Identifies and describes the features of spoken discourse that native speakers of English consider to be indicative of level of intellectual functioning. Discourse criteria include detail, coherence, story construction, storytelling performance, and metacomments. (SR)

The primary goal of the basic course in speech should be to investigate oral communication rather than public speaking. Fundamental to understanding oral communication is some understanding of the oral mind, that operates when orality is the primary means of expression. Since narrative invites action rather than leisurely analysis, the oral mind…

Composing oral poems and storytelling are two exercises that speech teachers can use in oral interpretation courses. Conducting the oral poetry exercise early in an introductory interpretation course allows students to become acquainted with each other and to encourage each other while sharing something of themselves with the entire class. This…

Investigated the effects of both pre-task and on-line planning on second language (L2) oral production. Results show that pre-task planning enhances grammatical complexity while on-line planning positively influences accuracy and grammatical complexity. Pre-task planners also produced more fluent and lexically varied language than the on-line…

A study examined two questions: Do students include more information or present it more concisely and explicitly when speaking or writing? and, Does language show different thematic relationships (through syntax or diction) depending upon the mode? Twenty-four community college students viewed one of two brief films and responded orally or in…

Investigated the relationship between writing performance and speaking performance in German as a foreign language learners through quantitative analysis of the variance and correlation among oral, written, and explicit rule abilities as evidenced in present-tense verbal morphology and syntax. Subjects performed an explicit rule grammar test and a…

A technique for teaching English to English majors in a Taiwan university involves students' oral production of descriptive stories to accompany a piece of classical or folk music. The project provides practice in preparing a report in English, practice in speaking before a group, sensitivity toward and ability to talk about aural stimuli, and…