Discusses the positive effects of storytelling in the classroom and techniques for teaching children the art of storytelling. (HTH)

Reports on a conference on the importance of oral language in language instruction and research. (RL)

Examines the relationship between proficiency in oral language and later school performance--particularly in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Subjects were 74 five and six year olds enrolled in preschool programs in Texas. (MP)

Argues that both oral and visual language acquisition may be innate human functions and calls for the examination of current reading programs in this light. (FL)

Reviews research on writing and talking, concluding that the common contention that oral language forms the basis for pupils' written language in the middle grades must be qualified. (GT)

Describes three areas in which speech and writing diverge sharply and urges teachers to free remedial students from the constraints of their spoken language. (DD)

Notes that a premium has been placed on written composition in American schools. Discusses classroom research that demonstrates the power of oral composition. Suggests that to help all children become better composers, educators must involve them in authentic oral, as well as written, composition. (SR)

Reports the results of a large-scale survey on the demand for business German in German-American companies. Results showed German proficiency was not considered a key qualification, but a significant portion of oral communication in these companies took place in German. German proficiency was most needed in management and marketing departments.…

Argues that statistical analysis of the potential distinctiveness of near-merged contrastive pairs must simultaneously take into account several acoustical dimensions. Discriminant analysis of the speech of five Utah speakers distinguished near-merged contrasts but not homophones, suggesting that discriminant analysis is useful in assessing…

Reports on views of storytellers on children's work with stories. Offers ideas to teachers on effective ways to tap into the oral tradition of storytelling. (TB)

Presents a method for managing and teaching oral presentation in the conversational foreign language class. (Author/VWL)

Describes how a kindergarten teacher uses picture book text to initiate dialog improvisations and patterned conversations, providing children who are acquiring English with meaningful, low-risk opportunities to use and learn English. (SR)

Reports an experiment contrasting word-onset gating with results when words were gated from their word endings. The study demonstrated a significant recognition advantage for words gated from their onsets. The overall results support the position that the perceptual advantage of word-initial information can be understood within a general…

Presents an interview of Sandra Thompson on various topics relating to the Chinese language. The interview touches on conversational data on Chinese, the lack of morphological complexity in Mandarin Chinese, and the development of Chinese functionalism. (12 references) (CK)

English-speaking children reduce words by omitting syllables in certain predictable patterns. To better understand the nature of phonological reductions in children, this study explored whether adults produce predictable output patterns when reducing words. (Author/VWL)