Examines the effects of various mass media on political learning during the 1992 presidential campaign. Analyzes two voter surveys conducted in different states. Compares three indicators of political knowledge. Shows how campaign media added significantly to political knowledge among voters. (HB)

Distinguishes the cognitive, affective, and emotive effects produced by the 1992 presidential campaign, especially its presidential debates. Describes the kinds of cognitive effects engendered by the campaign activities and performances of the three major candidates. (HB)

A study of 15 popular scientific journal articles and 15 specialist medical-research articles indicates that in medical discourse hedging, the expression of tentativeness and possibility by epistemic devices, can be applied in less specialized English- for-Special-Purposes (ESP) texts such as popular scientific articles, but in different…

Reading Phillipson's "Linguistic Imperialism" in a World Englishes graduate seminar at Purdue University prompted intense discussion not only on the issues the author raised, but also on the rhetorical style and strategies that he chose to present a story of oppression. This article documents the reactions of the students.(Author/VWL)

Minimal feedback in English (e.g., "yeah, mm hm") are common in conversation but rarely found in second-language instructional materials. They can be examined best through the turn-taking system in English. We now know enough about minimal feedback to teach its use. Examples of use are presented here, with attention to intonation…

Treats, in a systematic and principled manner, representations studied in situated literacy and an associated methodological approach based on semantic analysis that characterizes the representations. Illustrates application of the method for four situated-literacy examples: mother/child word-naming games; children's story writing; journalistic…

Using software and a coding system developed by the author, the text of all spoken and written discourse was analyzed from four face-to-face (FTF) courses and two courses taught via computer-mediated communication (CMC). Results indicated that interaction patterns in the CMC courses resembled discussion, whereas patterns in the FTF courses…

Uses the concept of root metaphors to analyze the discourse of mothers, college students, and early childhood teachers regarding children, development, and learning. Found that preschool teachers offered more uniform views of children than other groups. Maintains a one source of miscommunication about children is the differing implicit ideas about…

Analyzed the discourse about television programs of 1,300 5- to 13-year-olds from England and Wales. Found that discourse expressed socially responsible and public service values in evaluating programs. Explained finding in terms of children's adaptation to task requirements and ability to access different kinds of adult discourse available in the…

Contributes to scholarship advancing the understanding of human communication by examining the rhetorical invention strategies of suffrage rhetoric in the cultural context of World War I. Shows how the political cartoons published in the mainstream Suffrage Movement's "The Woman Citizen" constructed women as strong, competent, and…

Notes that joint composition at the computer is common in United Kingdom primary schools. Finds that even children as young as seven years can jointly plan a story at the computer. Uses examples of pupils' discourse while composing to illustrate the processes by which they produced written text. (RS)

A review of research on second language (L2) speech looks at four issues of process and product: whether speech is different from writing; whether oral discourse patterns differ from one language to another; whether L2 speaker oral skills differ significantly from native speakers'; and how L2 speech develops. (MSE)

Focuses on traditional oath forms--those reflecting the value system of African traditional society in general and Rundi-Rwanda society in particular. The empirical research reported is based on approximately 20 hours of taped conversation among speakers of Kirundi-Kinyarwanda living in Burundi. Oath forms in Kirundi-Kinyarwanda provide…

A study compared university students' Japanese and English native-language essays (22 expository, 24 persuasive) in terms of organization and macrolevel discourse features. Results indicate inductive rhetorical patterns were more common in Japanese than English essays and more common in persuasive than expository mode across languages. However,…

Presents the perspectives on books and reading of two middle school boys, both reluctant readers who were passionate about reading self-selected materials outside of school. Argues that the perspectives of these renegade readers can inform educators who want to improve students' engagement with reading. (SR)