Suggests methods for helping children develop and maintain the art of conversation. (RB)

Presents evidence suggesting that the difference between stuttering and normal nonfluency in young children is one of degree only. It hypothesizes that heavy pressure on the child to speak well increases nonfluency. Bibliography. (RW)

Results of two studies with 45 normal three- to five-year-old children indicated that, when the Ss initiated actions with verbal instruction, their use of conjunctions and clause ordering was more effective than in other initiated contexts without a verbal model. (Author/MC)

Disfluency characteristics of 36 nonstuttering boys aged two, four, and six years were analyzed from tape recorded speech samples made during free play within neutral and stress situations. Comparisons of frequency of disfluency were made among the different ages within each situation and between the neutral and stress situations. (Author)

Presents interview questions and procedures for determining the verbal proficiency levels of new English as a second language (ESL) students. (SK)

A study compared the eye movements of 16 stutterers and a control group of 16 nonstuttering speakers (mean age of both groups 22.9 years) to determine if eye movements differed. (PHR)

As a portion of a community service program for childhood communicative development, 999 sixth-to-eighth grade children were screened for speech and voice problems. (PHR)

This study examined visual analog scaling judgments of disfluency by normal listeners in response to oral reading by 20 adults with spasmodic dysphonia (SD) and nondysphonic controls. Findings suggest that although dysfluency is not a defining feature of SD, it does contribute significantly to the overall clinical impression of severity of the…

A study of 10 nondialect speakers who stutter, 10 nondialect speakers who do not stutter, and 10 dialect speakers who do not stutter, investigated the effect of speech dialect on listeners' speech naturalness ratings. Speech naturalness ratings were influenced by type of dialect, speech fluency and speaking rate. (Author/CR)

Identified changes in 48 nonnative speakers' (NNSs) pronunciation over a period of 12 weeks as a result of the type of instruction they received--global, segmental, and no specific pronunciation instruction. Implications for pronunciation instruction are drawn from the results. (Author/VWL)

Describes how foreign language instructors can test oral communication skills by simulating real-life situations and how this testing format was adapted so it could be used in a multisection French course. (one reference) (GLR)

An example of an integrated sequence is provided that demonstrates how language learners are autonomous in their language use and are responsible for the pace, direction, and outcome of their work. It is suggested that establishing a principled connection between tasks modelled on natural sequences of language use is a key element in providing for…