Tijdschrift voor Taalbeheersing - Volume 41, Issue 1, 2019

‘Flap those hands’ – The influence of gestures on retention and speaker’s assessment in an informative presentation

To convey information during an oral presentation speakers not only use words, they also gesticulate. Their gestures can be divided into iconic, metaphoric, deictic and beat gestures (McNeill, 1992). Beats (repetitive, short movements) are frowned upon by some presentation skills advisers. Earlier research that focused on short speeches, mostly about concrete topological content, found that gestures help the listener to understand and remember the content. Presentation skills courses, however, focus on longer, more abstract informative speeches. To explore how gestures influence both retention and assessment of the speaker in such longer speeches, an experiment was conducted. Participants (N = 229) were asked to watch a fifteen minute informative presentation accompanied by PowerPoint slides, either (i) without gestures, (ii) with only beat gestures, or (iii) with a mix of iconic, metaphoric, deictic, and beat gestures. Participants were tested on retention and on their assessment of speaker qualities. An ANOVA showed a significant effect for retention. When a speaker accompanied his speech with only beat gestures, this resulted in higher scores than when this speaker remained in a static position. Also, when the speaker used only beat gestures, he was seen as more ‘natural’ than when he remained in a static position. These results do not imply causality. They may, however, temper advisers’ warnings against using beat gestures in presentations.

Tailoring to job demands: Language arts in vocational education

This article explores two cases of teacher beliefs about the connection between students’ language and communication skills in secondary vocational education and training (in the Netherlands: mbo) and the skills required in the dynamic labour market. Previous studies showed that alumni’s language and communication skills do not fit in with changing demands of the labour market. This study pertains to language and subject teachers from two vocational curricula who discussed this topic in focus group meetings. These data were complemented with one-to-one interviews and a survey among language teachers. The findings show that the contacts between the programs and employers are substantial, but that teachers are in need of more information about future demands related to communication skills in changing and new professions. Also, it appears to be difficult for language teachers to design a language integrated curriculum in cooperation with subject teachers. Finally, the national requirements for the examination of language skills collide with the teachers’ and programs’ desire to design and assess authentic professional tasks. These results lead to insights that feed the development of knowledge about language teaching in vocational training and about ways to connect vocational curricula to changing demands of the (future) labour market.

Is translanguaging a sustainable strategy in South African higher education?

Translanguaging could potentially harness content and language learning in a second or foreign language. However, there is a paucity of research on the role of language attitudes and language repertoires in determining translanguaging spaces in higher education. The research questions that guided this study were ‘What are learners’ perceptions about translanguaging in higher education?’, ‘What are the roles of learners’ and lecturers’ language repertoires in determining translanguaging spaces?’ and ‘How do these issues influence decisions on curriculum design?’ I first outline a framework that distinguishes between learner-directed and teacher-directed translanguaging. This is followed by an overview of two case studies on eliciting students’ appreciation of translanguaging. It is concluded that students are generally appreciative of translanguaging, although students who share their L1 with the lecturer are more positive than those who do not. Evidently, however, curricula that utilise translanguaging as a teaching and learning strategy should provide equal opportunities to speakers of all L1’s to succeed in their studies.

You have to face to consequences! Strategic maneuvering with the argumentum ad consequentiam

In argumentative discourse fallacies occur regularly, but often they seem not to be noticed by the participants. This also goes for the fallacy known as the argumentum ad consequentiam, in spite of the fact that people generally denounce this fallacy when confronted with clea r cases. In this paper it is argued that the explanation of this paradox is that the different types of argumentum ad consequentiam are modes of strategic maneuvering which take on a reasonable appearance when they mimic legitimate pragmatic argumentation or reductio ad absurdum argumentation. The following hypothesis was tested in an experiment: instances of the argumentum ad consequentiam are regarded less unreasonable than clear cases if they are presented as reasonable pragmatic argumentation.

