The present study examined various aspects of the development of learners' fluency in Japanese using a large set of speech samples collected over a long period, using an online speaking practice/assessment system called "Speak Everywhere." The purpose of the present study was to examine: (1) how the fluency related measures changed over…

This paper reports on the learning experience of Chinese and French students participating in a computer mediated communication (CMC) collaboration conducted in English and supported by Wikispaces, Animoto, and Skype. Several studies have investigated CMC contexts in which at least some participants were native speakers. Here, we address the…

Using English as a global communicating tool makes Taiwanese people have to speak in English in diverse international situations. However, consonants and vowels in English are not all effortless for them to articulate. This phonological reduction study explores concepts about phonological (articulating system) approximation. From Taiwanese folks'…

This paper examines the use of mobile technologies such as iPods and tablets in promoting the development of oral competencies and literacy skills in early French immersion classrooms in Canada. The paper is based on a two-year collaborative action research project involving 16 teachers in two schools. Data collection involved digital ethnographic…

The aim of training for the hearing impaired children in auditory oral approach is to develop good speaking abilities. However profoundly hearing-impaired children show a wide range of spoken language abilities, some having highly intelligible speeches while others have unintelligible ones. This is due to hearing-impaired children's speech…

The steps which should be followed in planning, preparing, and giving a presentation are: (1) start planning immediately; (2) establish realistic objectives emphasizing desired results; (3) analyze the audience and the context of the presentation; (4) prepare a preliminary plan to help in selecting and organizing material including topic,…

This paper presents an outline of rehearsal procedures designed to provide instructors and students of the beginning interpretation class with a concrete, consistent framework for preparing literature for solo classroom performance. The outline offers a five-step process, and discusses each step in the process. First, the student must select a…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a task analysis of the objectives needed to organize an effective information-giving speech. A hierarchical structure of the behaviors needed to deliver a well-organized extemporaneous information-giving speech is presented, with some behaviors as subtasks for the unit objective and the others as…

The rate of speech in intercollegiate debate has been increasing and might have contributed to the proliferation of divisions in debate. The American Debate Association (ADA), National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA), American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), National Education Debate…

Weekly spontaneous imitations and spontaneous productions in the speech of two language-impaired males (3-4 years old) were compared over a 10-week period until MLU (mean length of utterance) approached or exceeded 2.0 morphemes. Although imitation was extensive in both boys' output, consistency of imitation over time differed for both and was…

In the 1968 political campaign, George Wallace consistently attracted auditors of diverse and highly polarized views, people who were negatively closed-minded and people who were positively closed-minded. He exploited this polarization to heighten the impact of his speaking and to rally and solidify the closed-positive auditors. For example, when…

To measure the symmetry of adult categorical phoneme perception, 10 adult male undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology class were the subjects for this study as part of their course requirements. The stimuli used in this study were prepared at Haskins Laboratories by means of a parallel resonance synthesizer and computer. The…

James E. Murdoch's contributions to the arts were widely diversified. Aside from acting, the man was interested in both the practical and theoretical aspects of elocution. The thread of continuity which existed between elocution and interpretation became apparent to Murdoch through his analysis of the works of Sheridan, Walker, and Rush, the…

To better serve as a laboratory for argument, individual events competition should represent analogues of "real world" argumentation/communication situations. The individual events laboratory must fulfill a pedagogical function, and should also "create" knowledge about argumentation strategies, specific fields of argument, and…

If speech instructors are to teach students to recreate for an audience an author's intellectual and emotional meanings, they must teach them to use human voice effectively. Seven essential elements of effective vocal production that often pose problems for oral interpretation students should be central to any speech training program: (1)…