Before students can select words effectively for speaking, they must understand the value of word choice and the difference between written and spoken language. Once students appreciate effective word selection, they can label their own strengths and weaknesses in language and improve significantly by reading, listening, experimenting, and using a thesaurus. The importance of choosing specific, vivid, connotative language is easily illustrated by using comparison. Teachers can select various passages that are particularly well worded, and rewrite the passages in vague listless language. Students will quickly hear the difference. Next, the teacher can write a general statement on the board and direct the students to rewrite the sentence adding as many details as possible. Useful, too, is impressing upon students the enormous difference between their reading vocabularies and their speaking vocabularies. Students must also be able to give a name to language choices in order to be able to discuss, evaluate, and eventually make positive changes in their personal word choice. Students need practice using the labels for effective and ineffective language, first on a written speech (to give them time to make associations) then on a voiced speech. The desired result is for students to be able to label their weaknesses in language with specific terms, and then to be able to make changes. (A vocabulary for evaluating word choice and sample language style exercises are included.) (HOD)