Virginia Law

The program in speech communication shall ensure that the candidate holds an active license with a teaching endorsement or endorsements issued by the Virginia Board of Education and has demonstrated the following competencies:

1. Understanding and knowledge of oral communication, including language acquisition involving the processes of expressive and receptive language and voice production involving the aesthetics of speech;

2. Understanding and knowledge of common speech production patterns, including articulation, pronunciation, and dialectical variances as these relate to standard English patterns;

3. Understanding the components of effective messages, including appropriate use of language, voice and diction, and nonverbal elements;

4. Understanding of and proficiency in effective communication, including interpersonal communication, small group communication, skills contributing to effective listening, the art of persuasion, oral interpretation, group discussion, mass communication, public speaking, and debate, verbal and nonverbal messages, and the ability to critique such communication interactions;

5. Understanding media, digital, and visual literacy and the skills to evaluate and utilize these literacies in presentations;

6. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing;

7. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes;

8. Skills necessary to teach research including ethical accessing, evaluating, organizing, crediting, and synthesizing information as needed for speech communication; and

9. Knowledge of the Virginia Computer Technology Standards of Learning and their integration into Speech Communication.