While almost all observers agree that young children, older children, and adults differ both in initial rate of acquisition and in the levels of ultimate attainment typically achieved, they continue to disagree over whether the observed patterns are a function of nurture or nature. Is it simply that older starters "do not" do as well because they…

This book contains resources, including lesson plans and other materials that could be used by teachers of children of migrant works and other ESL children, as well as by teachers whose students are not learners of English. Seven chapters include: (1) Migrant Farmworkers and Their Families; (2) How Language Works; (3) How to Create Culturally…

This report describes a project that used children's literature to introduce 6- and 7-year-old children (n=25) in the United States to other languages to arouse their interest in finding out more about language. Most of the children were monolingual and spoke English; two boys spoke some Spanish. The study was conducted to see if young children's…

Designed to improve reading comprehension and other complex verbal functions, fertile instruction in word skill focuses on improving accuracy of word knowledge, increasing fluency of access to meanings in memory, and enriching semantic network connections among related concepts. It is particularly appropriate for teaching the high frequency words…

The validity of recent research concerning invented spelling, the developmental stages in children's writing, and whether children will attempt writing before reading and continue writing while learning to read were examined. Five developmental stages in spelling have been identified: (1) the precommunicative stage, involving the use of random…

An experiment combining listening comprehension training and error analysis was conducted with students at the English Language Institute, Queens College, the City University of New York. The purpose of the study was to investigate how to take learners who were primarily dependent on perceptive skills for comprehension and widen their…

Discusses the theoretical basis, implementation, and pedagogical considerations of CALLE (Computer-Aided Language Learning Environment), a dialogue-based beginning Spanish language instruction system. CALLE uses Lexical Functional Grammar Theory to analyze errors in student input. Sample screen is shown. (Author/LMO)

This discussion of courseware design for computer-assisted language learning in English as a second language (ESL) highlights the role of randomization and creativity. A set of programs is described which are based on error analysis of students in the ESL program at Baruch College and developed around grammatical terms. (Author/LRW)

Students and teachers experience the world primarily through visual, kinesthetic, or auditory representational systems. If teachers are aware of their own favored system and those of their students, classroom communication will improve. Neurolinguistic programing can help teachers become more effective communicators. (PP)

An analysis of communication difficulties experienced by Australian children of lower socio-economic status and/or immigrant background led to the development of a program aimed at helping 8-12 year olds develop linguistic selection rules necessary for effective information transfer and processing. (Author/MLW)

Explores the relevance of a model for second language (L2) lexical organization and processing, with particular attention to its mental lexicon components, i.e., concepts, lemmas, and lexemes; and organization. Argues that the process of inferring the features of unknown words in a reading passage can be described in terms of lemma construction,…

Emphasizes that auditory lexical decision has wide applicability and that the paradigm is currently used to study basic processes in word recognition, the nature of the mental lexicon, effects of word frequency, neighbor effects and various other phenomena of isolated word perception. Article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of this task. (54…

Examines the effects of learning words grouped in semantic sets, using Japanese words paired with artificial words. A principal finding was that there was a main effect against learning semantically related words at the same time. The article concludes that presenting students with wordlists of new words in semantic clusters, rather than in…

Presents background to the descriptions and discussions of child language that are presented in this issue of the journal on the theme of developing pragmatic competence. This background information, referred to as "intuitive knowledge," serves as a framework for understanding children's development of pragmatic linguistic competence and…

Examines the possibilities of developing computer-assisted language learning (CALL) based on the best of modern technology, arguing that artificial intelligence (AI) strategies will radically improve the kinds of exercises that can be performed. Recommends combining AI technology with other tools for delivering instruction, such as simulation and…