The purpose of this study was to compare the responses of students to three techniques of teaching literature: silent reading, solo performance, and readers theatre. Three hundred seventy-one students in three classes each in ninth and eleventh grades in three high schools in the north Texas area received three presentations of three short…

The problem of this conference panel was to identify, develop, and compare means by which children's motivation to learn basic reading skills may be strengthened and maintained. In this panel report, four approaches to the problem are offered in the following areas: sociocultural influences which help to determine individual differences in the…

While most foreign language programs list communicative language use as a primary goal, classroom tests seldom reflect this objective but rather focus on discrete-point linguistic competence. The authors present a model of the communication process and point to the main task in constructing tests of communicative competence: devising simulated…

A study was conducted at Milwaukee Area Technical College to determine if a relationship could be established between improvement in speaking and listening intelligibility and the deliberate structuring of a semiformal atmosphere in communication classes. Students with ACT composite scores below 13 were offered courses specially designed to remedy…

A description is given of a learning-centers program for classroom organization in which teacher-directed activities are minimized in favor of semidirected and learner-directed ones. Information concerning equipment and physical arrangement and references to sources describing motivational techniques for a listening center, a self-selection…

The component prereading skills of kindergarten children in two Wisconsin cities were examined. It was assumed that independent component skills exist and that investigation of separate skill areas would point out relevant combinations. Selected for study were visual, acoustic-phonetic, letter-sound association, and vocabulary skills. The research…

In the first section of this two-part report, Donald H. Ecroyd discusses a proposed working model for developing speech programs which contains (1) a rationale for speaking and listening instruction at all levels, (2) a diagram of specific objectives and a schematic design for translating these into a speech program, (3) suggestions for classroom…

Efforts to individualize the secondary school English curriculum (Poway High School, California) have led to the development of a program of approximately 20 non-graded courses in literature, language, and composition which allows students to choose their own courses and to make decisions about content, structure, and methods of evaluation in a…

A language arts program for Navajo children is presented in this curriculum guide based on needs outlined in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' publication "Curriculum Needs of Navajo Pupils." The program should provide each Navajo pupil with an opportunity to acquire a basic mastery of the English language in order to integrate his own…

Instead of emphasizing forms and types, teachers of communication should emphasize the kinds of actions that verbal communications are--both for those who make them and for those who receive them. Because, in verbal communication, language becomes a vehicle by which we exert "force" on another, language arts studies ought to begin with the study…

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness ot two training sequences designed to increase auditory discrimination in preschool educationally disadvantaged children. Auditory discrimination is important because, among other reasons, studies have shown the existence of a high positive correlation between a child's ability to listen and…

With an eye toward further collaboration between U.S. and Japanese broadcasters, the overall approach and effect of Japanese educational television (ETV) is examined. While in the United States ETV has no advertisement and is non-profit, the Japanese only require that any advertisement be not obstructive to social education. Their broadcasting has…

Aural comprehension tests, which are designed so that the student can give non-vocal reactions to orally-presented problems are valuable for two reasons: they provide the teacher of English with an objective and accurate measure of the pupils' comprehension and can also be given simultaneously to a large group of students. According to the author,…

Developed around the concept that a modern language arts program is planned to help students use language and understand the nature of language, this curriculum guide for grades five and six offers pedagogical approaches to comprehending ideas through listening, observing, and reading, and to expressing ideas through speaking and writing. Sections…

In order that the teacher trainee may gain knowledge, skills, and proficiency in the communication skills instruction of elementary school children, this handbook of modules focuses on five major areas of the language arts--listening, speaking, reading, writing, and dramatizing. Eight modules are included: "Overview, Interrelationship, and…