Recent studies have used Coh-Metrix, an automated text analyzer, to assess differences in language characteristics across different genres and academic disciplines (Graesser, McNamara, & Kulikowich, 2011; McNamara, Graesser, McCarthy, & Cai, 2014). Coh-Metrix analyzes text on many constructs at different levels, including Word Concreteness…

Research in the study of students' writing concludes that vocabulary use is a key variable in determining the holistic quality of the writing. In the present study, 77 writing samples from a mixed group of Grade 3 children were analyzed for features of linguistic diversity using public domain vocabulary-profiling software. The writing was also…

The effect of planning on second language (L2) learners' oral performance is a hotly debated topic in the field of second language acquisition. However, studies on the effect of different amounts of planning time have been quite limited, especially in a testing context. The present study investigated the effects of different lengths of…

This article focuses on biliteracy development of English and Spanish through the practical strategy of systematically labeling the classroom within the context of daily classroom activities and providing children with various opportunities to use the words throughout the day. Using the foundational work related to classroom labels from Pinnell…

This study examines whether task-modality (speaking vs. speaking+writing) influences first language (L1) use in task-based English as a foreign language (EFL) learner-learner interaction. Research on the topic has shown that different task-modality triggers different learning opportunities with collaborative speaking tasks drawing learners'…

Because of the current emphasis on accountability at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels across all content areas, accreditation agencies, administrators, program designers, course developers, faculty, and students have increasingly focused on stating and measuring student learning outcomes and documenting the relationship between…

This article presents an innovative, gameful, multimodal, and authentic learning environment for training of oral communication in a foreign language--a virtual adventure called Berlin Kompass. After a brief presentation of the pedagogical and technological backgrounds, the system is described. Central results of a series of pilots in autumn 2013…

In the present study, we examine the effects of prompts and recasts on the acquisition of two new and different grammar structures in a task-based learning environment. Sixty-four 14-year-old 9th grade students (low intermediate) learning German as a foreign language were randomly assigned to three conditions: two experimental groups (one…

With the increasing numbers of dual language learners (DLLs) in early childhood programmes, the use of research-based and effective pedagogical strategies to support oral language learning is important. Early childhood classrooms can provide many opportunities to support language learning. Teacher feedback is an intentional teaching strategy to…

This article analyzes stylized pronunciations of English by Japanese speakers on televised variety shows in Japan. Research on style and mocking has done much to reveal how linguistic forms are utilized in interaction as resources of identity construction that can oftentimes subvert hegemonic discourse (Chun 2004). Within this research area,…

This dissertation aims to extend our knowledge of prosody--in particular, what kinds of information may be conveyed through prosody, which prosodic dimensions may be used to convey them, and how individual speakers differ from one another in how they use prosody. Four production studies were conducted to examine how various factors interact with…

In conversation, speakers produce some words with greater intensity, longer duration, and higher fundamental frequency (F0) than other words. By making different words in a sentence more prominent than other words, a speaker can change the meaning implied by a sentence. This thesis explores the relationship between processing in the language…

In this study, we examined the development of beginning writing skills in kindergarten children and the contribution of spelling and handwriting to these writing skills after accounting for early language, literacy, cognitive skills, and student characteristics. Two hundred and forty two children were given a battery of cognitive, oral language,…

There is an ongoing debate whether deaf individuals access phonology when reading, and if so, what impact the ability to access phonology might have on reading achievement. However, the debate so far has been theoretically unspecific on two accounts: (a) the phonological units deaf individuals may have of oral language have not been specified and…

Whispering is a common type of speech which is not often studied in speech technology. Perceptual and physiological studies show us that whispered speech is subtly different from phonated speech, and is surprisingly able to carry a tremendous amount of information. In this dissertation we consider the question: What makes whispering a good form of…