Examines children's acquisition of language meaning through their use of homophony, riddles, and other word play. Discusses ways to encourage the study of meaning, using classroom techniques such as finding metaphorical relations among words and phrases, learning word origins, or studying naming strategies of other cultures. (HTH)

Suggests using principles of instruction grounded in prose learning research to develop successful college developmental skills programs. (AEA)

Points out that if relationships between sentences are made implicit (for the sake of simplicity or readability), comprehension may suffer and explains three teaching strategies for improving students' comprehension of implicit connectives. (RL)

Reports that sentence combining studies have consistently recorded significant gains in writing improvement at all grade levels and that, while reading comprehension gains have not been as significant, fewer studies have been conducted in that area. (FL)

Argues that the extent of a child's sense of story influences the child's prediction of syntax and comprehension. Suggests ways for teachers to encourage children to develop their sense of story. (RL)

Describes some of the confusion in defining literacy and recommends beginning functional literacy courses in elementary school and continuing them through high school. (TJ)

This article reviews research studies on the efficacy of cochlear implants for children's auditory communication skills, including speech perception, speech production, and language. It offers suggestions for building auditory skill development in children with cochlear implants. Four classic levels of auditory skill development (awareness,…

Discusses reading as a receptive skill in relation to current foreign language learning and teaching theory. Three types of reference in texts are defined (reference to the outside world, textual reference, and situational reference), and selected examples of these types in adapted texts are reported and analyzed. (26 references) (GLR)

Reviews research on children's comprehension monitoring skills. Discusses implications of research findings for the classroom. Describes procedures for assessing children's comprehension monitoring. Outlines how monitoring strategies can best be taught. Discusses children's readiness for monitoring instruction. (RS)

Discusses the task of finding appropriate materials for the beginning levels of language instruction, and presents a cogent rationale for employing a combination of authentic materials and on-campus production that, together, closely follow and reinforce the course syllabus. (Author/OD)

Reviews the literature on the role of background knowledge in second-language listening comprehension, presents findings of pertinent first- and second-language research, and reports on a study showing the importance of schemata in second-language listening comprehension and the role of linguistic knowledge. (34 references) (Author/CB)

The oral foundations of narrative knowledge are examined as a linkage to literacy acquisition problems. Examined are kinds of narrative knowledge acquired, the nature of story organization, and developmental acquisitions in story recall and generation. The performance patterns of language learning-disabled children on oral story recall and…

Examines the current state of research into the visual effects of screen designs used in computer-assisted instruction and suggests areas for future efforts. Topics discussed include technical elements and comprehensibility elements in layout design; single element and multiple element research methodologies; dependent variables; and learning…

An examination of the logic of second language processing argues that knowledge of language structure does not necessarily result in effective language comprehension. Teachers must help students to bridge the gap between translation, which emphasizes lexical and syntactic meaning, and interpretation, which involves global comprehension. (CB)

Two French computer software packages that can be of assistance in teaching French-as-a-Second-Language are described and discussed. One, an authoring aid, contains the format for a series of dialogues and comprehension questions. The other allows the production and manipulation of databases and texts. (MSE)