How adults contribute to the development of early referential communication?

The study focuses on the organization of prelinguistic «referential» communication routines and their effects on infant’s progressive mastery of protoreferential communication. Routines are defined here as exchanges where turn-taking and/or topic are repetead and conventionalized. The design compares an experimental group and a control group in a pretest/post test format. In the experimental group, routinized exchanges about a poster are encouraged. Three «training» sessions are devoted to the establishment of routines. The sample was composed of 13 infants aged 12 to 13 months and their mothers. Comparisons between the pretest and the postest for the E group infants show an increase in the time devoted to referential behavior, in the number of infant initiations of dialogue on the poster and in the use of pointing. For the mothers, results show that, during the three «training» sessions, E group mothers, produce more points than C group mothers and tend to «confirm» infants’ pointing plus vocalization as though it was a complete reference. Findings are discussed in terms of conventionalization of protoreferential gestures and vocalizations.     

Language development in the K-3 classroom: Using the referential communication paradigm

The language environment of the early primary grades is examined with respect to the linguistic competencies possessed by five-, six-, and seven-year-old children. The referential communication paradigm is suggested as a useful instructional tool to simulate the functional demands of a communicative exchange and still control for speaker- and task-related variables. A kindergartner's referential communication protocol is examined with respect to such speaker-related variables as cognitive style, mental processing capacity, vocabulary repertoire, cognitive structures for describing stimuli, affective involvement, and task understanding, and to such task-related variables as nature of the topic, mode of stimulus presentation, and form of listener feedback.     

The development of referential communication: Improving message accuracy by coordinating private speech with peer questioning

In this study, we examine the development of referential communicative regulation, incorporating the Vygotskian notion of private speech. From this perspective, private speech may serve a regulatory role when the child speaker is focused on what to say when speaking to others. In a longitudinal study carried out with 10 pairs of children with a mean age of 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 years, we analyzed the relationship between the capacity of the child in the speaker role to modify messages, increasing their informative quality, the presence of private speech embedded in the messages, and the emergence of prior questions by the child in the listener role aimed at clarifying some aspect of the message. We found that the number of modified messages, the mean frequency of private speech in the messages, and the number of peer's questions all increase with age. Only in the case of the modified messages by the speaker did we find a triple interaction among age, use of private speech, and the presence of peer's questions. At 8.5 years, the presence of peer's questions and subsequent use of private speech appeared together for the majority of the modified messages. This was not the case at the ages 4.5 or 6.5. In line with Vygotsky's theses, private speech would play an important role to allow communicators to reflect on the quality of their communicative utterances, and to modify and improve them accordingly. In this process, the capacity to improve message accuracy by coordinating private speech with peer questioning clearly emerges with age.     

Examination of the relationship between false-belief understanding and referential communication skills

The present study is an attempt to examine the relation between false-belief understanding and referential communication skills. The ability of 76 children aged 5 years to attribute false beliefs to themselves and others was examined with three false-belief tasks. The referential communication skills of the same children were assessed with two tests: (a) the Listening Skills Test (Lloyd et al. 2001) and (b) the Test of Referential Communication (Lloyd et al. 1995), which were adjusted to Greek reality for this purpose. The results showed that there is a link between false-belief understanding and components of referential communication, namely, ability to identify a pictorial referent based on oral messages, ability to comprehend directions on a map, and ability to detect and resolve ambiguity in oral messages. They also revealed that comprehension of directions and ability to detect ambiguity in messages as listener may be good predictors of false-belief competence. The present findings support and expand previous evidence attesting to a link between false-belief understanding and other aspects of language such as syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.     

Children's inquiry strategies in referential communication and in the game of twenty questions

Young listeners perform poorly on referential communication tasks because they respond to ambiguous messages by guessing rather than by seeking clarification. 2 experiments addressed the ability of 4-, 5-, and 7-year-old listeners to perform competently following training in the skill of asking categorical questions. Training was presented either in the context of a Listener task or a Twenty Questions task. As these tasks require common strategies of information seeking, it was predicted that training in one task context would lead to improved performance on that task and to generalization of skill to the untrained task. The hypothesis was supported, although there were age differences in the effectiveness of training and efficiency of strategy use. The implications of the results for children's developing communication abilities were discussed.     

