This article presents a case study of a Vietnamese interpreter/health service worker working for a Head Start center. It describes the different role expectations of the various participants and the conflict that occurred because of these differences. Discussion examines the following cultural constructs: interpreter roles;…

In addition to the benefits of the oral proficiency movement, problems are seen, including flaws in the claim that the testing is proficiency based, the potential misuse of competency-based education, and the Oral Proficiency Interview's inability to test nonlinguistic barriers to communication. (Author/MSE)

Describes the communication difficulties that older adolescents (n=188) felt they had experienced with their parents. Results indicated the most frequent type of current communication problem involved personal criticism. Older adolescents' attributions for their past and present communication problems significantly predicted their current…

McGuire's model of persuasive communication in public communication campaigns provides a framework for examining input variables in HIV/AIDS prevention education with Hispanic populations. Source, message, channel, and receiver factors associated with HIV prevention are analyzed with regard to design and implementation of culturally appropriate…

This article examines the function of silence in both preservice and in-service teacher education classroom observations, workshops, and feedback sessions. Teacher educators and teacher trainees need to be aware of the effects of silence in oral and written discourse. (19 references) (MDM)

Communication is the key to success and a stumbling block to pursuit of information-literate population. Many library media specialists and teachers withdraw from larger professional concerns and concentrate on resolving locally pressing problems. Societal factors also hinder the integration of library skills into the curriculum. Politics and…

Discusses the barriers created when communication breaks down between physicians and poor patients, a failure generally resulting from inadequately shared information and a power asymmetry in the relationship. Suggests strategies for improving communication with poor patients, including improving listening and responding skills, avoiding jargon,…

In nonindustrialized countries, populations with the lowest literacy rates have the poorest health. Proposes research exploring the relationship between illiteracy or impaired literacy and health status in the United States. Calls for development of non-literacy-dependent materials for patient education, obtaining informed consent, and…

Discussion of interpersonal communication in distance education highlights a project developed at St Francis Xavier University that used voice mail, a telephone-based computer communication system, to enhance communication between students and staff. A needs assessment study is described, and current communication patterns are examined. (15…

Discusses the following topics in the context of academic advising of Japanese international students: (1) differences between Japanese and U.S. educational systems; (2) the complexities of cross-cultural communication; and (3) universal concepts in adolescent development. Suggests most of the problems faced by these students fall into one or a…

Examines how various cultural communication practices and perceptions affected the way in which individuals from different cultures perceived the same negotiation process. Demonstrates that culture affected how Dutch and Chinese observers perceived and interpreted the same videotaped Chinese-Dutch negotiation. (SR)

Summarizes 87 teachers' comments about parent involvement in a focus-group study. Participants shared their positive and negative experiences working with parents. Schools can help by creating time and support for teachers' efforts, providing ongoing professional support and training for creating effective home-school partnerships, revamping…

The communication style of Asians is less "self exposing" than that of Americans, because Asian culture places more importance on the group than the individual. Integrating American-style adventure-education programs into Asian culture would require an understanding of adventure learning stripped of its cultural influences, understanding…

Considers aspects of teachers' communication and their effect on clarity. Finds that clarity was positively correlated with the instructor's perceived nonverbal immediacy and sociocommunicative style, and with enhanced student affect toward the instructor and course. Argues that teachers need to be clear in their oral and written communication to…

Explored possible relationships among measures of death anxiety, communication apprehension with the dying, and empathy in undergraduate nursing, premedical, and control subjects (n=129). Indicated seniors scored lower than freshmen on communication apprehension with the dying. Multivariate effects for field of study were also significant, with…