Everyday speech is littered with disfluency, often correlated with the production of less predictable words (e.g., Beattie & Butterworth [Beattie, G., & Butterworth, B. (1979). Contextual probability and word frequency as determinants of pauses in spontaneous speech. "Language and Speech, 22," 201-211.]). But what are the effects of disfluency on…

Teachers and administrators are often directed to distance themselves from the children in their charge. Despite the land mines that accompany personal relationships with students, the authors argue that educators can still learn to build personal relationships with students. Personal-relationship building is one of the most important skills a…

Understanding spontaneous speech is a very difficult task for many foreign students. They must be taught to use all the ethnographic cues available to enable them to predict the likely content of a text. They must predict not only the factual content of spoken language but also the interactional structuring. (Author/CFM)

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is argued that more emphasis needs to be given to the neglected skills of listening comprehension, since most training in oral communication at the secondary and college level focuses on effective speaking. The paper outlines…

These two manuals, one designed for students and the other for instructors, offer information on the development of reading, listening, and study strategies. The student manual begins with information on the instructional approach that will be used and the characteristics of active readers, writers, planners, listeners, and students. The…

Vocational educators need to build bridges for student's transition into and success through the vocational program of their reasoned choice by communicating and cooperating with developmental education instructors. The major focus of the role of the vocational instructor in working with the developmental educator concerns assessment of students…

Language acquisition theory and classroom applications are discussed, with a focus on the role of speaking and grammar in the early stages of English acquisition in the English-speaking elementary school setting (kindergarten and first grade). Three stages of natural language acquisition are: (1) the comprehension stage…

The two teaching units in this document present listening and speaking as dynamic skills and emphasize learning through discovery and induction. "Listening to Understand" encourages the student to participate primarily as a member of a group rather than as an individual. Classroom exercises are listed for teaching students efficient listening, the…

Selected eight to ten year old Maryland children were used in this study measuring the effect of lessons in becoming aware of propaganda employed by commercial advertisers in television programs. Sixteen 45-minute lessons directed to the propaganda techniques of Band Wagon, Card Stacking, Glittering Generalities, Name Calling, Plain Folks,…

Describes experiences with developing language and listening skills through storytelling in two multigraded elementary classrooms. Discusses how to: launch the program through literature and storytellers; implement the program, including storytelling ideas; maintain a supportive environment; assess children using anecdotal observation sheets; and…

The effectiveness of cooperative learning arrangements is often attributed to the fact that the learners are not only "passive" recipients but also "active" explainers. To test this assumption experimentally explaining and listening were compared with respect to motivation and learning results. Forty first-year college…

This paper examines human phonosensitivity (the process by which an organism receives acoustic stimuli and integrates them into its behavior patterns), which is divided into two distinct but inseparable systems: hearing, which controls the reception, transmission, and perception of acoustic stimuli, and listening, which controls the discrimination…

The methods and materials used in a language lab (LL) are analyzed. The theoretical advantages of the LL are enumerated, including its ability to provide a variety of programs and activities and its provision of an opportunity for students to listen critically to their voices. In order to determine if these advantages are being used, a set of…

Author presented for consideration the position that the importance of mass media music (FM, AM, juke box, TV, film, etc.) might not be so much in its music as in the musical systems represented by that music. (Author/RK)

Describes a technique intended to help teach children how to transfer their listening skills to the act of reading. (RB)