One provision of the Ryan Act, a legislative move intended to improve teacher training programs in California, was the requirement that all teacher candidates be examined for competence in both speaking and oral reading. To ascertain how shools of higher education across that state were dealing with this provision, a questionnaire was sent to 38…

Discusses the relevance of teaching "Survival Spanish" at the community college level for those students whose careers will require an understanding of the language. In addition, many professionals in the human/community service or medical fields are enrolling in such courses, in order to more competently serve the changing needs of…

A study examined public speaking textbooks from the early 1900s to the present time with regard to two major questions: (1) "Have the authors emphasized the link between public speaking skills and the ability of each student to become effective members of society?"; and (2) "To what extent have public speaking texts used the need…

This study compared self-ratings of speech intelligibility with measured speech intelligibility for 200 college students who were deaf or hard of hearing. Student responses to questions on a self-perception speech questionnaire were analyzed and compared with measured speech intelligibility estimates derived by a transcription procedure. The study…

Authentic materials can be used to promote second language acquisition. Research on their effects on each language skill (reading, culture, writing, speaking, listening) is needed. Print media (such as newspapers) which are available and motivation, offer real interaction with the target language and culture, and are a valuable instructional…

A study examined the differential grading that occurs in the basic speech communication classroom and attempted to identify predictors for the differences in the grades that male and female students receive. Subjects, 47 women and 48 men enrolled in the same lecture section of a basic communication course at a small private midwestern college,…

A 20-minute videotape sample was obtained of the language interactions between 20 Down syndrome children (ages 38 to 107 months) and their mothers during informal playtime. Linguistic utterances of mothers and children were coded according to the following language categories: query, declarative, imperative, performative, feedback, imitation,…

The Speaking across the Curriculum (SAC) program at Hamline University in Minnesota is based upon principles similar to those of many Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) programs and is complementary to the WAC program at Hamline. The SAC program requires students to take two speaking intensive courses as well as a freshman seminar in which both…

In language learning, one important prerequisite for successful imitation of the native speaker is full awareness of his linguistic behavior and, if possible, its analysis. Brief language immersion and brief periods of conversation in the target language do not provide enough opportunity to observe the native speakers' linguistic peculiarities and…

In an effort to determine how many West Virginia students were receiving specific instruction in the skills of speaking and listening, a survey of college introductory speech communication classes was devised. The survey, designed to determine whether separate courses or integrated skill instruction within English/language arts classes were being…

This paper discusses reasons for combining the composition and speech courses required of college freshmen. Observations about the traditional division of speech and composition instruction indicate that teachers with less experience are merely giving students "busy work" to exercise skills those students should have prior to college enrollment,…

Providing both a rationale and a syllabus for a basic course in communication skills for college students training to be teachers, this paper explains why such elements as training in audiovisual aids and writing instruction were left out of the basic course and placed in elective courses. It then presents a detailed discussion of the topics…

Intended as a curriculum development aid for speech communication instructors, this paper provides an outline model for basic speech competencies. The first section of the outline offers approaches to the basic speech communication course, including traditional versus competency-based approaches to education, and presents the three dimensions of a…

Because inexperienced or basic writers depend on the semantics of everyday spoken dialogue when writing, research on written composition and the developmental links between spoken and written language should be more accessible to the practitioners who teach writing to those students. A review of the literature supports the theory of a semantic…

In an era in which the credibility of public schools is falling with the general public, community forensics performances by students have the potential for cultivating public awareness of the effectiveness of the schools. Forensics is intrinsically related to basic speaking and listening skills, and since there is great potential for…