Textual characteristics of deceptive journalism: The Ramesar case

Trustworthiness is key in journalism, yet some journalists intentionally deceive their audiences by fabricating sources. In 2014, Dutch journalist Perdiep Ramesar was fired from Trouw, an esteemed national newspaper in the Netherlands, after it was discovered that sources in 126 of his articles were ‘non-verifiable’. This poses the question whether untrustworthy news articles may be recognized, for instance by textual characteristics. Using corpus analysis, we searched for systematic differences in source use and presentation comparing Ramesar’s deceptive news articles with two same-sized sets of reliable articles, 1) articles on similar topics from other journalists, and 2) articles with verifiable sources from Ramesar himself. Results indicate that compared to real news sources, fictitious sources are more often secondary definers, who are presented in more stereotypical ways and through more and longer direct quotations.

Strategic maneuvering with style: a systematic approach

In the extended pragma-dialectical approach to argumentation (Van Eemeren, 2010), presentational devices are distinguished as one of the three aspects of strategic maneuvering by arguers in argumentative discourse. Language – or stylistic – devices are an important subset of presentational devices. However, analyses of stylistic devices are often ad hoc: in most cases, a systematic analysis of these devices employed by arguers is lacking. This paper has two (interrelated) aims. Firstly, we aim to show how a systematic analysis of stylistic devices can be integrated in a pragma-dialectical analysis of strategic maneuvering in argumentative discourse. To this end, we make use of methodological insights from linguistic stylistics. Secondly, we argue that the proposed integration of pragma-dialectical argumentation theory and linguistic stylistics is of added value for both disciplines. Our approach and its added value is illustrated by a case study: the pleadings that were delivered in a Dutch civil law case.

Problem conversations with young children during group work

Problem conversations with intervening teachers may enhance children’s discourse during group work. The few studies focusing on these conversations, however, are normative and experimental in nature, neglecting the joint and sequential nature of these conversations. Therefore, this paper’s aim is to give insight into how teachers and a group of children constitute and continue problem conversations. Detailed analysis informed by Conversation Analysis shows that problems are constructed in three patterns which are distinguished by the teacher’s reaction to the problem initiation resulting in three different continuations. It is found that the teacher’s actions are decisive for how children may contribute to the developing interaction. In particular, the teacher’s reaction to both problem initiations and solution proposals determines whether problem conversations interactions are jointly continued. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

What are the lessons of research on persuasive documents for the design of more persuasive documents? A review of meta-analytic studies

Persuasive communication is designed to elicit certain thoughts and feelings in order to change the audience’s attitudes and intentions, with the ultimate goal of influencing behavior. This paper addresses the question what meta-analyses in the field of persuasion can tell us about the effects that persuasive communication can have on the audience’s behavior and on the steps leading up to that behavior. A review of these meta-analyses shows that changing intentions does not automatically lead to similar sized behavioral effects, that communicative interventions only have small to medium effects, that these effects can be obtained through ethos, pathos, and logos, and that these effects are to some extent susceptible to message design characteristics. The (small to medium) size of the effects of communicative interventions has implications for the design of research on persuasive communication as well as for the advice for practitioners.

Are concrete arguments more decisive than abstract arguments?

Research has shown that concrete language is more understandable, interesting and stored better in memory than abstract language (i.e. Sadoski, Goetz, & Rodriguez, 2000). Results are however inconclusive when it comes to the persuasive power of concrete language, which could be due to different operationalisations of the concept across studies. The current study aims to disentangle the concepts of concreteness and of details by manipulating the materials systematically. In an experiment, participants (N = 207) read a judicial case. On the basis of three pro arguments and three counter-arguments they were asked to judge a woman’s fitness as a parent. When the pro arguments were formulated concretely, counter-arguments were formulated abstractly and vice versa. Concreteness comprised three versions: concrete, concrete with details and concrete with affective details. In order to test whether concrete arguments were more decisive (cf. Availability Heuristic), participants were also asked to recall the arguments. Results show a marginally significant effect of plain concreteness. However, when concrete arguments were accompanied by non-affective details, these arguments were significantly more convincing. In addition, concrete arguments were recalled better than abstract arguments. Findings are discussed with regard to the different operationalisations of concreteness across studies.

