A method of analyzing the structure of instructors' verbal statements in terms of the pattern of significant verbal elements in the discourse is described and illustrated by reference to transcripts of science lessons. Directions are provided for calculating the fundamental coefficient of structure (a measure of commonality in successive pairs of…

This study was built on the hypothesis that linguistic cues distinguish the speech of the poor and the ethnically different. Eight samples of connected interview discourse were taken from a two-by-two-by-two matrix of sex, race and social status. The samples were played to groups of elementary, secondary and college students who rated each voice…

The structure of any and all written discourse can be described using four basic relationships (those implied by "therefore,""but,""and then," and "and") and three combined relations between sentences and clusters of sentences. (DD)

Investigates the relevance of a Gricean model for accounting for coherent discourse in courts of law. Identifies 19 rules of discourse congruent with Grice's Cooperative Principle in transcripts of eight trials. However, finds courts must coerce participants to be cooperative. Concludes that Grice's theory does not account adequately for coherent…

Findings clearly demonstrate that interference theory can account for the forgetting of meaningfully-learned, connected discourse. (Authors)

Early work by Bartlett in memory theory is contrasted with the more firmly entrenched empirical-associationistic notions of his time. Contemporary lines of research are then discussed within the perspective of this ongoing controversy. A more purely constructive model with active processing during retention, recall, and comprehension is presented.…

The study compared the productions of 35 articulation impaired children (ages 3 to 10) obtained by picture elicited single word and connected speech sampling methods. Productions were compared on the basis of both the number and type of errors made under the two testing conditions. (Author/PHR)

This study examined the effects of structured conversational turn-taking on disfluencies and speech rate of a boy (age 5) who stuttered, based on dinner-time conversations in the subject's home. Results indicated that disfluencies decreased when structured conversational turn-taking was instituted and increased when turn-taking conditions were not…

Short-term stability of cohesion scores for spoken narratives of 39 language-impaired and 39 normally developing elementary-aged children was investigated. Mean cohesive adequacy scores were stable across narratives, but stability coefficients were only moderately large. Results also indicated that stability increases as children gained experience…

This study examined age-related changes in narrative speech of 79 adults aged 40-91 who told stories from their pictorial representations. Quantity, information content and cohesion of narratives were analysed using a detailed transcription and codification system. We carried out a LISREL analysis to study relationships between narrative…

There is a continuing need to investigate how contemporary students in schools are writing the word, and their world, beyond modernist parameters of the page. This article explores the online writing of a senior English world literature class, located in a Western Canadian city, as examined through a recent qualitative case study. Borrowing a 17th…

The motion picture "Crash" does not focus on surface realism, but instead provides what appears to be an unbiased portrayal of various races and perspectives. Not only does the movie highlight the idea that all people carry racial baggage, but it also reminds them that often their greatest fear is of the "other." According to this author, it is…

The emergence of the ability to maintain and develop a topic of conversation is examined. The production of a competently structured topic involves utterances that are both propositionally contingent on previous utterances and related to the global concern of the topic. Children under 2 years of age can only product utterances that are…

Composing is controlled by information feedback from prior behavior which serves to influence future behavior. This model posits movement toward a desired end product through a continual interchange of writing and examining and evaluating what has been written against internal standards. A study was conducted to determine the extent to which…