This publication (one of a series) contains 12 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles in the publication are: "Dynamics and Coordinate Systems on Skilled Sensorimotor Activity" (Elliot L. Saltzman); "Speech Motor…

This paper presents a literature review examining research that addresses the issue of freedom of expression as it relates to instructional decision-making for teachers in K-12 grades. The paper proposes to connect two sub-fields in speech communication: instructional communication and freedom of expression studies. In surveying the research,…

The phonological rhythm of French is characterized by a tendency to syllabic isochrony within an utterance and a clear final lengthening, whereas the rhythm of English is stress-timed. A study of babbling at a turning period of the child's development has shown that the French child acquires adult phonological rhythm quite early in interactive…

A pilot study examined problems encountered by foreign instructors teaching in American colleges. Fourteen Chinese-born instructors teaching in Speech Communication answered a questionnaire containing 12 open-ended questions. Recurring themes were coded from the answers, and then organized into three categories: cultural differences; linguistic…

The Communication across the Curriculum (CAC) program at the University of Melbourne (Australia) was set up in a top-down manner, which was partly driven by outside pressures. Although informed by writing-across-the-curriculum theory and practice, the program reflects the university's original concern about the teaching of communication skills by…

What has transpired at James Madison University provides a model for the successful implementation of a basic communication education program required of all first-year students. This paper provides an accounting of the efforts that made possible the commitment to the development of the program. The paper is first divided into two columns. One…

Noting that assessment continues to be at the forefront of the speech communication discipline and the academy in general, this paper reflects on one speech communication department's struggle to make assessment meaningful and doable. The Speech Communications Department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock uses such "low tech"…

A professor at a small college collaborated with work study students on four individual research projects and also received their assistance in managing the annual conference of the Communication Association of Massachusetts. Based on these experiences, the professor has identified several exigencies and benefits of collaborating with work study…

It is not only possible, but also essential for students to be exposed to, to understand, and to personally experience equity and intercultural concepts and perspectives in the basic communication classroom. Incorporating students' discomfort at exploring equity and diversity into classroom discussions has proven effective in helping them examine…

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…

This paper examines the role of research methods courses. The paper offers several "facts" concerning such courses and considers four myths and their role in the teaching of research courses in communication. Among the suspect "facts" cited in the paper are that today's students are both products and producers of an…

This guide contains classroom activities designed to encourage effective listening and speaking instruction at all developmental levels. Called the Comprehensive Listening and Speaking Sequence (CLASS), the activities are developed in three parts. The pre-kindergarten through grade three sequence provides learning activities that may be used by…

The encoding and decoding of verbal and nonverbal cues is basic to the process of social interaction. A method of teaching about verbal and nonverbal communication--the Interpersonal Perception Task (IPT)--consists of a videotape divided into 30 brief scenes. After each scene viewers answer an interpretive question by decoding the verbal and…

It has been suggested that all speech communities have varieties of simplified speech regarded as appropriate for use with individuals who do not have a full command of a language. These simplified codes are conventionalized within speech communities and are learned by the same process of cultural transmission as other language behaviors. This…

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.…