This study investigated Chinese students' use of language learning strategies, and then interpreted the data from cultural and educational perspectives. Using a Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, the researcher discovered some common features shared by Chinese students in their use of learning strategies. An in-depth analysis of the results…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 11th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2014), October 25-27, 2014, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and endorsed by the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in…

This paper explores what is meant by "thinking" in a target language. Factors that determine both unplanned and planned use of more than one language for thinking are discussed, and empirical data from a mini-survey and from personal language learning and language using experiences are presented. The role of target-language thinking in improving…

Originally developed in an elementary science program called the Science Curriculum Improvement Study, the learning cycle (LC) teaching approach involves students in an active learning process modeled on four elements of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development: physical experience, referring to the biological growth of the central nervous…

This study investigated the kinds of knowledge and strategies beginning second-language readers used when reading texts to build their own consistent patterns of meaning and experience. Specifically, it looked at how readers' knowledge grew, where their ideas originated, and when and how their ideas were used. Subjects were five college students…

A study investigated the relationships among language proficiency, learning mode, learning style, abstract reasoning, and age of second language acquisition in 227 adults. The subjects, most of whom were university students, included 17 monolinguals, 120 partial multilinguals, and 90 competent multilinguals. For comparison with competent…

The ways in which sensory information, music in particular, is managed by the mental processing system of differentially gifted students were studied. A total of 138 right-handed adolescents and young adults (aged 14 to 22 years), who were gifted in music, mathematics, or dance, were tested on two tasks of music and one task of speech perception.…

Sixteen third grade students, 16 college students, and 16 older adults performed a lexical decision (word-nonword) task to determine age-related differences in the magnitude of contextual priming effects. Context length and target quality (intact versus degraded) were within subject manipulations. A significant Age X Context Length X…

Psychologists have long been interested in the causes of student success or failure in college. In the late 1950's, investigators began to examine behaviors beyond the cognitive realm as crucial elements in the student's adaptation to college life. Research on adolescents' transition from high school to college identified several components of…

The academic standings of provisionally admitted high school graduates and matched controls (regular admissions) at a state university were analyzed after one to three years. The results revealed highly significant differences in favor of the controls. The criterion was academic status at the university. Analysis of covariance controlling the…

Presents a three-part approach for developing critical reading and critical thinking skills in the foreign language curriculum. This approach seeks to (1) establish a conducive environment for critical thought; (2) sharpen students' critical eye through extensive analytical reading; and (3) sensitize students to language and language use.…

Four experiments were conducted to extend the "descriptions" approach to differences in using retrieval cues among second and fourth graders and college adults. Results indicate that deficits in discriminability and constructability contribute independently to developmental differences in using retrieval cues and suggest reasons for such…

Compares the summary writing strategies used by professional writers, remedial college English students, and outstanding high school students. Concludes that the subjects fell into two groups--amateur and professional, with evident differences in reading processes, note taking, abstracting, monitoring, analyzing, and writing processes. (FL)

Examines the extent to which Japanese learners of English as a Second Language acquired a rule regulating the argument structure frames of novel English verbs after exposure to grammatical examples of sentences containing the verbs. Results showed significant differences in the extent of learning, with the focus-on-form conditions outperforming…

Explores what it means to think in a target language, discusses those factors determining planned and unplanned use of more than one language for thinking, considers the role of target-language thinking in improving language ability, and examines mental translation in the reading of intermediate college French. The article concludes that benefits…