This study investigated the relationships between home language learning activities and vocabulary in a sample of monolingual native Dutch (n = 58) and bilingual immigrant Moroccan-Dutch (n = 46) and Turkish-Dutch (n = 55) 3-year-olds, speaking Tarifit-Berber, a nonscripted language, and Turkish as their first language (L1), respectively. Despite…

The theme for the 58th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Bridging Cultures Through Literacy. In the first section of the Yearbook, Parker Fawson's presidential address captures the unique nature of ALER and its role in his professional development, and then moved beyond to capture the changing…

Background: Studies of the prison population suggest that the numbers of prisoners with language and communication disorders is higher than that of the overall population. However, the prison population is heterogeneous and it is important to focus on specific areas of the population. This study focuses on juvenile offenders. Aims: The study aimed…

Exposure to print is a significant predictor of vocabulary growth and declarative knowledge in normally achieving readers (Stanovich, West, & Harrison, 1995). Research has also shown that initial differences in print exposure can be used to predict differences in reading comprehension in children studied ten years after initial assessment…

A diverse sample of laypersons and scholars were asked about the number of words they knew, the number in the English language, the size of English-language dictionaries, and other topics related to vocabulary size. Their estimates were compared with estimates derived from empirical studies, which have indicated a much larger adult mental lexicon.…

Describes using "magic squares" for vocabulary development and assessment, in combination with various everyday Australian words that differ from American usage. (SR)

Name agreement in Spanish and English in response to 264 pictures was assessed in monolinguals and bilinguals, who varied in rated skill in the 2 languages. Name agreement decreased as language skill decreased, and agreement was lower when labels were given in Spanish rather than in English. Word frequency and word length were found to be related…

Word learning in 16 children with specific language impairment (SU) was compared with that of chronological-age controls (CAC) and vocabulary-age controls (VAC), to examine the extent and nature of word-learning deficits in the children with SLI. The children were exposed to novel words in a story and an explicit teaching context. Five tasks…

This book provides about 130 short, easily-prepared activities to supplement the longer teaching procedures that make up the main body of an English course. Suitable for elementary to advanced levels, the activities presented in the book can serve as a quick warm-up for the students, an idea for a brief vocabulary review, a light filler to provide…

Ways are discussed in which foreign words are stored in learners' mental lexicons. Then several activities and exercises, which aim at improving learners' receptive and productive vocabulary skills, are presented. (42 references) (LB)

Presents study conducted in France to determine which errors typically made by French-speaking Americans (errors in pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar) are most objectionable to the French ear. Concludes grammatical errors were rated least tolerable. (Author/BK)

Analyzes gender-uniform differential item functioning (DIF) in a second language vocabulary test with the tools of item response theory to study potential gender impact on the test performance measured by different item composites. Results show that while there are test items with indications of DIF in favor of either females or males, the test as…

This article revisits a question posed by Hyland [(1997). Is EAP necessary? A survey of Hong Kong undergraduates. "Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 7," 77-99] in the Hong Kong higher education context: Is EAP necessary? The article presents the overall findings of a large-scale, multi-faceted investigation into the language…

Although calls for educational reform have been raised in many nations, just how accountable are schools, teachers, or students themselves in Japan for their own language teaching or learning? While the use of course evaluations has come into vogue, many colleges do not assess English majors' linguistic ability in a professional manner, for…

Four hundred subjects 8 to 11 years old were given a modification of the Weigl Color Form Sorting Test in an attempt to assess the influence of chronological age, mental age, intelligence, and vocabulary level on the ability to utilize various numbers and different kinds of criteria of classification. (Author/MP)