Examines the idea of organizational communication competence and describes how behavioral, cognitive, and performance objectives can be developed for a simulation course. Explains how the course works using small groups, organizational problems, and problem-solving discussions. Includes a sample syllabus with evaluation forms, a discussion of…

Results of this hypothetical courtroom investigation revealed that the sex of the witness was related to evaluations of his/her credibility and attractiveness when using hedges and intensifiers. Emphasizes importance of language style in forming impressions of witnesses and defendants; discusses results in terms of their implications for sex…

Children assumed a subordinate role in conversing with their mothers but created peer conversations similar to those of mothers with other mothers. Data from a second experiment suggested that differences in leadership between mother and child were related to the disparity in relative status of participants rather than to familiarity. (Author/CM)

Reports the study of ritual verbal insults among Black men and among gay men. Gives examples of these insults and explains the situations in which such insulting takes place. (PMJ)

Spoken and written transmission in learning English as a second language is discussed at the levels of pronunciation and spelling, with reference to the East African learner. Fundamental physical differences between communication in speech and writing that impose different constraints upon the receiver are addressed. (SW)

Presents an outline of a progression plan for university language courses, combining features of various methods of language teaching. (AM)

Discusses the measurability of linguistic and communicative competence in light of the performance/competence dichotomy, and proposes a method for measuring loss of communicative competence using spontaneous speech data. (11 references) (Author/CK)

Focuses on language restoration in a situation where people start again to use a language as the language of the home and to speak it to newborn children after a period when these uses were extinct. Specifically considers the conditions accounting for Hebrew language revitalization and compares this situation with efforts to revitalize the Maori…

Discusses research findings in relation to oral communication tasks in English. The article concludes that, although direct linkage between task type, language output, and language acquisition has not been established, informed pedagogic choices can be made using the concepts of control of information and communication goal. (22 references)…

Discusses the failed attempt to cultivate Oriya as a modern language and to make it the official language of Orissa, India, in the 19th century. The reasons for this failure are a lack of language consciousness among the Oriyas, the pro-English attitude of the Oriya bureaucrats, and an irresolute corpus planning exercise. (eight references)…

Examined the speech of middle- and working-class black and white parents to their preschool children during picture identification, free play, and a meal. The study found the groups similar in the level and form of parental labeling and different in the information supplied by parents, parental direction of child behavior, and parental sensitivity…

Examines the discursive structures and linguistic resources of the interactional environments influencing the development of individual communicative competence, with specific reference to providing speaking opportunities to students studying Spanish as a second language. Findings reveal that the ways in which topics are developed differ from how…

Examines a series of naturally-occurring phone calls between a young child and his grandmother in the child's second language (L2), Portuguese. Notes that during the calls the child's L2 appears to increase in complexity, but is subsequently abandoned. Argues that this abandonment requires an examination of the language's role in the larger…

Provides a syllabus and teaching notes for a course on gender and communication theory. Presents teaching notes based on the assumption that a course grounded in a gender perspective requires style in the classroom that complements the course content. (KEH)

A survey identified sources of anxiety among 135 beginning college Spanish students and 109 high school students. Results suggest that speaking in the foreign language is not the exclusive source of anxiety. The teacher's relaxed and positive error-correction attitude can reduce anxiety among students greatly. (36 references) (Author/MSE)