ACQUISITION OF STANDARD ENGLISH SPEECH HABITS USING SECOND-LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES - AN EXPERIMENT IN SPEECH MODIFICATION AND GENERALIZATION IN THE VERBAL BEHAVIOR OF PRISON INMATES

• NCJ Number: 17206
• Author(s): J M MCKEE; S F ROY; W O JENKINS; A C CARMEN; L A HART
• Date Published: 1970
• Length: 86 pages
• Grant Number(s): 5 R11 MH2529-02
• Contract Number(s): 82-01-69-06
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: Rehabilitation Research Foundation
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

PROJECT DESIGNED TO EXAMINE THE MODIFICATION OF OFFENDER'S' SPEECH BY A SHORT-TERM INTERVENTION PROGRAM AND THE AMOUNT OF GENERALIZATION OF TRANSFER AFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH ORAL TRAINING.

Abstract

THE SUBJECTS FOR THIS EXPERIMENT WERE 21 INMATES FROM DRAPER CORRECTIONAL CENTER IN ELMORE, ALABAMA. INMATES WERE MATCHED ON THE BASIS OF A PRE-ORAL USUAGE TEST INTO SEVEN SETS OF THREE EACH. EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS WERE EXPOSED TO THE INTERVENTION TREATMENT EMPLOYING SECOND LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES IN A STANDARD INTERVENTION OR TRANSFER-OF-TRAINING DESIGN. ONE CONTROL GROUP WORKED ON THE PRISON FARM WHILE THE OTHER CONTROL GROUP ATTENDED THE MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING SCHOOL. INTERVENTION CONSISTED OF DRILLS AND DISCUSSIONS FOCUSING ON STANDARD ENGLISH USAGE AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR COPING WITH EVERYDAY OCCUPATIONAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS. PRE-AND POSTTREATMENT MEASURES WERE TAKEN OF ORAL AND WRITTEN USAGE, PHONEME DISCRIMINATION, 'SPONTANEOUS' SPEECH IN A MOVIE DESCRIPTION YIELDING AN ERROR COUNT, A STRUCTURED INTERVIEW INVOLVING VERBAL AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR CHECKLISTS AND RATINGS OF SELFCONCEPT, AND THE TENNESSEE SELF-CONCEPT SCALE. PERCENTAGE CHANGE SCORES FROM PRE-TO POSTTREATMENT WERE EMPLOYED AS THE UNITS FOR ANALYTICAL PROCESSING. STANDARD ENGLISH USAGE WAS INCREASED ON THE AVERAGE BY MORE THAN ONE-THIRD AND SHOWED SIGNIFICANT INCREMENTS IN ALL EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS. THERE WAS ALSO CLEAR-CUT INDIVIDUAL TRANSFER OF THE SPEECH TRAINING TO WRITTEN USAGE AND SELF-CONCEPT. IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT FUTURE RESEARCH BE CONDUCTED ALONG PARAMETRIC (DURATION OF INTERVENTION) AND METHODOLOGICAL (INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT) LINES. A THREE-PAGE LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN PRE-AND POST TEST SCORES FOR THE THREE GROUPS AND COPIES OF THE TESTS USED IN THE STUDY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)