The medium of instruction in schools in most African countries is a second language (L2); less attention is focused on the first language (L1) at each successive level of formal schooling. Little attention, however, has been given in curriculum development and in research to the building up of the bilingual reading skills of children whose…

Over a school year, researchers had first graders talk and write about paintings, picture books, and films while participating in a program that introduced them to visual literacy. Researchers found that, over the school year, children's choices of pictures and volume of language changed and that urban and suburban children differed. (SM)

This text assists parents and other caregivers in stimulating the young child with a severe visual impairment, in order to encourage development of normal behaviors which blindness delays and to prevent the appearance of psychological disturbances. Simple language and illustrations describe the stages of child development from newborn to 3 years…

A comprehensive bibliography on linguistic input in the home, clinic, and/or classroom is presented. Three general categories of materials are included: language spoken to normal children, cross-cultural studies, and language spoken to special populations. Linguistic input is a term that refers to the special language register that parents use to…

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to determine whether a teacher involved parent education program which stressed parent child interaction, would significantly improve the verbal achievement of rural, disadvantaged, low income, black first grade students. A total of 43 pupils were selected from two predominantly black schools in Macon…

This study is a detailed analysis of the phonological development of Sylvia, a bilingual child, in her acquisition of American English and Brazilian Portuguese from the age of 1 year, 7 months to 3 years, 8 months. The study is divided into four stages: ages 1.7 - 1.9; 1.9 - 2.1; 2.1 - 2.3; and 2.3 - 2.8. Up to the age of 1.9, the same…

Every speech community has a baby talk register (BT) of phonological, grammatical, and lexical features regarded as primarily appropriate for addressing young children and also for other displaced or extended uses. Much BT is analyzable as derived from normal adult speech (AS) by such simplifying processes as reduction, substitution, assimilation,…

A discussion of word acquisition rates and strategies is based upon a 6-month case study of an Estonian-speaking child who gradually and systematically relaxed phonotactic constraints to allow greater complexity in word production. In addition to the cognitive tools of assimilation and accomodation as described by Piaget, the child used a further…

A STUDY WAS DEVISED TO APPRAISE THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF NAVAJO STUDENTS LIVING IN DORMITORIES AWAY FROM THE INDIAN RESERVATION. THE FOLLOWING SEVEN FACTORS WERE CHOSEN TO BE INVESTIGATED AS BEING DIRECTLY RELATED TO ACHIEVEMENT--(1) INTELLIGENCE, (2) READING ABILITY, (3) ANXIETY, (4) SELF-CONCEPT, (5) MOTIVATION, (6) VERBAL DEVELOPMENT, (7)…

This measure is designed to identify, assess, and diagnose the oral language capability of English and Spanish speakers, and to prescribe corrective or improvement activities. Part One provides minimum criteria to identify children who might need training in a second language. Part Two is designed to assess the child's primary or home language and…

In any successful conversation, a speaker must select both what is said and how it is said on the basis of various estimates of the listener's abilities, knowledge and interests. Most research on linguistic input to children has focused on the tendency of speakers to simplify their speech for the younger listener. Little attention has been paid to…

EVEN MORE THAN A RATIONAL ANIMAL, MAN IS A SYMBOLIZING ANIMAL, CREATING HIS OWN CHANGING REPRESENTATIONS OF REALITY. INSTRUMENTAL TO THIS PROCESS IS LANGUAGE, FOR IT PROVIDES THE BEST MEANS FOR STRUCTURING BOTH PAST AND FUTURE EXPERIENCE. THE VERBALIZATION OF BOTH PERSONAL AND VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE MAKES US REEVALUATE AND RESTRUCTURE OUR…

At the Child Language Development Center at the University of Rochester, basic research in children's verbal behavior and the exploration of procedures for extending successful laboratory techniques to the typical preschool setting are being continued. Experiments in contingency management and the establishment of requisite antecedent behaviors…

Two models were identified for criterion-referenced tests, one based on the assumption of a continuous achievement variable and the other assuming a dichotomous or binary variable. Several test characteristics were examined and contrasted for the two models, including the distribution of scores, establishment of a cutting score, test length, item…

In an attempt to clarify the problems of educational planning for disadvantaged college youth, this report presents a study of the characteristics of the learner which are related to academic achievement and an analysis of the pressures and expectations of college curriculums. Behavior and attitudinal traits of disadvantaged black youth are…