This study investigates the use of oral interpretation in social contexts. The context chosen was a community corrections program which provides education and employment assistance to adults on probation in Denton County, Texas. A solo interpretation script was incorporated into a public awareness presentation about the Denton County Probationer Education and Employment Program. The presentation was presented to a pilot audience to test the effectiveness of combining oral interpretation with public speaking to inform audiences about and elicit support for community corrections. It was determined that integrating an interpretative performance into an informational presentation is an effective method of employing oral interpretation outside the classroom and expanding its rhetorical dimensions.

Twenty-one original prose selections were written for use by junior high school students of oral interpretation. A survey of textbook publishers and junior high school teachers revealed a need for material of appropriate length and of suitable reading and interest levels for oral reading in the junior high school classroom. The selections were read and evaluated by a group of junior high students and a junior high teacher of speech. The responses indicate that the selections are effective and usable as an instructional aid in teaching oral interpretation in junior high school.