Acquisition of an argument structure may be affected by the diversity of lexical types that appear in that structure (Conwell et al., 2011; Yang, 2016). Seventy-two 5- and 6-year-old English-speaking children completed a learning study where they were exposed to a novel argument structure and then tested on their ability to comprehend it. The…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of clinical review bias on the coding of grammaticality in child language. Seventy-four native-English students studying communication disorders and sciences made judgments about the grammaticality of 250 utterances presented in five language samples. Each language sample included grammatical,…

This study examined the developmental trajectories of Arabic grammatical number in Arabic-English bilingual children. The samples consisted of 80 individuals (40 monolingual children residing in Jordan and 40 bilingual children residing in the USA), aged between 5 and 9 years. Data was collected through two tasks involving picture able objects and…

Research has shown that observing iconic gestures helps typically developing children (TD) and children with specific language impairment (SLI) learn new words. So far, studies mostly compared word learning with and without gestures. The present study investigated word learning under two gesture conditions in children with and without language…

This study introduces a typological model of the "conceptual language-specific approach" to the L2 research on the acquisition of tense-aspect. The model is based on the typological notion of prominence, classifying languages into tense-prominent and aspect-prominent (Bhat 1999) and the L1 research proposal that language-specific…

Examines the assumptions behind three attempts to introduce formulaic language into second language teaching. Contextualizes the discussion by briefly outlining the nature of formulaic language as a phenomenon. (Author/VWL)

Provides an overview of current research on grammatical, phonological, semantic, and pragmatic development in African American English child language, as opposed to adult or adolescent language, and discusses the implications of these findings for professionals involved in second-dialect instruction, speech-language assessment, or intervention…

This document reports on three years of clinical research involving the development of effective clinical intervention procedures for children with slow language development. The assessment and treatment approaches discussed in the report are based upon the developmental model of grammar described in Developmental Sentence Analysis (DSA), a…

Preparation of this article was supported by a U. S. Office of Education Fellowship. (DS)

This article compares first and second language acquisition and applies conclusions pertaining to first language acquisition to second language learning, specifically that a command of grammar is essential and this grammar is independent of that associated with the written language. (CLK)

In the context of a conversation in French between the author and her young English-speaking son, this discussion of methodology, the relative importance of grammar, progress in grasping the mechanisms of a language, and communication based on real needs raises questions for foreign language teachers. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

This study is concerned with the teaching of French grammar to native speakers at the elementary level and specifically considers whether or not students are psychologically ready to handle concepts entailed in the formal instruction of grammar. The sample included 5,900 students in grades 4 through 8 in French schools in Ontario. Subjects…

This study investigated the relationship between the syntactical language development of first grade children and their socio-ethnic status. From a random selection of 160 first grade children, 19 Caucasians with highly developed language abilities were selected from a high socioeconomic stratum to be compared with 19 Negroes with low language…

This bibliography is an outgrowth of a project undertaken in 1975 by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. The project was to update the bibliography of American doctoral dissertations in linguistics covering the years 1900-1964. Due to the large number of dissertations, the update was broken down into three parts, of which this…

The amount of time that should be spent on explicit teaching of language patterns and structure is an issue among second language teachers. Those who believe that language learning is a developmental process feel that there is no sense in teaching grammar and syntax explicitly since the learner can be expected to acquire these skills as he…