A practicum study, recognizing the expressive language delays of inner-city kindergarten children, implemented two strategies to increase their expressive language ability and their mean length of utterance. The target population, 14 kindergarten students who demonstrated vocabulary development delays on the Brigance Kindergarten Screening Test,…

Originally developed for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on developing oral language is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving an overview on the topic; the full text of several…

A study compared the effects of cognitive complexity on the speech production of 14 advanced non-native speakers of English and 14 native English-speakers. Cognitively simple and complex tasks were distinguished based on text type (narrative versus expository). Subjects read one narrative and one expository text in separate sessions, then wrote…

Within the framework of storytelling (rather than story reading or listening) as a classroom technique for foreign language instruction, a wide range of classroom activities and over 70 story outlines are proposed. The activities range from introspective to highly interactive, from beginner to advanced, and many are offered as alternatives to…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet examines the role of technology in the classroom. Following a brief discussion of the impact of television on students, the first major section of the booklet explores the power of television as a curriculum tool.…

A exploratory study investigated the link between verbal responses to environmental signs, written representations of the same signs, and recall of the intended meaning of the written signs among children from homes in the low and middle socio-economic level. Subjects, 75 nursery school and beginning kindergarten children, aged 3 to 5.10 years,…

Very young Spanish-English bilingual children may not perceive sound-clue illustrations presented in the classroom as they are intended to be perceived. For example, when a child is told, "A is for apple," he may also interpret the message as "A is for manzana," confusing the intended message. While the teacher may hear English only, the child's…

The importance of oral storytelling for children is examined. Inital discussion focuses on: (1) the purpose and benefits of storytelling; (2) the importance of storytelling in the early childhood setting; (3) development of language skills, including oral communication, nonverbal communication, and mastery over story material and story language;…

This manual presents instructional units designed to offer a break from daily classroom routines in German instruction. These audio-motor units provide variety and listening practice, introduce new vocabulary in context, and present cultural materials in a novel way. Suggestions for classroom use include acting out commands, using gestures,…

This paper addresses the need for special education students to learn appropriate work-related oral language and personal/social oral competencies to enhance their success in transition/career-oriented endeavors. It emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary approach in developing these skills. The paper begins with a historical perspective,…

Many minority languages are unwritten, undocumented, and thus considered unsuitable for institutional communication and for inclusion in national literacy campaigns. Literacy should be set in a context that puts the local people at the center of the process, respects their cultural identity, and enables them to set their own agenda for…

Prepared by classroom teachers, the papers in this collection combine practical knowledge with recent findings from writing research. Among the topics discussed in the 25 papers are (1) student teacher conferences, (2) using poetry to develop writing fluency, (3) writing as a learning process, (4) oral and written discourse, (5) creative dramatics…

A study of the functions and structure of referential third- person pronominal chains in spontaneous English conversation as compared to those in written English is discussed. The study found the frequencies of these pronouns and of their chains to be generally much higher in the spoken corpus than in the written corpus. In the spoken corpus,…

The results of studies of English adverb usage undertaken by Swedish university students participating in a research and writing skills program are summarized. The studies focus on the incidence of structural and semantic types of adjuncts used in two samples of spoken and written British English. Frequency distributions are charted and…

There is a growing recognition of the way in which instruction can be enriched by engagement with narrative, and teachers can learn much from studying interactions between parents and children where the activity seems unforced and enjoyable and where parent and child seem most in harmony. Such a pair are three-year-old Anna and her mother, who is…