The Target: Communication Skills program instituted in the Lincoln, Nebraska, public schools proposes that all students, K-12, in all subject areas be provided with opportunities to develop and improve their communication skills. The program emphasizes four basic skills: speaking, observing, listening, and nonverbal skills. In applying this…

A frequent complaint about the quality of health care delivery is that physicians often do not listen to their patients in consultation sessions. Studies indicate physicians show a tendency to listen only to patient discourse that the examiners had initiated, and to ignore questions and comments that the patients had initiated; that physicians…

Results indicate that corporate training directors perceive poor listening as an important problem facing organizations, one that leads to ineffective performance or low productivity. Educators and trainers are encouraged to include aspects of listening behavior identified in this study into organizational communication curricula or industrial…

Contained in this curriculum guide are a rationale, performance objectives, techniques, and activities for the teaching of listening and speaking skills in the primary grades. In an introductory chapter basic terms are defined and the need for a study of listening and speaking skills is emphasized. Chapter two review the literature on the nature…

To obtain feedback regarding listening instruction at the universities, colleges, and junior colleges in the state of Texas, this study surveyed 100 schools listed in the 1982 Speech Communication Directory. Department chairpersons of each school received a listening checklist and, as a follow-up procedure, registrars of the schools were sent a…

Reports the findings of a survey commissioned by the Speech Communication Association's Task Force on Assessment and Testing. Concludes that many states are including speaking and listening skills in curriculum and assessment programs but that much work still needs to be done to develop an integrated oral communication program. (PD)

Empathic listening is a specific category of listening in which people actively engage in dialogue at the affective level, with the listener attempting to understand and acknowledge the present feelings being experienced by the speaker. Since empathic listening is central to human communication processes, any speech communication curriculum which…

A survey of business people was conducted to assess the importance of listening and the deficiency in that skill and to identify existing listening training programs for future study. The questionnaire was developed to assess the importance and status of listening by placing it randomly among several other communication competencies. Subjects were…

This paper explores some possible methodologies and approaches to the teaching of empathic listening, an essential component of human communication and listening competency. It defines empathic listening as "feeling with" another: a cognitive understanding of what the other is communicating plus a sensitivity to their state of emotion.…

Empathic listening is central to almost all human communication processes. "Feeling with" another is the heart of empathic listening: it includes a cognitive understanding of what the other is communicating plus a sensitivity to their state of emotion. One possible approach to utilize in the teaching of empathic listening is to begin a…

Scholars agree that listening is an active rather than a passive process. The listening which makes people achieve higher scores on current listening tests is "second speaker" listening or active participation in the encoding of the message. Most of the instructional suggestions in listening curriculum guides are based on this concept. In terms of…

The challenge facing the speech communication profession is finding appropriate assessment procedures that are acceptable to administrators of state testing programs. The first option is simply to do nothing. A second alternative is standardized assessment. Speech communication professionals prefer a third testing procedure, performance-based…

This paper provides an overview of relevant oral communication theory, research, and practice from a variety of sources, such as the fields of linguistics, psychology, speech communication, and education. It describes the nature of oral communication skills, including the similarities and differences between oral and written communication. It…

Surveyed adult students in a basic speech communication course to assess their communication needs as a basis for establishing a communication curriculum. Found that listening was rated the most important career and social communication skill, with motivating, telephoning, conversing, briefing, relating, and resolving conflicts ranking high. (PD)

This practicum addressed the problem of seventh grade compensatory education students' not having adequate instruction, opportunity, or experience to prepare for success in any level of eighth grade English. Overall goals for the practicum were to give instruction in public speaking, to provide opportunities for students to engage in public…