Abstract

The influence of the standpoint on the evaluation of ad populum argumentation

This paper presents guidelines for the analysis and evaluation of ad populum argumentation. For both of these tasks the type of standpoint is considered as a relevant factor. The conclusions are based on a critical examination of the argumentation theoretical literature regarding this type of argument and in completing and systematizing the insights drawn from it. Ad populum-argumentation supporting a descriptive standpoint can only be reasonable if the appeal to the opinion of a lot of people is supplemented with an extra coordinatively linked argument. Ad populum argumentation supporting a prescriptive standpoint should be treated according to its function in two contexts in which it typically occurs: advertising and politics. An analysis of the first context shows that this kind of ad populum actually consists of complex argumentation in which the appeal to the people supports an evaluative standpoint. This kind of ad populum is assessed as unreasonable, albeit for different reasons than provided in the literature. Ad populum argumentation in the context of political deliberation – ‘procedural ad populum argumentation’ – is regarded as argumentation that is not inherently fallacious, but still too weak to function as the only support for a policy standpoint.

Pressure and argumentation in public controversies

Discussants in a public controversy are also players in a social arena. Under what circumstances can means of exerting pressure promote reasonable outcomes, and when are they rather hindrances to their achievement? We discuss the use of persuasion dialogues and negotiation dialogues by those who aim at a reasonable outcome. We show how in a public controversy both types of dialogue can be intertwined. Then, we examine in what ways participants in a public controversy can exert pressure on others. Finally, we discuss whether these means of pressure hinder the achievement of a reasonable outcome, both from the viewpoint of the pursuit of a resolution as well as from that of the pursuit of a compromise. We conclude that exerting pressure need not degenerate into committing a fallacy of either the type argumentum ad baculum or the type argumentum ad carotam.

The ‘voice of the people’: populism and perspective

Recently, a growing body of (political-scientific) literature has focused on the empirical measurement of populism. In such studies, “people-centrism” is one of the most frequently analysed discourse characteristics, i.e. to what extent “the people” are put in the focus of attention in a politician’s discourse. In order to measure people-centrism empirically, it is common practice to use the number of references to the electorate as the only indicator. In this contribution, we substantiate that a linguistic-stylistic analysis of “perspective” or “attributed viewpoint” offers additional tools for analysing people-centrality in (populist) political discourse empirically. As a case study, we report on an analysis of series of parliamentary speeches delivered by the Dutch populist politicians Geert Wilders and Rita Verdonk.

The effect of monologues and dialogues in radio commercials

Previous research has shown that the use of dialogues instead of monologues in radio narratives stimulates the imagination of listeners and increases involvement with the narratives (Rodero, 2012). To date, no research has investigated the effectiveness of dialogues versus monologues in radio commercials. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of the use of dialogues versus monologues in radio advertisements for different products on involvement with the advertisement, imagery, evaluation of the product, evaluation of the commercial, evaluation of the speaker, and purchase intention. In an experiment with a 2 (presentation method: dialogue, monologue) x 2 (product: shoes, instant coffee) between-subject design, 152 participants evaluated four radio advertisements. Findings showed that dialogues, compared to monologues, led to more lively and attractive radio commercials, a more positive attitude towards the product, a higher purchase intention and higher status of the speaker in the radio commercial. It can be concluded that the use of dialogues instead of monologues can have a positive effect on the effectiveness of radio commercials.

A significant problem

Null-hypothesis significance testing is the major form of inferential statistics in the field of applied communication research. On many occasions, substantive conclusions are drawn solely on the basis of the (in)significance of a test result. The justification for these conclusions, however, is suspect, because the results of significance testing are too often misinterpreted. The questionable practice of drawing conclusions based on misunderstandings poses a significant problem for the scientific status of communication research. In this contribution the so-called big five misunderstandings (Kline, 2013) of significance testing are described and explained.

The role of semantic distance in visual metaphors

The role of semantic distance between two juxtaposed objects has not been studied thoroughly in visual perception. Does information processing differ between visual metaphors and semantically close objects (hyponyms), or between visual metaphors and semantically distant objects? Probably, semantic distance causes viewers to identify visual metaphors less fast than hyponyms. On the other hand, they might identify visual metaphors faster than objects with similar semantic distance, but without any ground for comparison (ad hoc group). A first experiment with response latencies for identification of 27 object pairs revealed such a pattern, supported by post hoc comprehension measures. In a second experiment, instruction was changed from identification into appreciation. Response latencies were shorter overall. For the ad hoc group, response latencies were longer than for both hyponyms and visual metaphors. Hyponyms were appreciated more than both other groups. Recall was better for visual metaphors than for the ad hoc group. We conclude that a smaller semantic distance indeed helps to identify and appreciate object pairs. Contrary to our expectation, visual metaphors, with a relatively larger semantic distance and a ground for comparison, were not appreciated most.

