SPEECH FRIGHT PROBLEMS OF GRADE SCHOOL STUDENTS.

PRE-PILOT AND PILOT STUDIES WERE UNDERTAKEN TO SURVEY ANXIETY LEVELS IN THE SPEECH BEHAVIOR OF 45 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. DURING THE PRE-PILOT STUDY, FOUR TESTS DESIGNED TO REVEAL THE STUDENTS' CONSCIOUS ANXIETY WERE DEVELOPED AND REGULARIZED. A QUESTIONNAIRE CONCERNING THE ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS TOWARD STUDENTS SPEECH ANXIETY INDICATED GENERALLY THAT UPPER ELEMENTARY GRADE TEACHERS WERE AWARE OF THE PHONOMENON AND DISCUSSED IT WITH THEIR STUDENTS, WHEREAS LOWER ELEMENTARY GRADE TEACHERS GENERALLY WERE NOT AWARE OF ANY HIGH DEGREE OF SPEECH ANXIETY, DID NOT DEAL DIRECTLY WITH IT, AND DID NOT FEEL THE NEED TO DO SO. DURING THE PILOT STUDY, BOTH THE TRAINED OBSERVERS AND THE TESTS IDENTIFIED EVIDENCE OF SPEECH FRIGHT. HOWEVER, THE OBSERVERS IDENTIFIED MORE ANXIETY THAN THE TESTS, THE TESTS HAD A LOWER PREDICTIVE VALIDITY THAN THE OBSERVATIONS, AND NEITHER METHOD SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION BETWEEN SPEECH FRIGHT AND SPEECH ABILITY. IT WAS ALSO DISCOVERED THAT, IN GRADES 3-6, CHILDREN FROM LOWER ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTS DEMONSTRATED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SPEECH FRIGHT THAN THOSE FROM HIGHER ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTS. (SEE ED 010 610 FOR THE REPORT OF THE MAIN STUDY RESULTING FROM THESE PILOT STUDIES.) (RD)