Organizational communication competence: The development of an industrial simulation to teach adaptive skills

This essay explores the rationale and development of an industrial simulation course in organizational communication. A review of the cognitive, performance, and behavioral objectives relevant to organizational competence provides the bases for developing a simulation course using small groups, organizational problems, and group discussion methods.     

Anthropomorphically speaking: on communication between teachers and children in early childhood biology education

In this study a particular kind of figurative language, so‐called anthropomorphic speech, is analysed in the context of science activities in a preschool setting. Anthropomorphism means speaking about something non‐human in human terms. Can any systematic pattern be seen with regard to when such speech is used? Do children and/or teachers introduce this kind of talking and how is it responded to by the interlocutor(s)? Of 128 instances of anthropomorphism found, 24 were made by the children and 104 by the teachers. Children sometimes respond in line with the introduction of such speech but they also at times reject this way of speaking. Anthropomorphic speech is discussed as a strategy for the teachers in handling the dilemma of how to connect with children’s experiences and terms, on the one hand, and developing children’s understanding, on the other hand.     

Connecting with different audiences: The anatomy of communication is essential

In the twenty‐first century, communication has become truly global. Advances in technology have opened up a host of ways in which we are able to communicate to retrieve or pass on information and knowledge. In many cases we have moved from a place‐based communication approach to one of increasing mobility. With this shift in approach, it is apparent that effective communication skills are perhaps even more important so that we can connect appropriately with diverse audiences. Despite this, relatively little attention has been paid to training our students in different modes of communication and therefore we may not be fully preparing our students to play their part in the global community. Given anatomy's place within many health‐care curricula, an ideal avenue is available for anatomists to take the lead in providing communications skills training for students. There are a variety of approaches, some of which are outlined in this article, which can be used to create appropriate opportunities for developing different communication skills and these can be woven into existing practices to ensure courses do not become overburdened. A sustained approach to communication skills training will help equip our students to communicate easily with the many aspects of modern society. Anat Sci Educ 6: 134–137. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

高校艺术生英语听说能力的建构与培养

一直以来艺术类学生在英语学习方面处于劣势,成为高校艺术类学生进一步深造学习的障碍,面对着越来越多的艺术类学生对英语学习的实际需求,作者从艺术生的特点出发,以调动和培养艺术生的外语学习兴趣为目标,探索从听说能力训练为基点进行外语学习的教学思想与方法。     

The development of communication apprehension: A retrospective analysis of contributory correlates

Although a considerable amount of research demonstrates the powerful effect of oral communication apprehension on social behavior, little research has explored the etiological bases for that anxiety. This research examines the role of parent/home and school variables in predicting the apprehension of college students. Results suggest that the amount of positive reinforcement for communication attempts experienced at home contributes significantly, while general parental affect, negative or punishment responses from parents, and parental competitiveness do not. The grade‐school environment and the perceived amount of error correction present in both grade school and high school were also found to have a significant effect Home and school, when taken together, accounted for significantly more of the apprehension than either one did individually although school effects predominate over home effects.     

浅谈运用现代远程教育手段发展老年教育

党的十六大提出“发展继续教育，构建终身教育体系，建设学习型社会”。发展老年教育已成为各级政府行政部门和各级教育所关注的问题，本文从运用现代远程教育教学手段为老年教育提供教学保障，运用现代远程教育开展老年教育的优越性，运用现代远程教育手段开展老年教育的可能性进行探讨。     

The principles of effective radio speaking

The mass media's capacity to create reality senes as the stimuli for rhetorical responses. Two categories of rhetorical activity are directly attributable to the influence of mass media: (1) that exacted by defects and problems in reality as it is created and shaped by media and (2) that exacted by sheer awareness on the part of the spokesmen and audiences that reality can be persuasively shaped, maintained, or altered by media. Each category of response poses special problems and dangers important to critics concerned with the functions of rhetoric and media.     

