In this paper I make the case for embedding oracy practices in the HE curriculum through explicit teaching of oracy skills and a shared common language to describe these skills. Active learning and teaching approaches as well as growing expectations of graduate employability skills have resulted in greater demands on students in UK higher…

This study examines the outcomes of having recourse to listening skills as support to improve oral skills in English language teaching. In this context, data from 120 students at a specific higher education institution was analyzed; 60 of whom were provided with totally listening-focused instruction and activities, while a separate group of 60…

Responsive information is one of the factors that determine the quality of higher education. The factor is especially important for eLearning where a direct communication between a lecturer and a student is replaced with a virtual one. How may a qualitative responsive information, in other words feedback (see the definitions of key words), help…

The U.S. dominant culture's values and ways of knowing depicted in college curriculum assume that American Indian/Alaska Native college students will assimilate to dominant cultural beliefs and values in order to acquire a degree in higher education. Representative of this hegemonic pedagogical paradigm is the prescribed basic communication course…

Argues that as long as classroom grammar is couched in vague or technical terms, it is not "basic" enough to help students with genuine literacy problems. Discusses how the grammar of students' speech can be sufficient for students' writing when properly brought to their conscious attention. (HTH)

Seventeen dyslexic college students rapidly repeated a series of phonologically complex and simple phrases. Compared to controls, subjects repeated the phrases at a significantly slower rate and, in the complex condition, made significantly more errors. Analysis of errors suggested that dyslexics may have difficulties in the planning stage of…

This study was designed to identify whether advanced nonnative speakers of English rely on recurrent sequences to produce fluent speech in conformance with neural network theories and symbolic network theories; participants were 6 advanced, speaking and listening university students, aged 18-37 years (their native countries being Korea, Japan,…

Offers advice on how to incorporate assignments in formal and semiformal oral communication into the technical writing course. (RL)

Describes steps taken at the University of Pennsylvania to change foreign language requirement, including studies of student achievement by administering CEEB Language Achievement Tests and FSI Oral Proficiency Interview and the development of performance standards by faculty in order to make requirements proficiency-based. (BK)

A study of silent and filled pauses in second language speech analyzes (1) which types of pause are produced, (2) which are the functions of non-juncture pauses, (3) whether pauses co-occur with other hesitation phenomena, and (4) whether the occurrence of pauses is associated with second language proficiency. Subjects were 15 intermediate and…

This paper provides an overview of relevant oral communication theory, research, and practice from a variety of sources, such as the fields of linguistics, psychology, speech communication, and education. It describes the nature of oral communication skills, including the similarities and differences between oral and written communication. It…

A college faculty member points out that allowing students to write and perform their own foreign language plays improves listening, speaking, and writing skills and exposes the students to new idiomatic expressions and conversational patterns used in contextually relevant and culturally specific situations. (Author/CB)

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…

Intended for young debators, this booklet lists the main events of a debate contest for Japanese college students. The booklet contains transcripts and articles from the debate in which the proposition that the Japanese government should significantly strengthen its policies to protect the Japanese people from foreign nations was debated. The…

A survey-interview exercise is described as it evolved through English-as-a-second-language students' efforts to develop better spoken language skills. The exercise provided students with experience in using spoken English in interaction, learning first-hand about local ideas and attitudes, and reflecting on and discussing the experience in the…