Examines group structure and process through a serious consideration of word play of group members. Issues explored include ways in which metaphors externalize emotions, human identities are constructed metaphorically, interactional situations are managed metaphorically, and humor is related to dominance. (RC)

Differential effects of university supervisors and cooperating teachers as observers on the verbal behavior of student teachers were studied. The tape-recorded data showed remarkable stability over the three observer conditions--no live observer present in the classroom or either the university supervisor or the cooperating teacher present.…

Assesses the relative merit of three modes of instructor verbal behavior on student achievement. Results suggest that interacting with students outside the classroom using affective behaviors and locus of control change techniques improves student self-concept and classroom achievement. (Author)

The article explains the Grunes interview procedure, in which drawings of people significant to the interviewee are used, along with a series of 91 questions which all begin "Which one...", to facilitate conventional diagnostic interviews with children who cannot communicate verbally. (PHR)

Using both normal and delinquent families, this study attempts to assess patterns of inconsistency in three communication channels (verbal, tonal, and facial), with certain controls to strengthen the study's methodological base. When covariance procedures controlled for demographic variables, reliable differences between the two groups were…

In addition to the basic communication skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, the authors suggest five other levels of communication to help teachers expand students' horizons: kinetic and symbolic; mental; extraterrestrial, biological, and technological; imagery; and perceptual. Each level is briefly discussed. (MF)

This study examined the relationship between external language behavior in the form of intensity of verbal interaction between the learner and his language environment and the effects of this interaction on language abilities as measured by language tests. The subjects were adult learners of English as a second language. (CFM)

Defines two interrelated educational concepts, "personal meaning" and "personal learning". The concepts are defined in terms of what a students says when asked to discuss his participation in a class. These concepts may provide educators and students with more precise ways of describing and dealing with certain dimensions of a…

Step-group therapy is a program designed to help adult impatients increase their interpersonal communications skills. Using microcounseling formats, psychiatric patients have been taught the skills of eye contact, verbal following, relaxed pasture and eventually, the use of feedback and self-disclosure. (Author)

This study marked the first experimental examination of the Model for Change. Results are not encouraging in terms of the model's effectiveness in altering negative attitudes and behaviors of prospective white teachers. Results suggest the necessity for serious reevaluation of the model as a training method, especially in time-limited situations.…

At what point and to what degree does loud noise interrupt or hamper the process of education? This article attempts to answer this question by presenting data relative to a school affected by the placement of a traffic artery. (Author/MLF)

Low-income families participated in several variations of a home-based intervention program which focused on modeling verbal interaction between mother and child around selected toys and books. (SB)

Examined large corpus of spontaneous English conversation for pronunciation of "the" and speech patterns immediately following. Found that speakers use "thiy" (versus "thuh") pronunciation to signal immediate suspension of speech to deal with a problem in production; problems were at many levels of production, including articulation, word…

Ten-minute video recordings of the dyadic interactions between seven deaf children (mean age 5.5 years) and their communication partners (either deaf or hearing) were analyzed. Findings are reported in terms of interaction variables (initiation, continuation, ending, and complexity) and communicative modalities (sign, actions, conventional…

Explores verbal strategies involving code-switching (English terms used in Chinese-based interactions) in the speech community of a Taiwanese teacher's college. Code-switching is described in terms of the fulfillment of language functions and is shown to express a linguistic style concerned with communicative appropriateness and social identity.…