The term "communicative competence" has been in currency for approximately 10 years and is generally used to refer to teaching strategies which substitute real-life situations and contexts for meaningless mechanical and structural exercises. In essence, it attempts to put content and contact into the speech act. However, early proponents…

Reviews studies positing gender differences in communicative styles and documenting differences between boys' and girls' classroom behaviors, along with feminist critiques of such studies. Also investigated are perceptions of secondary students of English as a Second Language (ESL) about gendered speech. (53 references) (LR)

The proceedings of a conference on computer-assisted language instruction include the following reports and papers: (1) a report on computer-related developments in speech research and their implications for therapy and communication; (2) descriptions of courseware and authoring aids for grammar and comprehension instruction and language practice…