Attention is given to the characteristics, identification, and remediation of language disorders frequently associated with learning-disabled students. Characteristics include off-target responding, inaccurate word selection, neologisms, referent errors, topic closure, and sequencing difficulties. Remediation involves self-concept building,…

Examined the differences between linguistic-cognitive ability and language performance in a sample of 172 preschool and kindergarten children from 3 sociocultural locations (urban, working class, and rural) in Greece. Linguistic-cognitive abilities were found to have no influence on verbal interaction and production. Sociocultural influences did…

Examined age and gender differences in verbal skills and visuomotor skills at kindergarten, in achievement in reading and mathematics at Grade four, and the link between skills at kindergarten and later achievement. Readiness in auditory memory and verbal associations predicted later reading achievement while readiness in number skills and visual…

Following a review of metalinguistic abilities and their relation to reading ability in learning-disabled students, special consideration is given to phonological awareness. Both developmental/preventative and remedial approaches for heightening sound awareness are described, focusing on the characteristics of speech sounds themselves rather than…

The teaching of Latin to verbally precocious students enhances their vocabulary and linguistic competence in English and prepares them for study of other foreign languages. The ideal curriculum would feature: instruction from fourth through twelfth grade; teachers experienced in teaching Latin and gifted students; and intensive language programs.…

The mental development of 332 preschool-age children with orthopedic disabilities was assessed at a children's hospital over a 10-year period, and comparisons were made for right-handed and left-handed. The left-handed children were slower than right-handed children in learning speech and language skills (Author/SEW)

Discusses the relevance of the study of classical languages to modern society needs. Points to evidence that exposure to Latin improves verbal ability in one's native language, and argues for classical studies and the humanities as a means to develop a better understanding of human society and civilization. (MES)

The performance of 20 children with educable mental retardation (ages 8 to 12) and 20 verbal mental age-matched nonretarded controls was compared on identifying emotional facial expressions and producing the equivalent word adjectives. There were no significant differences between the two groups in general, despite the fact that children with…

Discussed is the importance of engineering students having effective communication skills so they will be able to discuss their work, present their findings, and propose a course of action. Suggestions for organizing and delivering presentations are included. (KR)

A functional typology of verbal instructional tasks for advanced classroom instruction and inservice training is described and illustrated in this paper. The described typology is based upon functional definitions of elementary and conceptual behavior and incorporates the kinds of goals and objectives that surveys and research have shown to be…

The final report of a year-long study of the Hawaii English Program (HEP), a comprehensive language arts curriculum for the elementary grades, comparing the performance level in English of pupils in fifth-grade HEP and non-HEP classes and investigating the attitudes of pupils, teachers, and parents is presented in this volume. Sections in the…

A study was made of the interrelationships among the language skill complex (auditory discrimination, articulation of speech sounds, recognition vocabulary, and vocabulary of use), grade level, intelligence level, race, sex, father's occupation, school, chronological age, and general reading ability of children placed in the primary grades with…

In an attempt to explore a systematic approach to language expansion and improved sentence structure, echoic and modeling procedures for language instruction were compared. Four hypotheses were formulated: (1) children who use modeling procedures will produce better structured sentences than children who use echoic prompting, (2) both echoic and…

Advocates the use of incidental vocabulary learning to assist students in vocabulary expansion and reading comprehension. Addresses the issues of the number of words students would have to know to make substantial gains and what type of word knowledge is necessary to facilitate reading comprehension. (ML)

Stories were read daily at school and home to 32 children, aged 3-10, with severe learning difficulties. After eight months, almost all of the children showed improvements in verbal comprehension greater than gains of a comparison group, and the older children showed improvements in verbal expression. (Author/JDD)