Two-cohorts of Grade 1 English as a Second Language (ESL) (n=200) and English as a First Language (EL1) (n=70) children were followed for two years. By considering differences in phonological awareness and rapid naming, it was possible to predict variance on word recognition performance six months and one year later. (Contains references.)…

Discusses findings in the first part of a research project on Hong Kong English (HKE) phonology, including the underlying phonemic system of HKE speakers. Subjects were 15 undergraduates at Hong Kong Baptist University. Using spectrographic analysis, it was found that the typical HKE speaker operates with a considerably smaller set of vowel and…

The urban, ethnically Hawaiian child typically experiences great difficulty in learning to read English. In order to determine whether phonological confusion is a source of dialectical interference, the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) Phone Discrimination Test (KPDT) was developed for the one hundred twelve students in the KEEP school…

Two studies of Grade 1 reading interventions for English-language (EL) learners at risk for reading problems were conducted. Two samples of EL students were randomly assigned to a treatment or untreated comparison group on the basis of their language of instruction for core reading (i.e., Spanish or English). In all, 91 students completed the…

Testing English listening skills involves a variety of skills. Sounds are sometimes difficult to discriminate in a language that is not one's native tongue, so testing phoneme discrimination, the ability to tell the difference between sounds, is important. Picture choice items are a good way to select among alternatives to demonstrate…

A study of the possible transfer of reading skills from a first language other than English to English, called script-carryover effects, focused on two aspects of the written language: (1) the manner in which the script represents information about sound and meaning, and (2) whether or not the script uses the same graphemic characters as English.…

The lessons are intended for teenage and adult students. Focus is on placement of the tongue, jaw, lips, any movements involved, and whether the sound is whispered (voiced) or spoken (voiceless). Consonants are taught in pairs so students realize the distinctions necessary to avoid misunderstandings. Lessons include (1) final consonants, (2)…

This paper attempts a systematic approach to the teaching of word stress in the ESL classroom. Stress assignment rules from Chomsky and Halle and from Ross are used to establish the SISL Principle (Stress Initial Strong Left), for final weak-syllable words. On the basis of spelling, this rule can be applied correctly to 95 out of 100 cases. (AM)

Outlines an approach to the teaching of English pure vowels to the Marathi learner, based on the phonetic "similarities" of the two languages. (CFM)

Illustrates how the use of an appropriately designed keyboard can help with the learning of a set of symbols for transcribing English and at the same time provide learners of English with a picture of its phonological system. Although the computer has an instrumental role in the development of the idea, it is not essential for its implementation.…

After a look at the function of the phoneme and the problem of differing systems of phonetic transcription, the causes of a "German accent" in English are examined, with attention to vowels, diphthongs and consonants. Suggestions are given for overcoming wrong pronunciation. (IFS/WGA)

Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine posttreatment outcomes following direct, systematic phonological awareness instruction for seventh-grade poor readers, most of whom had English as their second language. Method: The treatment group (n=35) participated in small-group instruction sessions that emphasized phonological awareness at the…

The present study examined associations of levels of phonological awareness to word recognition in Korean and English in a 1-year longitudinal study of 91 children from Masan, Korea. With performances on tasks of speeded naming, vocabulary, and Korean Hangul in 2nd grade statistically controlled, only Korean syllable deletion predicted unique…

At an employer's request, a course was developed to improve the speech skills, and remediate fossilized speech, of six Asian engineers and scientists. All had spoken English for many years, and averaged 10 years of residence in the United States. These students were recorded reading a dialogue as well as in free speech. A needs assessment was…

Japan is taking her place as a bastion of apparent linguistic stability. The basic concept used in this paper is "language correction." The assumption is that generative rules of language produce inadequate communicative acts that may be corrected through corrective rules. Japan in the last century has passed through a number of…