Playful, engaging talk with young children is much more than a social activity: it's the foundation of language, intellectual, and social-emotional development, and it's also the key to narrowing the achievement gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Now there's a practical, easy-to-read guidebook that shows professionals…

This manual is designed to help parents facilitate their children's language development. It is divided into five sections based on different levels of language development that extend from children's early use of sounds to their production of four and five word sentences. Each section contains a brief general description of children's speech and…

Notes that regardless of the language, children acquire language on the same general schedule and the same cognitive path. Explores the process of child language acquisition, from sounds, through word meanings, to syntax and grammar. (HTH)

A teacher of elementary school students and father of preschool age children admits his errors and misconceptions concerning child rearing, discusses what he has learned from his children's communicative behavior, and offers suggestions to parents for promoting the growth of children's expressive abilities. (Author/RH)

With early diagnosis and intervention, students with language delays can succeed. This paper presents warning signs and recommends seeking expert help, explaining that supporting such children involves such things as reading to them, using simple but grammatically correct sentences, and following their lead. A sidebar notes areas that may be…

A judgment checklist can be presented to camp counselors through brainstorming sessions in which actual or imagined situations are reviewed. Camper and counselor behavior results from choices they make. Talking to children about their behavior is easier when adult jargon like "inappropriate behavior" is replaced with child-friendly…

The momentum toward reform of science education brings pressures on schools and teachers to evaluate or otherwise account for children's progress in science. Although this interest can bring with it a certain amount of rush to judgment, it brings an opportunity to explore assessment alternatives that are fundamentally different from conventional…

A discussion of the use of generative phonology in the speech clinic, especially with children, begins with an outline of some constructs of generative phonology. First, some notes on phonetic notation and definitions of terms used in nongenerative phonology that have special meanings in this field are presented. Then a discussion of distinctive…

This series, designed for use in inservice teacher workshops, addresses the question, "How do children and teachers use language to get things done?" The transcribed classroom discourse presented and discussed in each volume illustrates functional language in a real context based on the videotaping of undoctored events from kindergarten…

Estimating readability requires more than a formula comparing word length and sentence length. Other factors to be considered include vocabulary, the relationship between syntax and readability, the syntax used in children's oral language, and writing style. Steps are outlined for systematically estimating readability of instructional materials…

Designed as a resource for parents, this book provides them with the information and advice they need to make informed decisions about what language "policy" to adopt with their children. The authors, professional applied linguists, draw on their own experience as parents of successfully bilingual children and on interviews with other bilingual…

This series, designed for use in inservice teacher workshops, addresses the question, "How do children and teachers use language to get things done?" The transcribed classroom discourse presented and discussed in each volume illustrates functional language in a real context based on the videotaping of undoctored classroom events from…

This series, designed for use in inservice teacher workshops, addresses the question, "How do children and teachers use language to get things done?" The transcribed classroom discourse presented and discussed in each volume illustrates functional language in a real context based on the videotaping of undoctored classroom events from…

Based on the belief that learning can take place in the home as well as in the school, this booklet was developed as a means of helping parents contribute to the improvement of their children's oral communication skills. Various sections of the booklet contain the following: (1) a discussion of children's communication behaviors, including an…

Based upon the view that parents, home visitors, and teachers in early childhood settings need tools for empowering young children to develop language, this paper examines what adults need to know to guide young children's language development and presents 20 suggestions for enhancing language growth. The paper maintains that adults need to know…