Describes the formation of the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES), a system formed to foster the sharing of computerized data on language acquisition. Details the governance of the system, the nature of the database, the shape of the coding conventions, and the types of computer programs being developed. (SED)

A severely handicapped four-year-old with Down syndrome received training in comprehension and expressive use of Rebus symbols representing new words and generalization of symbol use to the classroom. Significant increases in comprehension and expression scores and generalized symbol use occurred. Development of verbal expressive skills were also…

Describes an instructional approach that encourages teachers to guide children in narrating stories based on actual or imagined experiences, particularly those that transpire in the classroom. Discusses ways of incorporating events from dramatic play and everyday occurrences into storytelling activities and offers a story sampler that exemplifies…

Describes how using American Sign Language can facilitate the development of skills in spoken English for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Discusses factors influencing how well a child with deafness will develop spoken language and the need to teach the two languages separately. (CR)

Based on research in infant sign language, this book teaches parents methods of communicating with their infants through the use of simple bodily movements that signify objects, events, and needs. Noting that communication between parent and child can flourish between 9 months and 30 months, when a baby's desire to communicate outstrips the…

This article describes a school-based program emphasizing integration of reading, writing, listening, speaking, handwriting, and spelling. Intervention principles, transdisciplinary team methods, and means of enhancing cultural literacy are discussed. Program evaluations indicate growth in all life skills areas, a zero dropout rate, and high…

The nature of children's communication processes of listening, speaking, reading, and drawing/writing that occur during story time is explored in this paper, which describes story time as a literacy event. The framework that children develop during story-time can serve as a vehicle for language arts instruction. In helping children cultivate…

Discusses pre-linguistic and linguistic stages of language acquisition that are part of a continuum of receptivity and communication every child experiences in the first 3 years of life. Suggests parents assist language development by being sympathetic to each developmental turning point, providing the right emotional climate for expression, and…

This paper describes the development and use of language training procedures, referred to as cues-pause-point procedures, that rely on behavioral principles and simple and natural teaching procedures and that are exhibited in many normal parent-child or teacher-student verbal interactions. The procedures have been effective in teaching severely…

Discusses the centers of language in the brain and the critical period for language acquisition. Explains developmental milestones of language development--receptive language, babbling, short phrases, full sentences--in the context of brain development. Emphasizes parents' role in language development, including talking to the child, dialogic…