The role of similarity in narrative persuasion

This paper presents two studies on the role of similarity in the processing of narratives. In Experiment 1 (N = 83), female students were presented with one of two versions of a story about the severe consequences of breast cancer. In the similar version, the protagonist was a 22-year-old female student; in the dissimilar version, the protagonist was a 59-year-old working woman. Experiment 2 (N = 62) was an online replication of the first study, with an added measure of perceived similarity.

Neither in Experiment 1 nor in Experiment 2 significant differences were found between the two versions on identification, attitude, or intention. Mediation analyses in Experiment 2 did show that the manipulation of similarity had a significant indirect influence on identification, transportation, emotions, and intentions, via perceived similarity. These findings suggest that manipulating similarity may influence persuasion, but only when this similarity is perceived as such by the participants.

The judge’s rhetorical questions as ground of objection: an argumentation-analytical model

A complaint about the lack of impartiality of a judge may be filed on the grounds of the judge’s verbal behaviour. Such a complaint may result in the disqualification of the judge. In this paper, criticism on the verbal behaviour of the judge will be discussed from an argumentative perspective. From this perspective, the disqualification procedure may be considered a sub-discussion that relates to the initial legal dispute. I will examine what role complaints about the verbal behaviour of the judge can play in the argumentation of a party who seeks the judge’s disqualification. Therefore, I will analyse the structuring of the argumentation underlying disqualification requests that are based on complaints about the verbal behaviour of the judge. After that I will concentrate on complaints that concern the judge’s use of rhetorical questions. How these complaints about rhetorical questions may be evaluated will be examined and illustrated by an argumentative analysis of a decision by a disqualification panel.

The Editor as Text Evaluator: Acquisition and Editing at Dutch General Publishing Companies

In this article the contribution of the editor in the book production process of Dutch general publishing companies is explored. Editors are involved in and responsible for text evaluation in two stages of the book production process. Results from book publishing studies show the underlying criteria for the acquisition of new books. The editor evaluates whether a new work is saleable, important for the identity of the publishing company, based on agreements with the author, and editable. When the book proposal or manuscript has been accepted by the publisher the editing process starts. In this institutional context a good relation between editor and author is important. The editor is of service to the author and the book. By his knowledge of texts he should motivate and convince the author to rewrite his text, and in most cases has to accept it when the author rejects the proposed changes. By using the CCC-model Renkema, (2002; 2012) as an analytical instrument for text genetics, we see that editors propose changes when the aim of the text does not correspond with the needs of the intented reader, if the text is not consistent, or if the text is not correct.

A pragma-dialectical reconstruction of contributions to the discussion by both doctor and patient in ‘shared decision-making’

Medical consultation nowadays generally proceeds in accordance with the process of shared decision-making (SDM). In the literature on medical communication, the general characteristics of this process seem to be agreed upon. With respect to the specific division of labour between doctor and patient, however, different alternatives are suggested. In this paper we approach the process of SDM from the perspective of the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. We translate the contributions of doctor and patient to this process in terms of the ideal model of a critical discussion, taking into account both the general characteristics and the different alternatives for the division of labour proposed in the literature. The resulting analytical tool enables a more precise analysis of the process of SDM and creates a starting point for a well-founded evaluation of the contributions of doctor and patient to this process.

Lasting impacts: Making research robust and relevant

Lessons gleaned from educational research become sustainable only if incorporated into standard practice, institutionalized by being integrated into pedagogical approaches and teacher preparation, and recognized as the default way of doing things. The rarity with which research findings have had this sort of consequence in the field of education constitutes a major challenge to the field. One approach to bridging this research-practice gap is the mechanism of research-practice partnerships (RPPs), designed to ensure optimal relevance of research to problems of practice. This paper describes SERP (Strategic Education Research Partnership), one of the earliest-established RPPs in the U.S. and, more specifically, Word Generation, a program that addresses the literacy needs of middle school students. This example demonstrates the affordances of the RPP-model.