Abstract
This essay seeks to carve out an area of convergence between two intellectual practices typically viewed as discrete. Indeed the perceived differences between pedagogical objectives in a speaking lab and theoretical approaches to speech pedagogy are so great that their relationship is almost always grasped in distinct terms. The words speaking lab and theory themselves evoke radically different teaching concerns, sharply contrasting instructional approaches, and keenly antithetical groups of practitioners. Speaking Lab typically signifies a space reserved for students who need 'extra' help before they can be expected to perform at a 'mainstream' level. It is a sign for a type of instruction directed at levels commonly understood as low or remedial. And it connotes a group of teachers concerned exclusively with practical issues, the nuts and bolts of classroom instruction. Equally unambiguous is the association of theory with abstract preoccupations and conceptual concerns. It is a sign for instruction aimed at the most advanced level, a challenge issued exclusively to the gifted, a ticket for admission to the 'cream of the crop' club.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
27
Issue
2
First Page
66
Last Page
80
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Crosy, Diane; Garvin, Meg; Griffin, Kathi; Haskins, Ekaterina; Hauser, Deborah; Moore, Michael; Poulakos, Takis; Roberts, Kirsten; West, Lee; and Willard, Barbara
(1995)
"Theory and Practice in the Speaking Lab: Speech Assignments and Rhetorical Assumptions,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 27:
No.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol27/iss2/5
Copyright
©1995 Iowa Communication Association
