Communication is essential to the establishment and maintenance of a democracy. Democratic society is distinctive in that civic talk plays a determining role. A long tradition of civic talk exists in western democratic civilization. The Greek teacher, Protagoras, the Father of Debate, required his students to speak first on one side of an issue or…

Materials dealing with aspects of argumentation theory are cited in this annotated bibliography. The 50 citations are organized by topic as follows: (1) argumentation; (2) the nature of argument; (3) traditional perspectives on argument; (4) argument diagrams; (5) Chaim Perelman's theory of rhetoric; (6) the evaluation of argument; (7) argument…

Communicative competence is defined as "...the ability to use appropriate speech for the circumstances, and when deviating from what is normal to convey what is intended." A study was undertaken to show that children's sociolinguistic communicative competencies and incompetencies can be identified and described in components of the "Ways of…

The use of video recorders in the speech communication classroom focuses learning on self-evaluation and self-improvement, making it possible for real and permanent changes in behavior to occur. Effective use of this medium requires adherence to three principles: (1) the extensive use of positive reinforcement; (2) the provision of immediate and…

Although film study is now widely accepted as part of the curriculum of higher education, there appears to be no single accepted method of teaching the subject. In order to design an instructional unit for a one-semester, introductory film study course for community college students, a review of the literature was carried out to examine the…

A significant need exists for new and expanded training programs for people who must interact with different cultures. When people experience a new cultural environment, they are likely to experience conflict between their own cultural predispositions and the values, beliefs, and opinions of the host culture. A training program, the Cultural…

"Commanding English," a three-quarter program of communication skills courses presented in an integrated whole, is described in this booklet. The program's general purpose is to assist students whose native language is not English to develop fluency in oral and written English. A brief description of each course offered at General College,…

The senior seminar course in speech communication at Ripon College (Wisconsin) helps students to draw together their educational experiences and to focus on the task of planning for immediate and long-term career goals. In its initial year, it was taught in a two-semester sequence. The first semester focused on the discipline and the profession…

Goal setting and contract grading are two instructional strategies that can provide individualized instruction within more traditional speech classroom settings. Individualized instruction focuses on the unique characteristics and needs of the learner, acknowledges that all students do not learn in the same way, meets the needs of the gifted…

This is the sixth annual volume in a series providing reviews and syntheses of developments in the evolution of the science of communication. The volume contains disciplinary reviews and commentaries on topics of general interest to scholars and researchers in a variety of specialized areas, current research in a variety of topics that reflect the…

The Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), a system that combines the strengths of basic learning, individual instruction, and personalized relationships, all at low cost, is an attractive alternative for the basic speech communication course. It involves mastery learning, self-pacing, stress on the written word, instructor assistants, and the…

Noting that many elementary schools are introducing personal development programs into the curriculum, this newsletter focuses on a number of issues related to such programs. Various sections of the newsletter (1) define personal development for both teachers and parents; (2) present practical ideas and teaching strategies for programs in two…

Prepared by scholars from four countries, the 63 papers in this collection address recent developments and recurrent problems in the theory, practice, criticism, and teaching of argumentation. Following the texts of two keynote addresses, the papers are presented according to eight broad categories: argumentation theory, historical and political…

Prompted by the concern of parents and educators with both the process of a child's language acquisition and the amount of time spent watching television, a content analysis of children's television commercials was conducted to see if this form of mass media could be used to stimulate language skills in children. The 36 commercials were drawn from…

A study of cross examination speeches of males and females was conducted to determine gender differences in intercollegiate debate. The theory base for gender differences in speech is closely tied to the analysis of dyadic conversation. It is based on the belief that women are less forceful and dominant in cross examination, and will exhibit…