The effects of audience pleasantness,audience familiarity,and speaking contexts on public speaking anxiety and willingness to speak

Two potential sources of anxiety about public speaking cited in previous research are audience pleasantness and audience familiarity. More familiar audiences, as well as more pleasant ones, usually evoke less anxiety, but research has shown some exceptions to this general rule. In addition, it is expected that as audiences become more pleasant and familiar, individuals would be more willing to speak. Ninety‐five university students each evaluated six situations, in which three levels of audience familiarity (strangers, acquaintances, and friends) were crossed with two levels of audience pleasantness (pleasant and unpleasant). Each student made their ratings with reference to one of three speaking contexts (academic, social, or professional). Using split‐plot ANOVA, a significant three way interaction was obtained for both willingness to speak and public speaking anxiety. In general, pleasantness exerted a stronger effect than familiarity. An audience composed of pleasant friends was the most preferred audience type in both the academic and social contexts. It is argued that previous research demonstrating conflicting effects of audience familiarity may have been generating different expectations for the anticipated pleasantness of the audience.     

Modeling referential actions in 6- to 18-month-old infants: a precursor to symbolic understanding

Social precursors to symbolic understanding of pictures were examined with 100 infants ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months. Adults demonstrated 1 of 2 stances toward pictures and objects (contemplative or manipulative), and then gave items to infants for exploration. For pictures, older infants (12, 15, and 18 months) emulated the adult's actions following both types of demonstration trials. For objects, infants did not emulate actions following either stance at any age. The findings suggest that infants enlist their imitative learning skills in the context of learning the conventions of action on pictorial symbols. The data are interpreted as pointing to the importance of social learning in developing an understanding of the referential function of pictorial symbols.     

"交际与语言知识并重"模式对中国外语教学的启示

传统的“注重语言知识”模式专注于片面的语言知识的认知话动，而“注重交际意义”模式忽视语言知识输入，容忍语言错误，也不利于外语教学，而“交际与语言知识并重”的外语教学模式，克服二者缺陷而吸取其优长，符合中国外语教学的实际，有助于改变只重语言知识灌输、忽视交际能力培养的中国外语教学现状、促进中国外语教学。     

The development of Internet use for communication among undergraduate students: a multilevel analysis

As few studies utilized longitudinal design to examine the development of Internet use for communication, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender and initial Internet use for communication on subsequent use. The study sample was 280 undergraduate students who were assessed at five time points. Hierarchical linear models were used to analyze longitudinal data regarding the development of three Internet mediums, email, instant messaging, and chat. The negative correlation between initial status and growth rate demonstrated that students using one particular medium relatively heavily tended to grow slower, and thus students with low initial use of a medium increased their use of that medium faster and thus closed the gap between students with low and high initial status. Findings about the use of a certain medium on the use of others were mixed with four models supporting neither displacement nor augmentation hypothesis and two remaining models supporting the displacement hypothesis.     

The relationship between attributes of a children's radio program and its appeal to listeners

An approach was developed to investigate the link between attributes of a children's radio program and children's judgments of appeal. Program tapes were divided into 28 segments and were rated for the presence of 30 attributes. Through multidimensional scaling analysis, attributes were organized into six clusters of Superattributes on the basis of their co-occurrence across the 28 segments. Superattributes were labeled and assigned scores that reflected the degree to which each was present in the 28 segments. A sample of 42 children 8–12 years old listened to the test tapes and provided a written judgment of their interest in the program at each segment. Results revealed that the Superattributes Instruction, Intro Talk, and Jokes were negatively associated with children's interest, while Popular Music was positively correlated with interest. In planning programs and understanding the effects of radio on children, designers and researchers should pay special attention to those formats in radio programming that are familiar to children, especially popular music and instructional material.     

关于移动通信高职教材的建设

移动通信是达到任何时间和任何地点随时通信这一最终目的的有效手段,其发展的巨大潜力也越来越被人们所认识.