In this article, we articulate the critical differences between memory-based processing and explanation-based processing. We suggest that the most important claim of memory-based text processing is that the automatic processes that function with respect to text processing are all applications of ordinary memory processes. This claim contrasts with…

Argues that in the initial stages of learning a new form in a foreign language and its associated functions, communicative needs and learning needs are fundamentally opposed. Suggests that what is needed is an orientation to language that is based on prior familiarity with specific forms and meaning that can be used in discourse as anchors to…

Investigates whether information abstracts reporting on empirical work possess a predictable discourse-level structure and whether there are lexical clues revealing this structure. Results support the presence of a detectable structure in the text-type of empirical abstracts, which may be of use in a variety of text-based information processing…

On-line comprehension studies of flexible word-order languages find that noncanonical ("scrambled") structures induce more difficulty than canonical structures [e.g., Hyona & Hujanen, "Q. J. Exp. Psychol." 50A (1997) 841-858], with this difference being attributed to the structural complexity/infrequency of these forms. However, by presenting…

Compares the cognitive processing of 12 anglophone French students who wrote an argumentative text in their first language (English) and second language (L2) (French). Results indicate that the writers' strategic knowledge and capacity for meaningful multiple-level discourse processing explains the constraining effects of linguistic processing on…

Prompted by the growing interest in the role of reader-related and text-related variables in reading comprehension, a study compared 30 sixth grade students in regular classrooms to 30 language impaired students. The purpose was to assess the relationship of (1) text structure manipulations for simple and complex sentence structure, (2) discourse…

Investigates the relationship between the social organization and educational practices of schools and how they relate to students' ability to recognize differences between curriculum-specific talk. The study recorded students' observations regarding Mathematics and Art to determine their ability to speak in subject-specific ways teachers deem…

Attention to the language practices of school-age children and teenagers is essential for a complete understanding of how language use can vary in the social construction of everyday activity across the life span. This book examines a wide variety of language practices using data from naturally occurring recorded talk and careful observation of…