Offers a five-step support technique for transferring speaking to writing and offers observations on helping children with the conventions of writing. (HTH)

Presents study designed to investigate production of certain structures in French by native-speaking French Canadian children using the Bilingual Syntax Measure. Data show no difference in production for structures studied across ages; however, significant difference was found in extent to which structures were produced correctly. (Author/BK)

Argues that show-and-tell is an important school learning activity that gives students an opportunity to practice and improve their oral language abilities. Offers a technique for the informal assessment of show-and-tell activities. (FL)

Describes use of teleprompter to assist foreign language instructor in stimulating coversation in classroom. (BK)

Revealed a statistically significant difference between alcoholic and nonalcoholic oral syntactic performance, with alcoholic subjects committing greater numbers of syntactic and semantic errors than nonalcoholics. Indicated a deficiency in the integrative and descriptive aspects of alcoholics' oral language performance. (RL)

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)