In the first year of life, infants' speech perception becomes attuned to the sounds of their native language. This process of early phonetic learning has traditionally been framed as phonetic category acquisition. However, recent studies have hypothesized that the attunement may instead reflect a perceptual space learning process that does not…

Infants build knowledge by acting on the world. We conducted an ecologically grounded test of an embodied learning hypothesis: that infants' active engagement with objects in the home environment elicits caregiver naming and cascades to learning object names. Our home-based study extends laboratory-based theories to identify real-world processes…

Input is indispensable for language learning. Although opportunities for listening and reading, the two only channels of language input, can be scarce outside class in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, highly proficient learners often expose themselves to input aplenty. Their experiences of immersing themselves in input and their…

Many English as a foreign language (EFL) learners worldwide spend hours playing commercial-off-the-shelf massively multiplayer online games. They engage in a multitude of different interactions with the game environment and possibly with other gamers, using English as the predominant medium of communication. This raises the question of whether…

It is well known that information from spoken language is integrated into reading processes, but the nature of these links and how they are acquired is less well understood. Recent evidence has suggested that predictions about the written form of newly learned spoken words are already generated prior to print exposure. We extend this work to…

This dissertation begins with the observation of a typological asymmetry within phonological patterns related to phonetic naturalness. Patterns that are rooted within existing tendencies of perception and/or production--in other words, patterns that are phonetically "natural"--are common in phonological typology and seen in a variety of…

Investigates the relationship between speaking position and rank in intercollegiate forensic tournaments. Findings indicate that speaking position doesn't appear to influence ranking in forensic competition. (MH)

Noting that while individuals need opportunities to develop cognitive and symbolic understanding of communication principles and skills, this paper argues that they also need to develop an experiential understanding in order to use those principles and skills in building and enhancing relationships. To accomplish this, the paper offers a…

Discusses the goals, the theoretical base, and the implementation of the Personalized System of Instruction in speech communication courses. (MH)

The use of the term "strategy" in second language communication is discussed, and a typology of communication strategies is presented. Communication strategies are those systematic devices a second language learner uses in attempting to express precise meaning in the target language. Definitions of learning strategies and communication strategies…

Investigates the notion of communicative strategies as it has been treated in the literature and then attempts a more precise and explanatory redefinition. Provides an overview of the Vygotskyan psycholinguistic research model which this study uses as a theoretical framework. Also presents a new typology of interlanguage. (SED)

Presents a taxonomy that organizes learner activities into the dimensions of mental, social, and physical involvement. Applies the taxonomy or model to speech class activities and reports validity evidence from several research studies. (PD)

To test two competing paradigms of the arousal-learning relationship--(1) increases in subject arousal will lead to increased learning in all but extreme cases of excitation, and (2) high subject arousal yields poor immediate memory but high ultimate memory--92 college students were presented with a tape recorded message in varying classroom…

This paper examines the belief that the best way of teaching English-as-a-second language (TESL) is to provide the student with opportunities for hearing and speaking "Standard" English. The author contests C.C. Fries' view that "...speech 'is' the language." In India, it is noted, the greatest single difficulty for students is…