Greenfield Center School (GCS) students have a long history of engaging in meaningful projects as the culmination of their studies. Once students have completed these projects, they own their learning; they understand it deeply and can explain how it relates to themselves as well as to their community. The process of showing one's understandings…

This article reports the results of a study of the unwillingness to communicate, and anxiety of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in English language classrooms. A 70-item survey of 547 first-year undergraduate non-English majors revealed that (a) Most of the students were willing to participate in interpersonal…

It's winter! While it is frosty outside, one can at least think warm thoughts by starting now to plan ahead for summer information literacy programs. This article is designed to provide some ideas for planning next summer's reading, sleuthing, and research programs. It features a variety of programs organized by academic librarians this past…

This study explores what classroom behaviors and activities in the basic speech course contribute to student connectedness. The results indicate that student encouragement, humor, honesty, interactive exercises and individual speeches, can help student bonding and motivation, and impacts their overall college experience.

Brenda and Bob have told their family's story many times to professionals as they have navigated through the sometimes precarious waters of education and medicine in search of quality services for their son, Jonathan. Sometimes, along the way, especially when experiencing miscommunication and fragmentation, they've wondered to each other: Is…

Isocrates of ancient Greece attempted to create a wise and educated person in his school, not just an orator. His philosophy centered around the fact that teaching speech is not an exact science, but an art of opinions and beliefs that will educate the student to make sensible choices in life and speech, demonstrate a noble character, and be…

Audience and situational context, the latter defined as a pairing of time and place coordinates, have passed through stages of union, separation, and identification in the history of rhetoric. From Aristotle through Cicero and Quintilian to Hugh Blair and George Campbell, audience was a synecdoche for the situations of utterance that defined…

The results of a survey of the high school extracurricular speech program in the nation are presented. The extracurricular activities include, oratory, debate, and after-dinner speaking. The survey indicated that in the area of forensics the extemporaneous speaking contest was the most popular. (CK)

Cites evidence of Gothic strains in eighteenth-century rhetorical practice. Uses a narrative account by Edmund Burke to illustrate representative Gothic themes, images, and strategies. Judges the Gothic voice to be significant as an instance of the ways in which general aesthetic sensibilities are deployed for rhetorical ends. (MS)

Discusses Book 3 of Aristotle's "Rhetoric," especially the negative attitude expressed toward rhetorical delivery. (SRT)

Argues that stage fright is a function of the speaker's perception that ability falls short of audience expectation. Discusses the implications of this theory for future investigations and interventions. (MS)

Reviews two graphic programs (Overhead Express and Sign-Master) available for preparing and producing audiovisual aids that can be used to accompany a speech or presentation. (PD)

Activities are presented to help gifted students overcome the fear of public speaking. Activities include exercises to improve confidence and understand the principles of effective public speaking. (CL)