Games and simulations can be thought of as experiential learning activities for classroom use. Games are activities in which people agree to abide by a set of conditions in order to attain a desired state or end, and simulations are activities that model reality. In this publication, it is suggested that five dimensions be considered in…

This paper describes the rationale and strategies of a language teaching approach found to have been extremely effective with both adult and child learners. This approach does not require the language learner to speak until he feels comfortable doing so. Both past and current applications of a delayed oral practice approach to language learning…

This paper argues for the inclusion of content analysis in communication research designs and for the utility of this methodology in the examination of communication events. The first half of the paper describes four types of communication content that can be analyzed: unintentional messages, such as the verbal imagery used; unconscious speech,…

This paper outlines a speech communication unit that reflects the assumptions of competency-based education. The emphasis of the unit's content is on using knowledge rather than on how the knowledge is acquired. Students are required to participate in the decision-making processes of the unit to get them actively involved in their own learning and…

Pragmatics, or functional communication, refers to the transactions that occur between people, or the actual performance of language in social contexts. This paper discusses several functional communication theories, applies these theories to the education of children, and offers a number of practical techniques for teaching creative dramatics.…

This study focused on whether actual or stereotypic associations with a speaker's body type would affect his or her credibility. Effects on the source-credibility ratings submitted by a total of 165 students were investigated for three different sources' body types. A significant main effect was found for body type but not for the blocked…

Both spoken and written Polish have undergone profound changes during the past twenty-eight years. The increasing urbanization of Polish culture and the forced change in Polish society are the main factors influencing the change in the language. Indirect evidence of changes which have occurred in the vocabulary and idioms of spoken Polish in the…

This investigation examined the specific relationships between two reading achievement measures at the end of the first grade and the following measures: (1) three selected oral language measures, (2) five readiness measures, and (3) a combination of these measures. Further, the study attempted to determine if the relationships between the oral…

A study of 70 educable mentally retarded children (9- to 13-years-old) was conducted to examine the effects of special class teachers' use of an attentional cueing technique in response to oral reading errors. During oral reading lessons, errors were recorded under conditions in which the teacher was either instructed to make her normal responses…

The purpose of the study reported in this document was to examine the oral language and some of the influences on oral language of students from five to nine years old. Six students in each of 13 classes were selected randomly and were taped in three different situations: a monologue by the student when alone in the room, a dialogue with another…

Literally defined, topoi are places in the mind where items of information (ideas, arguments, etc.) may be stored. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical analysis of a number of studies which have appeared in communication literature on the concept of topoi and to discuss the function of topoi in communication. Utilizing the…

The importance of human communication is the focus of this guide for improving language habits, which explores both various communication problems and techniques for handling them. Topics discussed are as follows: bad language habits; words as symbols which do not dictate the nature of things in the real world; inaccurate communication which…

The course approach reported in this document provides an alternative method of attaining the departmentally-accepted general course goals for basic speech communication. This approach begins with the identification of the student's core communication competencies which, divided into component concepts and subskills, are stated as behavioral…

This study examines the degree of consistency between students' oral and written expression, with regard to the ideas and opinions communicated. Fifty-five freshman composition students were asked to elaborate on a subject of choice in a 500-word essay and in a private office interview with the teacher. Data revealed that consistency of expression…

Gumperz and Hymes have stated the theoretical goal of one type of sociolinguistic investigation as the characterization of communicative competence, "what a speaker needs to know to communicate effectively in culturally significant settings." This knowledge is seen as describable by a set of rules constraining verbal behavior in reference to…