Two audiologists discuss the measurement of hearing aid benefits by means of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB). They also report on numbers of listening problems identified using the APHAB subscales, and identify areas where further benefits are more and less likely. (DB)

This article argues that a communicative language course must have communicative exams. It explains how to choose and use material to test students' listening comprehension and socio-cultural knowledge. Transcripts of a commercial, a talk show, a film, a TV news show, and a documentary are included accompanied by exercises. (CFM)

In light of the worldwide access to English language broadcasts, the interest-value of news clips and their usefulness as educational tools is examined. It is suggested that news broadcasts incorporated into a careful task-design can extend both the accessibility of input and the complexity of output for various proficiency levels. (JL)

Advocates listening to technical information in much the same way as scientists and engineers look at graphics to understand the relationships among variables. Specifies a number of potential benefits of this approach. Demonstrates the presentation of acoustic information with data on the frequency of television viewing from 1950 to 1988. (SR)

Discusses the use of discourse analysis by language learners for speaking and listening instruction. Techniques and activities that make students active participants in language learning, by producing and analyzing their own language data and becoming conscious of language production skills are described. Brief annotated and unannotated…

Discusses the importance of effective listening and problems in the listening process. Presents a matrix evaluating 18 listening inventories on 8 criteria: cost effectiveness, educational use, business use, reliability, validity, adult audience, high school audience, and potential barriers. (JOW)

Two experiments evaluated the social interactions of 15 Asperger-type autistic subjects with either normal or schizoid control subjects. Asperger subjects tended to avoid gazing at the interviewer when the interviewer was talking. Results suggest that a lifelong absence of gaze response to social clues including speech may explain some features of…

Investigates whether listener bias contributes to the mistaken notion that women talk more than men. Perceptual effects (misjudgments of rates of speech) and attitudes to social roles and perception of power relations are suggested to be among the factors contributing to the misjudgment. (GLR)

In a 1997 study, 245 safety professionals and educators identified and prioritized management competencies that are important for safety professionals. Results show that the most important competencies are communication, listening, motivating others, creative thinking, and flexibility. (JOW)

Examination of the influence of verbal working memory on sentence comprehension in 12 children with specific language impairment suggested that: (1) these children have less functional verbal working memory capacity than chronological age peers and (2) have greater difficulty managing working memory and general processing abilities than both age…

Two studies examined the effectiveness of external-speaker announcements in identifying incoming buses to 21 adults with visual impairments, including the placement of external speakers, the ability to understand simultaneous bus announcements, and the speech enhancement of announcements. Announcements could be heard above ambient traffic sounds…

Examined preschool children's recall of deictic verbs of motion presented within stories either consistently or inconsistently with the protagonist's viewpoint. Found that 3- and 4-year-olds accurately recalled verbs of motion (come, go, bring, take) that were consistent with the protagonist's viewpoint but made substitution errors of…

Describes how camp counselors can foster camaraderie among campers through participative decision making, name games, listening, adventure courses, storytelling, spending time in nature, decorating cabins, avoiding favoritism, setting rules, admitting faults, setting group goals, and praising sincere efforts. (TD)

Focuses on the structure/function relationship of the brain and language. Reviews the basic theories concerning cortical structures and language representation. Presents a call that highlights the need to examine the areas of listening, memory, and information retrieval for a more sophisticated analysis of the complex relationship between cortical…

This study investigated the effect of speech intelligibility of children with severe/profound hearing losses on evaluations of personal qualities by 60 listeners who were either familiar with or not familiar with the speech of children with hearing impairments. Experienced listeners scored speakers' speech intelligibility, cognitive competence,…