An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of two response modes on acquisition and retention rates of letter naming fluency performance (LNF) by six kindergarten English Language Learners (ELLs) performing below the average letter naming level and slope of other ELL classmates. With equal amounts of practice opportunities,…

The manual supplements "English as a Second Language Program: A Support System for the Basal Readers," an oral language guide that is a compilation of objectives and activities that use a sequential and systematic approach to develop language skills and concepts. Designed to help teachers and other instructional personnel in the implementation of…

This study had a two-fold purpose. It was concerned both with the effect of programed articulation therapy on Spanish-speaking subjects and with the role that distinctive features play on the phonological rules that affect articulation of three English phonemes. Fourteen adult Spanish-speaking subjects were involved and each demonstrated a…

Learners' consciousness of mismatch of the phonemic inventory of their mother tongue with the language being learned may prompt them to activate their conscious grammar knowledge to monitor their oral production. This happens only when they become conscious of the nature of the task in advance. Otherwise the mismatch is believed to challenge their…

This paper discusses Cantonese ESL learners' pronunciation of English final singleton consonants. Twelve learners at the intermediate and advanced levels participated in a recent research study, which included four different tasks: the reading of a word list of about 150 words, the description of about 100 pictures, the reading of three passages…

The language program guide explains the theoretical basis and the instructional objectives of the approach to developing English language proficiency, supporting the Houghton Mifflin Reading Series and the Ginn 360 Series. The first of three sections describes the theoretical considerations and the philosophy of the program; it provides…

The relationships between phoneme categorisation, phonological processing, and reading performance were examined in Chinese-English speaking children in an English-speaking environment. Second language (L2, i.e., English) phonological processing but not phoneme categorisation was related to L2 reading. First language (L1) oral language skills were…

The production of unstressed vowels in English by early and late Korean- and Japanese-English bilinguals was investigated. All groups were nativelike in having a lower fundamental frequency for unstressed as opposed to stressed vowels. Both Korean groups made less of an intensity difference between unstressed and stressed vowels than the native…

The authors investigated the influence of language proficiency on the cross-language transfer (CLT) of phonemic awareness in Spanish-speaking kindergarten students and assessed Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and phonemic awareness abilities. Correlation results indicated positive correlations between phonemic awareness across languages;…

Discusses the phonology and spellings of five major types of vocalization, which indicate hesitation, request for repetition, affirmation or denial, disgust or pain, and excitement of surprise. Other types of semi-voluntary noise are also classified. (RM)

Discusses, from both historical and sociolinguistic viewpoints, the changing of the phoneme /a/ in colloquial English. The rather "bright, moderately open" sound, once considered standard English, has been and is moving toward a more open and back articulation. (IFS/WGA)

Argues against the dominance of applied phonology in the teaching of English pronunciation. A follow-up to the author's Einige Probleme der Aussprache im Englischunterricht der Hauptschule'' (Some Problems of Pronunciation in English Instruction in the Elementary School), Englisch, Mar 1972. (RS)

Explanation of a frequent error made by Thai speakers of English in pronouncing Good Morning!'' (RS)

Contributes to the understanding of several well-known problems relating to the learning of phonemic contrasts in second language phonology. Describes a series of ongoing studies examining what Lado (1957) hypothesized to represent maximum difficulty in second language pronunciation, namely a phonemic split. (Author/VWL)