In an effort to improve the writing performance of non-native English-speaking students in a college preparatory composition course, a project was undertaken to reduce problems of self-esteem caused by communication apprehension through a speech assignment involving critical thinking and peer reviews. To evaluate the effect of the assignment, the…

A guide for faculty who want to improve their lecturing skills is presented. After identifying advantages and disadvantages of the lecture method, suggestions are offered for effective lecture preparation, with attention to organizing the body of the lecture, and beginning and closing the lecture. Vocal aspects of lecture delivery are addressed,…

Defining basic speech communication courses as those public speaking, interpersonal, or communication courses that treat fundamental communication concepts, this annotated bibliography reflects the current thought of speech educators on the basic course. The bibliography consists of 27 citations, all of which are drawn from the ERIC database. (SKC)

To spur English teachers to change their attitudes and methods in dealing with nonnative English speaking students, this autobiographical account by a Chicana woman describes how English teachers caused her to feel insecurity, frustration, and embarrassment about her use of language. Among the problems the author describes are her suffering at…

Argues that the Supreme Court's decision--upholding the constitutionality of disciplinary actions taken against a public high school student who delivered a speech laden with sexual metaphor (though not obscene language) in a nominating assembly--was improper in that it attempted to articulate a false dichotomy between "political…

The speech communications professionals who are involved in training and consulting need to conceptualize and talk about their activities as communication educators--not as trainers. Clients should be taught to make interpretive choices appropriate to their rhetorical environment, in addition to learning basic skills. As educators in the corporate…

The concept of liberty has been in the forefront of the minds of African Americans ever since the beginning of slavery, and its importance continues to the present. To cope with the inability to achieve complete freedom, and with the oppressive state created by a lack of liberty, they developed ways to express their feelings about the elusiveness…

Explores the need for teachers to examine their orientations toward and methods of teaching public speaking to African Americans and other students of color. Ways in which public speaking courses can be reshaped to be more inclusive of the learning and expressive styles of such students are discussed. (SLD)

This eight-week descriptive study examined the impact of the incorporation of a Life-Application Learning Methods Program on struggling middle school readers. Two questions were explored: 1) How did incorporating life-application learning into the middle school curriculum impact reading motivation?, and 2) How did incorporating life-application…

This two-part document describes the background and development of "Role Models Are Real People," a speakers' program for at-risk American Indian students, grades 6-8, in Chicago. The first part of the document includes the program proposal, outlining dropout statistics and other data showing reason for concern about American Indian…

This publication contains the proceedings of the 1970 Summer Conference of the Speech Communication Association which explored the practical implications of recent research in the field for classroom teachers. Included are (1) four papers by Barbara Wood, Frederick Williams, Gerald R. Miller, and Lawrence Rosenfield, who were commissioned to write…

This practical volume is written for the non-communications major or graduate who needs skills in writing, speaking, or using visual media, but it will be valuable to anyone who would like to communicate more effectively. The following topics are covered: the audience and the message; communication within groups; communication and social action;…

The purpose of this quinmester course is to engage secondary students into acting out the role of legislators, requiring them to practice effective extemporaneous speaking, prepared public speaking, and congressional debating techniques. A full understanding of specific parliamentary procedures and methods used in the federal legislative branch is…

Sharing information orally is an important skill that public speaking classes teach well. However, the author's students report that they do not often see informative lectures, demonstrations, presentations, or discussions that follow the structures and formats of an informative speech as it is discussed in their textbooks. As a result, the author…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 7 titles deal with the following topics: (1) two approaches to teaching public speaking at the community college level, (2) case studies from a communication skills peer-tutoring program for underachieving college freshmen, (3)…