To determine the effects of race and dialect in communication effectiveness, a study integrated research in referential communication with work on standard and black English, creating three hypotheses: that decoding within-race or within-dialect would be more effective than decoding across race or dialect, that decoding within any dialect would be…

A practicum was conducted to improve the listening skills of a first grade class in a public elementary school in a mostly Hispanic residential community. A listening program was developed and implemented to increase listening skills. Storytelling was the main strategy used, and it was implemented daily. Other listening activities were also…

This study examines two kinds of French language tests originating from the Threshold-Level (T-Level) or Niveau-Seuil theory of language learning in the context of several linguistic and testing concepts: discrete-point testing with regard to notions and functions from T-Level theory, communicative context, and assessment of listening…

This study provides an evaluation of the quality of immersion instruction in English as a second language in the Mele-Maat School, an English-medium, British-administered Polynesian school in Vanuatu, an independent South Pacific nation. The study consisted of one year of baseline data gathering and a second year for replication using standardized…

Oral production (the speech act) and the comprehension of written and oral texts have long been treated as separate entities when they could be used in an integrated approach to teach a broader range of language skills. The receptive aspects of the speech act should be brought into language instruction and used to select materials for teaching…

A study investigated the immediate recall protocol as a means of determining what second language learners retain of a spoken text. Three factors in comprehension were considered: topic familiarity, topic accessibility, and topic structure. A dialogue, a news broadcast, and a popular song were all presented to groups of beginning-level students of…

A study examined the effects of formal and informal learning environments on the storage and recall of lexical items in the first and second languages, paying specific attention to laterality and accuracy rates for tasks of varying difficulty. The study used the dichotic listening task and subjects whose first language was English and whose second…

A study examined age differences in the use of interaction management strategies. Students (13 seventh-graders and 24 eleventh-graders) were asked to describe how to play a game to a peer. Each speaker then became a listener in the next dyad. A tally was kept of speaker and listener use of six categories of feedback, and the quality of that…

Teachers confronted with the task of teaching or assessing listening skills should realize that competence in listening is acquired by knowing and doing and is evidenced by appropriate feedback or response. Various state curriculum and assessment projects have identified and grouped competencies in listening according to function, such as sensing,…

Attempting to present empathy as a vital ingredient of effective interpersonal listening, this paper first provides a brief historical tracing of the major trends in listening theory and research. This review then serves as a backdrop for a partial justification of an empathic listening emphasis that includes a clarification of some misconceptions…

A listening laboratory was developed at Evergreen Valley College (EVC) in accordance with procedures used at the college's individualized instruction laboratory. Steps taken in developing the laboratory included: (1) the director of the Learning Center Instructional Laboratory was interviewed to determine the procedure for establishing the…

A study investigated whether students comprehend more from a Black teacher using Black English and whether Black students view a Black teacher using Black dialect as being more credible than one without Black speech characteristics. The research consisted of a pilot study with White students to test the appropriateness of the instruments and…

Conducted at a Chapter 1 school serving mainly Hispanic and Black youth, this practicum developed a teacher-directed listening skills program for first grade students. The project goals were to provide auditory training and to increase proficiency in decoding skills. The listening skills program consisted of five components. The physiology of…

In the final part of an eight-part series of radio broadcasts from the People's Republic of China, transcripts of the broadcasts are presented in Chinese along with a list of characters and a synopsis in English and a Chinese-English glossary. The transcript is intended to be used with a cassette tape of the play. The series was designed to assist…

Intended for those who want to understand the nature of listening in the communication process and for students who wish to understand and improve their own behaviors as listeners, this book draws upon theory and research in the field of listening as well as from a variety of other disciplines. The 10 chapters of the book discuss the following…