We evaluate the impact of gestures during the teaching of vocabulary in a foreign language (FL). Spanish speakers learned words in a FL in four gesture conditions according to the relationship between the meaning of the words and the gestures (congruent gestures, incongruent gestures, gestures without meaning, and no gestures). The participants…

This article focuses on low-performing adult readers in the Scandinavian countries, seeking to identify and describe some of the literacy-related problems that they face. Following a presentation of the Reading Components Assessment (RCA) used in PIAAC (Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies), we provide profiles for those…

The authors outline the basic structure of akshara, the basic unit of writing in Indic writing systems used widely in South and Southeast Asia; present preliminary studies relating to reading, assessment, and instruction of akshara; and outline recommendations for future studies.

Iceland's language policies are purist and protectionist, aiming to maintain the grammatical system and basic vocabulary of Icelandic as it has been for a thousand years and to keep the language free of foreign (English) borrowings. In order to use Icelandic in the domain of information technology, there has been a major investment in language…

This paper reports the findings of a survey conducted to investigate students' knowledge of geography, such as an accurate understanding of the basic vocabulary and essential concepts associated with the representative geographic locations, described here as "spatial landmarks". The factors that influence their learning, and how their…

The work reported in this paper is an offshoot of a project started in early 1986 and designed to produce a comparison between the vocabulary in the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) texts and the vocabulary found in contemporary non-technical English writing. This study investigated the unique words and differences in frequency…

Examined cross-linguistic similarities and differences in early lexical and grammatical development among English- and Italian-speaking preschoolers. Parents completed surveys on vocabulary size, vocabulary composition, and grammatical complexity. No cross-linguistic differences surfaced in the composition of vocabulary in this age range. There…

A study examined the English vocabulary of English textbooks used in Swedish upper secondary schools to distinguish differences between the vocabulary of the textbooks and modern, everyday English as represented by newspapers, books and the colloquial language. Fifty-six books were included in the sample. In the selection process, account was made…

Results indicated considerable difference in total number of running words among series; an increase in different words for grades two-three in each series; repetition of most words in each series between one and nine times; and no high degree of word overlap between series or grades in any given series. (Author/CM)

Investigates how many words of the Dutch language, and which words, an adult nonnative speaker must know receptively in order to understand first-year university reading materials. Assessment of the representativeness of a list of 23,550 words and administration of a 140-item multiple-choice vocabulary test indicated that a minimum of 10,000 base…

A review of French dining habits and table manners outlines: elements of the place setting, courtesies used at the table, serving conventions, restaurant tipping, the size and content of the different meals of the day, subtle differences in common foods, restaurant types, menu types, general wine and cheese choices, waiter-client communication,…

The Learning in Science Project (1979-1981) studied the problems and difficulties of learning science at the 10-14 year old level in New Zealand to provide insights into the world of the science learner and provide an alternative perspective of the science classroom to that currently held by teachers and others. This paper offers practical…

This paper offers practical procedures and suggestions on initiating and carrying out naturalistic classroom observation of the type used in the Learning in Science Project in New Zealand (1980). The initiation of the research requires sensitivity and patience. Once in the classroom the overriding aim is to be unobtrusive and to achieve acceptance…

Based on the Kellian view of constructive alternativism (that the meanings of any idea are not fixed, but vary from individual to individual), this paper describes a technique for exploring school children's conceptions of common physical phenomena to allow science educators (1) to appreciate the alternative conceptions of their students and (2)…

The relationship of comprehension monitoring to writing was investigated in a multiple-measure, longitudinal study of writing skill development. Subjects were approximately 100 elementary school students who were followed during the first three grades. At the end of first grade, relationships were found between ambiguity detection, reading, and…