A mnemonic device is any technique or system to improve or aid the memory by use of formulas. Memory aids enjoyed great popularity in ancient times, but with the advent of literacy, the need for memorization was lessened and mnemonics were not taught regularly. However, recent research in cognitive psychology suggests that mnemonics, taught and…

Notes that traditional methods of teaching vocabulary development do not reflect the learning patterns of basic writing students. Suggests ways of modifying vocabulary instruction to help remedial students. (RL)

A variety of informal language development assessment tools is presented for use with children with developmental disabilities. This book is written as a manual for clinicians and researchers for evaluating children who cannot meet the cognitive, perceptual, or motor requirements of standardized tests and to help evaluate aspects of language not…

Procedures are described for use in foreign language classes that tap the characteristics of gifted students. Each activity is directly associated with at least one of the cognitive characteristics attributed to the gifted, which are listed in the introductory section of the paper. The procedures include the following activities: conducting a…

Discusses the active contribution a learner/user must make in using a dictionary and breaks the look-up process into seven main steps. (EKN)

The position this paper assumes views vocabulary not as single words but as phrases, sentences, and sometimes entire segments of discourse that act as single words. This view of vocabulary would be helpful in: (1) bringing the vocabulary aspect of instruction in English as a second language (ESL) closer to current research in language performance,…

This article focuses on development, elaboration, and measurement of word repertoire from world knowledge, as well as factors affecting the word-learning process and vocabulary assessment and remediation methods such as definition and association tasks. Several alternatives for vocabulary expansion based on world knowledge principles are also…

Proposes some teaching methods that are based on the premise that an effective teacher should facilitate the students' intellectual and moral growth. Suggestions are made for vocabulary drilling, listening exercises, and other activities which can be given a "humanistic" focus. Activities are also suggested for language study and value…

The Shared Responsibility Model (SRM), a language process model that has been used effectively in classrooms that serve limited and proficient English speakers interacting within the same environment, can be utilized with Navajo children. SRM's philosophy recognizes that students learn and retain vocabulary most effectively when they: (1) learn…

To determine the relationship between oral and written language conventions at the macro and micro levels, a study analyzed various elements of stories generated by children. Subjects, nine above average readers between grades 4 and 9, were asked to tell a story and then to write a story. Sources of stories, overall plot organization, and number…

This article relates the ability to understand individual sentences both in and out of context by normal and developmentally delayed children at various developmental stages to the concept of world knowledge. Implications for assessment and treatment of sentence comprehension deficits among language-disordered students are discussed. (PB)

This study investigated sensitivity to morphological, semantic, and syntactic cues to grammatical gender among 64 students of college-level Italian. Results showed sensitivity to cues in word-final phonemes, but low awareness of gender associations of derivational suffixes. Students had more difficulty dealing with multiple cues, particularly when…

This article discusses second language vocabulary learning strategies and includes an analysis and classification of possible strategies and the report of a study conducted among second language learners in Japan. Research on vocabulary learning strategies is synthesized into two lists of strategies: 14 methods for initial learning of a new word's…

An examination of second language learning focuses on how universal cognitive processes in language learning and individual differences account for differences in language learning patterns. An introductory section gives background information suggesting that psycholinguistic factors in language learning should receive more attention for two…

This paper describes one college-level English-as-a-Second-Language teacher's use of error analysis in an effort to understand students' problems with reading comprehension and writing. The research was undertaken in a Japanese junior college. Three studies are presented. In the first, 59 students in a general English course listed sentences they…