This quasiexperimental research studies the effect of socioeconomic status (SES), language learning, and culture on gifted Hispanic children's performance in an alternative developmental scale (Qualitative Use of English and Spanish Tasks) of cognitive ability for generating developmental profiles. Results show the effect of SES and language…

Currently, there is a practical demand and necessity for research on how English-as-a-second language (ESL) learners acquire literacy skills, such as spelling. One important issue of this research agenda is how ESL learners apply first-language knowledge to learning to spell in English. Twenty-seven studies were reviewed that investigated the…

Discusses six journal articles which deal with monolingualism and simultaneous reading. The articles are found in "Die Neueren Sprachen,""Praxis des neusprachlichen Unterrichts," and "Zielsprache Englisch." (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Discusses the lack of motivation in the United States for learning foreign languages. Suggests that starting second languages earlier will produce more people both proficient in a second language and sensitive to other cultures. (EKN)

Examination of differences in the language-learning strategies of monolingual and multilingual adults found no clear evidence that multilinguals were superior in language-learning abilities overall, although they were more able to adjust their learning strategies according to language task requirements. (Author/CB)

Examines the role of a "local cue"--the grammatical aspect expressed by the verb "ru/-ta"--in Japanese temporal clauses. Ninety-six children were examined. Results show that the success of verb forms as clues requires that temporal relations be clearly expressed. This supports the claim that overt surface clues facilitate…

Critiques controversies about Chicano dialects and, particularly, the linguistic status of Chicano English. Proposes a model of Chicano languages/dialects based on assumptions about the nature of the speech setting of Chicanos. Characterizes Chicano English as the autonomous vernacular dialect of native-English-speaking Chicanos. (70 references)…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," explaining differences between various dialects grouped under the Catalan umbrella and focusing on the context of the new language-policy legislation, the impact of the new legislation, tensions arising from the implementation of the language policy,…

Examines a mixed pattern of subject omission in Hebrew. Longitudinal data is presented from three children whose first and only language is Hebrew. Findings show very early acquisition of the null subject system. (Author/VWL)

Examined understanding of print concepts in preschool children bilingual in English and Hebrew. Found that bilingual children were more advanced than monolinguals, regardless of task (understanding that a printed word's meaning did not change if moved to a new location, making judgments about word length and ignoring the object's size) or whether…

In an investigation of the relationship between mimicry skill and neural plasticity, 28 monolingual Japanese subjects aged 4-17 repeated a list of simple English words containing /r/ and /l/. Analyses were made of individual and age-group scores and of consistency of individuals' pronunciation across word tokens. Results indicated mimicry ability…

In Study 1, 4-year-olds avoided 2 names for an object when exposed to a common or a proper noun in a puppet's presence or to a common noun in a puppet's absence, but not when exposed to a proper noun in a puppet's absence. In Study 2, 3-year-olds avoided 2 names for an object when the requester for the referent of a second label in a different…

The current popular case against the use of standardised ability tests in bilingual assessment is not as unequivocal as may be commonly assumed. Evidence currently available indicates that such tests generally measure the same constructs, with equal accuracy, regardless of language backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this…

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have cognitive disabilities resulting from trisomy 21. Language-learning difficulties, especially expressive language problems, are an important component of the phenotype of this population. Many individuals with DS are born into bilingual environments. To date, however, there is almost no information available…

In two experiments, the use of mutual exclusivity in the naming of whole objects was examined in monolingual and bilingual 3- and 6-year-olds. Once an object has a known name, then via principles of mutual exclusivity it is often assumed that a new name given to the object must refer to some part, substance, or other property of the object.…