This article presents an overview of phonological awareness, print awareness, and oral language development and discusses the critical role they play in emergent literacy. Recent research is reviewed and strategies are provided for promoting emergent literacy through each of these areas in the preschool classroom. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Creativity measures and samples of private speech were collected from 42 preschool and kindergarten children. Statistical analysis revealed significant positive relationships among creativity measures, solving speech, and coping/reinforcing speech. Coping and reinforcing private speech were linked with high creativity measures. (DB)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an innovative treatment sequence designed to facilitate semantic/pragmatic language development in a 5-year old with high-functioning autism. The independent variable was a treatment sequence emphasizing video vignettes and role plays. Dependent variables included efficient gaze, responding without delays,…

Reviews a book that focuses on the sociocultural nature of both first- and second-language acquisition and on the importance of the school maintaining and developing the language and culture of students' families and local community. The book contains many practical suggestions for teachers working with language-minority children, including such…

Twenty-seven toddlers identified as showing specific expressive language delay (ELD) were studied and followed through the preschool period. Findings indicated that home-based intervention accelerated vocabulary skills, but did not decrease the likelihood of later phonological problems. ELD was also seen as a self-correcting condition. (PB)

Two studies explored bilingual language-development outcomes of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican-American children who did or did not attend a bilingual preschool. Found that children who attended bilingual preschools, compared to those remaining at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish-language development and in…

Examines the linguistic complexity and functional variety of the speech and writing of 2 bilingual children in year 2 of a British infant school. Focuses on the contexts of language use and shows the children making causal connections between separate episodes of the observation phase, considered proof of learning. (JPB)

This study compared three levels of inclusion (special education only, integrated special education, and mainstream placements) on the cognitive and language development of 66 preschool children with disabilities. Analysis of pre- to postgains revealed that integrated special education produced gains that significantly exceeded the rate of normal…

This study examined parental report as a source of information about toddlers' productive vocabulary in 105 low-income families living in either urban or rural communities. Parental report using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory-Short Form (CDI) at child age 2;0 was compared to concurrent spontaneous speech measures and…

This study explored the effects of a full-day preschool program on 4-year-old children. The study compared the development of a group of children (N = 403) who attended the preschool program on a half-day basis during the 1999-2000 school year (the last year the half-day program was in place) with the development of a group of children (N = 418)…

To examine language outcomes related to language acquisition and academic readiness, this study followed a group of toddlers with slow expressive language development (SELD) through their kindergarten year. Subjects were 27 children between 20 and 34 months who produced fewer than 50 words or no 2-word combinations on L. Resconla's (1989) Language…

The 115 tests cited in this bibliography are measures for infants through preschool age children, that focus on language acquisition. Some determine developmental level, others deal with aspects of language ability at various levels. Measures for a variety of populations, including native Spanish speakers, and handicapped infants, are cited. This…

This paper reports results from two dissertation studies and several pilot and case studies examining the effects of early enrichment on children's language and cognitive development. Early enrichment in these studies included home visits with parents, typically beginning before the child reached 6 months of age, and continuing until the child was…

This document consists of the three 1990 issues and the two 1991 issues of a journal that publishes articles on the education of Hawaii's children. The journal covers such topics as teaching strategies, instructional settings, and cultural differences. Articles in the January 1990 issue consider: (1) reading and literacy in the Kamehameha…

This study examines otitis media as a possible factor associated with increased risk for communicative handicap in a group of children with a possible vulnerability for language delay: "late-talkers." Speech and language outcomes at ages 3 and 4 were examined in 28 late talkers and 24 children with normal language development. Late…