Describes a listening experience that is part of a first-grade science unit. Notes that the listening experience facilitated active listening within the context of content learning. Suggests that the listening experience integrates science content, oral reading of a tradebook, and components of a Structured Listening Activity (SLA) to promote…

This study examined keyword signing (KWS), a communication approach used with nonspeaking individuals. Acoustic measures and judgments of 20 adult listeners were used to evaluate KWS and Spoken-Only narratives. KWS narratives were produced with a slower articulation rate, because of increased pause and speech segment duration and increased pause…

The studies presented here represent an attempt to determine which of several alterations to the input directed to second-language learners affect comprehensibility. The first study manipulated both speed and syntax, and the second study examined the introduction of pauses into the input. (JL)

Presents 10 annotations of reports, conference papers, and research summaries published in 1988 and 1989 concerning the many roles parents play in the acquisition and development of language and literacy of their children. (RS)

Suggests reasons why beginning second-language students try to translate into their primary language as they listen, even though this strategy is recognized as problematical, and proposes some teaching techniques to avoid their adopting it. (22 references) (GLR)

Two education professors developed New Teacher Groups to offer a safe place where beginning teachers can voice their concerns, share their joys and frustrations, and help one another deal with problems. Interviews with participants revealed that nearly two-thirds attended for personal and professional support they could get nowhere else. (MLH)

Describes a method of altering auditory input (Altered Auditory Input) and a structured set of listening tasks (Language Webs) for use with children who have language delays or impairments. The parameters of rate, prosody, and pattern of pausing are modified in the Altered Auditory Input (AAI) technique and Language Webs offer redundant,…

Examines the effects of prosodic variation (vocal affect) on the type of inferences six- and nine-year-old children made about a speaker's communicative intent. Demonstrates that children's interpretations of potentially ironic utterances were influenced by prosody, and the nature of this influence differed by age. (SR)

Outlines Australian Aboriginal perspectives, groundedness in particular, on life and the world around them. Shows the need for adopting Aboriginal conceptions and ideology in western industrialized societies enabling those cultures to experience the textures of life. Emphasizes the role of listening as a way for other cultures to adopt Aboriginal…

Describes a model of organizational listening competency (developed in a 10-year study) that applies directly to the workplace. Describes how it provides a basis for assessing listening ability largely through the observations of coworkers, and emphasizes two effective behaviors: accuracy (confirming the message sent) and support (affirming the…

Describes a series of replications of an analog experiment, focusing on the short-term affective impact of two types of active listening, one neutral or interpretive and the other a paraphrase that assumes the client's accuracy of interpretation. The results suggest that differently worded active-listening responses may lead to different…

Interviews with 15 parents of mainstreamed children shed light on building effective school-home partnerships. Teachers should convey a clear, consistent message concerning the child's value, put themselves in parents' shoes, expand their awareness of cultural diversity, challenge stereotypes, persevere in building partnerships, use everyday…

Discusses the importance of focusing on developing listening in English-as-a-Second-Language instruction and offers four suggestions for developing listening skills: have students listen to authentic recorded materials and then do simple tasks, have students take notes, make sure attention is focused during listening, and allow students to just…

Two studies compared either physiological signs of fatigue or evidence of effort expended by 20 school-age children with or without mild-to-moderate hearing loss under difficult hearing conditions. Although the first study found no differences in fatigue, the second study found that children with hearing loss expend more effort in listening than…

Investigates the listening process of less proficient Japanese English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners. Focuses on whether they tend to rely on bottom-up or on top-down processing, on which opinions are divided among researchers. (Author/VWL)