Using a longitudinal design, investigates the interactive behaviors of mothers of normal infants and mothers of infants who are known to differ on a host of cognitive, behavioral, and biological parameters. Examines the developmental course of emotional expressivity in these infants. (HOD)

The role of syntactic/semantic structure in the motor programing of speech by five-year-olds, eight-year-olds, and adults was investigated. Repetition durations were found to be shorter for simple than for complex sentences at all ages. However, linguistic complexity affected durational variability only for adults. (Author/SED)

Describes the use of the Communication Anxiety Graph (CAG) to help students trace the pattern of their anxiety when making a speech. Also reports the results of a study using the CAG. Provides advice for student speakers based on when their anxiety peak may occur. (PD)

Explores specific classroom language used by students for whom English is a second language. (HOD)

Describes an in-house French language training program for U.S. employees at the New York City branch of the Credit Lyonnais. The program was developed to provide American bankers, traders, and other commercial staff with instruction in basic through advanced oral and written communication skills, French banking history, semantics, and literature.…

Current theory and research into the oral-written relationship are reviewed. Three models of reading comprehension based on oral-written language skills are reviewed as representative and their implications for reading instruction in grades 4-12 and in bilingual-bicultural classrooms are determined. The mingling of oral and literate strategies, in…

This survey, fourth in a series initiated in 1968, reports on the nature of and trends and changes in the basic course in speech. Categories covered include demographic data, orientations, instructional methods, and administrative concerns. (PD)

Examines the language of writing groups at fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade levels to determine what students say when they critique one another's work. Analysis of idea units revealed that the highest proportion focused on the content of writing. The rubric for coding ideas is appended. (HOD)

Describes two experiments which assessed the ability of adult second language (L2) learners to produce and comprehend real, unreal, and past unreal English conditional sentences. Developmental differences are analyzed in relation to distinctive features. The analyses lend support to the explanatory power of markedness theory in explaining L2…

Examines and shows advantages of bicultural approaches to teaching speech communication to Native Americans in Alberta. Reviews Canada's federal policy toward native people and biculturalism. Studies differences in rating scores of native and nonnative students in basic speech communication course presentations. Appeals for additional research.…

Suggests ways for students to experience the impact of written messages and for teachers to promote good public relations through the use of goodwill messages. Examples include the use of verbal compliments and personal business letters. (EL)

Discusses problems with the ACTFL/ETS Oral Proficiency Guidelines and examines inconsistencies relating to three assumptions of oral proficiency (OPT)--hours of study, accuracy/interest, and errors. Further, it is argued that the main problems with OPT arise from an analytic approach and the native speaker yardstick. (SED)

Describes a study which attempts to place the problem of second language learning and use by bilingual children into a framework of double socialization through the analysis of mother-child and peer group interaction. Ukrainian and Greek second generation mothers and their children aged 5-6 years were observed in four sessions. (SED)

Presents a study of foreigner talk (FT) in a minority language (Welsh) in a bilingual community and describes some of the most prominent features of Welsh FT. FT is defined as a simple form of a language used by native speakers to communicate with non-proficient speakers of the language. (SED)

Reports on the development of a valid and reliable instrument to measure verbal aggressiveness. (PD)