This conference presentation discusses how the Nucleus 22 cochlear implant, with its ability to improve speech perception, can be capitalized upon to improve the speech production of very profoundly deaf children. The paper is designed to accompany a video presentation demonstrating the speech ability and theory of two young children (ages 3 and…

This manual was designed for an inservice workshop with business educators on strategies for math communication. The focus is on basic writing and math skills. Technology is incorporated in the curriculum. The manual is divided into six sections; four sections deal with communications skills and two sections with math skills. Each section includes…

A review of literature relating to the use of Hawaiian pidgin and standard English and their relationship to school achievement was undertaken in response to concerns regarding state educational policy for language use and proficiency. The research reviewed includes pidgin and creole studies, second language acquisition research, and studies of…

A study explored the effectiveness of "rap music" as a method of instruction for urban preschool children. It was hypothesized that urban preschool children would learn more new content (10 unfamiliar names of body parts) in a classroom environment through the use of rap music for instruction, than would children who received instruction…

Noting recent state legislation (HB 1706) in Oklahoma that is focused on the improvement of teacher preparation programs at the university level, this paper details the implementation of such improvements at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. The first section of the paper considers requirements for improved classroom preparation in both…

This collection includes 13 essays on various aspects of learning and elementary education. Individual essays describe, discuss, evaluate, or make recommendations about: (1) the urban school curriculum; (2) individually guided education; (3) in-service teacher education; (4) design of the science curriculum; (5) use of psychology in mathematics…

The classroom practice of promoting glib recitation, on cue, of the surface structures of a foreign language is criticized. This practice has been based on the belief that it equates with, or leads to, communicative performance but the author claims that the attempt to simplify language learning into a sequence of skills beginning with listening…

Using the Rhetoric and Communication Department of the University of California at Davis as an example, this paper addresses the problems of small communications departments that face increasing student enrollments by both majors and students seeking to enhance their communications skills, with no additional faculty to handle such a load. After an…

The communication activities described in this guide for English as a second language students emphasize functional competence over passive knowledge and focus on verbal strategies which enable students to interact. Communicative competencies are highlighted through stress on developmental levels (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and…

Acknowledging that one of the most difficult challenges postsecondary educators must face is the maintenance of adequate student enrollment, this paper describes the creation of a speech communication laboratory as one component of a university-wide effort to maximize student retention. The paper first discusses several suggestions researchers…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with the following topics: oral language characteristics of college freshmen; the language development of a modern day "wild child"; children's understanding of relational terms; the relationship of…

Situation comedy (sitcom) dialogs that are included in PLATO lessons for first year Russian students are described. These comprehension exercises make use of both the touch panel and the audio capabilities of PLATO. The sitcom dialogs were written by a native speaker of Russian and are based on the vocabulary in the textbook plus a small number of…

Designed for use as a part of the Work Maturity Skills Training Program, this unit consists of instructional materials dealing with practicing good work habits. (The Work Maturity Skills Training Program is a set of individualized competency-based units that are designed to help participants develop the competencies they need to find and retain…

Designed to assist teachers in small schools with the improvement of curriculum and instruction and to help smaller districts that do not have curriculum personnel to comply with Washington's Student Learning Objectives (SLO) Law, this guide contains language arts curriculum materials for grades 7-8. Learning objectives are correlated to the Goals…

From a consideration of variability in language-learner and language-user data, the concept of proficiency is considered in relation to models of second and foreign language learning. Proficiency is defined in relation to four separate dimensions: grammatical well-formedness, speech-act rules, functional elaboration, and code diversity. This…