This study describes a language intervention approach using telephones in a classroom to motivate and facilitate spontaneous oral language in a group of language-delayed kindergarten children. Specific purposes of the investigation were (1) to determine what effect the availability of telephones had on the spontaneous oral language of…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet presents a holistic view of learning focused on the development of oral communication. The first section of the booklet provides a rationale for increasing oral communication skills instruction, and discusses the…

Designed to assist with the monitoring of the Basic Skills Program Standards for grades K-8, the individual student profiles provided in this booklet are arranged according to grade level for the section on mathematics, written communication, and oral communication. The section on reading is arranged according to skills in word identification,…

In this book, teacher educators and researchers show how classrooms can come alive when talk is used constructively. Following an introduction by Donald L. Rubin, the articles include: "Speaking Creatures in the Classroom" (Judith Wells Lindfors); "Oral Language and Learning" (Douglas Barnes); "Negotiation, Language, and…

Noting that parents play a key role in assisting their children in learning to talk, this pamphlet helps parents to understand the relationship between hearing, talking, and the process and stages of normal speech and language development. The pamphlet also suggests ways in which parents may encourage their children's listening and talking skills…

Guidelines employed by the Neighborhood English Scheme (Brent) in London, England, to insure that student placement interviews are purposeful and effective are outlined. Ideally, a successful interview results in the student being placed in an English-as-a-Second-Language class that is at a convenient time and location, at an appropriate level,…

A study of the semantic factors determining the choice of "go to" and "will" in some varieties of spoken English looks at intentionality and premeditation, imminence, observation, presence on the scene of action, certainty, inference and observation, knowledge and certainty, present relevance and immediacy of action, children's acquisition of…

Using ethnographic techniques to observe seven fifth grade and seven third grade students, a study examined the function of children's oral language during creative writing sessions in typical classroom situations. Findings indicated that oral language plays an important role in the writing process; specifically, that it (1) accompanies writing as…

The concept of "prominence" in intonation is discussed. It treats the prominence of a syllable as a feature determined by the speaker separate from the word itself, and meaningful in and of itself. The decision by a speaker to assign or not assign prominence to a syllable (selectivity) is seen as related to the immediacy of spoken…

A study of one of the most recurrent and persistent obstacles in learning English as a second language, the use of tense marking, is presented. The analysis is based on audio recordings from a Vietnamese community in Northern Virginia, representing four age ranges from 10 to 55 years, two lengths of U.S. residency (1-3 years and 4-7 years), and…

A study of classroom interaction in Ontario's French immersion programs is summarized. Transcripts of classroom interactions were analyzed for teaching practices that tend to decrease or encourage student speech. Results suggest that the use of language in immersion classrooms is not significantly different from language use in regular classes. It…

The use of proverbs and other sayings in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction is discussed. The proverb is defined and its distinguishing characteristics are examined. The methods and reasons for using these characteristics today are discussed, and examples are given. The specific use of proverbs in teaching oral communication,…

To determine what recent research indicates about similarities and differences between reading and listening and current classroom practices in listening at the junior high level, and to discover whether teachers consciously and systematically provide a bridge between informal oral language and formal text language, a study was completed by…

A study designed to examine the variation that occurs in the request production of children between the ages of 6 and 7 observed the kind of requests children make, what they request, whom they ask, and how they formulate their ideas. Twenty native French-speaking children divided into two age groups (6- and 7-year-olds) were asked to complete two…

A study investigated whether the interrelatedness of parents' storybook reading to children and their developing competence in oral and written language carried over into out-of-home care. Subjects, about 40 children ranging in age from 18 to 36 months in 4 representative daycare centers and their 4 adult teachers, were observed during planned…