The interpretation semiotic system that governs interpretation performance pertains to a distinct code of stylized conventions and includes all of the visual and auditory aspects that are generally salient to the characteristics of a performance. The selection of a particular convention for the interpretation of a specific text involves an act of…

This paper is designed to complement Richard Young's (1976) survey, which identified the four main theories of rhetorical invention (neo-classical invention, prewriting, tagmemic invention, and the dramatist invention), by reviewing textbooks under the headings of the four rhetorical inventions. A fifth category, resources in speech communication,…

The separation and comparison of sex and dominance as they relate to the ability to decode emotional meaning from nonverbal cues were investigated in a study conducted with 51 female and 55 male college students. The study was based on the assumption that submissiveness is positively related to skill in decoding nonverbal cues and was designed…

Research was conducted to examine selected formal features of conversational segments enacted by family members in three modes of television programming: documentary, prime time, and soap opera. A sample of videotape recordings for each program format was content-analyzed for: (1) segment length, (2) length of conversational turn, and (3) duration…

This text contains 66 lessons in Fante for the student of Fante as a second language. The principal emphasis of the lessons is in developing skills in the spoken language, and study is preferable with a native speaker of Fante. The use of English is to be avoided except when absolutely necessary. Because of the attention given to oral skills, the…

A national survey of all (676) teacher preparation programs in speech communication was conducted during 1976 and 1977. Responses were received from 266 (42%) institutions; of these responses, 219 (34%) were usable. This paper reports the informational and attitudinal responses on the following subjects: the department and the institution; state…

This study examined the effect of journal keeping on students' self-perception. Eighty-six students in interpersonal communication classes participated in instructional activities for an entire term. Two classes maintained a student journal throughout the course, and one did not. All students completed a self-analysis inventory during the first…

This study examines recall of narrative prose for evidence of underlying structures such as the grammar used in the story's sentence structure. Subjects listened to repeated presentations of a tape recording of two pages from a history book, with verbals collected after each presentation. The subjects used in this experiment were 13 undergraduate…

The material in this publication outlines ways in which drama/theatre may be used to help students develop their imagination and their communication skills. This framework presents a process-concept organization which spans the grade levels fron kindergarten through twelfth grade and which provides guidelines for determining expectancies for…

This research guide provides an overview of the basic concepts as well as a comprehensive list of references that can help both the beginning and advanced speaker. Emphasis in this document is placed on researching, writing, and delivering a speech. In addition to information on finding and developing a topic, the book contains a chart of the…

This document reports on the formalization of objectives, progress, and priorities of the five-year-plan of the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Oklahoma. The document presents a rationale and criteria for program planning based on the three major national conferences of the Speech Communication Association--The Wingspread…

The Title I program described in this document focused on the improvement of reading and language skills among educationally disadvantaged children in four elementary schools. Specific objectives included enhanced reading skills, enhanced language skills, and mastery of basic concepts in the areas of food handling, communications, transportation,…

This paper presents a means of evaluating answers to comprehension questions by analyzing the oral language used in the answers to the questions according to the average number of words per communication unit, a measure of linguistic and cognitive growth, in order to determine the effectiveness of comprehension questions asked at two cognitive…

Teacher educators need to standardize levels of achievement both for admission to and for graduation from communications programs. Competency-based education may help to establish standards of behavior which are objectively measurable, but the fact that this approach is often implemented for political rather than educational reasons demands that…

This paper examines the speech performance characteristic of the college lecturer. One of the most organized forms of speech performance, the lecture functions as a referential monologue and has a necessarily topical focus. Specifically dealt with are the ways in which lecturers introduce new topics, link together topical utterances, and close out…