Compared performance of kindergarten children (N=52) on reasoning, visual-motor integration, and verbal development to achievement scores in kindergarten, second grade, and third grade. Results showed relationships between reasoning in kindergarten and achievement on two tests in second grade, but not between kindergarten visual-motor integration…

Discusses the influence a first language can have on the acquisition of a second language. Includes some tentative proposals on the interaction of prior first-language knowledge and the creative construction process. (EKN)

In a previous paper, J. Hurford accounts for errors in children's question forms by postulating that children incorrectly internalize adult rules. This article suggests that this rule is inconsistent and unjestified, and that such errors are due to segmentation problems and processing limitations. (CHK)

This article criticizes a previous paper that stressed a transformational analysis of children's question acquisition. It is argued that a surface structure generalization analysis makes empirically correct predictions about mistakes both in acquisition of inverted word order and in the form of "wh" questions. (CHK)

Twenty language-delayed children (age three to six) viewed a presentation incorporating object, action, attribute, and affective state words into a narrative script. In pre- and postviewing word comprehension measurements, subjects scored lower than children matched for chronological age and children matched for mean length of utterance.…

Vowel production of a 14-month-old girl was studied over a 6-month period. Sixty percent of the vowels were produced correctly. A complex pattern of vowel preferences and errors was partially related to prespeech babbling preferences and strongly related to word structure variables (monosyllabic versus disyllabic). (Author/JDD)

Explains the significance of stories in productive thinking by collecting and analyzing the reactions of 40 children of 3 and 4 years to 10 stories. Results indicate that stories can be used to understand preschool children's thinking and increase their productive thoughts. (BB)

Analyzes preschool class circle time from an ethnographic perspective. Findings suggest that rules, guidelines, expectations, and roles in the event change over time. (RJC)

Parents of 40 Down's Syndrome babies were taught methods of communicative training with their children that involved either modeling techniques or written instructions. Results showed a significant difference in favor of the group taught modeling. (RJC)

Studied the development of speech act comprehension in 36 retarded and 36 nonretarded children at the developmental ages of five, seven, and nine years. Retarded and nonretarded individuals followed the answer obviousness rule and used the contextual and linguistic clues available to respond to yes-no interrogative sentences. (RJC)

A child with chronic otitis media with effusion solved the problem of reduced and fluctuating auditory input with phonological selection and avoidance strategies that capitalized on prosodic cues. Findings illustrate the need to consider interactions among performance, input, and linguistic constraints to explain individual variation in language…

Verb forms used by 14 4-year-olds in their pretend play were investigated in a study of the use of past verb forms to express "unreality." Results suggest that different past verb forms co-occur with different play activities; e.g., present perfect occurring when children implement their plans and communicate within an already…

A study of two year olds investigated the nature and development of children's early productivity with verb-argument structure and verb morphology. Results indicated that the children showed no signs of productive verb morphology, but they did use newly learned verbs in some creative ways involving nounlike uses and the appending of locatives.…

This study examined Quick Incidental Learning (QUIL) of novel vocabulary by 88 primary school-age children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). Among normally developing children, results documented a robust ability to learn words in the early school years. Children with SLI demonstrated significantly less word-learning ability…