Methodological ingenuity and deep knowledge of expected development are combined by Immordino-Yang to produce an enlightening analysis of 2 hemispherectomized youths. Specific lessons to be drawn from her article include the following: the limitations of anatomy in predicting function; the need for educators to understand fully the…

Formal definitions are one example of "decontextualized" language use, in which reliance on background knowledge shared with the interlocutor is minimized, and use of conversational devices is avoided. Definitions of English nouns by 137 second- to fifth-grade children, about half of whom were non-native English speakers, were analyzed…