Non-English speaking students lack the confidence and preparation to be verbally actively engaged in the classroom. Students may frequently display hesitation in learning to speak English, and may also lack a teacher's guidance in becoming proficient English speakers. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers build academic…

This study was undertaken to provide a descriptive analysis of the rhetoric of physicians (1) as they communicate with their colleagues, and (2) as they communicate with their patients. To accomplish the first objective, the oral presentations made during weekly conferences by the surgeons at a major hospital were observed for ten months. The…

The purpose of this study was to test a theory of interpersonal communication in non-therapeutic relationships. The theory was derived primarily from the work of Carl Rogers and Robert Carkhuff in psychology and from Evelyn Sieburg's theory of interpersonal confirmation in speech communication. In order to test the three generated hypotheses, a…

This study proposes a modern Aristotelian rhetorical theory--that rhetorical communication is that human communication within which persons deliberatively interact. A number of corollaries follow from the fundamental postulate and include: (1) persons function as the essential agents of the rhetorical communicative process; (2) a person's…

This study formulates a general semantics theory of societal cohesion, and tests the extent to which general semantics instruction in public schools can alter group attitudes in the directions suggested by the theory. The test instrument, which consists of measurable elements, rationality, acceptance of change, nonprejudice, and…

The listener-oriented presupposition is defined as a covert proposition related in some way to the listener and associated with a given utterance which the speaker must believe to be true if that utterance is to be judged functional by the listener. It is proposed that listener-oriented presuppositions fall into the following three classes: class…

This study attempts to determine if general principles of effective communication may be defined, if certain principles may be seen as central to the judgment of an individual's effectiveness, and if such principles of effective communication can affect perceptions of effective and ineffective communicators. Respondents to a 60-item questionnaire…

This paper outlines a theory of communicative competence and argues for a view of communicative competence as a postulated set of abstract cognitive operations that serve to generate mental representations of the social world. In addition to this function, the discussion serves as a review of literature bearing on the subject of communicative…

This study sought to determine (1) whether differences existed between black and white interpretations of direct and indirect eye contact as used by blacks during an employment interview and (2) whether an applicant's use of direct and indirect eye contact would affect his acceptability for employment. A videotape of two simulated employment…

This study attempted to relate findings from social psychological research in the area of attitude change with communicator characteristics, and to apply conclusions drawn from this research to influence processes and persuasion within an educational context. Six basic hypotheses were tested employing three experimental groups and a control group.…

A cognitive-style map was prepared for each of seven instructors and 125 college students drawn from those enrolled in a course in interpersonal communications. Students were partitioned into low-match, moderate-match, and high-match subgroups, on the basis of the degree of cognitive match with their instructors, before completing a communicaton…

This study examines the following question: Under what circumstances, for what purposes, and in what forms does the head of the state and federal liaison services of the intermediate administrative unit studied employ rhetorical strategies to gain compliance from his associates? This document presents information on the justification for the…

Exploring relationships between communication and learning within a conceptual framework for a problem-oriented discovery program, this dissertation presents a learning program which (1) enhances possibilities for learning during the time formally called learning or education; (2) provides carryover for lifelong learning habits; and (3) views…

To investigate the effect that the communication of behavioral objectives has on student achievement and attitudes in a basic speech communication course was the purpose of this study. Twenty instructors and their 417 students at Purdue University, representing 20 class sections of Fundamentals of Speech Communication, participated in the study.…

The rhetorical model for improving the basic writing skills of college students is presented from three perspectives. As a diagnostic tool, the model isolates five areas of concern for the developing communicator: surfacing tacit awareness, broadening perception, broadening the communicative repertoire, developing analytical and evaluative skills,…