Fifty preschool children were administered a screening test for communication disorders under two conditions (traditional pencil and paper format and a computer-managed version). It was found that the computer-managed screening test yielded satisfactory agreement for the language sections. Results of the articulation section of the screening test…

Discusses the relationship between authority and the interactional practice of teaching. Also reviews the importance of context in understanding how learning is realized through language. Ways to recognize and infuse complexity into school-based practices, concerns about culturally/linguistically diverse students, and the need to avoid a "zero-sum…

This introductory article discusses following articles that consider how phonology interacts with other aspects of language and language learning and the role of this interaction in language acquisition. It addresses the interaction between phonology and the lexicon, phonological representations and morphophonemic alternations, and the interaction…

This introductory article to a clinical forum describes the following seven articles that discuss the problem of noisy classrooms and resulting reduction in learning, basic principles of noise and reverberation measurements in classrooms, solutions to the problem of poor classroom acoustics, and the development of a classroom acoustics standard.…

Most studies have been unable to identify reliable acoustic cues for the recognition of the English nonsibilant fricatives /f, v, [theta], [eth]/. The present study was designed to test the extent to which the perception of these fricatives by normal-hearing adults is based on other sources of information, namely, linguistic context and visual…

This annotated bibliography focuses on contemporary sources that address customer service in these changing times, as the service is influenced by business communication activities and skills. Twelve selections are presented. The annotations date from 1980 to 1989. (NKA)

The syndrome of childhood autism is typified by major abnormalities in language development, yet there are few systematic descriptions of autistic children's linguistic systems. This paper represents the beginning of a comprehensive investigation of the language of verbal autistic children and concentrates on comparing the syntax used by ten…

This study examined the receptive language skills of young children (4-6 years old) with specific language impairment (SLI). Specifically, the authors looked at their ability to fast-map semantic features of objects and actions and compared it to the performance of age-matched peers with normally developing language (NL). Children completed a…

This study examined the conditions for the selection of certain communication strategies in terms of the inferencing ability of the learner, the formal proficiency level attained, and the features of the communicative situation (task requirements). Two groups of 17-year-olds--one studying advanced French and the other French as part of a "core"…

This guide provides a basic framework that may be implemented in any English as a second language (ESL) program comprised of the following levels: entry pre-literate, entry literate, basic, and intermediate. The program may be implemented in sessions of 5 hours or 3 hours per day of ESL instruction. The modules of instruction are: (1) oral…

This article concludes a forum that considered theoretical and analytical frameworks applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It discusses the role of complexity in target selection of children with language impairments: error pattern interaction and complexity; complexity, treatment, and constraint demotion; and…

One possible unit on interpersonal communication and aging consists of five components: interpersonal attraction, talk with friends and neighbors, marital communication, family communication, and personal communication with service providers. The component on interpersonal attraction explains the complex relationship of age to attraction, while…

Accounting for verbal reports requires explication of the mechanisms by which the reports are generated and influenced by experimental factors. We discuss different cognitive processes underlying verbalization and present a model of how subjects, when asked to think aloud, verbalize information from their short-term memory. (Author/GDC)

Message biasing of upward communication in organizational hierarchies has been an ongoing concern of communication researchers. The purpose of this study was to analyze this distortion in actual message from subordinates to superiors in simulated situations and to determine the effects of favorable and unfavorable situations on message content.…

Five first grade language-impaired children were trained on the phonological and perceptual components of the retrieval process, segmenting words, manipulating word segments, and forming visual and auditory images. The children improved in naming untrained pictures, but five children whose training focused on semantic associations and organization…