Based on a corpus made up of written descriptions of comic strips done by elementary level children. Elements most frequently mentioned by the children are identified in order to relate referential content to sociocultural factors. (Text is in French.) (CDSH/AM)

The results of a study involving 18 students from a grade 8 early French immersion class support the argument that in producing a second language, learners will on occasion become aware of a linguistic problem and modify their output. (41 references) (MDM)

The arguments for and against the teaching of foreign languages from primary school level onwards are discussed. Young children, if suitably taught, can make good progress with the learning of a foreign language, and whether they are better at language learning than older beginners is to some extent irrelevant. However, there is no convincing…

Different aspects of text comprehension and different evaluation procedures were studied for elementary school students. Indicators sensitive to the different levels of comprehension involved were used, and recall was divided into recall macro, micro, and total. The sample consisted of 90 sixth graders in the national capital region of Canada.…

A study examined the effects of differing degrees of bilingualism (English monolingual, English-French balanced bilingual, Bengali-English partial bilingual) on nonverbal problem-solving abilities of 71 grade-three children. The groups were compared on control of attention and analysis of knowledge. Results indicate the balanced bilinguals…

This study is concerned with the teaching of French grammar to native speakers at the elementary level and specifically considers whether or not students are psychologically ready to handle concepts entailed in the formal instruction of grammar. The sample included 5,900 students in grades 4 through 8 in French schools in Ontario. Subjects…

A study in an early French partial immersion program in a Melbourne (Australia) elementary school investigated participating children's performance in mathematics in English (their first language) and French. Mathematics testing in both languages has been undertaken regularly as part of a long-term evaluation of the program. In the first year of…

This article discusses a study undertaken by the British Ministry of Education to determine the effect of offering French to a much wider age and ability range at the elementary level than had been the case in the past. The study is based on the Nuffield project, a pilot project in French instruction carried out in selected primary schools 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…

This set of working papers concentrates on reading issues. This collection contains the following papers: "Literacy: The Needs of Teachers and Learners" (Christopher Brumfit); "Eight Lessons from Research into Literacy" (Henrietta Dombey); "'The Disqualified Half': Gender Representation in a Children's Reading Scheme" (Simon Williams); "Reading to…

This document summarizes the curriculum at the University of Tulsa School for Gifted Children in Oklahoma. The curriculum is based on enaction theory which postulates that thinking is a matter of running a simulation in one's head and involves three steps: (1) creating a mental model; (2) manipulating that model; and (3) developing a strategy for…

A study is described of heuristic devices useful in learning both native and second languages. The study concerns particularly the means used by very young students (second and third graders) in vocabulary acquisition and in the establishment of semantic relationships. It was of concern to verify if (1) the children would use their knowledge of…