Development and Evaluation of a Speech Training Program Focused on Paralanguage Skills : To Support Acquiring Communication Skills towards Occupational Life

Abstract

College and junior college students participated in a paralinguistic skills training program designed by the author. The purpose of the paper is to understand change of participants' understanding and behavior of speech communication and to evaluate the program through questionnaire and Third Party (experts) Evaluation. The program included conscientization of transition toward occupational life and thorough utilization of occupational settings, focalisation on un-known or un-acquired paralanguage skills, and inter-participants discussion. Comparison through questionnaire and analysis of variances of experts' evaluation between two groups who participated in the program and who didn't suggests effectiveness of the program.