The speech communication department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, provides a rigorous and legally oriented course in freedom of speech. The objectives of the course are to help students gain insight into the historical and philosophical foundations of the First Amendment, the legal/judicial processes concerning the First Amendment, and…

Tribute is given to William Norwood Brigance, who for 38 years--until his death in January 1960--taught speech primarily at Wabash College, Indiana. In his accolade of Brigance, the author presents five reasons Brigance served his speech profession in a small liberal arts college: (1) he needed freedom to write his articles and textbooks, (2) he…

Developing a conference presentation involves both assembling and delivering the materials. In selecting a topic, speakers should consider their own prior knowledge and experience, the topic's interest and significance for them as well as for the audience, and the amount of information available. They can research materials on the chosen topic…

Two recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court have emasculated First Amendment guarantees for military personnel. In the first case, Parker v. Levy, an Army captain urged enlisted Special Forces personnel at his post to refuse to go to Viet Nam, claiming that "Special Forces personnel are liars and thieves and killers of peasants…

When the amount of available information exceeds the ability of the user to process it, "information overload" is created. In an attempt to maintain some control over the quantity of arguments they may face, debaters have developed adaptive behavior, primarily through the generic argument--any argument within a "deliverative"…

The discipline of speech communication was established early in the twentieth century. After its subject matter was defined and separated from the field of English by Herbert Wichelns's "The Literary Criticism of Oratory," departments were established and a separate organization--The National Association of Teachers of Public Speaking--was formed.…

A major purpose of the research reported here is to determine whether or not children of minority backgrounds possess the ability to tell stories and verbalize in narrative form at age 3 and 4. Narratives and speech play were collected over a 9-month period in two Headstart classes in Honolulu (Hawaii). The children, most of mixed backgrounds,…

Discusses the contemporary abuse of language in communicative behavior and in literature, and suggests that the speech profession concern itself with the aesthetic use of language as well as with messages and message sending. (MH)

The early acquisition of the interrogative system, with data from Serbo-Croatian, is investigated. The subject is approached from the angle of adult-child interaction. A first-born pair of dizygotic twins were observed, beginning a month prior to the time when they first began to produce questions. (Author/RM)

Explores the ancients' perspective of speech communication as an art bonded by common origins, techniques and processes. Suggests that a contemporary aesthetic approach to the speech field should be considered. (MH)

This article describes the programs of the Institut d'Etudes Linguistiques et Phonetiques, located in Paris. The program focuses on perfecting the students' phonetic production of French. Both curriculum and teaching methods are described, as well as a course in phonetics for future teachers of French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Discusses the development of the ability to speak independently through the use of exercises which progress gradually from direct external guidance through indirect external guidance to self-directed utterance. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

An examination of current educational theory regarding the functions of language, exploring the relationship of language and thought, various views of linguistic poverty, and language use and instruction in the school. (EH)

Open admissions students tend to be highly oral. Their modes of thinking are different from the modes of thinking demanded in the highly literate world of college. They can learn the more literate modes of thinking, however, but this requires special awareness and effort on the part of their teacher. (Author/RC)

This is a critical examination of four audiovisual methods for the teaching of French as a Foreign Language. The methods have as a common basis the interrelationship of image, dialogue, situation, and give grammar priority over vocabulary. (Text is in French.) (AM)