This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of dramatic improvisation on the attitudes of high school teachers toward their students; (2) the effects of training teachers in interpersonal cognitive problem solving…

The ability of children at different ages to distinguish instructions to "ask" from instructions to "tell" and the types of structures used to express these directives were studied. Subjects were 120 children, aged 2 years 6 months to 6 years 6 months. Children were instructed to either ask or tell an adult or another child to give them puzzle…

A study was undertaken to determine whether young children are aware of sociolinguistic and social interactional differences in language use and of the appropriateness of varied linguistic forms in particular situations, roles and relationship. The speech of 24 children ranging in age from 3 years, 9 months to 7 years, 1 month was recorded in…

A pilot experiment aimed at discovering sex-specific language patterns as exhibited by males and females in conversation with same-sex and other-sex partners falsified the hypothesis frequently stated in the literature that males hold the dominant role in mixed-sex verbal interaction, at least in regard to college students. Twelve dyadic…

This is the first kit in an innovative series of activities intended primarily for use in a bilingual education setting. It is designed to encourage children to use oral language in natural, spontaneous ways. The kit includes an explanatory booklet describing the aims or functions of language, the modes through which the aims of discourse are…

Two theoretical orientations-schema theory and cultural norms for the use of language unify this multidisciplinary collection of papers examining discourse. Chapters by Adams and Collins; Warren; Nicholas and Trabasso; Stein and Glenn; and Freedle and Hale highlight the application of schema theory to the study of story recall, reading, and the…

PROBLEMS IN THE EDUCATION OF MINORITY ETHNIC GROUPS ARE THE SUBJECT OF THIS TEXT. LARGE POPULATIONS OF INDIANS, MEXICAN AMERICANS, AND SPANISH AMERICANS CONSTITUTE THE MINORITY GROUPS IN THE SIX SOUTHWESTERN STATES. A BASIC PURPOSE IN EDUCATING MINORITY GROUPS IS THE INCULCATION OF VALUES OF THE AMERICAN CULTURE. ONE MAJOR PROBLEM INVOLVES A LACK…

THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR NOT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS IN ORAL INTERPRETATION IS A VALID OBJECTIVE IN THE PREPARATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH. THE QUESTIONNAIRE WHICH SERVED AS THE BASIC INSTRUMENT OF THE STUDY SOLICITED RESPONSES FROM COLLEGE PROFESSORS OF SPEECH AND OF ENGLISH AND FROM SECONDARY SCHOOL…

This report summarizes the kinds of oral games that are available to English as an Additional Language (EAL) classrooms, briefly outlines current research, and stresses the need for more exploration in kinds and varieties of games. A guide to typical, successful classroom games, this report includes eighty-one selected oral games, which are fully…

Part of a study is presented of native speakers of Hebrew who are acquiring English without formal instruction. A Hebrew-speaking child, aged 5 years 6 months, and her American playmate were audiotaped bi-weekly in natural settings for 11 months. The American child periodically used "foreigner talk," that is, the variety of language…

Communicative competence is now at the point where theory must be translated into practice, that is, where the functional approach must be developed into pedagogical content and strategies. An analysis is presented of the three main pedagogical approaches: the structural, situational, and functional approaches. Principles underlying the…

A sample of 48 middle and lower class kindergarten and second grade students participated in a study to determine what speech adjustments school-age children made for listeners of different ages. Half the second grade subjects learned about two performance tasks--a board game and constructing columns of colored blocks--from the researcher, after…

IDEAS FOR THE CREATIVE USE OF ORAL LANGUAGE IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM ARE PRESENTED IN THIS SYMPOSIUM. PART 1, "THE NEED FOR CREATIVE EXPERIENCES IN ORAL LANGUAGE" BY M.W. HENRY, IS CONCERNED WITH THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CREATIVE ORAL LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES AND THE ACQUISITION OF READING AND WRITING SKILLS. PART 2, "CHORIC INTERPRETATION" BY…

A PROGRAM TO OVERCOME RACIAL AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES IN SPEECH PATTERNS, READING ABILITY, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IS DESCRIBED IN THIS REPORT. COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS LABORATORIES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN NINE HIGH SCHOOLS, INCLUDING SEVERAL INTEGRATED SCHOOLS. LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, AND WRITING ACTIVITIES ARE FEATURED. INSERVICE TEACHER TRAINING…

In line with the psychologists' viewpoint on child development, an argument is made for reconsidering the timing and type of modern language instruction in the school. Evidence of the receptiveness of children to language learning from birth to age eleven is discussed, along with the efficacy of learning through a direct, or school, experience.…