Discusses the value of linguistic studies, noting the importance of encouraging students' interest in talking and thinking about language. Presents tape-recorded dialogues produced by students in a "nonacademic" class and tells how such activities can provide a basis for the study of language. (GT)

Discusses rules of pronunciation and grammar in French. Rules of spoken French are contrasted to those of traditional grammar. A visual method is suggested for teaching "oral grammar." (AM)

Compares 14 instruments measuring social-communicative anxiety and concludes that virtually every measure was significantly and strongly associated with most other measures and most reflected the same general construct. (JMF)

The longitudinal study investigated the acquisition of question formation in spoken English and American Sign Language by two young hearing children of deaf parents. The linguistic environment of the children included varying amounts of exposure and interaction with normal speech and with the nonstandard speech of their deaf parents. (Author)

Deals with some of the confusions that have arisen due to inaccurate translation and misunderstanding of Vygotsky's general theoretical framework. Also discusses how social interaction at the level of interpsychological functioning can lead to independent problem solving at the intrapsychological level. (Author/MP)

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)

The recorded conversations of 40 preschool children in small groups were analyzed for interruptions, overlaps, lapses, and gaps. Significant differences were found between heterogeneous and homogeneous groups for interruptions, with boys interrupting girls at a two to one ratio. (Author/RL)

The "theme-rheme" division leads to certain problems for Germans learning English--e.g., the greater importance of intonation in English, or the freer word-order of German. Various types of errors are discussed (systemic, context, and rule); also pedagogical treatment of "theme-rheme," including precise definition of teaching goals, and…

Forty-eight mothers and their four- to six-year-old children participated in a controlled disciplinary encounter in which the children's attentiveness was manipulated. Results suggested that parents may use commands to get their children's attention and then use reasoning once their children are listening. (JMB)

Attachment behaviors were compared for groups of mother/deaf preschool child dyads where only oral communication was used and where total communication was used. Results showed that very few of the children were distressed by separation from their mothers. Further, the children's level of communicative competence was shown to be associated with…

Two cognitive tasks of physical uncertainty were used to assign 56 subjects (aged 5 to 17 years) to one of three cognitive stages. Two tests for comprehension of speaker uncertainty were then administered to all participants. Results were interpreted as showing that development of cognitive stages is structurally related to comprehension of speech…

Since students of foreign languages - particularly the weaker ones - are often unable to produce the foreign word or phrase they need, training in paraphrasing should be given. Short concentrated exercises in paraphrasing are suggested. (IFS/WGA)

Proposes a pedagogy of French grammar which takes into account the varieties found in spoken French as distinct from those found in written French. (AM)

Discusses ways in which audio materials can contribute to cultural understanding and communicative competence in students of French. (AM)

Examines a corpus of narratives produced by preschool children, and focuses on differences among the three age groups with respect to: (1) complexity, (2) the relationship between story elements and the discursive context, (3) relationship between story elements and extralinguistic context, and (4) shaping of the narrative as story and as part of…