Research has shown that nonverbal variables have a strong influence on classroom communication. This paper examines the way in which communication in the classroom is affected by the variables of distance, physical environment, facial expression, vocal cues, posture and gestures, touch, use of time, physical attractiveness, and dress. Each…

This is an examination of beginning teachers' acquisition of the structures of classroom discourse. Teachers were compared at the beginning and at the end of their first teaching year using a discourse analysis system. Thirty-three hours of audiotapes from 11 teachers were transcribed an coded. Teacher initiations during informing, eliciting, and…

A personalized learning strategy (PLS) was successfully employed in the small group discussion unit of a basic speech communication course. This document describes the rationale behind PLS and discusses ways to implement it. An outline of the small group discussion unit in which PLS was used matches the necessary learning experiences to the…

A survey was taken to determine the amount of speech activity in Kentucky secondary schools. Of 455 junior and senior high schools in Kentucky, 266 schools completed and returned the questionnaires. The results of the survey indicate the relative newness of speech communication as an academic discipline in Kentucky and point to some concerns for…

Intended for use by managers, this guide is meant to focus attention on communication skills and to provide a new approach to improving interpersonal communications. The authors divide these skills into two categories--listening and speaking. Effective listening entails skillful use of paraphrasing (any method of showing the speaker what his or…

Forty-eight pupils from grades one, three, and five participated in a study of the extent to which children are able to use their prior knowledge and expectancies to aid them in integrating verbal material and in drawing appropriate inferences. Six stories were constructed for each of four inference levels, and 11 questions were prepared for each…

This paper begins with a review of recent studies of the development of phonology, syntax, and semantics between the ages of five and twelve. Studies in pragmatics (or the functions of language) are also considered. The paper then turns from investigations of oral language acquisition to an examination of the interplay between oral and written…

Nine position statements prepared for the proposed Inter-Com Symposium of 1976 are presented here. Contributions include the following: "A Philosophical Mini-Position-Statement" (William Work), "Development of Communication Resources through an Experiential Future-Focused Role-Image and Function-Oriented Curriculum: The Task of Communication…

This monograph posits a rhetorical theory of video-art and presents perspectives on the status of video-art in Latin America. Video-art, which utilizes technology in the field of aesthetics, is perceived as fundamentally rhetorical and stylistic. Conclusions about the form include the comments that the analysis of visual messages is possible…

This paper examines children's early attempts at describing events absent in space and time, referred to as the "reportative function." The first part of the paper offers some explanations for the late emergence of the reportative function in young children's speech. Part two presents examples of children's attempts to report past events…

Social cognition refers to that ability which makes it possible for one to infer another's covert, inner psychological experiences and to interact with that individual accordingly (Shantz 1975; Flavell 1977). Piaget (1926) maintains that the ability to decenter socially and to take into account the perspective of another develops gradually as the…

Reports on the 1974 visit of the Linguistics Delegation to the People's Republic of China, specifically to two schools for the deaf. Outlines the role, goals, methods and curriculum of education for the deaf in that country. (CLK)

Discusses the role of linguistics in the study of phrase structure or expressive communication. Various linguistic approaches, including transformational grammar, structural linguistics, and the sociolinguistic approach, are discussed in connection with communication instruction. (Text is in French.) (AM)