The use of four types of psychological state words (physiological, emotional, desire, and cognitive) during mother-child play sessions at ages 3, 4, and 5 years was examined in 30 children diagnosed with delayed expressive language at 24-31 months and 15 age-matched comparison children with typical development. The children's mean length of…

The English second language development of 19 children (mean age at outset = 5 years, 4 months) from various first language backgrounds was examined every 6 months for 2 years, using spontaneous language sampling, parental questionnaires, and a standardized receptive vocabulary test. Results showed that the children's mean mental age equivalency…

This study examines casual interactions between first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers of Japanese, paying special attention to the coordination of vocal and non-vocal resources that are brought to bear on the achievement of intersubjectivity. More specifically, this study investigates a practice of "embodied completion" (Olsher…

In recent decades, there has been a surge of interest in the origin of language across a wide range of disciplines. Emergentism provides a new perspective to integrate investigations from different areas of study. This paper discusses how the study of language acquisition can contribute to the inquiry, in particular when computer modeling is…

There are numerous publications on language learner strategies, and this bibliography of books is by no means exhaustive. They have been selected because they can be considered classics in the field and are easily available as this special issue of the "Language Learning Journal" goes to press. Though some of the books were written several decades…

Offers a general review of applications of psycholinguistic theory, focusing on applications in the field of education. Studies already undertaken and future areas for study are discussed, and guidelines for conducting psycholinguistic research in the classroom are proposed. (CFM)

Selected neurobiological terminology is clarified in this paper, which also highlights neurobiological information relevant to language acquisition research, discusses the neural plausibility of cognitive models of language acquisition, and illustrates the difference between abstract characterizations of learner behavior and mechanisms that cause…

Reviews the history of applied linguistics together with the history of the journal "Language Learning," indicating the journal's particular place in that larger history and honoring its 50th anniversary. (Author/JL)

Discusses a study of discourse patterns in the learning of second language oral skills. The study, based on research traditions such as ethnography of communication and conversation analysis, adopts as its main theoretical framework Vygotsky's theory of social origin of language and cognition. (DJD)

A study examined lexical specificity, the occurrence of pragmatic information, and a syntactic aspect (presence or absence of inversion) of the acquisition of both indirect and direct wh-questions in children aged five through eight years. (MSE)

The role of word class and gender during lexical access in language production was studied. The results indicated a distinction between prelexical (word class) and postlexical (gender) features, a distinction that could most naturally be implemented in a parallel-interactive processing network. (33 references) (Author/LB)

Part of the Grade Teacher special report, "Linguistics and the Language Arts.

In order to conduct a sociolinguistic analysis of language acquisition, data were collected on one bilingual child's speech through diary notes and tape recordings made at regular intervals from birth to age 5, with special attention given to contextual information related to each speech event. The child's languages include Spanish, English, and a…

Discusses some of the basic issues of applied psycholinguistics (APL): the necessity for having a field called psycholinguistics, the specific object and scope of APL, the requirements that make it possible for such a field to exist and be developed, its theoretical basis, and methodological tools for research. (SED)

Six major points in Griffiths and Sheen's paper are refuted and corrected. Insights are suggested that second-language acquisition (SLA) researchers might gain from a genuine reappraisal of field dependence/independence in SLA research. (39 references) (Author/LB)