure, implementation recommendations, preparing faculty, identifying and meeting faculty need, and evaluation of pilot courses.…

This paper presents materials from a workshop which explored the application of oral communication across the curriculum (OCXC) to enhance the learning of course content and the improvement of oral communication skills. Specifically, the paper aims to prepare participants to articulate the need for oral communication across the curriculum,…

Results of a communication skills training program for high school students indicated that these students demonstrated significantly higher self-disclosure and empathy skills levels than untrained students. (Author)

Describes an "exit" course, Senior Seminar in Communicative Theories, developed for students majoring in Speech Communication at George Mason University. Outlines the evolution of this course and the case for adding such a course to speech communication curricula. (KEH)

Reports speech communication courses were taught in Malaysia as part of a cooperative educational program between Indiana University and the Malaysian government. Examines unique elements of the culture of the Malaysian students that affect their speech communication; suggests issues to be addressed in the "Malaysianized" program to…

The Communication and Theatre Arts Department at Heidelberg College (a private liberal arts college in northwestern Ohio) developed a departmental assessment plan. The department faculty began by working to establish "exit criteria" during an all-day meeting. Unlike other disciplines, communication has no standardized tests and…

Describes DePauw University's program of speaking and listening across the curriculum. (MS)

Examines Kean College's approaches to establishing principles, policies, and procedures which have led to a faculty-supported assessment program. Summarizes how faculty concerns were considered and policies were reviewed and established. Describes the faculty-centered organizational structure. (KEH)