The main purpose of learning a foreign language is to use it for meaningful and effective communication both inside and outside the classroom. This paper is devoted to identifying the main communication difficulties faced by EFL students at King Khalid University (KKU) and exploring the reasons that lie behind these difficulties. The paper…

The aim of this study was to examine the informational cues that students perceive to be influential when developing initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. Undergraduate university students (n = 452) were required to rate the extent to which 30 informational cues (e.g. gender, qualifications) influence their initial perceptions of a…

Conversational style often overrides what is said, affecting who gets heard and what gets done. Women's linguistic styles often make them seem less competent and self-assured than they are. Better understanding of speech styles will make managers better listeners and communicators. (SK)

The study was designed to identify the patterns, if any, that language impaired children use when employing stress in spontaneous speech. Five preschool boys with a variety of language problems involving pragmatics, syntax, semantics, and/or phonology were identified as subjects. Both had received language therapy within the last 5 years and,…

High school students in algebra classes were presented lessons on direct variation and then tested on comprehension. The lessons were analyzed according to low-inference teacher behaviors. Findings show that lesson structure and categories of teacher vagueness were related significantly to student achievement. (Author/MT)

Defines the three terms and suggests ways to change interruptions to more positive speech patterns. (SP)

The Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) communication skills lexicon, compiled for use in the development of elementary instruction, is a set of words used by children between kindergarten and sixth grade. Although the lexicon was originally derived from the most comprehensive and up-to-date sources available, the major studies on which the…

This study investigated whether or not selected vocal cues emitted by a counselee influence the perception of her personality by observing counselors. A significant difference was found among selected filled and unfilled pauses in the perception of self-disclosure but not in the perception of genuiness or anxiety. (Author)

Current thinking of specialists in the study of language learning provides the basis of this book. The 12 chapters of the book and their authors are as follows: 1. Introduction--Charles A. Ferguson; 2. The Acquisition of Language in Infant and Child--Martin D. S. Braine; 3. Development of Native Language Skills beyond the Early Years--John B.…

Introduces and comments on articles in this symposium issue. Contends that speech teachers have methods to overcome communication problems. Challenges them to sort their methods out, test and phrase them in clear language, document assertions from their own classroom investigations, and eventually build a theory to help people improve their…

Students enrolled in a university educational psychology course were subjects in this study to determine the effects of preparation on the level of vagueness in lecturing. Subjects were provided either five or eleven minutes to prepare lecture notes on a given topic. Results showed preparation time, number of note words, and a test of topic…

When church lectors and beginning and advanced drama students read the same passage, the drama students used faster articulation, faster speech rates, and fewer pauses than church lectors. Expert and nonprofessional evaluators preferred the advanced drama students, followed by the beginning drama students and then the church lectors. (Author/RL)

The recorded conversations of 40 preschool children in small groups were analyzed for interruptions, overlaps, lapses, and gaps. Significant differences were found between heterogeneous and homogeneous groups for interruptions, with boys interrupting girls at a two to one ratio. (Author/RL)

A study to determine the relationship between feelings of self-esteem and style of communication involved 71 college students enrolled in a basic speech communication course and implemented an inventory of self-worth (ISW) developed to isolate internal feelings about self that would most likely be consistent across situations. The subjects…

To provide special instruction for students who report fear and avoidance of communication, a reticence program was instituted at Pennsylvania State University. Since the school has a general speech requirement that nearly all students have to meet in order to graduate, students are given an opportunity to enroll in this special section if they…