Results of a statistical study of language in 30 infants suggest that two acquisition styles (nominal/pronominal and referential/expressive) are developing in parallel. Only for children heavily emphasizing one strategy can a distinctive style be determined. Results at 20 months were only partially predictive of performance at 28 months. (MSE)

Children aged 1;4-1;6 were asked common "what"-questions in four contexts. Gesture had a significant effect on the nonverbal components of their responses, while linguistic sophistication and type of question affected only vocal responses. It is suggested that gestural information is processed relatively independently of speech at this age. (MSE)

A study investigating mothers' ideas of appropriate speech to children aged 1;6-3;6 looked at the explicitness of action directives given. Results support several theories and the notion that differences in mothers' language use reflect their ideas of what the child can understand. (MSE)

Outlines an alternative interpretive approach to listening which is grounded in the hermeneutic phenomenologies of Heidegger, Gadamer, and Ricoeur. Explains four features of this alternative: openness, linguisticality, play, and the fusion of horizons. Discusses conceptual and pedagogical implications. (PD)

Results indicate that corporate training directors perceive poor listening as an important problem facing organizations, one that leads to ineffective performance or low productivity. Educators and trainers are encouraged to include aspects of listening behavior identified in this study into organizational communication curricula or industrial…

Subjects listened to a short science passage one, two, or three times. Overall amount recalled increased with number of presentations, but recall of conceptual principles and related information increased sharply with repetition, whereas recall of formal equations and concrete analogies did not. Advance organizers functioned similarly. (Author/PN)

Describes a technique that can be used to help students become better listeners. (FL)

Recounts how old radio shows were used by one teacher to help students develop listening, speaking, and writing skills. (JL)

Discusses use of short-wave radio broadcasts as method for expanding students' appreciation of practical advantages of language learning. Suggests use of news broadcasts and gives guidelines for using broadcasts such as level of aural comprehension in class. (Author/BK)

Argues that a speech communication course should be a required course because speaking and listening are important basic skills which require refinement during a student's college/university years under the guidance of communication professionals. Advises departments to consider the resources (people and material) necessary to develop and…

Describes a method that offers content area teachers a practical way to help groups of students who have difficulty in reading by producing content material rewritten on a level the students can comprehend. (AEA)

Describes activities involving the reading and writing of television commercials that were designed to help first-grade students become alert to the structural and linguistic techniques used in commercial advertising. (HTH)

Suggests that social studies teachers review how they ask their students to speak publicly in class (question-responses, oral reports, group discussion, and/or role playing). They should also assess how alert their students are to language clues such as certain vocabulary words, intonation, facial expression, and gestures. (DB)

Presented are two activities for helping students to form positive peer relationships of respect and cooperation. In one, students role-play a meeting of people from different cultures, who have different interpersonal styles. In the other, children chart their good and bad days and learn to share these feelings. (SJL)

Discusses objectives, classroom activities, and strategies involved in using radio broadcasts as instructional material. Suggests criteria to choose materials appropriate to the students' level of competence and focuses on the use of multiple choice questionnaires and direct questioning to gradually improve comprehension. (MES)