This experiment was designed to better understand the effects of individual differences, intent to learn, and stimulus familiarity on frequency judgment accuracy. Half of the participants in the study heard popular songs, and the other half listened to unfamiliar songs. Participants were subdivided into three more groups, introducing the "intent…

Children 10 to 12 years of age in a class for the emotionally disturbed were spellbound while listening to a 1-hour tape of an old radio show "The Shadow" and later indicated comprehension through their answers to questions. (MC)

The propositions and inferences in a narrative story can be classified into two sets: the structurally explicit are those concerned with the central theme or structure of the story, and the incidentally explicit deal with information peripheral to this theme. This study compared readers and listeners from grades three and five in their…

This paper provides information on the use of referential communication tasks (tasks that structure speaking and listening behaviors so that participants need to interact to achieve accurate comprehension) in evaluating students' comprehension and listening skills. An introduction discusses interactive listening and the referential communication…

To assess and then compare stages of language acquisition in disabled readers with those identified by Chomsky in a study of normal readers, a study examined (1) whether the order of emergence of certain syntactic structures is the same for six to ten-year old disabled readers as it was for Chomsky's normal readers, (2) whether there are…

A promising way to enhance student listening performance with recorded materials is to mechanically retard or advance the speed of the tape and electronically correct the accompanying shift in pitch. With a speech compressor/expander, the language laboratory can eliminate the negative psychological effects of too much speed. Beginning students…

A study was undertaken to determine (1) the relationship between listening and reading (the receptive language mode) and (2) the relationship of listening and reading to speaking and writing (the generative mode), intellectual ability, self-concept, impulsivity/reflectivity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Sixty grade six students were…

This is the English-language portion of the special examinations used by the authorities of the People's Republic of China in selecting the initial groups of Chinese coming to the United States under the official exchange agreement. The examination proper is preceded by an introduction which provides background information on the test itself and…

This handbook is for use by content area teachers in grades three through six who want to help students improve their comprehension of both oral and written language. The first three chapters discuss the nature of comprehension and establish the general philosophical framework for the strategies and activities that make up the major portion of the…

Many factors influence the comprehension of a linguistic act by a listener or reader. Some, such as maturity, background, and interests of the decoder are nonlinguistic; others, such as the vocabulary and complexity of the morphological and syntactical structures are linguistic in nature. A review of the literature reveals that while studies have…

To determine why some children find textbooks to be much more difficult to understand than teachers' presentations, four reading selections for middle grade readers were analyzed, as were tape recorded lessons prepared by ten teachers on the basis of the same selections. Excerpts from one of the written passages and excerpts and analysis of one…

The testing of a number of hypotheses about the effect of hearing a prior context sentence on immediate processing of a subsequent target sentence is described. According to the standard deep structure model, higher level processing (e.g. semantic interpretation, integration of context-tarqet information) does not occur immediately as speech is…

This guide was developed for parents of young children to help them improve the child's ability to listen, to discriminate different sounds, and to understand and remember what is heard. Background information on the development of listening skills is presented and general guidelines for conducting listening games are offered. Activities are…

The eight articles in this booklet suggest activities designed to help students see drama as an active, engaging pursuit. The first article uses excerpts from Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" to illustrate how improvisation can be used to help students discover meaning in a play. The second and third articles provide suggestions for…

A technique called "co-communication" was developed to improve the listening skills of dental school faculty. In co-communication, paired individuals take turns playing the roles of talker and listener for designated times, usually about 20 minutes each. The structure of the sessions and their continuity are necessary to ensure individual growth…